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Peralta G, CaraDonna PJ, Rakosy D, Fründ J, Pascual Tudanca MP, Dormann CF, Burkle LA, Kaiser-Bunbury CN, Knight TM, Resasco J, Winfree R, Blüthgen N, Castillo WJ, Vázquez DP. Predicting plant-pollinator interactions: concepts, methods, and challenges. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:494-505. [PMID: 38262775 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Plant-pollinator interactions are ecologically and economically important, and, as a result, their prediction is a crucial theoretical and applied goal for ecologists. Although various analytical methods are available, we still have a limited ability to predict plant-pollinator interactions. The predictive ability of different plant-pollinator interaction models depends on the specific definitions used to conceptualize and quantify species attributes (e.g., morphological traits), sampling effects (e.g., detection probabilities), and data resolution and availability. Progress in the study of plant-pollinator interactions requires conceptual and methodological advances concerning the mechanisms and species attributes governing interactions as well as improved modeling approaches to predict interactions. Current methods to predict plant-pollinator interactions present ample opportunities for improvement and spark new horizons for basic and applied research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe Peralta
- Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)-National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, X5016GCN, Argentina.
| | - Paul J CaraDonna
- Chicago Botanic Garden, Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action, Glencoe, IL 60022, USA; Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Demetra Rakosy
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig 04318, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Jochen Fründ
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, University of Freiburg, Freiburg 79098, Germany; Animal Network Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg 20148, Germany
| | - María P Pascual Tudanca
- Argentine Institute for Dryland Research, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)-National University of Cuyo, Mendoza 5500, Argentina
| | - Carsten F Dormann
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, University of Freiburg, Freiburg 79098, Germany
| | - Laura A Burkle
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | - Christopher N Kaiser-Bunbury
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Tiffany M Knight
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig 04318, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany; Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 06108, Germany
| | - Julian Resasco
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Rachael Winfree
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Lab, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
| | - William J Castillo
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, University of Freiburg, Freiburg 79098, Germany
| | - Diego P Vázquez
- Argentine Institute for Dryland Research, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)-National University of Cuyo, Mendoza 5500, Argentina; Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza M5502, Argentina.
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Pedersen KM, von Beeren C, Oggioni A, Blüthgen N. Mammal dung-dung beetle trophic networks: an improved method based on gut-content DNA. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16627. [PMID: 38500531 PMCID: PMC10946388 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Dung beetles provide many important ecosystem services, including dung decomposition, pathogen control, soil aeration, and secondary seed dispersal. Yet, the biology of most dung beetles remains unknown. Natural diets are poorly studied, partly because previous research has focused on choice or attraction experiments using few, easily accessible dung types from zoo animals, farm animals, or humans. This way, many links within natural food webs have certainly been missed. In this work, we aimed to establish a protocol to analyze the natural diets of dung beetles using DNA gut barcoding. Methods First, the feasibility of gut-content DNA extraction and amplification of 12s rDNA from six different mammal dung types was tested in the laboratory. We then applied the method to beetles caught in pitfall traps in Ecuador and Germany by using 12s rDNA primers. For a subset of the dung beetles caught in the Ecuador sampling, we also used 16s rDNA primers to see if these would improve the number of species we could identify. We predicted the likelihood of amplifying DNA using gut fullness, DNA concentration, PCR primer, collection method, and beetle species as predictor variables in a dominance analysis. Based on the gut barcodes, we generated a dung beetle-mammal network for both field sites (Ecuador and Germany) and analyzed the levels of network specificity. Results We successfully amplified mammal DNA from dung beetle gut contents for 128 specimens, which included such prominent species as Panthera onca (jaguar) and Puma concolor (puma). The overall success rate of DNA amplification was 53%. The best predictors for amplification success were gut fullness and DNA concentration, suggesting the success rate can be increased by focusing on beetles with a full gut. The mammal dung-dung beetle networks differed from purely random network models and showed a moderate degree of network specialization (H2': Ecuador = 0.49; Germany = 0.41). Conclusion We here present a reliable method of extracting and amplifying gut-content DNA from dung beetles. Identifying mammal dung via DNA reference libraries, we created mammal dung-dung beetle trophic networks. This has benefits over previous methods because we inventoried the natural mammal dung resources of dung beetles instead of using artificial mammal baits. Our results revealed higher levels of specialization than expected and more rodent DNA than expected in Germany, suggesting that the presented method provides more detailed insights into mammal dung-dung beetle networks. In addition, the method could have applications for mammal monitoring in many ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen M. Pedersen
- Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
| | | | - Arianna Oggioni
- Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
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3
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Müller J, Mitesser O, Schaefer HM, Seibold S, Busse A, Kriegel P, Rabl D, Gelis R, Arteaga A, Freile J, Leite GA, de Melo TN, LeBien J, Campos-Cerqueira M, Blüthgen N, Tremlett CJ, Böttger D, Feldhaar H, Grella N, Falconí-López A, Donoso DA, Moriniere J, Buřivalová Z. Author Correction: Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7014. [PMID: 37919264 PMCID: PMC10622551 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42950-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jörg Müller
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyungerstr. 2, 94481, Grafenau, Germany.
