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Enquist BJ, Erwin D, Savage V, Marquet PA. Scaling approaches and macroecology provide a foundation for assessing ecological resilience in the Anthropocene. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230010. [PMID: 38583479 PMCID: PMC10999275 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
In the Anthropocene, intensifying ecological disturbances pose significant challenges to our predictive capabilities for ecosystem responses. Macroecology-which focuses on emergent statistical patterns in ecological systems-unveils consistent regularities in the organization of biodiversity and ecosystems. These regularities appear in terms of abundance, body size, geographical range, species interaction networks, or the flux of matter and energy. This paper argues for moving beyond qualitative resilience metaphors, such as the 'ball and cup', towards a more quantitative macroecological framework. We suggest a conceptual and theoretical basis for ecological resilience that integrates macroecology with a stochastic diffusion approximation constrained by principles of biological symmetry. This approach provides an alternative novel framework for studying ecological resilience in the Anthropocene. We demonstrate how our framework can effectively quantify the impacts of major disturbances and their extensive ecological ramifications. We further show how biological scaling insights can help quantify the consequences of major disturbances, emphasizing their cascading ecological impacts. The nature of these impacts prompts a re-evaluation of our understanding of resilience. Emphasis on regularities of ecological assemblages can help illuminate resilience dynamics and offer a novel basis to predict and manage the impacts of disturbance in the Anthropocene more efficiently. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J. Enquist
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Arizona, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Doug Erwin
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, MRC-121, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
| | - Van Savage
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Department of Computational Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Pablo A. Marquet
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Valparaíso (ISCV), CP 2340000 Valparaíso, Chile
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciemcias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, CP 8331150, Santiago, Chile
- Centro de Modelamiento Matemático (CMM), Universidad de Chile, International Research Laboratory, 2807, CNRS, CP 8370456 Santiago, Chile
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Wang R, Guragain M, Chitlapilly Dass S, Palanisamy V, Bosilevac JM. Impact of intense sanitization on environmental biofilm communities and the survival of Salmonella enterica at a beef processing plant. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1338600. [PMID: 38435686 PMCID: PMC10906087 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1338600] [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: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. In the meat industry, one action taken to address pathogen contamination incidence is an intense sanitization (IS) of the entire processing plant that many large processors perform annually or semiannually. However, this procedure's immediate and long-term impact on environment microbial community and pathogen colonization are unknown. Here we investigated the impact of IS procedure on environmental biofilms and the subsequent S. enterica colonization and stress tolerance. Environmental samples were collected from floor drains at various areas 1 week before, 1 week, and 4 weeks after the IS procedure at a beef plant with sporadic S. enterica prevalence. Biofilm formation by microorganisms in the drain samples without S. enterica presence was tested under processing temperature. The ability of the biofilms to recruit and/or protect a co-inoculated S. enterica strain from quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) treatment was determined. The community structure of each drain sample was elucidated through 16S rRNA amplicon community sequencing. Post-IS samples collected from 8 drains formed significantly stronger biofilms than the respective pre-IS samples. S. enterica colonization was not different between the pre- and post-IS biofilms at all drain locations. S. enterica survival in QAC-treated pre- and post-IS mixed biofilms varied depending upon the drain location but a higher survival was associated with a stronger biofilm matrix. The 16S rRNA amplicon gene community sequencing results exhibited a decrease in community diversity 1 week after IS treatment but followed by a significant increase 4 weeks after the treatment. The IS procedure also significantly altered the community composition and the higher presence of certain species in the post-IS community may be associated with the stronger mixed biofilm formation and Salmonella tolerance. Our study suggested that the IS procedure might disrupt the existing environmental microbial community and alter the natural population composition, which might lead to unintended consequences as a result of a lack of competition within the multispecies mixture. The survival and recruitment of species with high colonizing capability to the post-IS community may play crucial roles in shaping the ensuing ecological dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Wang
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE, United States
| | - Manita Guragain
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA, United States
| | | | - Vignesh Palanisamy
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Joseph M. Bosilevac
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE, United States
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3
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Peptenatu D, Andronache I, Ahammer H, Radulovic M, Costanza JK, Jelinek HF, Di Ieva A, Koyama K, Grecu A, Gruia AK, Simion AG, Nedelcu ID, Olteanu C, Drăghici CC, Marin M, Diaconu DC, Fensholt R, Newman EA. A new fractal index to classify forest fragmentation and disorder. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 2023; 38:1373-1393. [DOI: 10.1007/s10980-023-01640-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Context
Forest loss and fragmentation pose extreme threats to biodiversity. Their efficient characterization from remotely sensed data therefore has strong practical implications. Data are often separately analyzed for spatial fragmentation and disorder, but no existing metric simultaneously quantifies both the shape and arrangement of fragments.
Objectives
We present a fractal fragmentation and disorder index (FFDI), which advances a previously developed fractal index by merging it with the Rényi information dimension. The FFDI is designed to work across spatial scales, and to efficiently report both the fragmentation of images and their spatial disorder.
Methods
We validate the FFDI with 12,600 synthetic hierarchically structured random map (HRM) multiscale images, as well as several other categories of fractal and non-fractal test images (4880 images). We then apply the FFDI to satellite imagery of forest cover for 10 distinct regions of the Romanian Carpathian Mountains from 2000–2021.
Results
The FFDI outperformed its two individual components (fractal fragmentation index and Rényi information dimension) in resolving spatial patterns of disorder and fragmentation when tested on HRM classes and other image types. The FFDI thus offers a clear advantage when compared to the individual use of fractal fragmentation index and the Information Dimension, and provided good classification performance in an application to real data.
Conclusions
This work improves on previous characterizations of landscape patterns. With the FFDI, scientists will be able to better monitor and understand forest fragmentation from satellite imagery. The FFDI may also find wider applicability in biology wherever image analysis is used.
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Rumschlag SL, Mahon MB, Jones DK, Battaglin W, Behrens J, Bernhardt ES, Bradley P, Brown E, De Laender F, Hill R, Kunz S, Lee S, Rosi E, Schäfer R, Schmidt TS, Simonin M, Smalling K, Voss K, Rohr JR. Density declines, richness increases, and composition shifts in stream macroinvertebrates. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf4896. [PMID: 37134169 PMCID: PMC10156106 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf4896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Documenting trends of stream macroinvertebrate biodiversity is challenging because biomonitoring often has limited spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scopes. We analyzed biodiversity and composition of assemblages of >500 genera, spanning 27 years, and 6131 stream sites across forested, grassland, urban, and agricultural land uses throughout the United States. In this dataset, macroinvertebrate density declined by 11% and richness increased by 12.2%, and insect density and richness declined by 23.3 and 6.8%, respectively, over 27 years. In addition, differences in richness and composition between urban and agricultural versus forested and grassland streams have increased over time. Urban and agricultural streams lost the few disturbance-sensitive taxa they once had and gained disturbance-tolerant taxa. These results suggest that current efforts to protect and restore streams are not sufficient to mitigate anthropogenic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L Rumschlag
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN, USA
| | - Michael B Mahon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Devin K Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - William Battaglin
- Colorado Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Jonny Behrens
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Paul Bradley
- South Atlantic Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Ethan Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Ryan Hill
- Pacific Ecological Systems Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Stefan Kunz
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Sylvia Lee
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Emma Rosi
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA
| | - Ralf Schäfer
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Travis S Schmidt
- Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Helena, MT, USA
| | - Marie Simonin
- Univ Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, F-49000 Angers, France
| | - Kelly Smalling
- New Jersey Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA
| | - Kristofor Voss
- Department of Biology, Regis University, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
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da Silva RB, Dos Santos GAP, de Farias ALL, França DAA, Cavalcante RA, Zanardi-Lamardo E, de Souza JRB, Esteves AM. Effects of PAHs on meiofauna from three estuaries with different levels of urbanization in the South Atlantic. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14407. [PMID: 36518285 PMCID: PMC9744168 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14407] [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: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Estuarine environments are suggested to be the final receivers of human pollution and are impacted by surrounding urbanization and compounds carried by the river waters that flow from the continent. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the contaminants that can reach estuaries and can directly affect marine conservation, being considered highly deleterious to organisms living in these environments. This research investigated the meiofauna of three estuaries exposed to different levels of urbanization and consequently different levels of PAH concentrations, in order to assess how these compounds and environmental factors affect the distribution, structure and diversity of these interstitial invertebrates. A total of 15 major meiofauna groups were identified, with Nematoda being the dominant taxon (74.64%), followed by Copepoda (9.55%) and Polychaeta (8.56%). It was possible to observe significant differences in all diversity indices studied in the estuaries. With the exception of average density, the diversity indices (richness, Shannon index and evenness) were higher in the reference estuary, Goiana estuarine system (GES). On the other hand, the Timbó estuarine system (TES) had the lowest Shannon index value and richness, while the Capibaribe estuarine system (CES) had the lowest evenness value. The latter two estuaries (TES and CES) presented intermediate and high levels of urbanization, respectively. The ecological quality assessment (EcoQ) in the studied estuaries was classified from Poor to Moderate and the estuary with the lowest demographic density in its surroundings, GES, showed a better ecological quality (Moderate EcoQ). A significant distance-based multivariate linear modelling regression (DistLM) was observed between the environmental variables and the density of the meiobenthic community, where PAHs and pH were the main contributors to organism variation. The sediments were characterized by predominance of very fine sand and silt-clay in the most polluted environments, while the control site environment (GES) was dominated by medium grains. The highest concentrations of PAHs were found in the most urbanized estuaries, and directly affected the structure of the interstitial benthic community. The metrics used in the present study proved to be adequate for assessing the environmental quality of the investigated estuaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renan B. da Silva
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Giovanni A. P. Dos Santos
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Ana Luiza L. de Farias
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Débora A. A. França
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Raianne Amorim Cavalcante
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Eliete Zanardi-Lamardo
- Campus Recife, Technology and Geoscience Center, Department of Oceanography, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Jose Roberto Botelho de Souza
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Andre M. Esteves
- Campus Recife, Center for Biosciences, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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Jung M. Predictability and transferability of local biodiversity environment relationships. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13872. [PMID: 36032939 PMCID: PMC9415358 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Biodiversity varies in space and time, and often in response to environmental heterogeneity. Indicators in the form of local biodiversity measures-such as species richness or abundance-are common tools to capture this variation. The rise of readily available remote sensing data has enabled the characterization of environmental heterogeneity in a globally robust and replicable manner. Based on the assumption that differences in biodiversity measures are generally related to differences in environmental heterogeneity, these data have enabled projections and extrapolations of biodiversity in space and time. However so far little work has been done on quantitatively evaluating if and how accurately local biodiversity measures can be predicted. Methods Here I combine estimates of biodiversity measures from terrestrial local biodiversity surveys with remotely-sensed data on environmental heterogeneity globally. I then determine through a cross-validation framework how accurately local biodiversity measures can be predicted within ("predictability") and across similar ("transferability") biodiversity surveys. Results I found that prediction errors can be substantial, with error magnitudes varying between different biodiversity measures, taxonomic groups, sampling techniques and types of environmental heterogeneity characterizations. And although errors associated with model predictability were in many cases relatively low, these results question-particular for transferability-our capability to accurately predict and project local biodiversity measures based on environmental heterogeneity. I make the case that future predictions should be evaluated based on their accuracy and inherent uncertainty, and ecological theories be tested against whether we are able to make accurate predictions from local biodiversity data.
