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McLaren TH, Tomback DF, Grevstad N, Wunder MB, Wehtje W, Walker LE, Smith DW. Clark's nutcracker forest community visitation: Whitebark pine maintains a keystone seed disperser. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10813. [PMID: 38145018 PMCID: PMC10739129 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) are obligate seed dispersers for whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), but they frequently use other conifer seed resources because of annual variability in cone production or geographic variation in whitebark pine availability. Whitebark pine is declining from several threats including white pine blister rust, leading to potential population declines in the nutcracker and the pine. We hypothesize that where there are few additional seed resources, whitebark pine becomes the key and limiting resource supporting nutcracker populations. We investigated how nutcrackers use coniferous forest community types within Yellowstone National Park to determine potential seed resources and the importance of whitebark pine. We established sites representing five forest community types, including whitebark pine, lodgepole pine (P. contorta), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), limber pine (P. flexilis), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Each transect annually generated nutcracker point counts, conifer cone production indices, community composition data, and seed resource use observations. We compared hierarchical distance sampling models, estimating nutcracker density and its relationship to forest community type, seed harvesting time-period, year, study site, and cone seed energy. We found cone production varied across years indicating annual variability in energy availability. Nutcracker density was best predicted by forest community type and survey time-period and was highest in whitebark pine stands during the mid-harvesting season. Nutcracker density was comparatively low for all other forest community types. This finding underscores the importance of whitebark pine as a key seed resource for Clark's nutcracker in Yellowstone National Park. The decline of whitebark pine potentially leads to a downward spiral in nutcrackers and whitebark pine, arguing for continued monitoring of nutcrackers and implementation of restoration treatments for whitebark pine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas H. McLaren
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of Colorado DenverDenverColoradoUSA
- Present address:
Klamath Bird ObservatoryAshlandOregonUSA
| | - Diana F. Tomback
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of Colorado DenverDenverColoradoUSA
| | - Nels Grevstad
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsMetropolitan State University of DenverDenverColoradoUSA
| | - Michael B. Wunder
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of Colorado DenverDenverColoradoUSA
| | | | - Lauren E. Walker
- Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone Center for ResourcesYellowstone National ParkWyomingUSA
- Present address:
United States Geological SurveyEastern Ecological Science CenterLaurelMarylandUSA
| | - Douglas W. Smith
- Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone Center for ResourcesYellowstone National ParkWyomingUSA
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Hays CG, Hanley TC, Hughes AR, Truskey SB, Zerebecki RA, Sotka EE. Local Adaptation in Marine Foundation Species at Microgeographic Scales. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2021; 241:16-29. [PMID: 34436968 DOI: 10.1086/714821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
AbstractNearshore foundation species in coastal and estuarine systems (e.g., salt marsh grasses, mangroves, seagrasses, corals) drive the ecological functions of ecosystems and entire biomes by creating physical structure that alters local abiotic conditions and influences species interactions and composition. The resilience of foundation species and the ecosystem functions they provide depends on their phenotypic and genetic responses to spatial and temporal shifts in environmental conditions. In this review, we explore what is known about the causes and consequences of adaptive genetic differentiation in marine foundation species over spatial scales shorter than dispersal capabilities (i.e., microgeographic scales). We describe the strength of coupling field and laboratory experiments with population genetic techniques to illuminate patterns of local adaptation, and we illustrate this approach by using several foundation species. Among the major themes that emerge from our review include (1) adaptive differentiation of marine foundation species repeatedly evolves along vertical (i.e., elevation or depth) gradients, and (2) mating system and phenology may facilitate this differentiation. Microgeographic adaptation is an understudied mechanism potentially underpinning the resilience of many sessile marine species, and this evolutionary mechanism likely has particularly important consequences for the ecosystem functions provided by foundation species.