| | - Oliver Mitesser
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - H Martin Schaefer
- Fundación Jocotoco, Valladolid N24-414 y Luis Cordero, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Technical University of Munich, School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Research Group, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
- Berchtesgaden National Park, Doktorberg 6, Berchtesgaden, 83471, Germany
| | - Annika Busse
- Saxon-Switzerland National Park, An der Elbe 4, 01814, Bad Schandau, Germany
| | - Peter Kriegel
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Dominik Rabl
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Rudy Gelis
- Yanayacu Research Center, Cosanga, Ecuador
| | | | - Juan Freile
- Pasaje El Moro E4-216 y Norberto Salazar, EC 170902, Tumbaco, DMQ, Ecuador
| | - Gabriel Augusto Leite
- Rainforest Connection, Science Department, 440 Cobia Drive, Suite 1902, Katy, TX, 77494, USA
| | | | - Jack LeBien
- Rainforest Connection, Science Department, 440 Cobia Drive, Suite 1902, Katy, TX, 77494, USA
| | | | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Constance J Tremlett
- Ecological Networks Lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Dennis Böttger
- Phyletisches Museum, Institute for Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- Animal Population Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Nina Grella
- Animal Population Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Ana Falconí-López
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS-Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - David A Donoso
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS-Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Av. Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, CP 17-01-2759, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Jerome Moriniere
- AIM - Advanced Identification Methods GmbH, Niemeyerstr. 1, 04179, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Zuzana Buřivalová
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
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4
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Müller J, Mitesser O, Schaefer HM, Seibold S, Busse A, Kriegel P, Rabl D, Gelis R, Arteaga A, Freile J, Leite GA, de Melo TN, LeBien J, Campos-Cerqueira M, Blüthgen N, Tremlett CJ, Böttger D, Feldhaar H, Grella N, Falconí-López A, Donoso DA, Moriniere J, Buřivalová Z. Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6191. [PMID: 37848442 PMCID: PMC10582010 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41693-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Tropical forest recovery is fundamental to addressing the intertwined climate and biodiversity loss crises. While regenerating trees sequester carbon relatively quickly, the pace of biodiversity recovery remains contentious. Here, we use bioacoustics and metabarcoding to measure forest recovery post-agriculture in a global biodiversity hotspot in Ecuador. We show that the community composition, and not species richness, of vocalizing vertebrates identified by experts reflects the restoration gradient. Two automated measures - an acoustic index model and a bird community composition derived from an independently developed Convolutional Neural Network - correlated well with restoration (adj-R² = 0.62 and 0.69, respectively). Importantly, both measures reflected composition of non-vocalizing nocturnal insects identified via metabarcoding. We show that such automated monitoring tools, based on new technologies, can effectively monitor the success of forest recovery, using robust and reproducible data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jörg Müller
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyungerstr. 2, 94481, Grafenau, Germany.
| | - Oliver Mitesser
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - H Martin Schaefer
- Fundación Jocotoco, Valladolid N24-414 y Luis Cordero, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Technical University of Munich, School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Research Group, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
- Berchtesgaden National Park, Doktorberg 6, Berchtesgaden, 83471, Germany
| | - Annika Busse
- Saxon-Switzerland National Park, An der Elbe 4, 01814, Bad Schandau, Germany
| | - Peter Kriegel
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Dominik Rabl
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Rudy Gelis
- Yanayacu Research Center, Cosanga, Ecuador
| | | | - Juan Freile
- Pasaje El Moro E4-216 y Norberto Salazar, EC 170902, Tumbaco, DMQ, Ecuador
| | - Gabriel Augusto Leite
- Rainforest Connection, Science Department, 440 Cobia Drive, Suite 1902, Katy, TX, 77494, USA
| | | | - Jack LeBien
- Rainforest Connection, Science Department, 440 Cobia Drive, Suite 1902, Katy, TX, 77494, USA
| | | | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Constance J Tremlett
- Ecological Networks Lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Dennis Böttger
- Phyletisches Museum, Institute for Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- Animal Population Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Nina Grella
- Animal Population Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Ana Falconí-López
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS-Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - David A Donoso
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS-Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Av. Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, CP 17-01-2759, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Jerome Moriniere
- AIM - Advanced Identification Methods GmbH, Niemeyerstr. 1, 04179, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Zuzana Buřivalová
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
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Staab M, Pietsch S, Yan H, Blüthgen N, Cheng A, Li Y, Zhang N, Ma K, Liu X. Dear neighbor: Trees with extrafloral nectaries facilitate defense and growth of adjacent undefended trees. Ecology 2023; 104:e4057. [PMID: 37078562 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
Plant diversity can increase productivity. One mechanism behind this biodiversity effect is facilitation, which is when one species increases the performance of another species. Plants with extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) establish defense mutualisms with ants. However, whether EFN plants facilitate defense of neighboring non-EFN plants is unknown. Synthesizing data on ants, herbivores, leaf damage, and defense traits from a forest biodiversity experiment, we show that trees growing adjacent to EFN trees had higher ant biomass and species richness and lower caterpillar biomass than conspecific controls without EFN-bearing neighbors. Concurrently, the composition of defense traits in non-EFN trees changed. Thus, when non-EFN trees benefit from lower herbivore loads as a result of ants spilling over from EFN tree neighbors, this may allow relatively reduced resource allocation to defense in the former, potentially explaining the higher growth of those trees. Via this mutualist-mediated facilitation, promoting EFN trees in tropical reforestation could foster carbon capture and multiple other ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Stefanie Pietsch
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Haoru Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Anpeng Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Naili Zhang
- College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Keping Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaojuan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Zhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Beijing, China
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Achury R, Staab M, Blüthgen N, Weisser WW. Forest gaps increase true bug diversity by recruiting open land species. Oecologia 2023:10.1007/s00442-023-05392-z. [PMID: 37270722 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05392-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Forests canopy gaps play an important role in forest ecology by driving the forest mosaic cycle and creating conditions for rapid plant reproduction and growth. The availability of young plants, which represent resources for herbivores, and modified environmental conditions with greater availability of light and higher temperatures, promote the colonization of animals. Remarkably, the role of gaps on insect communities has received little attention and the source of insects colonizing gaps has not been studied comprehensively. Using a replicated full-factorial forest experiment (treatments: Gap; Gap + Deadwood; Deadwood; Control), we show that following gap creation, there is a rapid change in the true bug (Heteroptera) community structure, with an increase in species that are mainly recruited from open lands. Compared with closed-canopy treatments (Deadwood and Control), open canopy treatments (Gap and Gap + Deadwood) promoted an overall increase in species (+ 59.4%, estimated as number of species per plot) and individuals (+ 76.3%) of true bugs, mainly herbivores and species associated to herbaceous vegetation. Community composition also differed among treatments, and all 17 significant indicator species (out of 117 species in total) were associated with the open canopy treatments. Based on insect data collected in grasslands and forests over an 11-year period, we found that the species colonizing experimental gaps had greater body size and a greater preference for open vegetation. Our results indicate that animal communities that assemble following gap creation contain a high proportion of habitat generalists that not occurred in closed forests, contributing significantly to overall diversity in forest mosaics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Achury
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences, Technische Universität München, Freising, 85354, Germany.
| | - Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks Lab, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Lab, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences, Technische Universität München, Freising, 85354, Germany
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Staab M, Gossner MM, Simons NK, Achury R, Ambarlı D, Bae S, Schall P, Weisser WW, Blüthgen N. Insect decline in forests depends on species' traits and may be mitigated by management. Commun Biol 2023; 6:338. [PMID: 37016087 PMCID: PMC10073207 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04690-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects are declining, but the underlying drivers and differences in responses between species are still largely unclear. Despite the importance of forests, insect trends therein have received little attention. Using 10 years of standardized data (120,996 individuals; 1,805 species) from 140 sites in Germany, we show that declines occurred in most sites and species across trophic groups. In particular, declines (quantified as the correlation between year and the respective community response) were more consistent in sites with many non-native trees or a large amount of timber harvested before the onset of sampling. Correlations at the species level depended on species' life-history. Larger species, more abundant species, and species of higher trophic level declined most, while herbivores increased. This suggests potential shifts in food webs possibly affecting ecosystem functioning. A targeted management, including promoting more natural tree species composition and partially reduced harvesting, can contribute to mitigating declines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Forest Entomology, WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Nadja K Simons
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Rafael Achury
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | - Didem Ambarlı
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Soyeon Bae
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Peter Schall
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
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Metz T, Blüthgen N, Drossel B. Shifts from non‐obligate generalists to obligate specialists in simulations of mutualistic network assembly. OIKOS 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
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Hoenle PO, Staab M, Donoso DA, Argoti A, Blüthgen N. Stratification and recovery time jointly shape ant functional reassembly in a neotropical forest. J Anim Ecol 2023. [PMID: 36748273 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Microhabitat differentiation of species communities such as vertical stratification in tropical forests contributes to species coexistence and thus biodiversity. However, little is known about how the extent of stratification changes during forest recovery and influences community reassembly. Environmental filtering determines community reassembly in time (succession) and in space (stratification), hence functional and phylogenetic composition of species communities are highly dynamic. It is poorly understood if and how these two concurrent filters-forest recovery and stratification-interact. In a tropical forest chronosequence in Ecuador spanning 34 years of natural recovery, we investigated the recovery trajectory of ant communities in three overlapping strata (ground, leaf litter, lower tree trunk) by quantifying 13 traits, as well as the functional and phylogenetic diversity of the ants. We expected that functional and phylogenetic diversity would increase with recovery time and that each ant community within each stratum would show a distinct functional reassembly. We predicted that traits related to ant diet would show divergent trajectories reflecting an increase in niche differentiation with recovery time. On the other hand, traits related to the abiotic environment were predicted to show convergent trajectories due to a more similar microclimate across strata with increasing recovery age. Most of the functional traits and the phylogenetic diversity of the ants were clearly stratified, confirming previous findings. However, neither functional nor phylogenetic diversity increased with recovery time. Community-weighted trait means had complex relationships to recovery time and the majority were shaped by a statistical interaction between recovery time and stratum, confirming our expectations. However, most trait trajectories converged among strata with increasing recovery time regardless of whether they were related to ant diet or environmental conditions. We confirm the hypothesized interaction among environmental filters during the functional reassembly in tropical forests. Communities in individual strata respond differently to recovery, and possible filter mechanisms likely arise from both abiotic (e.g. microclimate) and biotic (e.g. diet) conditions. Since vertical stratification is prevalent across animal and plant taxa, our results highlight the importance of stratum-specific analysis in dynamic ecosystems and may generalize beyond ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp O Hoenle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - David A Donoso
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador.,Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Adriana Argoti
- Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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10
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Weisser W, Blüthgen N, Staab M, Achury R, Müller J. Experiments are needed to quantify the main causes of insect decline. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220500. [PMID: 36789531 PMCID: PMC9929502 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Sparked by reports of insect declines of unexpected extent, there has been a surge in the compilation and analysis of insect time series data. While this effort has led to valuable databases, disagreement remains as to whether, where and why insects are declining. The 'why' question is particularly important because successful insect conservation will need to address the most important drivers of decline. Despite repeated calls for more long-term data, new time series will have to run for decades to quantitatively surpass those currently available. Here we argue that experimentation in addition to quantitative analysis of existing data is needed to identify the most important drivers of insect decline. While most potential drivers of insect population change are likely to have already been identified, their relative importance is largely unknown. Researchers should thus unite and use statistical insight to set up suitable experiments to be able to rank drivers by their importance. Such a coordinated effort is needed to produce the knowledge necessary for conservation action and will also result in increased monitoring and new time series.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Weisser
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Freising, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Rafael Achury
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Freising, Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany
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11
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Timóteo S, Albrecht J, Rumeu B, Norte AC, Traveset A, Frost CM, Marchante E, López‐Núñez FA, Peralta G, Memmott J, Olesen JM, Costa JM, da Silva LP, Carvalheiro LG, Correia M, Staab M, Blüthgen N, Farwig N, Parejo SH, Mironov S, Rodríguez‐Echeverría S, Heleno R. Tripartite networks show that keystone species can multitask. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sérgio Timóteo
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Jörg Albrecht
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Beatriz Rumeu
- Departamento de Biología ‐ IVAGRO, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, E‐11510 Puerto Real Spain
| | - Ana C. Norte
- University of Coimbra MARE ‐ Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Anna Traveset
- Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (CSIC‐UIB), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles Mallorca Balearic Islands Spain
| | - Carol M. Frost
- Department of Renewable Resources University of Alberta T6G 2E3 Edmonton Canada
| | - Elizabete Marchante
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Francisco A. López‐Núñez
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Guadalupe Peralta
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury New Zealand
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol, Bristol Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ UK
| | - Jens M. Olesen
- Department of Biology Aarhus University 8000 Aarhus C Denmark
| | - José M. Costa
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Luís P. da Silva
- CIBIO‐InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources University of Porto 4485‐661 Vairão Portugal
| | - Luísa G. Carvalheiro
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Campus Samambaia Goiânia GO Brazil
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) University of Lisboa Lisbon Portugal
| | - Marta Correia
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt Germany
| | - Nina Farwig
- Conservation Ecology, Department of Biology, Philipps‐Universität Marburg, Karl‐von‐Frisch‐Str. 8, 35043 Marburg Germany
| | - Sandra Hervías Parejo
- Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (CSIC‐UIB), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles Mallorca Balearic Islands Spain
| | - Sergei Mironov
- Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 199034 Saint Petersburg Russia
| | - Susana Rodríguez‐Echeverría
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
| | - Ruben Heleno
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000‐456 Coimbra Portugal
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12
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Staab M, Achury R, Ammer C, Ehbrecht M, Irmscher V, Mohr H, Schall P, Weisser WW, Blüthgen N. Negative effects of forest gaps on dung removal in a full‐factorial experiment. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2113-2124. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
| | - Rafael Achury
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technische Universität München Freising Germany
| | - Christian Ammer
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land‐use University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Martin Ehbrecht
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Veronika Irmscher
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
| | - Hendrik Mohr
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
| | - Peter Schall
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Wolfgang W. Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technische Universität München Freising Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
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13
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Hoenle PO, Donoso DA, Argoti A, Staab M, von Beeren C, Blüthgen N. Rapid ant community reassembly in a Neotropical forest: Recovery dynamics and land-use legacy. Ecol Appl 2022; 32:e2559. [PMID: 35112764 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Regrowing secondary forests dominate tropical regions today, and a mechanistic understanding of their recovery dynamics provides important insights for conservation. In particular, land-use legacy effects on the fauna have rarely been investigated. One of the most ecologically dominant and functionally important animal groups in tropical forests are the ants. Here, we investigated the recovery of ant communities in a forest-agricultural habitat mosaic in the Ecuadorian Chocó region. We used a replicated chronosequence of previously used cacao plantations and pastures with 1-34 years of regeneration time to study the recovery dynamics of species communities and functional diversity across the two land-use legacies. We compared two independent components of responses on these community properties: resistance, which is measured as the proportion of an initial property that remains following the disturbance; and resilience, which is the rate of recovery relative to its loss. We found that compositional and trait structure similarity to old-growth forest communities increased with regeneration age, whereas ant species richness remained always at a high level along the chronosequence. Land-use legacies influenced species composition, with former cacao plantations showing higher resemblance to old-growth forests than former pastures along the chronosequence. While resistance was low for species composition and high for species richness and traits, all community properties had similarly high resilience. In essence, our results show that ant communities of the Chocó recovery rapidly, with former cacao reaching predicted old-growth forest community levels after 21 years and pastures after 29 years. Recovery in this community was faster than reported from other ecosystems and was likely facilitated by the low-intensity farming in agricultural sites and their proximity to old-growth forest remnants. Our study indicates the great recovery potential for this otherwise highly threatened biodiversity hotspot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp O Hoenle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - David A Donoso
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
- Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Adriana Argoti
- Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Christoph von Beeren
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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14
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Abstract
Temporal trends in insect numbers vary across studies and habitats, but drivers are poorly understood. Suitable long-term data are scant and biased, and interpretations of trends remain controversial. By contrast, there is substantial quantitative evidence for drivers of spatial variation. From observational and experimental studies, we have gained a profound understanding of where insect abundance and diversity is higher-and identified underlying environmental conditions, resource change and disturbances. We thus propose an increased consideration of spatial evidence in studying the causes of insect decline. This is because for most time series available today, the number of sites and thus statistical power strongly exceed the number of years studied. Comparisons across sites allow quantifying insect population risks, impacts of land use, habitat destruction, restoration or management, and stressors such as chemical and light pollution, pesticides, mowing or harvesting, climatic extremes or biological invasions. Notably, drivers may not have to change in intensity to have long-term effects on populations, e.g. annually repeated disturbances or mortality risks such as those arising from agricultural practices. Space-for-time substitution has been controversially debated. However, evidence from well-replicated spatial data can inform on urgent actions required to halt or reverse declines-to be implemented in space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Lab, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Staab
- Ecological Networks Lab, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Rafael Achury
- Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
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15
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Becker L, Blüthgen N, Drossel B. Stochasticity Leads to Coexistence of Generalists and Specialists in Assembling Mutualistic Communities. Am Nat 2022; 200:303-315. [DOI: 10.1086/720421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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16
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Ceron K, Provete DB, Pires MM, Araujo AC, Blüthgen N, Santana DJ. Differences in prey availability across space and time lead to interaction rewiring and reshape a predator-prey metaweb. Ecology 2022; 103:e3716. [PMID: 35388458 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Space and time promote variation in network structure by affecting the likelihood of potential interactions. However, little is known about the relative roles of ecological and biogeographical processes in determining how species interactions vary across space and time. Here, we study the spatiotemporal variation in predator-prey interaction networks formed by anurans and arthropods and test for the effects of prey availability in determining interaction patterns, information that is often absent and limits the understanding of the determinants of network structure. We found that network dissimilarity between ecoregions and seasons was high and primarily driven by interaction rewiring. Interaction rewiring drove variation across seasons and ecoregions and species turnover was positively related to geographical distance. Using a null model approach to disentangle the effect of prey availability on the spatial and temporal variation we show that differences in prey availability were important in determining the variation in network structure between seasons and among areas. Our study reveals that fluctuations in prey abundance, along with limited dispersal abilities of anurans and their prey, may be responsible for the spatial patterns that emerged in our predator-prey metaweb. These findings contribute to our understanding of the assembly rules that maintain biotic processes in metacommunities and highlight the importance of prey availability to the structure of these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karoline Ceron
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.,Laboratório de Estrutura e Dinâmica da Diversidade (LEDDiv), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Diogo B Provete
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Göteborg, SE-405 30, Box 100, Sweden
| | - Mathias M Pires
- Laboratório de Estrutura e Dinâmica da Diversidade (LEDDiv), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Andréa C Araujo
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Research Group, Department of Biology, Technische Univsersität Darmstadt, Schinittspahnstraβe. 3, Germany
| | - Diego J Santana
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
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17
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von Beeren C, Brückner A, Hoenle PO, Ospina-Jara B, Kronauer DJC, Blüthgen N. Correction to: Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy. Front Zool 2022; 19:2. [PMID: 35016689 PMCID: PMC8751342 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00443-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
| | | | | | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behav- Ior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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18