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Rurangwa ML, Niyigaba P, Tobias JA, Whittaker RJ. Functional and phylogenetic diversity of an agricultural matrix avifauna: The role of habitat heterogeneity in Afrotropical farmland. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9024. [PMID: 35822114 PMCID: PMC9259849 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Varied strategies to alleviate the loss of farmland biodiversity have been tested, yet there is still insufficient evidence supporting their effectiveness, especially when considering phylogenetic and functional diversity alongside traditional taxonomic diversity metrics. This conservation challenge is accentuated in the Afrotropics by the rapid agricultural expansion and intensification for the production of cash crops and by a comparative lack of research. In this study, we assessed how farming practices influence avian phylogenetic and functional diversity. We conducted point-count surveys to assess avian diversity in monocultures of tea and mixed crop farming systems surrounding the Nyungwe rainforest in south-west Rwanda, allowing us to investigate the drivers of avian diversity at farm level. Species composition was found to be moderately different between farm types, with mixed crop farms supporting higher phylogenetic diversity than tea plantations. There were no significant seasonal differences in species composition, functional or phylogenetic diversity. Overall, functional diversity did not differ between farm types, but the dispersion of trophic-related traits was significantly higher in mixed crop farms. Both functional and phylogenetic diversity were influenced by floristic diversity, vegetation height, tree number, and elevation to varying degrees. Our results also (i) highlight the role of farmland heterogeneity (e.g., crop species composition, height, and tree cover extent) in encouraging avian functional and phylogenetic diversity in the Afrotropics and (ii) indicate that the generally negative biodiversity impacts of monoculture agriculture can be partially alleviated by extensive agroforestry with an emphasis on indigenous tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Joseph A Tobias
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Berks UK
| | - Robert J Whittaker
- School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK.,Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
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Jarillo J, Cao-García FJ, De Laender F. Spatial and Ecological Scaling of Stability in Spatial Community Networks. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.861537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There are many scales at which to quantify stability in spatial and ecological networks. Local-scale analyses focus on specific nodes of the spatial network, while regional-scale analyses consider the whole network. Similarly, species- and community-level analyses either account for single species or for the whole community. Furthermore, stability itself can be defined in multiple ways, including resistance (the inverse of the relative displacement caused by a perturbation), initial resilience (the rate of return after a perturbation), and invariability (the inverse of the relative amplitude of the population fluctuations). Here, we analyze the scale-dependence of these stability properties. More specifically, we ask how spatial scale (local vs. regional) and ecological scale (species vs. community) influence these stability properties. We find that regional initial resilience is the weighted arithmetic mean of the local initial resiliences. The regional resistance is the harmonic mean of local resistances, which makes regional resistance particularly vulnerable to nodes with low stability, unlike regional initial resilience. Analogous results hold for the relationship between community- and species-level initial resilience and resistance. Both resistance and initial resilience are “scale-free” properties: regional and community values are simply the biomass-weighted means of the local and species values, respectively. Thus, one can easily estimate both stability metrics of whole networks from partial sampling. In contrast, invariability generally is greater at the regional and community-level than at the local and species-level, respectively. Hence, estimating the invariability of spatial or ecological networks from measurements at the local or species level is more complicated, requiring an unbiased estimate of the network (i.e., region or community) size. In conclusion, we find that scaling of stability depends on the metric considered, and we present a reliable framework to estimate these metrics.
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Species richness response to human pressure hides important assemblage transformations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2107361119. [PMID: 35500119 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107361119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceHuman activities are causing biodiversity loss, but there is still strong debate on their effect on species richness. Here, I propose a unification of five trajectories of species richness response to increasing human pressure under the "replace then remove framework." It consists in a first phase of assemblage transformation (with the replacement of "loser" by "winner" species), often followed by a second phase of steep decline in species richness (with the decline of many winner species) when human pressure exceeds a certain threshold. The empirical results presented in this study provide an outstanding illustration of assemblage transformations that may cause biotic homogenization, demonstrating how habitat specialist, endemic, sensitive, and threatened species are replaced by others with increasing human pressure.
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Chen J, Song D, Liu D, Sun J, Wang X, Zhou W, Liang G. Soil Aggregation Shaped the Distribution and Interaction of Bacterial-Fungal Community Based on a 38-Year Fertilization Experiment in China. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:824681. [PMID: 35391728 PMCID: PMC8981921 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.824681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil aggregates provide different ecological niches for microorganisms, and in turn, the microbial interactions affect soil aggregation process. The response of the microbial community in bulk soil to different fertilization regimes has been well studied; however, the co-occurrence patterns of bacteria and fungi in different aggregates under various fertilization regimes remain unclear. Based on the long-term field experiment, we found that fertilization regimes contributed more to fungal than to bacterial community composition. Long-term fertilization decreased microbial interactions in large macroaggregates (LM), macroaggregates (MA) and silt and clay (SC) fractions, but increased in microaggregates (MI). The application of manure with inorganic fertilizers (NPKM) significantly increased the intensive cooperation between bacteria and fungi in LM and MA. Microbial communities in LM and MA were well separated and showed strong competition against microbes in MI and SC; hence, we concluded that the microbial habitat could be divided into two groups, large fractions (LM and MA) and small fractions (MI and SC). The bacterial genera Anaerolinea, Nocardioides, Ohtaekwangia, Geoalkalibacter, Lysobacter, Pedomicrobium, and Flavisolibacter were keystone taxa in inorganic fertilization, and Roseiflexus, Nitrospira, and Blastocatella were keystone taxa in NPKM, which were all sensitive to soil aggregation. In this study, we demonstrated that the NPKM decreased the microbial interactions within and between kingdoms in LM, MA, and SC, but enhanced nutrient availability and microbial interactions in MI, leading to the formation of biofilms and the strengthening of stress tolerance, which finally stimulated the formation and stabilization of soil aggregates. Thus, this study revealed how soil microbial competition or cooperation responded to different fertilization regimes at aggregate scales, and provided evidence for the stimulation of soil stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Chen
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dali Song
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Donghai Liu
- Institute of Plant Protection and Soil Fertility, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Jingwen Sun
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiubin Wang
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Zhou
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guoqing Liang
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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11
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Harrison T, Winfree R, Genung M. Price equations for understanding the response of ecosystem function to community change. Am Nat 2022; 200:181-192. [DOI: 10.1086/720284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1636. [PMID: 35102229 PMCID: PMC8803855 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05616-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The replacement of native forest by cattle pastures reduces functional diversity; however, little is known about whether the changes depend on regional variation. Dung beetles are one of the most diverse and functionally important taxa; through organic matter burial, dung beetles improve soil quality. We collected dung beetles in native forests and cattle ranching areas in subtropical forests with contrasting climatic conditions: the Atlantic Forest, the Humid Chaco, and the Dry Chaco. We measured 11 traits related to the ecology and the physiology of species. Irrespectively of the region, functional richness was higher in forests (native and with cattle) when compared to open pastures. Humid forests (Atlantic Forest and Humid Chaco) showed higher functional richness than Dry Chaco. Functional dispersion in humid forests was similar between native forest and livestock systems, however, functional dispersion in the Dry Chaco was higher in open pastures compared to native forest. According to our results, native forests and forests with cattle maintain functional diversity in all regions. However, in the case of open pastures, the response depends on the regional context; the replacement of native forest by open pastures strongly affected functional diversity in humid forests and showed less impact on dry forest.
