1
|
Watling JI, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Pfeifer M, Baeten L, Banks-Leite C, Cisneros LM, Fang R, Hamel-Leigue AC, Lachat T, Leal IR, Lens L, Possingham HP, Raheem DC, Ribeiro DB, Slade EM, Urbina-Cardona JN, Wood EM, Fahrig L. Support for the habitat amount hypothesis from a global synthesis of species density studies. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:674-681. [PMID: 32043741 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Decades of research suggest that species richness depends on spatial characteristics of habitat patches, especially their size and isolation. In contrast, the habitat amount hypothesis predicts that (1) species richness in plots of fixed size (species density) is more strongly and positively related to the amount of habitat around the plot than to patch size or isolation; (2) habitat amount better predicts species density than patch size and isolation combined, (3) there is no effect of habitat fragmentation per se on species density and (4) patch size and isolation effects do not become stronger with declining habitat amount. Data on eight taxonomic groups from 35 studies around the world support these predictions. Conserving species density requires minimising habitat loss, irrespective of the configuration of the patches in which that habitat is contained.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James I Watling
- Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, 44118, USA
| | - Victor Arroyo-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
| | - Lander Baeten
- Department of Environment, Ghent University, Campus Gontrode, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Cristina Banks-Leite
- Grand Challenges in Ecosystems and Environment, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
| | - Laura M Cisneros
- Department of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06249, USA
| | - Rebecca Fang
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, 44118, USA
| | - A Caroli Hamel-Leigue
- Museo de Historia Natural Alcides d'Orbigny, Avenida Potosí 1458, Cochabamba, Bolivia
| | - Thibault Lachat
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zurcherstrasse 11, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.,School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, 3052, Zollikofen, Switzerland
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50670-901, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Luc Lens
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, Campus Ledeganck, BE-9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hugh P Possingham
- Centre for Excellence for Environmental Decisions, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Dinarzarde C Raheem
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| | - Danilo B Ribeiro
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso de Sul, 79070-900, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - Eleanor M Slade
- Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
| | | | - Eric M Wood
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA
| | - Lenore Fahrig
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Presley
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Laura M Cisneros
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Brian T Klingbeil
- School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Michael R Willig
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Presley SJ, Cisneros LM, Higgins CL, Klingbeil BT, Scheiner SM, Willig MR. Phylogenetic and functional underdispersion in Neotropical phyllostomid bat communities. Biotropica 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven J. Presley
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269‐4210 USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269‐3043 USA
| | - Laura M. Cisneros
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269‐4210 USA
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Connecticut 1376 Storrs Road Storrs CT 06269‐4087 USA
| | | | - Brian T. Klingbeil
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269‐4210 USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269‐3043 USA
| | - Samuel M. Scheiner
- Division of Environmental Biology National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington VA 22230 USA
| | - Michael R. Willig
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269‐4210 USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269‐3043 USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Cisneros LM, Fagan ME, Willig MR. Environmental and spatial drivers of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic characteristics of bat communities in human-modified landscapes. PeerJ 2016; 4:e2551. [PMID: 27761338 PMCID: PMC5068362 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Assembly of species into communities following human disturbance (e.g., deforestation, fragmentation) may be governed by spatial (e.g., dispersal) or environmental (e.g., niche partitioning) mechanisms. Variation partitioning has been used to broadly disentangle spatial and environmental mechanisms, and approaches utilizing functional and phylogenetic characteristics of communities have been implemented to determine the relative importance of particular environmental (or niche-based) mechanisms. Nonetheless, few studies have integrated these quantitative approaches to comprehensively assess the relative importance of particular structuring processes. Methods We employed a novel variation partitioning approach to evaluate the relative importance of particular spatial and environmental drivers of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of bat communities in a human-modified landscape in Costa Rica. Specifically, we estimated the amount of variation in species composition (taxonomic structure) and in two aspects of functional and phylogenetic structure (i.e., composition and dispersion) along a forest loss and fragmentation gradient that are uniquely explained by landscape characteristics (i.e., environment) or space to assess the importance of competing mechanisms. Results The unique effects of space on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure were consistently small. In contrast, landscape characteristics (i.e., environment) played an appreciable role in structuring bat communities. Spatially-structured landscape characteristics explained 84% of the variation in functional or phylogenetic dispersion, and the unique effects