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19
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Ambarlı D, Simons NK, Wehner K, Kämper W, Gossner MM, Nauss T, Neff F, Seibold S, Weisser W, Blüthgen N. Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Process Rates in Forests and Grasslands are Affected by Climatic Conditions and Land-Use Intensity. Ecosystems 2021; 24:467-483. [PMID: 34776776 PMCID: PMC8550575 DOI: 10.1007/s10021-020-00530-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Decomposition, vegetation regeneration, and biological control are essential ecosystem functions, and animals are involved in the underlying processes, such as dung removal, seed removal, herbivory, and predation. Despite evidence for declines of animal diversity and abundance due to climate change and land-use intensification, we poorly understand how animal-mediated processes respond to these global change drivers. We experimentally measured rates of four ecosystem processes in 134 grassland and 149 forest plots in Germany and tested their response to climatic conditions and land-use intensity, that is, grazing, mowing, and fertilization in grasslands and the proportion of harvested wood, non-natural trees, and deadwood origin in forests. For both climate and land use, we distinguished between short-term effects during the survey period and medium-term effects during the preceding years. Forests had significantly higher process rates than grasslands. In grasslands, the climatic effects on the process rates were similar or stronger than land-use effects, except for predation; land-use intensity negatively affected several process rates. In forests, the land-use effects were more pronounced than the climatic effects on all processes except for predation. The proportion of non-natural trees had the greatest impact on the process rates in forests. The proportion of harvested wood had negative effects, whereas the proportion of anthropogenic deadwood had positive effects on some processes. The effects of climatic conditions and land-use intensity on process rates mirror climatic and habitat effects on animal abundance, activity, and resource quality. Our study demonstrates that land-use changes and interventions affecting climatic conditions will have substantial impacts on animal-mediated ecosystem processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didem Ambarlı
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany.,Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Düzce University, 81620 Düzce, Turkey
| | - Nadja K Simons
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany.,Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Wiebke Kämper
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany.,Genecology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558 Australia
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Forest Entomology, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.,Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Nauss
- Environmental Informatics Unit, Department of Geography, University of Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Felix Neff
- Forest Entomology, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.,Landscape Ecology, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany.,Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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20
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von Beeren C, Brückner A, Hoenle PO, Ospina-Jara B, Kronauer DJC, Blüthgen N. Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy. Front Zool 2021; 18:46. [PMID: 34538256 PMCID: PMC8451089 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00427-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ant colonies are plagued by a diversity of arthropod guests, which adopt various strategies to avoid or to withstand host attacks. Chemical mimicry of host recognition cues is, for example, a common integration strategy of ant guests. The morphological gestalt and body size of ant guests have long been argued to also affect host hostility, but quantitative studies testing these predictions are largely missing. We here evaluated three guest traits as triggers of host aggression—body size, morphological gestalt, and accuracy in chemical mimicry—in a community of six Eciton army ant species and 29 guest species. We quantified ant aggression towards 314 guests in behavioral assays and, for the same individuals, determined their body size and their accuracy in mimicking ant cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles. We classified guests into the following gestalts: protective, myrmecoid, staphylinid-like, phorid-like, and larval-shaped. We expected that (1) guests with lower CHC mimicry accuracy are more frequently attacked; (2) larger guests are more frequently attacked; (3) guests of different morphological gestalt receive differing host aggression levels. Results Army ant species had distinct CHC profiles and accuracy of mimicking these profiles was variable among guests, with many species showing high mimicry accuracy. Unexpectedly, we did not find a clear relationship between chemical host similarity and host aggression, suggesting that other symbiont traits need to be considered. We detected a relationship between the guests’ body size and the received host aggression, in that diminutive forms were rarely attacked. Our data also indicated that morphological gestalt might be a valuable predictor of host aggression. While most ant-guest encounters remained peaceful, host behavior still differed towards guests in that ant aggression was primarily directed towards those guests possessing a protective or a staphylinid-like gestalt. Conclusion We demonstrate that CHC mimicry accuracy does not necessarily predict host aggression towards ant symbionts. Exploitation mechanisms are diverse, and we conclude that, besides chemical mimicry, other factors such as the guests’ morphological gestalt and especially their body size might be important, yet underrated traits shaping the level of host hostility against social insect symbionts. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12983-021-00427-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph von Beeren
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
| | - Philipp O Hoenle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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21
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von Beeren C, Blüthgen N, Hoenle PO, Pohl S, Brückner A, Tishechkin AK, Maruyama M, Brown BV, Hash JM, Hall WE, Kronauer DJC. A remarkable legion of guests: Diversity and host specificity of army ant symbionts. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:5229-5246. [PMID: 34406688 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Tropical rainforests are among the most diverse biomes on Earth. While species inventories are far from complete for any tropical rainforest, even less is known about the intricate species interactions that form the basis of these ecological communities. One fascinating but poorly studied example are the symbiotic associations between army ants and their rich assemblages of parasitic arthropod guests. Hundreds of these guests, or myrmecophiles, have been taxonomically described. However, because previous work has mainly been based on haphazard collections from disjunct populations, it remains challenging to define species boundaries. We therefore know little about the species richness, abundance and host specificity of most guests in any given population, which is crucial to understand co-evolutionary and ecological dynamics. Here, we report a quantitative community survey of myrmecophiles parasitizing the six sympatric Eciton army ant species in a Costa Rican rainforest. Combining DNA barcoding with morphological identification of over 2,000 specimens, we discovered 62 species, including 49 beetles, 11 flies, one millipede and one silverfish. At least 14 of these species were new to science. Ecological network analysis revealed a clear signal of host partitioning, and each Eciton species was host to both specialists and generalists. These varying degrees in host specificities translated into a moderate level of network specificity, highlighting the system's level of biotic pluralism in terms of biodiversity and interaction diversity. By providing vouchered DNA barcodes for army ant guest species, this study provides a baseline for future work on co-evolutionary and ecological dynamics in these species-rich host-symbiont networks across the Neotropical realm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph von Beeren
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Philipp O Hoenle
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Sebastian Pohl
- Division of Science, Yale-NUS College, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Alexey K Tishechkin
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | | | - Brian V Brown
- Entomology Section, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - John M Hash
- Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
| | - W E Hall
- University of Arizona Insect Collection, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, NY, USA
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22
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Abstract
A new study shows that large mammals in an African savanna not only modify the vegetation but also strongly alter interaction networks between plants and pollinators. These insights raise fundamental yet unresolved questions about spatial dimensions of experiments, species interaction networks and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Blüthgen