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Nava-Díaz R, Zuria I, Pineda-López R. Taxonomic, Phylogenetic and Functional Diversity of Bird Assemblages in Urban Green Spaces: Null Model Analyses, Temporal Variation and Ecological Drivers. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.795913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Urban expansion is a pervasive driver of biodiversity loss. To understand the effects of urbanization on diversity, we investigated the response of bird taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity to urban green spaces’ characteristics in thirty-one green spaces of Mexico City. Selected sites encompassed variation of environmental factors along a transformation gradient, from natural protected areas to landscaped parks. Bird observations were conducted during winter (non-breeding season), spring (dry breeding season), and summer (wet breeding season). We used multi-model inference to assess the relationship of green space area, shape, isolation, tree richness, habitat diversity, and vegetation cover with species richness, Faith’s phylogenetic diversity, and functional richness. We calculated standardized effect sizes from null models to assess phylogenetic and functional structure. We registered 91 species belonging to 28 families across all sites and seasons. The number of detected species was largest in winter and decreased toward the dry breeding season, and then toward the wet breeding season. We found a moderate to strong positive relationship of species richness with phylogenetic diversity and functional richness. Overall, phylogenetic and functional structure of bird communities in green spaces was neither clustered nor over-dispersed. However, few cases of functional clustering, phylogenetic clustering, or both were observed, and they corresponded to natural protected areas. Results showed a predominant role of green space area in determining community diversity and phylogenetic structure while it did not influence functional structure. Contrary to our predictions, habitat diversity had a negative effect on species richness and phylogenetic diversity and this effect was detected only during the wet breeding season, whereas isolation showed a positive relationship with phylogenetic and functional structure, during the wet breeding season and winter, respectively. This study emphasizes the use of complementary measures of diversity together with the comparison between observed and expected values to get a better insight into the mechanisms by which green spaces’ characteristics affect bird diversity across the seasons.
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Greig HS, McHugh PA, Thompson RM, Warburton HJ, McIntosh AR. Habitat size influences community stability. Ecology 2021; 103:e03545. [PMID: 34614210 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Mechanisms linked to demographic, biogeographic, and food-web processes thought to underpin community stability could be affected by habitat size, but the effects of habitat size on community stability remain relatively unknown. We investigated whether those habitat-size-dependent properties influenced community instability and vulnerability to perturbations caused by disturbance. This is particularly important given that human exploitation is contracting ecosystems, and abiotic perturbations are becoming more severe and frequent. We used a perturbation experiment in which 10 streams, spanning three orders of magnitude in habitat size, were subjected to simulated bed movement akin to a major flood disturbance event. We measured the resistance, resilience, and variability of basal resources, and population and community-level responses across the stream habitat-size gradient immediately before, and at 0.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 d post-disturbance. Resistance to disturbance consistently increased with stream size in all response variables. In contrast, resilience was significantly higher in smaller streams for some response variables. However, this higher resilience of small ecosystems was insufficient to compensate for their lower resistance, and communities of smaller streams were thus more variable over time than those of larger streams. Compensatory dynamics of populations, especially for predators, stabilized some aspects of communities, but these mechanisms were unrelated to habitat size. Together, our results provide compelling evidence for the links between habitat size and community stability, and should motivate ecologists and managers to consider how changes in the size of habitats will alter the vulnerability of ecosystems to perturbations caused by environmental disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamish S Greig
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, Maine, 04469, USA
| | - Peter A McHugh
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 3637 Westwind Blvd, Santa Rosa, California, 95403, USA
| | - Ross M Thompson
- Centre for Applied Water Science and Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Kirinari Street, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, 2617, Australia
| | - Helen J Warburton
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
| | - Angus R McIntosh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
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15
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Tinoco BA, Latta SC, Astudillo PX, Nieto A, Graham CH. Temporal stability in species richness but reordering in species abundances within avian assemblages of a tropical Andes conservation hot spot. Biotropica 2021; 53:1673-1684. [PMID: 35874905 PMCID: PMC9293307 DOI: 10.1111/btp.13016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Steven C. Latta
- National Aviary Allegheny Commons West Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA
| | | | - Andrea Nieto
- Escuela de Biología Universidad del Azuay Cuenca Ecuador
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16
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Complex community responses underpin biodiversity change following invasion. Biol Invasions 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-021-02559-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
AbstractHow do invasive species change native biodiversity? One reason why this long-standing question remains challenging to answer could be because the main focus of the invasion literature has been on shifts in species richness (a measure of α-diversity). As the underlying components of community structure—intraspecific aggregation, interspecific density and the species abundance distribution (SAD)—are potentially impacted in different ways during invasion, trends in species richness provide only limited insight into the mechanisms leading to biodiversity change. In addition, these impacts can be manifested in distinct ways at different spatial scales. Here we take advantage of the new Measurement of Biodiversity (MoB) framework to reanalyse data collected in an invasion front in the Brazilian Cerrado biodiversity hotspot. We show that, by using the MoB multi-scale approach, we are able to link reductions in species richness in invaded sites to restructuring in the SAD. This restructuring takes the form of lower evenness in sites invaded by pines relative to sites without pines. Shifts in aggregation also occur. There is a clear signature of spatial scale in biodiversity change linked to the presence of an invasive species. These results demonstrate how the MoB approach can play an important role in helping invasion ecologists, field biologists and conservation managers move towards a more mechanistic approach to detecting and interpreting changes in ecological systems following invasion.
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17
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Chunga-Llauce JA, Pacheco AS. Impacts of earthquakes and tsunamis on marine benthic communities: A review. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 171:105481. [PMID: 34555617 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Marine communities are dynamic and spatially heterogeneous. Earthquakes and tsunamis modulate the structure of marine communities at short and long-term scales. The objective of this review was to evaluate how such disturbances impact the morphodynamics of coastal areas and the dynamics and structure of marine benthic communities from soft and hard bottoms from intertidal, subtidal and deep-sea habitats. The results reveal that earthquakes and tsunamis caused mortality of algae and bivalves by dissection after coastal uplift. Changes on the vertical distribution of nematodes and coral fragmentation were also recorded. Recovery of the marine communities to pre-disturbance state occurred by migration and recolonization of impacted habitats. The meiofaunal organisms recovered quickly, while some communities recovered after three years. Information pre-disturbance is often lacking or covers a short temporal extent. It is important to establish long-term monitoring programs in areas where the likelihood of impact of disturbance of such magnitude is high to understand how marine communities are shaped at geological scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan A Chunga-Llauce
- Escuela Profesional de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru.
