1
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Food web of Mocha Island (Chile) reveals the interaction between the invasive Rattus rattus and the endemic anuran Eupsophus insularis. Biol Invasions 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02905-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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2
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Rugiero L, Capula M, Dendi D, Petrozzi F, Fa JE, Funk SM, Burke RL, Luiselli L. Testing hypotheses of habitat use and temporal activity in relation to body plan in a Mediterranean lizard community. CAN J ZOOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A body plan (bauplan) is a suite of morphological characters shared by phylogenetically related animals at some point during their development. Despite its value, the bauplan concept is still rarely employed to characterize functional groups in community ecology. Here, we examine habitat use and spatio-temporal activity correlates of an entire seven-species community of lizards with different bauplans. The study was carried out in three locations in central Italy, encompassing a complex landscape with a patchy mosaic of a wide variety of habitats and microclimates. We tested four hypotheses regarding niche breadth, habitat use, and activity patterns. The first hypothesis, niche complementarity, in which species with similar body shapes should non-randomly partition available habitats, was not supported. By contrast, the hypotheses that larger bodied species should have a wider niche breadth, that slower species should inhabit habitat types of higher cover, and species inhabiting open sunny habitats should exhibit more seasonally variable activity patterns, were all supported by the data. Sympatric lizard communities in our study area were clearly organized by autecological constraints and eco-physiological attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Rugiero
- Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33, I-00144 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Daniele Dendi
- Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33, I-00144 Rome, Italy
- Department of Applied and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
- Department of Zoology, University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo
| | | | - Julia E. Fa
- Department of Natural Sciences, School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), CIFOR Headquarters, Bogor, 16115, Indonesia
| | | | | | - Luca Luiselli
- Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33, I-00144 Rome, Italy
- Department of Applied and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
- Department of Zoology, University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo
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3
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Hacala A, Lafage D, Prinzing A, Sawtschuk J, Pétillon J. Drivers of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversities in dominant ground-dwelling arthropods of coastal heathlands. Oecologia 2021; 197:511-522. [PMID: 34535833 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05032-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although functional and phylogenetic diversities are increasingly used in ecology for a variety of purposes, their relationship remains unclear, and this relationship likely differs among taxa, yet most recent studies focused on plants. We hypothesize that communities may be diverse in functional traits due to presence of: many phylogenetic lineages, trait divergence within lineages, many species and random functional variation among species, weak filtering of traits in favorable environments, or strong trait divergence in unfavorable environments. We tested these predictions for taxa showing higher (ants), or lower (spiders, ground beetles) degrees of competition and niche construction, both of which might decouple functional traits from phylogenetic position or from the environment. Studying > 11,000 individuals and 216 species from coastal heathlands, we estimated functional as minimum spanning trees using traits related to the morphology, feeding habits and dispersal, respectively. Relationships between functional and phylogenetic diversities were overall positive and strong. In ants, this relationship disappeared after accounting for taxonomic diversities and environments, whereas in beetles and spiders taxonomic diversity is related to functional diversity only via increasing phylogenetic diversity. Environmental constraints reduced functional diversity in ants, but affected functional diversity only indirectly via phylogenetic diversity (ground beetles) and taxonomic and then phylogenetic diversity (spiders and ground beetles). Results are consistent with phylogenetic conservatism in traits in spiders and ground beetles. In ants, in contrast, traits appear more phylogenetically neutral with any new species potentially representing a new trait state, tentatively suggesting that competition or niche construction might decouple phylogenetics from trait diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Hacala
- UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, Université de Rennes, 263 Avenue du Gal Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France. .,EA Géoarchitecture: Territoires, Urbanisation, Biodiversité, Environnement, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CS 93837, 29238, Brest Cedex 3, France.