- Technical University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Michael Staab
- Technical University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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23
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Le Provost G, Thiele J, Westphal C, Penone C, Allan E, Neyret M, van der Plas F, Ayasse M, Bardgett RD, Birkhofer K, Boch S, Bonkowski M, Buscot F, Feldhaar H, Gaulton R, Goldmann K, Gossner MM, Klaus VH, Kleinebecker T, Krauss J, Renner S, Scherreiks P, Sikorski J, Baulechner D, Blüthgen N, Bolliger R, Börschig C, Busch V, Chisté M, Fiore-Donno AM, Fischer M, Arndt H, Hoelzel N, John K, Jung K, Lange M, Marzini C, Overmann J, Paŝalić E, Perović DJ, Prati D, Schäfer D, Schöning I, Schrumpf M, Sonnemann I, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tschapka M, Türke M, Vogt J, Wehner K, Weiner C, Weisser W, Wells K, Werner M, Wolters V, Wubet T, Wurst S, Zaitsev AS, Manning P. Contrasting responses of above- and belowground diversity to multiple components of land-use intensity. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3918. [PMID: 34168127 PMCID: PMC8225671 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23931-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. However, understanding how different components of land use drive biodiversity loss requires the investigation of multiple trophic levels across spatial scales. Using data from 150 agricultural grasslands in central Europe, we assess the influence of multiple components of local- and landscape-level land use on more than 4,000 above- and belowground taxa, spanning 20 trophic groups. Plot-level land-use intensity is strongly and negatively associated with aboveground trophic groups, but positively or not associated with belowground trophic groups. Meanwhile, both above- and belowground trophic groups respond to landscape-level land use, but to different drivers: aboveground diversity of grasslands is promoted by diverse surrounding land-cover, while belowground diversity is positively related to a high permanent forest cover in the surrounding landscape. These results highlight a role of landscape-level land use in shaping belowground communities, and suggest that revised agroecosystem management strategies are needed to conserve whole-ecosystem biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaëtane Le Provost
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Jan Thiele
- Thünen Institute of Biodiversity, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Catrin Westphal
- Functional Agrobiodiversity, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Caterina Penone
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Margot Neyret
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Fons van der Plas
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservations Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Richard D Bardgett
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Klaus Birkhofer
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany
| | - Steffen Boch
- Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Michael Bonkowski
- Institute of Zoology, Terrestrial Ecology, University of Cologne, Köln, Germany
| | - Francois Buscot
- UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Soil Ecology, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Rachel Gaulton
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Kezia Goldmann
- UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Soil Ecology, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Forest Entomology, WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 16, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Valentin H Klaus
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 2, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Till Kleinebecker
- Department of Landscape Ecology and Resources Management, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Gießen, Germany
| | - Jochen Krauss
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Swen Renner
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservations Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- Ornithology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Johannes Sikorski
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Dennis Baulechner
- Department of Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Ralph Bolliger
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Carmen Börschig
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Verena Busch
- Department of Landscape Ecology and Resources Management, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Gießen, Germany
| | - Melanie Chisté
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Markus Fischer
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt, Germany
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hartmut Arndt
- Institute of Zoology, General Ecology, University of Cologne, Köln (Cologne), Germany
| | - Norbert Hoelzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Katharina John
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Markus Lange
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Carlo Marzini
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jörg Overmann
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Esther Paŝalić
- Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - David J Perović
- DPI Agriculture, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Australian Cotton Research Institute, Narrabri, NSW, Australia
| | - Daniel Prati
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Deborah Schäfer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ingo Schöning
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Ilja Sonnemann
- Institute of Biology, Functional Biodiversity, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservations Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Manfred Türke
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Juliane Vogt
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Christiane Weiner
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Konstans Wells
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Michael Werner
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Volkmar Wolters
- Department of Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Tesfaye Wubet
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Susanne Wurst
- Institute of Biology, Functional Biodiversity, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrey S Zaitsev
- Department of Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Peter Manning
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt, Germany
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24
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Pfenninger M, Reuss F, Kiebler A, Schönnenbeck P, Caliendo C, Gerber S, Cocchiararo B, Reuter S, Blüthgen N, Mody K, Mishra B, Bálint M, Thines M, Feldmeyer B. Genomic basis for drought resistance in European beech forests threatened by climate change. eLife 2021; 10:65532. [PMID: 34132196 PMCID: PMC8266386 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [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: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In the course of global climate change, Central Europe is experiencing more frequent and prolonged periods of drought. The drought years 2018 and 2019 affected European beeches (Fagus sylvatica L.) differently: even in the same stand, drought-damaged trees neighboured healthy trees, suggesting that the genotype rather than the environment was responsible for this conspicuous pattern. We used this natural experiment to study the genomic basis of drought resistance with Pool-GWAS. Contrasting the extreme phenotypes identified 106 significantly associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the genome. Most annotated genes with associated SNPs (>70%) were previously implicated in the drought reaction of plants. Non-synonymous substitutions led either to a functional amino acid exchange or premature termination. An SNP assay with 70 loci allowed predicting drought phenotype in 98.6% of a validation sample of 92 trees. Drought resistance in European beech is a moderately polygenic trait that should respond well to natural selection, selective management, and breeding. Climate change is having a serious impact on many ecosystems. In the summer of 2018 and 2019, around two thirds of European beech trees were damaged or killed by extreme drought. It is critical to keep these beech woods healthy, as they are central to the survival of over 6,000 other species of animals and plants. The level of damage caused by the drought varied between forests. However, not all the trees in each forest responded in the same way, with severely damaged trees often sitting next to fully healthy ones. This suggests that the genetic make-up of each tree determines how well it can adapt to drought rather than its local environment. To investigate this further, Pfenninger et al. studied the genome of over 400 European beech trees from the Hesse region in Germany. The samples came from pairs of neighbouring trees that had responded differently to the droughts. The analysis found more than 80 parts of the genome that differed between healthy and damaged trees. Pfenninger et al. then used this information to create a genetic test which can quickly and inexpensively predict how well an individual beech tree might survive in a drought. Applying this test to another 92 trees revealed that it can reliably detect which ones were healthy and which ones were damaged. Beech forests are typically managed by private owners, agencies or breeders that could use this genetic test to select and reproduce trees that are better adapted to drought. The goal now is to develop the test so that it can be used more widely to manage European beech trees and potentially other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Pfenninger