| | - Aldo S Pacheco
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
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18
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Nong X, Shao D, Shang Y, Liang J. Analysis of spatio-temporal variation in phytoplankton and its relationship with water quality parameters in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2021; 193:593. [PMID: 34424412 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09391-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China (MRSNWDPC), the longest trans-basin water diversion project in the world, has been in operation for over 6 years. The water quality of this mega hydro-project affects the safety of more than 60 million people and the health of an ecosystem over 160,000 km2. Abnormal algal proliferation can cause water quality deterioration, eutrophication, and hydro-project operation issues. However, few studies have investigated and reported planktonic algae and their relationship with the water quality of this trans-basin water diversion project. Here, spatio-temporal characteristics of algal cell density (ACD) and 11 water quality parameters, including water temperature (WT), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), permanganate index (CODMn), 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), fecal coliforms (F. coli), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), fluoride (F-), and sulfate (SO42-) in the MRSNWDPC from May 2015 to February 2019 were determined using multivariate statistical approaches. Consistent seasonal variation in ACD was observed each year, which grew in spring and then continuously decreased from summer to winter. Summer and winter are the seasons with the highest and lowest ACDs, with average values of 572.95 × 104 cell/L and 157.09 × 104 cell/L, respectively. The NH3-N was positively correlated with ACD growth in all seasons, with Pearson correlation coefficients ranging from 0.594 to 0.738 (P < 0.01). The results of the principal component analysis show that the sources affecting the water quality variation in this project are complex, and NH3-N was the most critical water quality parameter affecting ACD variation, which was linked to ACD in four seasons with strong positive loadings ranging from 0.754 to 0.882, followed by CODMn. The management department of the MRSNWDPC should focus on key periods of phytoplankton control in spring and summer; in addition, variation in the concentrations of NH3-N and CODMn merits special attention. This study provides a helpful reference for the water quality security and algae control strategy of the MRSNWDPC and similar projects in the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xizhi Nong
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Dongguo Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Yuming Shang
- Construction and Administration Bureau of the Middle Route of the South-To-North Water Diversion Project of China, Beijing, 100038, China
| | - Jiankui Liang
- Construction and Administration Bureau of the Middle Route of the South-To-North Water Diversion Project of China, Beijing, 100038, China
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19
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Menezes Pinto Í, Emer C, Cazetta E, Morante-Filho JC. Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.640210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Global biodiversity is threatened by land-use changes through human activities. This is mainly due to the conversion of continuous forests into forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic matrices. In general, sensitive species are lost while species adapted to disturbances succeed in altered environments. However, whether the interactions performed by the persisting species are also modified, and how it scales up to the network level throughout the landscape are virtually unknown in most tropical hotspots of biodiversity. Here we evaluated how landscape predictors (forest cover, total core area, edge density, inter-patch isolation) and local characteristics (fruit availability, vegetation complexity) affected understory birds seed-dispersal networks in 19 forest fragments along the hyperdiverse but highly depauperate northeast distribution of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Also, our sampled sites were distributed in two regions with contrasting land cover changes. We used mist nets to obtain samples of understory bird food contents to identify the plant species consumed and dispersed by them. We estimated network complexity on the basis of the number of interactions, links per species, interaction evenness, and modularity. Our findings showed that the number of interactions increased with the amount of forest cover, and it was significantly lower in the more deforested region. None of the other evaluated parameters were affected by any other landscape or local predictors. We also observed a lack of significant network structure compared to null models, which we attribute to a pervasive impoverishment of bird and plant communities in these highly modified landscapes. Our results demonstrate the importance of forest cover not only to maintain species diversity but also their respective mutualistic relationships, which are the bases for ecosystem functionality, forest regeneration and the provision of ecological services.
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20
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Diaz RM, Ye H, Ernest SKM. Empirical abundance distributions are more uneven than expected given their statistical baseline. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2025-2039. [PMID: 34142760 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Exploring and accounting for the emergent properties of ecosystems as complex systems is a promising horizon in the search for general processes to explain common ecological patterns. For example the ubiquitous hollow-curve form of the species abundance distribution is frequently assumed to reflect ecological processes structuring communities, but can also emerge as a statistical phenomenon from the mathematical definition of an abundance distribution. Although the hollow curve may be a statistical artefact, ecological processes may induce subtle deviations between empirical species abundance distributions and their statistically most probable forms. These deviations may reflect biological processes operating on top of mathematical constraints and provide new avenues for advancing ecological theory. Examining ~22,000 communities, we found that empirical SADs are highly uneven and dominated by rare species compared to their statistical baselines. Efforts to detect deviations may be less informative in small communities-those with few species or individuals-because these communities have poorly resolved statistical baselines. The uneven nature of many empirical SADs demonstrates a path forward for leveraging complexity to understand ecological processes governing the distribution of abundance, while the issues posed by small communities illustrate the limitations of using this approach to study ecological patterns in small samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata M Diaz
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Hao Ye
- Health Science Center Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - S K Morgan Ernest
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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21
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Franzman J, Brush M, Umemura K, Ray C, Blonder B, Harte J. Shifting macroecological patterns and static theory failure in a stressed alpine plant community. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Franzman
- Energy and Resources Group University of California Berkeley California94720USA
| | - Micah Brush
- Department of Physics University of California Berkeley California94720USA
| | - Kaito Umemura
- Energy and Resources Group University of California Berkeley California94720USA
| | - Courtenay Ray
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California Berkeley California94720USA
- School of Life Sciences Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Gothic Colorado USA
| | - Benjamin Blonder
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California Berkeley California94720USA
- School of Life Sciences Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Gothic Colorado USA
- School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - John Harte
- Energy and Resources Group University of California Berkeley California94720USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California Berkeley California94720USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Gothic Colorado USA
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22
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Nordstrom SW, Dykstra AB, Wagenius S. Fires slow population declines of a long-lived prairie plant through multiple vital rates. Oecologia 2021; 196:679-691. [PMID: 34076744 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04955-2] [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: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In grasslands worldwide, modified fire cycles are accelerating herbaceous species extinctions. Fire may avert population declines by increasing survival, reproduction, or both. Survival and growth after fires may be promoted by removal of competitors or biomass and increasing resource availability. Fire-stimulated reproduction may also contribute to population growth through bolstered recruitment. We quantified these influences of fire on population dynamics in Echinacea angustifolia, a perennial forb in North American tallgrass prairie. We first used four datasets, 7-21 years long, to estimate fire's influences on survival, flowering, and recruitment. We then used matrix projection models to estimate growth rates across several burn frequencies in five populations, each with one to four burns over 15 years. Finally, we estimated the contribution of fire-induced changes in each vital rate to changes in population growth. Population growth rates generally increased with burning. The demographic process underpinning these increases depended on juvenile survival. In populations with high juvenile survival, fire-induced increases in seedling recruitment and juvenile survival enhanced population growth. However, in populations with low juvenile survival, small changes in adult survival drove growth rate changes. Regardless of burn frequencies, our models suggest populations are declining and that recruitment and juvenile survival critically influence population response to fire. However, crucially, increased seedling recruitment only increases population growth rates when enough new recruits reach reproductive maturity. The importance of recruitment and juvenile survival is especially relevant for small populations in fragmented habitats subject to mate-limiting Allee effects and inbreeding depression, which reduce recruitment and survival, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott W Nordstrom
- Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL, 60022, USA. .,BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, 3145 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA. .,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, 1900 Pleasant Street, 334 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
| | - Amy B Dykstra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN, 55112, USA
| | - Stuart Wagenius
- Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL, 60022, USA
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23
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Antão LH, Magurran AE, Dornelas M. The Shape of Species Abundance Distributions Across Spatial Scales. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.626730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Species abundance distributions (SADs) describe community structure and are a key component of biodiversity theory and research. Although different distributions have been proposed to represent SADs at different scales, a systematic empirical assessment of how SAD shape varies across wide scale gradients is lacking. Here, we examined 11 empirical large-scale datasets for a wide range of taxa and used maximum likelihood methods to compare the fit of the logseries, lognormal, and multimodal (i.e., with multiple modes of abundance) models to SADs across a scale gradient spanning several orders of magnitude. Overall, there was a higher prevalence of multimodality for larger spatial extents, whereas the logseries was exclusively selected as best fit for smaller areas. For many communities the shape of the SAD at the largest spatial extent (either lognormal or multimodal) was conserved across the scale gradient, despite steep declines in area and taxonomic diversity sampled. Additionally, SAD shape was affected by species richness, but we did not detect a systematic effect of the total number of individuals. Our results reveal clear departures from the predictions of two major macroecological theories of biodiversity for SAD shape. Specifically, neither the Neutral Theory of Biodiversity (NTB) nor the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology (METE) are able to accommodate the variability in SAD shape we encountered. This is highlighted by the inadequacy of the logseries distribution at larger scales, contrary to predictions of the NTB, and by departures from METE expectation across scales. Importantly, neither theory accounts for multiple modes in SADs. We suggest our results are underpinned by both inter- and intraspecific spatial aggregation patterns, highlighting the importance of spatial distributions as determinants of biodiversity patterns. Critical developments for macroecological biodiversity theories remain in incorporating the effect of spatial scale, ecological heterogeneity and spatial aggregation patterns in determining SAD shape.