| | - Denis Lafage
- UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, Université de Rennes, 263 Avenue du Gal Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France.,Department of Environmental and Life Sciences/Biology, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden
| | - Andreas Prinzing
- UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, Université de Rennes, 263 Avenue du Gal Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Jérôme Sawtschuk
- EA Géoarchitecture: Territoires, Urbanisation, Biodiversité, Environnement, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CS 93837, 29238, Brest Cedex 3, France
| | - Julien Pétillon
- UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, Université de Rennes, 263 Avenue du Gal Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France
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4
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Nunes SF, Mota-Ferreira M, Sampaio M, Andrade J, Oliveira N, Rebelo R, Rocha R. Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes. Curr Zool 2021; 68:211-219. [PMID: 35355946 PMCID: PMC8962685 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Invasive species are a major threat to island biodiversity, and their eradications have substantially contributed to the conservation of island endemics. However, the consequences of eradications on the trophic ecology of native taxa are largely unexplored. Here, we used the eradication of invasive black rats Rattus rattus and European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus from the Berlenga Island, in the western coast of Portugal, as a whole-ecosystem experiment to investigate the effects of the eradication of invasive mammals on the trophic niche and body dimensions of the island-restricted Berlenga wall lizard Podarcis carbonelli berlengensis over a 2-year period. Our results suggest an expansion of the isotopic niche and an intensification of the sexual dimorphism of the lizard following mammal eradication. Additionally, we found considerable variability in isotopic niche across the island and detected evidence of sex-specific and season-modulated nutritional requirements of this threatened reptile. Our findings support that the eradication of 2 of the planet’s most problematic invasive vertebrates led to changes in the lizard trophic niche and sexual dimorphism in just 2 years. This suggests that the ecological pressures—for example, prey availability and habitat structure—to which lizards are exposed have substantially changed post-eradication. Our study emphasizes the scientific value of island eradications as experiments to address a wide range of ecological questions and adds to the increasing body of evidence supporting substantial conservation gains associated with these restoration interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara F Nunes
- Faculty of Sciences, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
| | - Mário Mota-Ferreira
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1349-017, Portugal
| | - Marta Sampaio
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Joana Andrade
- Sociedade Portuguesa Para o Estudo das Aves, Av. Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, 87, 3° Andar, Lisboa, 1070-062, Portugal
| | - Nuno Oliveira
- Sociedade Portuguesa Para o Estudo das Aves, Av. Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, 87, 3° Andar, Lisboa, 1070-062, Portugal
| | - Rui Rebelo
- Faculty of Sciences, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Rocha
- Faculty of Sciences, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 1349-017, Portugal
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5
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Shipley ON, Kelly JB, Bizzarro JJ, Olin JA, Cerrato RM, Power M, Frisk MG. Evolution of realized Eltonian niches across
Rajidae
species. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Oliver N. Shipley
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York11794USA
| | - Joseph B. Kelly
- Department for Ecology and Evolution Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York11794USA
| | - Joseph J. Bizzarro
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories California State University 8272 Moss Landing Road Moss Landing California95039USA
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystems and Climate University of California, Santa Cruz 110 McAllister Way Santa Cruz California95060USA
| | - Jill A. Olin
- Great Lakes Research Center Michigan Technological University Houghton Michigan49931USA
| | - Robert M. Cerrato
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York11794USA
| | - Michael Power
- Department of Biology University of Waterloo 200 University Avenue West Waterloo OntarioN2L 3G1Canada
| | - Michael G. Frisk
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York11794USA
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Grundler MR, Singhal S, Cowan MA, Rabosky DL. Is genomic diversity a useful proxy for census population size? Evidence from a species-rich community of desert lizards. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:1664-1674. [PMID: 30739375 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Species abundance data are critical for testing ecological theory, but obtaining accurate empirical estimates for many taxa is challenging. Proxies for species abundance can help researchers circumvent time and cost constraints that are prohibitive for long-term sampling. Under simple demographic models, genetic diversity is expected to correlate with census size, such that genome-wide heterozygosity may provide a surrogate measure of species abundance. We tested whether nucleotide diversity is correlated with long-term estimates of abundance, occupancy and degree of ecological specialization in a diverse lizard community from arid Australia. Using targeted sequence capture, we obtained estimates of genomic diversity from 30 species of lizards, recovering an average of 5,066 loci covering 3.6 Mb of DNA sequence per individual. We compared measures of individual heterozygosity to a metric of habitat specialization to investigate whether ecological preference exerts a measurable effect on genetic diversity. We find that heterozygosity is significantly correlated with species abundance and occupancy, but not habitat specialization. Demonstrating the power of genomic sampling, the correlation between heterozygosity and abundance/occupancy emerged from considering just one or two individuals per species. However, genetic diversity does no better at predicting abundance than a single day of traditional sampling in this community. We conclude that genetic diversity is a useful proxy for regional-scale species abundance and occupancy, but a large amount of unexplained variation in heterozygosity suggests additional constraints or a failure of ecological sampling to adequately capture variation in true population size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maggie R Grundler
- Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.,Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Sonal Singhal
- Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.,Department of Biology, CSU Dominguez Hills, Carson, California
| | - Mark A Cowan
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Daniel L Rabosky
- Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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