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Institute for Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.,LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Friederike Reuss
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Angelika Kiebler
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Philipp Schönnenbeck
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Cosima Caliendo
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Gerber
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Berardino Cocchiararo
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Conservation Genetics Section, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - Sabrina Reuter
- Ecological Networks lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Karsten Mody
- Ecological Networks lab, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Department of Applied Ecology, Hochschule Geisenheim University, Geisenheim, Germany
| | - Bagdevi Mishra
- Biological Archives, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Miklós Bálint
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Functional Environmental Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, and Environmental Management, Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Marco Thines
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Biological Archives, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Barbara Feldmeyer
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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25
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Lettmann J, Mody K, Kursch-Metz TA, Blüthgen N, Wehner K. Bracon wasps for ecological pest control-a laboratory experiment. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11540. [PMID: 34123600 PMCID: PMC8164837 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological control of pest insects by natural enemies may be an effective, cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic pesticides. The cosmopolitan parasitoid wasp species Bracon brevicornis Wesmael and B. hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) use lepidopteran species as hosts, including insect pests like Ephestia kuehniella or Ostrinia nubilalis. Here, we compare the reproductive success of both Bracon species on E. kuehniella in a laboratory experiment. We asked (1) how the reproductive success on a single host larva changes with temperature, (2) how it changes with temperature when more host larvae are present and (3) how temperature and availability of host larvae influence the efficacy of Bracon species as biological control agents. In general, differences between B. brevicornis and B. hebetor have been small. For rearing both Bracon species in the laboratory on one host larva, a temperature between 20–27 °C seems appropriate to obtain the highest number of offspring with a female-biased sex ratio. Rearing the braconid wasps on more than one host larva revealed a higher number of total offspring but less offspring per host larva on average. Again, highest numbers of offspring hatched at 27 °C and the sex ratio was independent from temperature. Although no parasitoids hatched at 12 °C and only few at 36 °C, host larvae were still paralyzed. The efficacy of B. brevicornis was higher than 80% at all numbers of host larvae presented at all temperatures while the efficacy of B. hebetor was less than 80% at 12 °C and 27 °C at low numbers of host larvae presented. In conclusion, practitioners can use either B. brevicornis or B. hebetor at low and high temperatures and at varying host densities to achieve high pest control efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Lettmann
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Karsten Mody
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Department of Applied Ecology, Hochschule Geisenheim University, Geisenheim, Germany
| | | | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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26
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Feit B, Blüthgen N, Daouti E, Straub C, Traugott M, Jonsson M. Landscape complexity promotes resilience of biological pest control to climate change. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210547. [PMID: 34034522 PMCID: PMC8150070 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Increased climate variability as a result of anthropogenic climate change can threaten the functioning of ecosystem services. However, diverse responses to climate change among species (response diversity) can provide ecosystems with resilience to this growing threat. Measuring and managing response diversity and resilience to global change are key ecological challenges. Here, we develop a novel index of climate resilience of ecosystem services, exemplified by the thermal resilience of predator communities providing biological pest control. Field assays revealed substantial differences in the temperature-dependent activity of predator species and indices of thermal resilience varied among predator communities occupying different fields. Predator assemblages with higher thermal resilience provided more stable pest control in microcosms where the temperature was experimentally varied, confirming that the index of thermal resilience developed here is linked to predator function. Importantly, complex landscapes containing a high number of non-crop habitat patches were more likely to contain predator communities with high thermal resilience. Thus, the conservation and restoration of non-crop habitats in agricultural landscapes-practices known to strengthen natural pest suppression under current conditions-will also confer resilience in ecosystem service provisioning to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Feit
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75751 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Eirini Daouti
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75751 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Cory Straub
- Department of Biology, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA 19426, USA
| | - Michael Traugott
- Mountain Agriculture Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Mattias Jonsson
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75751 Uppsala, Sweden
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27
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Wehner K, Schuster R, Simons NK, Norton RA, Blüthgen N, Heethoff M. How land-use intensity affects sexual and parthenogenetic oribatid mites in temperate forests and grasslands in Germany. Exp Appl Acarol 2021; 83:343-373. [PMID: 33559807 PMCID: PMC7940294 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-020-00586-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Intensive land use has been shown to alter the composition and functioning of soil communities. Due to their low dispersal ability, oribatid mites are particularly vulnerable to land-use intensification and species which are not adjusted to management-related disturbances become less abundant. We investigated how different land-use parameters in forests and grasslands affect oribatid mite diversity and abundance, with a focus on: (1) species-level impacts, by classifying species as increasing ('winners') or decreasing ('losers') in abundance with higher land-use intensity, and (2) reproductive impact, by investigating whether sexual and parthenogenetic species react differently. We collected 32,542 adult oribatid mites in 60 forests and grasslands of known land-use intensity in two regions of Germany. Diversity and total abundance as well as the proportion of sexual species were higher in forests than in grasslands. Diversity declined with higher land-use intensity in forests, but increased with higher mowing and fertilization in grasslands. Depending on land-use parameter and region, abundance either declined or remained unaffected by increasing intensity. Gravidity was higher in sexual than in parthenogenetic species and sexuals had 1.6× more eggs per gravid female. Proportions of sexual species and gravid females decreased with land-use intensity in forests, but increased with mowing in grasslands. At the species level, 75% of sexuals and 87.5% of parthenogens were 'losers' of higher percentages of dead wood originating from management-related disturbances. Across land-use parameters and habitats, a similar proportion of sexual and parthenogenetic oribatid mite species were 'losers' of high land-use intensity. However, 'winner' species were more common among sexuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Romina Schuster
- Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortlehre, Universität Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Straße 27, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Nadja K Simons
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Roy A Norton
- College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, 1 Forestry 16 Drive, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Heethoff
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