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24
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Curveira-Santos G, Sutherland C, Tenan S, Fernández-Chacón A, Mann GKH, Pitman RT, Swanepoel LH. Mesocarnivore community structuring in the presence of Africa's apex predator. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202379. [PMID: 33715442 PMCID: PMC7944110 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Apex predator reintroductions have proliferated across southern Africa, yet their ecological effects and proposed umbrella benefits of associated management lack empirical evaluations. Despite a rich theory on top-down ecosystem regulation via mesopredator suppression, a knowledge gap exists relating to the influence of lions (Panthera leo) over Africa's diverse mesocarnivore (less than 20 kg) communities. We investigate how geographical variation in mesocarnivore community richness and occupancy across South African reserves is associated with the presence of lions. An interesting duality emerged: lion reserves held more mesocarnivore-rich communities, yet mesocarnivore occupancy rates and evenness-weighted diversity were lower in the presence of lions. Human population density in the reserve surroundings had a similarly ubiquitous negative effect on mesocarnivore occupancy. The positive association between species richness and lion presence corroborated the umbrella species concept but translated into small differences in community size. Distributional contractions of mesocarnivore species within lion reserves, and potentially corresponding numerical reductions, suggest within-community mesopredator suppression by lions, probably as a result of lethal encounters and responses to a landscape of fear. Our findings offer empirical support for the theoretical understanding of processes underpinning carnivore community assembly and are of conservation relevance under current large-predator orientated management and conservation paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonçalo Curveira-Santos
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes – cE3c, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Chris Sutherland
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Simone Tenan
- National Research Council, Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR), Arsenale, Tesa 104, Castello 2737/F, 30122 Venezia, Italy
| | - Albert Fernández-Chacón
- Centre for Coastal Research, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway
| | - Gareth K. H. Mann
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
| | - Ross T. Pitman
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
| | - Lourens H. Swanepoel
- Department of Zoology, School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences, University of Venda, 0950 Thohoyandou, South Africa
- African Institute for Conservation Ecology, 0929 Levubu, South Africa
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25
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Filgueiras BKC, Peres CA, Melo FPL, Leal IR, Tabarelli M. Winner-Loser Species Replacements in Human-Modified Landscapes. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:545-555. [PMID: 33685660 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Community assembly arguably drives the provision of ecosystem services because they critically depend on which and how species coexist. We examine conspicuous cases of 'winner and loser' replacements (WLRs) in tropical forests to provide a framework integrating drivers, impacts on ecological organization, and reconfiguration of ecosystem service provisioning. Most WLRs involve native species and result from changes in resource availability rather than from altered competition among species. In this context, species dispersal is a powerful force controlling community (re)assembly. Furthermore, replacements imply a nearly complete functional reorganization of assemblages and new 'packages' of ecosystem services and disservices provided by winners. WLRs can thus elucidate the multiple transitions experienced by tropical forests, and have theoretical/applied implications, including the role that human-modified landscapes may play in global-scale sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno K C Filgueiras
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil.
| | - Carlos A Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Felipe P L Melo
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Tabarelli
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil
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26
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Yang JR, Yu X, Chen H, Kuo YM, Yang J. Structural and functional variations of phytoplankton communities in the face of multiple disturbances. J Environ Sci (China) 2021; 100:287-297. [PMID: 33279042 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2020.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The global decline of freshwater biodiversity caused by climate change and human activities are supposed to disrupt ecosystem services related to water quality and alter the structure and function of aquatic communities across space and time, yet the effects of the combination of these factors on plankton community ecosystem has received relatively little attention. This study aimed to explore the impacts of disturbances (e.g. human activity, temperature, precipitation, and water level) on phytoplankton community structure (i.e. community evenness and community composition) and function (i.e. resource use efficiency) in four subtropical reservoirs over 7 years from 2010 to 2016. Our results showed that community turnover (measured as community dissimilarity) was positively related to disturbance frequency, but no significant correlation was found between phytoplankton biodiversity (i.e. evenness) and disturbance frequency. Phytoplankton resource use efficiency (RUE = phytoplankton biomass/ total phosphorus) was increased with a higher frequency of disturbance with an exception of cyanobacteria. The RUE of Cyanobacteria and diatoms showed significantly negative correlations with their community evenness, while the RUE of Chlorophyta exhibited a positive correlation with their community turnover. We suggest that multiple environmental disturbances may play crucial roles in shaping the structure and functioning of plankton communities in subtropical reservoirs, and mechanism of this process can provide key information for freshwater uses, management and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun R Yang
- Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland (Ministry of Education), College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China; Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Xiaoqing Yu
- Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Huihuang Chen
- Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Yi-Ming Kuo
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jun Yang
- Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
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27
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Ontiveros VJ, Capitán JA, Casamayor EO, Alonso D. The characteristic time of ecological communities. Ecology 2021; 102:e03247. [PMID: 33217780 PMCID: PMC7900965 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A simple description of temporal dynamics of ecological communities may help us understand how community assembly proceeds, predict ecological responses to environmental disturbances, and improve the performance of biological conservation actions. Although community changes take place at multiple temporal scales, the variation of species composition and richness over time across communities and habitats shows general patterns that may potentially reveal the main drivers of community dynamics. We used the simplest stochastic model of island biogeography to propose two quantities to characterize community dynamics: the community characteristic time, as a measure of the typical time scale of species‐richness change, and the characteristic Jaccard index, as a measure of temporal β diversity, that is, the variation of community composition over time. In addition, the community characteristic time, which sets the temporal scale at which null, noninteracting species assemblages operate, allowed us to define a relative sampling frequency (to the characteristic time). Here we estimate these quantities across microbial and macroscopic species assemblages to highlight two related results. First, we illustrated both characteristic time and Jaccard index and their relation with classic time‐series in ecology, and found that the most thoroughly sampled communities, relative to their characteristic time, presented the largest similarity between consecutive samples. Second, our analysis across a variety of habitats and taxa show that communities span a large range of species turnover, from potentially very fast (short characteristic times) to rather slow (long characteristic times) communities. This was in agreement with previous knowledge, but indicated that some habitats may have been sampled less frequently than required. Our work provides new perspectives to explore the temporal component in ecological studies and highlights the usefulness of simple approximations to the complex dynamics of ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicente J Ontiveros
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Acces Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes, E-17300, Spain
| | - José A Capitán
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Acces Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes, E-17300, Spain.,Complex Systems Group, Department of Applied Mathematics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Juan de Herrera, 6, Madrid, E-28040, Spain
| | - Emilio O Casamayor
- Integrative Freshwater Ecology Group, Centre of Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Accés Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes, E-17300, Spain
| | - David Alonso
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Acces Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes, E-17300, Spain
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28
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Vieira DC, Gallucci F, Corte GN, Checon HH, Zacagnini Amaral AC, Fonseca G. The relative contribution of non-selection and selection processes in marine benthic assemblages. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 163:105223. [PMID: 33302155 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that the ubiquity of marine meiofaunal nematodes and their indiscriminate passive dispersal create assemblages that are less limited by its environment; whereas the relatively smaller population sizes of macrofauna, associated with their ability to track environmental conditions before settlement, renders their distribution more environmentally-restricted. We compared the empirical distribution of macrofauna and nematode species with that of communities simulated under different assumptions of selection (e.g. environmental filtering) and non-selection (e.g. dispersal limitation) processes. Selection processes were the prime driver of both meio- and macrofauna assemblages, with rare species strongly contributing to this component. The total number of species explained by non-selection processes was 27% higher in nematodes than in macrofauna. Our results underline the importance of a species-level approach to determine the contribution of selection and non-selection assembly processes. Moreover, they highlight the important yet overlooked role of dispersal and stochastic processes in determining species dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Cândido Vieira
- Centro de Estudos Do Mar - Universidade Federal Do Paraná - Caixa Postal 50.002, 83255-000, Pontal Do Paraná, PR, Brazil; Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Av. Dona Ana Costa, 95 - CEP, 11060-001, Santos, SP, Brazil.
| | - Fabiane Gallucci
- Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Av. Dona Ana Costa, 95 - CEP, 11060-001, Santos, SP, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Nascimento Corte
- Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, Praça Do Oceanográfico, 191, São Paulo, SP - CEP, 05508-120, Brazil; Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Cidade Universitária "Zeferino Vaz", CEP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil; Escola Do Mar, Ciência e Tecnologia, Universidade Do Vale Do Itajaí - Rua Uruguai, 458 - CEP 88, 302-202, Itajaí, SC, Brazil
| | - Helio Herminio Checon
- Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, Praça Do Oceanográfico, 191, São Paulo, SP - CEP, 05508-120, Brazil; Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Cidade Universitária "Zeferino Vaz", CEP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Antônia Cecília Zacagnini Amaral
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Cidade Universitária "Zeferino Vaz", CEP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Fonseca
- Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Av. Dona Ana Costa, 95 - CEP, 11060-001, Santos, SP, Brazil
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29
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The Structure of Riparian Vegetation in Agricultural Landscapes Influences Spider Communities and Aquatic-Terrestrial Linkages. WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12102855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Riparian habitats are important ecotones connecting aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, but are often highly degraded by human activities. Riparian buffers might help support impacted riparian communities, and improve trophic connectivity. We sampled spider communities from riparian habitats in an agricultural catchment, and analyzed their polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content to quantify trophic connectivity. Specific PUFAs are exclusively produced by stream algae, and thus are used to track uptake of aquatic resources by terrestrial consumers. Riparian spiders were collected from 10 site pairs situated along agricultural streams, and from five forest sites (25 sites total). Each agricultural site pair comprised an unshaded site with predominantly herbaceous vegetation cover, and a second with a woody riparian buffer. Spider communities differed between site types, with web-building spiders dominating woody buffered sites and free-living spiders associated with more open habitats. PUFA concentrations were greatest overall in free-living spiders, but there was also evidence for increased PUFA uptake by some spider groups when a woody riparian buffer was present. Our results reveal the different roles of open and wooded riparian habitats in supporting terrestrial consumers and aquatic-terrestrial connectivity, and highlight the value of incorporating patches of woody vegetation within riparian networks in highly modified landscapes.