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Record S, Voelker NM, Zarnetske PL, Wisnoski NI, Tonkin JD, Swan C, Marazzi L, Lany N, Lamy T, Compagnoni A, Castorani MCN, Andrade R, Sokol ER. Novel Insights to Be Gained From Applying Metacommunity Theory to Long-Term, Spatially Replicated Biodiversity Data. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.612794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Global loss of biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services is occurring at an alarming rate and is predicted to accelerate in the future. Metacommunity theory provides a framework to investigate multi-scale processes that drive change in biodiversity across space and time. Short-term ecological studies across space have progressed our understanding of biodiversity through a metacommunity lens, however, such snapshots in time have been limited in their ability to explain which processes, at which scales, generate observed spatial patterns. Temporal dynamics of metacommunities have been understudied, and large gaps in theory and empirical data have hindered progress in our understanding of underlying metacommunity processes that give rise to biodiversity patterns. Fortunately, we are at an important point in the history of ecology, where long-term studies with cross-scale spatial replication provide a means to gain a deeper understanding of the multiscale processes driving biodiversity patterns in time and space to inform metacommunity theory. The maturation of coordinated research and observation networks, such as the United States Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, provides an opportunity to advance explanation and prediction of biodiversity change with observational and experimental data at spatial and temporal scales greater than any single research group could accomplish. Synthesis of LTER network community datasets illustrates that long-term studies with spatial replication present an under-utilized resource for advancing spatio-temporal metacommunity research. We identify challenges towards synthesizing these data and present recommendations for addressing these challenges. We conclude with insights about how future monitoring efforts by coordinated research and observation networks could further the development of metacommunity theory and its applications aimed at improving conservation efforts.
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Qiao X, Zhang J, Wang Z, Xu Y, Zhou T, Mi X, Cao M, Ye W, Jin G, Hao Z, Wang X, Wang X, Tian S, Li X, Xiang W, Liu Y, Shao Y, Xu K, Sang W, Zeng F, Ren H, Jiang M, Ellison AM. Foundation species across a latitudinal gradient in China. Ecology 2020; 102:e03234. [PMID: 33107020 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Foundation species structure forest communities and ecosystems but are difficult to identify without long-term observations or experiments. We used statistical criteria--outliers from size-frequency distributions and scale-dependent negative effects on alpha diversity and positive effects on beta diversity--to identify candidate foundation woody plant species in 12 large forest-dynamics plots spanning 26 degrees of latitude in China. We used these data (1) to identify candidate foundation species in Chinese forests, (2) to test the hypothesis--based on observations of a midlatitude peak in functional trait diversity and high local species richness but few numerically dominant species in tropical forests--that foundation woody plant species are more frequent in temperate than tropical or boreal forests, and (3) to compare these results with data from the Americas to suggest candidate foundation genera in northern hemisphere forests. Using the most stringent criteria, only two species of Acer, the canopy tree Acer ukurunduense and the shrubby treelet Acer barbinerve, were identified in temperate plots as candidate foundation species. Using more relaxed criteria, we identified four times more candidate foundation species in temperate plots (including species of Acer, Pinus, Juglans, Padus, Tilia, Fraxinus, Prunus, Taxus, Ulmus, and Corlyus) than in (sub)tropical plots (the treelets or shrubs Aporosa yunnanensis, Ficus hispida, Brassaiopsis glomerulata, and Orophea laui). Species diversity of co-occurring woody species was negatively associated with basal area of candidate foundation species more frequently at 5- and 10-m spatial grains (scale) than at a 20-m grain. Conversely, Bray-Curtis dissimilarity was positively associated with basal area of candidate foundation species more frequently at 5-m than at 10- or 20-m grains. Both stringent and relaxed criteria supported the hypothesis that foundation species are more common in mid-latitude temperate forests. Comparisons of candidate foundation species in Chinese and North American forests suggest that Acer be investigated further as a foundation tree genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiujuan Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences [CAS], Wuhan, 430074, China.,Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, CAS, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Jiaxin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences [CAS], Wuhan, 430074, China.,Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, CAS, Wuhan, 430074, China.,University of CAS, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Zhong Wang
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Yaozhan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences [CAS], Wuhan, 430074, China.,Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, CAS, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Tianyang Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences [CAS], Wuhan, 430074, China.,Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, CAS, Wuhan, 430074, China.,University of CAS, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiangcheng Mi
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany (CAS), Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Min Cao
- Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (CAS), Kunming, 650023, China
| | - Wanhui Ye
- South China Botanical Garden (CAS), Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Guangze Jin
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China
| | - Xugao Wang
- Institute of Applied Ecology (CAS), Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Xihua Wang
- Department of Environmental Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Songyan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Forestry Ecological Engineering of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Xiankun Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China
| | - Wusheng Xiang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China
| | - Yankun Liu
- National Positioning Observation Station of Mudanjiang Forest Ecosystem in Heilongjiang Province, Mudanjiang, 157500, China
| | - Yingnan Shao
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Forestry Ecological Engineering of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Kun Xu
- Lijiang Forest Ecosystem Research Station, Kunming Institute of Botany (CAS), Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Weiguo Sang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany (CAS), Beijing, 100093, China.,Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Fuping Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (CAS), Changsha, 410125, China
| | - Haibao Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany (CAS), Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Mingxi Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences [CAS], Wuhan, 430074, China.,Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, CAS, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Aaron M Ellison
- Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts, 01366, USA
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