of landscape characteristics significantly explained 14% of the variation in species composition. Furthermore, variation in bat community structure was primarily due to differences in dispersion of species within functional or phylogenetic space along the gradient, rather than due to differences in functional or phylogenetic composition. Discussion Variation among bat communities was related to environmental mechanisms, especially niche-based (i.e., environmental) processes, rather than spatial mechanisms. High variation in functional or phylogenetic dispersion, as opposed to functional or phylogenetic composition, suggests that loss or gain of niche space is driving the progressive loss or gain of species with particular traits from communities along the human-modified gradient. Thus, environmental characteristics associated with landscape structure influence functional or phylogenetic aspects of bat communities by effectively altering the ways in which species partition niche space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Cisneros
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut , Storrs , CT , United States
| | - Matthew E Fagan
- Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County , Baltimore , MD , United States
| | - Michael R Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States; Center for Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Cisneros LM, Fagan ME, Willig MR. Effects of human-modified landscapes on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions of bat biodiversity. DIVERS DISTRIB 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Cisneros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Connecticut; 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269-3043 USA
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering; University of Connecticut; 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269-4210 USA
| | - Matthew E. Fagan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology; Columbia University; 1200 Amsterdam Avenue New York NY 10027 USA
| | - Michael R. Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Connecticut; 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269-3043 USA
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering; University of Connecticut; 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269-4210 USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Cisneros LM, Fagan ME, Willig MR. Season-specific and guild-specific effects of anthropogenic landscape modification on metacommunity structure of tropical bats. J Anim Ecol 2014; 84:373-85. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Cisneros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Connecticut; 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269-3043 USA
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering; University of Connecticut; 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269-4210 USA
| | - Matthew E. Fagan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology; Columbia University; 1200 Amsterdam Avenue New York NY 10027 USA
| | - Michael R. Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Connecticut; 75 North Eagleville Road Storrs CT 06269-3043 USA
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering; University of Connecticut; 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road Storrs CT 06269-4210 USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Cisneros LM, Fagan ME, Willig MR. Season-specific and guild-specific effects of anthropogenic landscape modification on metacommunity structure of tropical bats. J Anim Ecol 2014. [PMID: 25283305 DOI: 10.1111/1365‐2656.12299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Fragmentation per se due to human land conversion is a landscape-scale phenomenon. Accordingly, assessment of distributional patterns across a suite of potentially connected communities (i.e. metacommunity structure) is an appropriate approach for understanding the effects of landscape modification and complements the plethora of fragmentation studies that have focused on local community structure. To date, metacommunity structure within human-modified landscapes has been assessed with regard to nestedness along species richness gradients. This is problematic because there is little support that species richness gradients are associated with the factors moulding species distributions. More importantly, many alternative patterns are possible, and different patterns may manifest during different seasons and for different guilds because of variation in resource availability and resource requirements of taxa. We determined the best-fit metacommunity structure of a phyllostomid bat assemblage, frugivore ensemble, and gleaning animalivore ensemble within a human-modified landscape in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica during the dry and wet seasons to elucidate important structuring mechanisms. Furthermore, we identified the landscape characteristics associated with the latent gradient underlying metacommunity structure. We discriminated among multiple metacommunity structures by assessing coherence, range turnover, and boundary clumping of an ordinated site-by-species matrix. We identified the landscape characteristics associated with the latent gradient underlying metacommunity structure via hierarchical partitioning. Metacommunity structure was never nested nor structured along a richness gradient. The phyllostomid assemblage and frugivore ensemble exhibited Gleasonian structure (range turnover along a common gradient) during the dry season and Clementsian structure (range turnover and shared boundaries along a common gradient) during the wet season. Distance between forest patches and forest edge density structured the phyllostomid metacommunity during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Proportion of pasture and forest patch density structured the frugivore metacommunity during the dry season. Gleaning animalivores exhibited chequerboard structure (mutually exclusive species pairs) during the dry season and random structure during the wet season. Metacommunity structure was likely mediated by differential resource use or interspecific relationships. Furthermore, the interaction between landscape characteristics and seasonal variation in resources resulted in season-specific and guild-specific distributional patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Cisneros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA.,Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA
| | - Matthew E Fagan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Michael R Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA.,Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Gardner TA, Arroyo-Rodriguez V, Baeten L, Banks-Leite C, Barlow J, Betts MG, Brunet J, Cerezo A, Cisneros LM, Collard S, D'Cruze N, da Silva Motta C, Duguay S, Eggermont H, Eigenbrod F, Hadley AS, Hanson TR, Hawes JE, Heartsill Scalley T, Klingbeil BT, Kolb A, Kormann U, Kumar S, Lachat T, Lakeman Fraser P, Lantschner V, Laurance WF, Leal IR, Lens L, Marsh CJ, Medina-Rangel GF, Melles S, Mezger D, Oldekop JA, Overal WL, Owen C, Peres CA, Phalan B, Pidgeon AM, Pilia O, Possingham HP, Possingham ML, Raheem DC, Ribeiro DB, Ribeiro Neto JD, Douglas Robinson W, Robinson R, Rytwinski T, Scherber C, Slade EM, Somarriba E, Stouffer PC, Struebig MJ, Tylianakis JM, Tscharntke T, Tyre AJ, Urbina Cardona JN, Vasconcelos HL, Wearn O, Wells K, Willig MR, Wood E, Young RP, Bradley AV, Ewers RM. BIOFRAG - a new database for analyzing BIOdiversity responses to forest FRAGmentation. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:1524-37. [PMID: 24967073 PMCID: PMC4063456 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2013] [Revised: 02/10/2014] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation studies have produced complex results that are challenging to synthesize. Inconsistencies among studies may result from variation in the choice of landscape metrics and response variables, which is often compounded by a lack of key statistical or methodological information. Collating primary datasets on biodiversity responses to fragmentation in a consistent and flexible database permits simple data retrieval for subsequent analyses. We present a relational database that links such field data to taxonomic nomenclature, spatial and temporal plot attributes, and environmental characteristics. Field assessments include measurements of the response(s) (e.g., presence, abundance, ground cover) of one or more species linked to plots in fragments within a partially forested landscape. The database currently holds 9830 unique species recorded in plots of 58 unique landscapes in six of eight realms: mammals 315, birds 1286, herptiles 460, insects 4521, spiders 204, other arthropods 85, gastropods 70, annelids 8, platyhelminthes 4, Onychophora 2, vascular plants 2112, nonvascular plants and lichens 320, and fungi 449. Three landscapes were sampled as long-term time series (>10 years). Seven hundred and eleven species are found in two or more landscapes. Consolidating the substantial amount of primary data available on biodiversity responses to fragmentation in the context of land-use change and natural disturbances is an essential part of understanding the effects of increasing anthropogenic pressures on land. The consistent format of this database facilitates testing of generalizations concerning biologic responses to fragmentation across diverse systems and taxa. It also allows the re-examination of existing datasets with alternative landscape metrics and robust statistical methods, for example, helping to address pseudo-replication problems. The database can thus help researchers in producing broad syntheses of the effects of land use. The database is dynamic and inclusive, and contributions from individual and large-scale data-collection efforts are welcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marion Pfeifer
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Veronique Lefebvre
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | | | - Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Morelia, Mexico
| | - Lander Baeten
- Department of Forest & Water Management, Ghent University Ghent, Belgium
| | - Cristina Banks-Leite
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Jos Barlow
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University Lancaster, U.K
| | - Matthew G Betts
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Joerg Brunet
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Alexis Cerezo
- Departmento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información, Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura M Cisneros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ; Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Stuart Collard
- Nature Conservation Society of South Australia Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Neil D'Cruze
- The World Society for the Protection of Animals London, U.K
| | - Catarina da Silva Motta
- Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) Manaus, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Duguay
- Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory, Carleton University Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Felix Eigenbrod
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton Southampton, U.K
| | - Adam S Hadley
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Thor R Hanson
- 351 False Bay Drive, Friday Harbor, Washington, 98250
| | - Joseph E Hawes
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich, U.K
| | | | - Brian T Klingbeil
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ; Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Annette Kolb
- Institute of Ecology, FB2, University of Bremen Bremen, Germany
| | - Urs Kormann
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Goettingen University Goettingen, Germany
| | - Sunil Kumar
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Thibault Lachat
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | - William F Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University Cairns, Qld, Australia
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco Recife, Brazil
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University Ghent, Belgium
| | - Charles J Marsh
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, U.K
| | - Guido F Medina-Rangel
- Instituto de Ciencias Naturales - ICN, National University of Colombia Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Stephanie Melles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Dirk Mezger
- Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois
| | - Johan A Oldekop
- Sheffield Institute for International Development, University of Sheffield Sheffield, U.K
| | - William L Overal
- Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG) Belém, Brazil
| | - Charlotte Owen