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30
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Schratzberger M, Somerfield PJ. Effects of widespread human disturbances in the marine environment suggest a new agenda for meiofauna research is needed. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 728:138435. [PMID: 32570325 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The response of an ecological community to a disturbance event, and its capacity to recover, are of major interest to ecologists, especially at a time of increasing frequencies and intensities of environmental change brought about by humans. Meiofauna, a group of small-sized organisms, are an abundant and ubiquitous component of seafloor communities that respond rapidly to environmental change. We summarise the available research on the response of metazoan meiofauna to the most widespread anthropogenic disturbances in the marine environment, including bottom fishing, the introduction of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change. We show that disturbance effects on habitats interact critically with effects on resident meiofauna species. Their responses are consistent with competitive replacement, where disparate disturbance effects on competing species drive shifts in dominance and intra- and interspecific interactions. The widespread replacement of habitat-specific ecological specialists by broadly-adapted ecological generalists and opportunists results in biotic and functional homogenisation of once disparate biotas. Anthropogenic disturbances may facilitate novel interactions among meiofauna species, and between meiofauna and other benthic organisms, but the number and breadth of these interactions is likely to be limited. Knowledge about the dependence of meiofauna species on their environment and on other benthic species has been growing. Future studies will be most meaningful if this knowledge is expanded alongside understanding the potential of locally adapted species to respond to shifts in environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Schratzberger
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom; Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
| | - Paul J Somerfield
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth PL1 3DH, United Kingdom
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31
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Habitat Models of Focal Species Can Link Ecology and Decision-Making in Sustainable Forest Management. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11070721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental problem of sustainability is how to reduce the double complexity of ecological and social systems into simple operational terms. We highlight that the conservation concept of focal species (selected species sensitive to a set of anthropogenic threats to their habitat) links multiple issues of ecological sustainability, and their habitat models can provide a practical tool for solving these issues. A review of the literature shows that most spatial modeling of focal species focuses on vertebrates, lacks the aspect of aquatic and soil habitats, and has been slow in the uptake by actual management planning. We elaborate on a deductive modeling approach that first generalizes the main influential dimensions of habitat change (threats), which are then parameterized as habitat quality estimates for focal species. If built on theoretical understanding and properly scaled, the maps produced with such models can cost-effectively describe the dynamics of ecological qualities across forest landscapes, help set conservation priorities, and reflect on management plans and practices. The models also serve as ecological hypotheses on biodiversity and landscape function. We illustrate this approach based on recent additions to the forest reserve network in Estonia, which addressed the insufficient protection of productive forest types. For this purpose, mostly former production forests that may require restoration were set aside. We distinguished seven major habitat dimensions and their representative taxa in these forests and depicted each dimension as a practical stand-scale decision tree of habitat quality. The model outcomes implied that popular stand-structural targets of active forest restoration would recover passively in reasonable time in these areas, while a critically degraded condition (loss of old trees of characteristic species) required management beyond reserve borders. Another hidden issue revealed was that only a few stands of consistently low habitat quality concentrated in the landscape to allow cost-efficient restoration planning. We conclude that useful habitat models for sustainable forest management have to balance single-species realism with stakeholder expectations of meaningful targets and scales. Addressing such social aspects through the focal species concept could accelerate the adoption of biodiversity distribution modeling in forestry.
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32
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Filazzola A, Brown C, Dettlaff MA, Batbaatar A, Grenke J, Bao T, Peetoom Heida I, Cahill JF. The effects of livestock grazing on biodiversity are multi-trophic: a meta-analysis. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1298-1309. [PMID: 32369874 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Anthropogenic disturbance has generated a significant loss of biodiversity worldwide and grazing by domestic herbivores is a contributing disturbance. Although the effects of grazing on plants are commonly explored, here we address the potential multi-trophic effects on animal biodiversity (e.g. herbivores, pollinators and predators). We conducted a meta-analysis on 109 independent studies that tested the response of animals or plants to livestock grazing relative to livestock excluded. Across all animals, livestock exclusion increased abundance and diversity, but these effects were greatest for trophic levels directly dependent on plants, such as herbivores and pollinators. Detritivores were the only trophic level whose abundance decreased with livestock exclusion. We also found that the number of years since livestock was excluded influenced the community and that the effects of grazer exclusion on animal diversity were strongest in temperate climates. These findings synthesise the effects of livestock grazing beyond plants and demonstrate the indirect impacts of livestock grazing on multiple trophic levels in the animal community. We identified the potentially long-term impacts that livestock grazing can have on lower trophic levels and consequences for biological conservation. We also highlight the potentially inevitable cost to global biodiversity from livestock grazing that must be balanced against socio-economic benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Filazzola
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Charlotte Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Margarete A Dettlaff
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Amgaa Batbaatar
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Jessica Grenke
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Tan Bao
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Isaac Peetoom Heida
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - James F Cahill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
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33
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Temperature-related biodiversity change across temperate marine and terrestrial systems. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:927-933. [PMID: 32367031 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Climate change is reshaping global biodiversity as species respond to changing temperatures. However, the net effects of climate-driven species redistribution on local assemblage diversity remain unknown. Here, we relate trends in species richness and abundance from 21,500 terrestrial and marine assemblage time series across temperate regions (23.5-60.0° latitude) to changes in air or sea surface temperature. We find a strong coupling between biodiversity and temperature changes in the marine realm, where species richness mostly increases with warming. However, biodiversity responses are conditional on the baseline climate, such that in initially warmer locations richness increase is more pronounced while abundance declines with warming. In contrast, we do not detect systematic temperature-related richness or abundance trends on land, despite a greater magnitude of warming. As the world is committed to further warming, substantial challenges remain in maintaining local biodiversity amongst the non-uniform inflow and outflow of 'climate migrants'. Temperature-driven community restructuring is especially evident in the ocean, whereas climatic debt may be accumulating on land.
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34
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Blowes SA, Supp SR, Antão LH, Bates A, Bruelheide H, Chase JM, Moyes F, Magurran A, McGill B, Myers-Smith IH, Winter M, Bjorkman AD, Bowler DE, Byrnes JEK, Gonzalez A, Hines J, Isbell F, Jones HP, Navarro LM, Thompson PL, Vellend M, Waldock C, Dornelas M. The geography of biodiversity change in marine and terrestrial assemblages. Science 2020; 366:339-345. [PMID: 31624208 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw1620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Human activities are fundamentally altering biodiversity. Projections of declines at the global scale are contrasted by highly variable trends at local scales, suggesting that biodiversity change may be spatially structured. Here, we examined spatial variation in species richness and composition change using more than 50,000 biodiversity time series from 239 studies and found clear geographic variation in biodiversity change. Rapid compositional change is prevalent, with marine biomes exceeding and terrestrial biomes trailing the overall trend. Assemblage richness is not changing on average, although locations exhibiting increasing and decreasing trends of up to about 20% per year were found in some marine studies. At local scales, widespread compositional reorganization is most often decoupled from richness change, and biodiversity change is strongest and most variable in the oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane A Blowes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany. .,Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Computer Science, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Sarah R Supp
- Data Analytics Program, Denison University, Granville, OH, USA.
| | - Laura H Antão
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK.,Department of Biology and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.,Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Amanda Bates
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Helge Bruelheide
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.,Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Jonathan M Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.,Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Computer Science, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Faye Moyes
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
| | - Anne Magurran
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
| | - Brian McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA
| | | | - Marten Winter
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anne D Bjorkman
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Diana E Bowler
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jarrett E K Byrnes
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Andrew Gonzalez
- Department of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jes Hines
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.,Leipzig University, Institute of Biology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Holly P Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Laetitia M Navarro
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.,Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Patrick L Thompson
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Mark Vellend
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Conor Waldock
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK & Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK.