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Carlos A Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich, U.K
| | - Ben Phalan
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton Southampton, U.K
| | - Anna M Pidgeon
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Oriana Pilia
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Hugh P Possingham
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K ; The University of Queensland Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | | | - Dinarzarde C Raheem
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Brussels, Belgium ; Life Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum London, U.K
| | - Danilo B Ribeiro
- Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul Campo Grande, Brazil
| | | | - W Douglas Robinson
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Richard Robinson
- Department of Parks and Wildlife, Manjimup Research Centre Manjimup, WA, Australia
| | - Trina Rytwinski
- Department of Biology, Carleton University Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Goettingen University Goettingen, Germany
| | | | - Eduardo Somarriba
- Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Philip C Stouffer
- School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana ; BDFFP, INPA Manaus, Brazil
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent Canterbury, U.K
| | - Jason M Tylianakis
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Goettingen University Goettingen, Germany
| | - Andrew J Tyre
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska
| | - Jose N Urbina Cardona
- Ecology and Territory Department, School of Rural and Environmental Studies, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Oliver Wearn
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K ; Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London London, U.K
| | - Konstans Wells
- The Environment Institute, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Michael R Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ; Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Eric Wood
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin
| | | | - Andrew V Bradley
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Robert M Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Cisneros LM, Burgio KR, Dreiss LM, Klingbeil BT, Patterson BD, Presley SJ, Willig MR. Multiple dimensions of bat biodiversity along an extensive tropical elevational gradient. J Anim Ecol 2014; 83:1124-36. [PMID: 24428636 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2013] [Accepted: 12/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Research concerning spatial dynamics of biodiversity generally has been limited to considerations of the taxonomic dimension, which is insensitive to interspecific variation in ecological or evolutionary characteristics that play important roles in species assembly and provide linkages to ecosystem services. Consequently, the assumption that the taxonomic dimension is a good surrogate for other dimensions remains unconfirmed. We assessed variation in taxonomic (species richness) as well as phylogenetic and functional (Rao's quadratic entropy, a measurement of dispersion) dimensions of bat biodiversity along an elevational gradient in the Manu Biosphere Reserve of Peru. Phylogenetic dispersion was based on relatedness of species derived from a mammalian supertree. Functional dispersion was estimated separately for each of six functional components that reflect particular niche axes (e.g. diet, foraging strategy, body size) and for all functional components combined. Species richness declined nonlinearly with elevation, whereas phylogenetic dispersion and functional dispersion based on all functional components were not significantly associated with elevation (orthogonal polynomial regression). Moreover, considerable heterogeneity in the form of elevational relationships existed among functional components. After accounting for variation in species richness, dispersion of phylogenetic, diet and foraging strategy attributes were significantly greater than expected at high elevations, whereas dispersion of body size was significantly less than expected at high elevations. Species richness was a poor surrogate for phylogenetic or functional dispersion. Functional dispersion based on multiple components obscured patterns detected by particular components and hindered identification of mechanistic explanations for elevational variation in biodiversity. Variation in phylogenetic dispersion effectively captured the composite variation represented by all functional components, suggesting a phylogenetic signal in functional attributes. Mechanisms that give rise to variation in richness do not fully account for variation in phylogenetic or functional characteristics of assemblages. Greater than expected phylogenetic, diet and foraging strategy dispersion at high elevations were associated with the loss of phylogenetically or functionally redundant species, suggesting that increasing interspecific competition with decreasing productivity resulted in competitive exclusion. In contrast, low dispersion of size attributes at high elevations suggests the importance of abiotic filtering that favours small-sized species that can more easily enter torpor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Cisneros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA.,Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA
| | - Kevin R Burgio
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA
| | - Lindsay M Dreiss
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4087, USA
| | - Brian T Klingbeil
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA.,Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA
| | - Bruce D Patterson
- Center for Integrative Research, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
| | - Steven J Presley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA.,Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA
| | - Michael R Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA.,Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
|
11
|
Willig MR, Presley SJ, Bloch CP, Castro-Arellano I, Cisneros LM, Higgins CL, Klingbeil BT. Tropical metacommunities along elevational gradients: effects of forest type and other environmental factors. OIKOS 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.19218.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|