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35
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Catano CP, Fristoe TS, LaManna JA, Myers JA. Local species diversity, β-diversity and climate influence the regional stability of bird biomass across North America. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192520. [PMID: 32126951 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Biodiversity often stabilizes aggregate ecosystem properties (e.g. biomass) at small spatial scales. However, the importance of species diversity within communities and variation in species composition among communities (β-diversity) for stability at larger scales remains unclear. Using a continental-scale analysis of 1657 North American breeding-bird communities spanning 20-years and 35 ecoregions, we show local species diversity and β-diversity influence two components of regional stability: local stability (stability of bird biomass within sites) and spatial asynchrony (asynchronous fluctuations in biomass among sites). We found spatial asynchrony explained three times more variation in regional stability of bird biomass than did local stability. This result contrasts with studies at smaller spatial scales-typically plant metacommunities under 1 ha-that find local stability to be more important than spatial asynchrony. Moreover, spatial asynchrony of bird biomass increased with bird β-diversity and climate heterogeneity (temperature and precipitation), while local stability increased with species diversity. Our study reveals new insights into the scale-dependent processes regulating ecosystem stability, providing evidence that both local biodiversity loss and homogenization can destabilize ecosystem processes at biogeographic scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P Catano
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Trevor S Fristoe
- Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Joseph A LaManna
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA
| | - Jonathan A Myers
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA
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36
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Newman EA, Wilber MQ, Kopper KE, Moritz MA, Falk DA, McKenzie D, Harte J. Disturbance macroecology: a comparative study of community structure metrics in a high‐severity disturbance regime. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Erica A. Newman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
| | - Mark Q. Wilber
- Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California 93106 USA
| | - Karen E. Kopper
- North Cascades National Park 7280 Ranger Station Road Marblemount Washington 98267 USA
| | - Max A. Moritz
- Agriculture and Natural Resources Division University of California Cooperative Extension Santa Barbara California USA
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California at Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California 93106 USA
| | - Donald A. Falk
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
| | - Don McKenzie
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences University of Washington Anderson Hall Seattle Washington 98195 USA
| | - John Harte
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California at Berkeley 130 Mulford Hall Berkeley California 94720 USA
- Energy and Resources Group University of California at Berkeley 310 Barrows Hall Berkeley California 94720 USA
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37
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Blowes SA, Chase JM, Di Franco A, Frid O, Gotelli NJ, Guidetti P, Knight TM, May F, McGlinn DJ, Micheli F, Sala E, Belmaker J. Mediterranean marine protected areas have higher biodiversity via increased evenness, not abundance. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shane A. Blowes
- School of Zoology George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Department of Computer Science Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Salle) Germany
| | - Jonathan M. Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Department of Computer Science Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Salle) Germany
| | - Antonio Di Franco
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Dipartimento Ecologia Marina Integrata Sede Interdipartimentale della Sicilia Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo (complesso Roosevelt) Palermo Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare CoNISMa Rome Italy
- Université Côte d’Azur CNRSUMR 7035 ECOSEAS Nice France
| | - Ori Frid
- School of Zoology George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
| | | | - Paolo Guidetti
- Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare CoNISMa Rome Italy
- Université Côte d’Azur CNRSUMR 7035 ECOSEAS Nice France
| | - Tiffany M. Knight
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
- Department of Community Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research‐ UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Felix May
- Leuphana Universität Lüneburg Lüneburg Germany
| | | | - Fiorenza Micheli
- Hopkins Marine Station and Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions Pacific Grove CA USA
| | - Enric Sala
- National Geographic Society Washington DC USA
| | - Jonathan Belmaker
- School of Zoology George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural HistoryTel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
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38
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Kortz AR, Magurran AE. Increases in local richness (α-diversity) following invasion are offset by biotic homogenization in a biodiversity hotspot. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190133. [PMID: 31088282 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The world's ecosystems are experiencing unparalleled rates of biodiversity change, with invasive species implicated as one of the drivers that restructure local assemblages. Here we focus on the processes leading to biodiversity change in a biodiversity hotspot, the Brazilian Cerrado. The null expectation that invasion leads to increase in local species richness is supported by our investigation of the grass layer in two key habitats (campo sujo and campo úmido). Our analysis uncovered a linear relationship between total richness and invasive richness at the plot level. However, because the invasive species-even though few in number-are widespread, their contribution to local richness (α-diversity) is offset by their homogenizing influence on composition (β-diversity). We thus identify a mechanism that can help explain the paradox that species richness is not declining in many local assemblages, yet compositional change is exceeding the predictions of ecological theory. As such, our results emphasize the importance of quantifying both α-diversity and β-diversity in assessments of biodiversity change in the contemporary world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra R Kortz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews , Fife KY16 9TH , UK
| | - Anne E Magurran
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews , Fife KY16 9TH , UK
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39
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Impacts of past abrupt land change on local biodiversity globally. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5474. [PMID: 31792206 PMCID: PMC6888856 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13452-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abrupt land change, such as deforestation or agricultural intensification, is a key driver of biodiversity change. Following abrupt land change, local biodiversity often continues to be influenced through biotic lag effects. However, current understanding of how terrestrial biodiversity is impacted by past abrupt land changes is incomplete. Here we show that abrupt land change in the past continues to influence present species assemblages globally. We combine geographically and taxonomically broad data on local biodiversity with quantitative estimates of abrupt land change detected within time series of satellite imagery from 1982 to 2015. Species richness and abundance were 4.2% and 2% lower, respectively, and assemblage composition was altered at sites with an abrupt land change compared to unchanged sites, although impacts differed among taxonomic groups. Biodiversity recovered to levels comparable to unchanged sites after >10 years. Ignoring delayed impacts of abrupt land changes likely results in incomplete assessments of biodiversity change. Abrupt land changes may have long-lasting effects on local biodiversity. Here, Jung et al. show that past abrupt land change reduces species richness and abundance, and alters assemblage composition, with recovery often taking more than 10 years.
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40
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Narwani A, Reyes M, Pereira AL, Penson H, Dennis SR, Derrer S, Spaak P, Matthews B. Interactive effects of foundation species on ecosystem functioning and stability in response to disturbance. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191857. [PMID: 31615363 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in ecology is to understand determinants of ecosystem functioning and stability in the face of disturbance. Some important species can strongly shape community structure and ecosystem functioning, but their impacts and interactions on ecosystem-level responses to disturbance are less well known. Shallow ponds provide a model system in which to study the effects of such species because some taxa mitigate transitions between alternative ecosystem states caused by eutrophication. We performed pond experiments to test how two foundation species (a macrophyte and a mussel) affected the biomass of planktonic primary producers and its stability in response to nutrient additions. Individually, each species reduced phytoplankton biomass and tended to increase rates of recovery from disturbance, but together the species reversed these effects, particularly with larger nutrient additions. This reversal was mediated by high cyanobacterial dominance of the community and a resulting loss of trait evenness. Effects of the foundation species on primary producer biomass were associated with effects on other ecosystem properties, including turbidity and dissolved oxygen. Our work highlights the important role of foundation species and their interactive effects in determining responses of ecosystem functioning to disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Narwani
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Marta Reyes
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Aaron Louis Pereira
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Hannele Penson
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Stuart R Dennis
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Samuel Derrer
- Department of Vocational Education and Training, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Piet Spaak
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Blake Matthews
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.,Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Eawag, Seestrasse 79, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
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41
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Mills DR, Do Linh San E, Robinson H, Isoke S, Slotow R, Hunter L. Competition and specialization in an African forest carnivore community. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:10092-10108. [PMID: 31624540 PMCID: PMC6787825 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Globally, human activities have led to the impoverishment of species assemblages and the disruption of ecosystem function. Determining whether this poses a threat to future ecosystem stability necessitates a thorough understanding of mechanisms underpinning community assembly and niche selection. Here, we tested for niche segregation within an African small carnivore community in Kibale National Park, Uganda. We used occupancy modeling based on systematic camera trap surveys and fine-scale habitat measures, to identify opposing preferences between closely related species (cats, genets, and mongooses). We modeled diel activity patterns using kernel density functions and calculated the overlap of activity periods between related species. We also used co-occupancy modeling and activity overlap analyses to test whether African golden cats Caracal aurata influenced the smaller carnivores along the spatial and/or temporal axes. There was some evidence that related species segregated habitat and activity patterns. Specialization was particularly strong among forest species. The cats and genets partitioned habitat, while the mongooses partitioned both habitat and activity period. We found little evidence for interference competition between African golden cats and other small carnivores, although weak interference competition was suggested by lower detection probabilities of some species at stations where African golden cats were present. This suggests that community assembly and coexistence in this ecosystem are primarily driven by more complex processes. The studied carnivore community contains several forest specialists, which are typically more prone to localized extinction. Preserving the observed community assemblage will therefore require the maintenance of a large variety of habitats, with a particular focus on those required by the more specialized carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R. Mills
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of Kwazulu‐NatalDurbanSouth Africa
- PantheraNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | | | - Hugh Robinson
- PantheraNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Wildlife Biology Program, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and ConservationUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
| | - Sam Isoke
- Wildlife Conservation SocietyKampalaUganda
| | - Rob Slotow
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of Kwazulu‐NatalDurbanSouth Africa
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Luke Hunter
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of Kwazulu‐NatalDurbanSouth Africa
- PantheraNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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42
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Newman EA, Kennedy MC, Falk DA, McKenzie D. Scaling and Complexity in Landscape Ecology. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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43
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The effects of grassland ecosystem afforestation on avian phylogenetic diversity, taxonomic diversity and evolutionary distinctiveness. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2019.103449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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44
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Guégan JF, de Thoisy B, Ayouba A, Cappelle J. [Tropical forests, changes in land uses and emerging infectious hazards]. SANTE PUBLIQUE 2019; S1:91-106. [PMID: 31210496 DOI: 10.3917/spub.190.0091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Tropical forests have the greatest biodiversity in macroorganisms on the planet, and they are also the richest in myriads of microorganisms for which so little is known today. Over the last 50 years, many of these microbial forms, that are naturally embedded into wildlife or the environment, e.g. soil, water, have revealed to be more or less dangerous pathogens for people exposed to these new natural threats, i.e. emerging infectious diseases. Here, we discuss about the extraordinary diversity of microorganisms that are present in tropical rainforests. We first present the main global distribution patterns for microbial forms at the interface between tropical wildlife and human, and second we provide an epidemiological picture on how microbial transmission from wild animals or the environment to people operates in tropical areas through four case-studies. We examine the animal hosts or environment, and transmission mechanisms involved in spillover of zoonotic or environmentally-persistent microbes, and identify land-use changes through deforestation for the development of agriculture, and contacts with wildlife notably through bush meat hunting as major drivers that facilitate mixing of diverse animal hosts and their microbial communities with human during practices. With an increase of deforestation in the tropics and more contacts between wildlife and people, new emerging disease events with high epidemic and pandemic potential will happen, that should guide new health policies and strategies at the global scale.
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45
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Chase JM, McGill BJ, Thompson PL, Antão LH, Bates AE, Blowes SA, Dornelas M, Gonzalez A, Magurran AE, Supp SR, Winter M, Bjorkman AD, Bruelheide H, Byrnes JEK, Cabral JS, Elahi R, Gomez C, Guzman HM, Isbell F, Myers‐Smith IH, Jones HP, Hines J, Vellend M, Waldock C, O'Connor M. Species richness change across spatial scales. OIKOS 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M. Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscherplatz 5e DE‐04103 Leipzig Germany
- Dept of Computer Sciences, Martin Luther Univ. ‐Halle‐Wittenberg Halle Germany
| | - Brian J. McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology & Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, Univ. of Maine Orono ME USA
| | - Patrick L. Thompson
- Biodiversity Research Centre and Dept of Zoology, Univ. of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Laura H. Antão
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Univ. of St Andrews St Andrews Scotland UK
- Dept of Biology and CESAM, Univ de Aveiro Portugal
| | - Amanda E. Bates
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Univ. of St Andrews St Andrews Scotland UK
- Dept of Ocean Sciences, Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland St. John's NF Canada
| | - Shane A. Blowes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscherplatz 5e DE‐04103 Leipzig Germany
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Univ. of St Andrews St Andrews Scotland UK
| | - Andrew Gonzalez
- Dept of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University Montreal QC Canada
| | - Anne E. Magurran
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Univ. of St Andrews St Andrews Scotland UK
| | - Sarah R. Supp
- Data Analytics Program, Denison Univ Granville OH USA
| | - Marten Winter
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscherplatz 5e DE‐04103 Leipzig Germany
| | - Anne D. Bjorkman
- Group for Informatics and Biodiversity, Dept of Bioscience, Aarhus Univ Aarhus Denmark
| | - Helge Bruelheide
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscherplatz 5e DE‐04103 Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther Univ Halle‐Wittenberg Halle, (Saale) Germany
| | | | - Juliano Sarmento Cabral
- Ecosystem Modeling, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology (CCTB), Faculty of Biology, Univ. of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Robin Elahi
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford Univ Pacific Grove CA USA
| | - Catalina Gomez
- Smithsonian Tropical Res. Inst Panama Republic of Panama
- Dept of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill Univ Montreal QC Canada
| | | | - Forest Isbell
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Univ.y of Minnesota Twin Cities Saint Paul MN USA
| | | | - Holly P. Jones
- Dept of Biological Sciences and Inst. for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy, Northern Illinois Univ DeKalb IL USA
| | - Jes Hines
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscherplatz 5e DE‐04103 Leipzig Germany
| | - Mark Vellend
- Dépt de Biologie, Univ. de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke QC Canada
| | - Conor Waldock
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Univ. of Southampton Southampton England UK
| | - Mary O'Connor
- Biodiversity Research Centre and Dept of Zoology, Univ. of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
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46
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Dornelas M, Gotelli NJ, Shimadzu H, Moyes F, Magurran AE, McGill BJ. A balance of winners and losers in the Anthropocene. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:847-854. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 11/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity and Scottish Oceans Institute School of Biology University of St Andrews St Andrews FifeKY16 9TH UK
| | | | - Hideyasu Shimadzu
- Department of Mathematical Sciences Loughborough University Loughborough LeicestershireLE11 3TU UK
| | - Faye Moyes
- Centre for Biological Diversity and Scottish Oceans Institute School of Biology University of St Andrews St Andrews FifeKY16 9TH UK
| | - Anne E. Magurran
- Centre for Biological Diversity and Scottish Oceans Institute School of Biology University of St Andrews St Andrews FifeKY16 9TH UK
| | - Brian J. McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology Sustainability Solutions Initiative University of Maine Orono ME04469 USA
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47
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Haghkerdar JM, McLachlan JR, Ireland A, Greig HS. Repeat disturbances have cumulative impacts on stream communities. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:2898-2906. [PMID: 30891224 PMCID: PMC6405533 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Revised: 12/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change has altered disturbance regimes in many ecosystems, and predictions show that these trends are likely to continue. The frequency of disturbance events plays a particularly important role in communities by selecting for disturbance-tolerant taxa.However, ecologists have yet to disentangle the influence of disturbance frequency per se and time since last disturbance, because more frequently disturbed systems have also usually been disturbed more recently. Our understanding of the effects of repeated disturbances is therefore confounded by differences in successional processes.We used in-situ stream mesocosms to isolate and examine the effect of disturbance frequency on community composition. We applied substrate moving disturbances at five frequencies, with the last disturbance occurring on the same day across all treatments. Communities were then sampled after a recovery period of 9 days.Macroinvertebrate community composition reflected the gradient of disturbance frequency driven by differential vulnerability of taxa to disturbance. Diversity metrics, including family-level richness, decreased, reflecting a likely loss of functional diversity with increasing disturbance frequency. In contrast, overall abundance was unaffected by disturbance frequency as rapid recovery of the dominant taxon compensated for strong negative responses of disturbance-vulnerable taxa.We show that cumulative effects of repeated disturbances-not just the time communities have had to recover before sampling-alter communities, especially by disproportionately affecting rare taxa. Thus, the timing of past disturbances can have knock-on effects that determine how a system will respond to further change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica M. Haghkerdar
- School of Biology and EcologyUniversity of MaineOronoMaine
- Centre for Biological DiversityUniversity of St AndrewsSt AndrewsUK
| | - Jack R. McLachlan
- School of Biology and EcologyUniversity of MaineOronoMaine
- Ecology and Environmental Sciences ProgramUniversity of MaineOronoMaine
| | - Alexis Ireland
- School of Biology and EcologyUniversity of MaineOronoMaine
| | - Hamish S. Greig
- School of Biology and EcologyUniversity of MaineOronoMaine
- Ecology and Environmental Sciences ProgramUniversity of MaineOronoMaine
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48
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Elevation shapes the reassembly of Anthropocene lizard communities. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:638-646. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0819-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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49
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Changes in species richness and composition of boreal waterbird communities: a comparison between two time periods 25 years apart. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1725. [PMID: 30741959 PMCID: PMC6370776 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38167-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Global measures of biodiversity indicate consistent decline, but trends reported for local communities are more varied. Therefore, we need better understanding of mechanisms that drive changes in diversity of local communities and of differences in temporal trends between components of local diversity, such as species richness and species turnover rate. Freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to multiple stressors, and severe impacts on their biodiversity have been documented. We studied species richness and composition of local boreal waterbird communities in 1990/1991 and 2016 at 58 lakes distributed over six regions in Finland and Sweden. The study lakes represented not only local trophic gradients but also a latitudinal gradient in the boreal biome. While species richness tended to be lower in 2016 than in 1990/1991, species turnover was relatively high. Within foraging guilds, local species richness of diving ducks and surface feeding waterbirds decreased, whereas that of large herbivores increased. The number of species gained in local communities was higher in lakes with rich vegetation than in lakes with sparse vegetation. Conservation of boreal freshwater ecosystems would benefit from recognizing that large-scale environmental changes can affect local diversity via processes operating at finer scales.
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50
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Kluever BM, Smith TN, Gese EM. Group effects of a non‐native plant invasion on rodent abundance. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bryan M. Kluever
- United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center Florida Field Station Gainesville Florida 32641‐6033 USA
| | - Trinity N. Smith
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan Utah 84322‐5230 USA
| | - Eric M. Gese
- United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center Utah State University Department of Wildland Resources Logan Utah 84322‐5230 USA
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