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28
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Wehner K, Renker C, Simons NK, Weisser WW, Blüthgen N. Narrow environmental niches predict land-use responses and vulnerability of land snail assemblages. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:15. [PMID: 33522894 PMCID: PMC7853316 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-020-01741-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background How land use shapes biodiversity and functional trait composition of animal communities is an important question and frequently addressed. Land-use intensification is associated with changes in abiotic and biotic conditions including environmental homogenization and may act as an environmental filter to shape the composition of species communities. Here, we investigated the responses of land snail assemblages to land-use intensity and abiotic soil conditions (pH, soil moisture), and analyzed their trait composition (shell size, number of offspring, light preference, humidity preference, inundation tolerance, and drought resistance). We characterized the species’ responses to land use to identify ‘winners’ (species that were more common on sites with high land-use intensity than expected) or ‘losers’ of land-use intensity (more common on plots with low land-use intensity) and their niche breadth. As a proxy for the environmental ‘niche breadth’ of each snail species, based on the conditions of the sites in which it occurred, we defined a 5-dimensional niche hypervolume. We then tested whether land-use responses and niches contribute to the species’ potential vulnerability suggested by the Red List status. Results Our results confirmed that the trait composition of snail communities was significantly altered by land-use intensity and abiotic conditions in both forests and grasslands. While only 4% of the species that occurred in forests were significant losers of intensive forest management, the proportion of losers in grasslands was much higher (21%). However, the species’ response to land-use intensity and soil conditions was largely independent of specific traits and the species’ Red List status (vulnerability). Instead, vulnerability was only mirrored in the species’ rarity and its niche hypervolume: threatened species were characterized by low occurrence in forests and low occurrence and abundance in grasslands and by a narrow niche quantified by land-use components and abiotic factors. Conclusion Land use and environmental responses of land snails were poorly predicted by specific traits or the species’ vulnerability, suggesting that it is important to consider complementary risks and multiple niche dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Carsten Renker
- Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz, Landessammlung für Naturkunde RLP, Reichklarastraße 1, 55116, Mainz, Germany
| | - Nadja K Simons
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem management, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85350, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
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Schötz U, Shnayien S, Spörl S, Kinzel L, Maihöfer C, Ganswindt U, Hess J, Unger K, Zitzelsberger H, Klein D, Jendrossek V, Klinger B, Sieber A, Blüthgen N, Belka C, Unkel S, Lauber K. OC-0446: Senescence and associated cytokines are critical drivers of inherent radioresistance in HNSCC. Radiother Oncol 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8140(21)00468-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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CaraDonna PJ, Burkle LA, Schwarz B, Resasco J, Knight TM, Benadi G, Blüthgen N, Dormann CF, Fang Q, Fründ J, Gauzens B, Kaiser-Bunbury CN, Winfree R, Vázquez DP. Seeing through the static: the temporal dimension of plant-animal mutualistic interactions. Ecol Lett 2020; 24:149-161. [PMID: 33073900 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Most studies of plant-animal mutualistic networks have come from a temporally static perspective. This approach has revealed general patterns in network structure, but limits our ability to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape these networks and to predict the consequences of natural and human-driven disturbance on species interactions. We review the growing literature on temporal dynamics of plant-animal mutualistic networks including pollination, seed dispersal and ant defence mutualisms. We then discuss potential mechanisms underlying such variation in interactions, ranging from behavioural and physiological processes at the finest temporal scales to ecological and evolutionary processes at the broadest. We find that at the finest temporal scales (days, weeks, months) mutualistic interactions are highly dynamic, with considerable variation in network structure. At intermediate scales (years, decades), networks still exhibit high levels of temporal variation, but such variation appears to influence network properties only weakly. At the broadest temporal scales (many decades, centuries and beyond), continued shifts in interactions appear to reshape network structure, leading to dramatic community changes, including loss of species and function. Our review highlights the importance of considering the temporal dimension for understanding the ecology and evolution of complex webs of mutualistic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J CaraDonna
- Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL, 60647, USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, P.O. Box 519, Crested Butte, CO, 81224, USA
- Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Laura A Burkle
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Benjamin Schwarz
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79106, Germany
| | - Julian Resasco
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Tiffany M Knight
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, Halle (Saale), 06108, Germany
- Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, Halle (Saale), 06120, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Gita Benadi
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79106, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, Darmstadt, 64287, Germany
| | - Carsten F Dormann
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79106, Germany
- Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, Universität Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79104, Germany
| | - Qiang Fang
- College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, China
| | - Jochen Fründ
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79106, Germany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Christopher N Kaiser-Bunbury
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Rachael Winfree
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Rd, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Diego P Vázquez
- Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, Universität Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79104, Germany
- Argentine Institute for Dryland Research, CONICET, National University of Cuyo, Av. Ruiz Leal s/n, Mendoza, 5500, Argentina
- Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Padre Jorge Contreras 1300, Mendoza, M5502JMA, Argentina
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Hoenle PO, Lattke JE, Donoso DA, von Beeren C, Heethoff M, Schmelzle S, Argoti A, Camacho L, Ströbel B, Blüthgen N. Odontomachus davidsoni sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), a new conspicuous trap-jaw ant from Ecuador. Zookeys 2020; 948:75-105. [PMID: 32765172 PMCID: PMC7381719 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.948.48701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the largest species in its genus, Odontomachusdavidsoni Hoenle, Lattke & Donoso, sp. nov. is described from workers and queens collected at lowland forests in the Chocó-Darién bioregion in coastal Ecuador. The workers are characterized by their uniform red coloration, their large size (16–18 mm body length), and their frontal head striation that reaches the occipital margin. DNA barcodes (COI) and high resolution 2D images of the type material are provided, as well as an updated key for the Neotropical species of Odontomachus. In addition, a three-dimensional digital model of the worker holotype and a paratype queen scanned with DISC3D based on photogrammetry is presented, for the first time in a species description. Findings of large and conspicuous new species are uncommon around the world and suggest that these Ecuadorian rainforests may conceal many more natural treasures that deserve conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp O Hoenle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - John E Lattke
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - David A Donoso
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador.,Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito EC170103, Ecuador
| | - Christoph von Beeren
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Heethoff
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Sebastian Schmelzle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Adriana Argoti
- Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Luis Camacho
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia,Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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Mody K, Lerch D, Müller AK, Simons NK, Blüthgen N, Harnisch M. Flower power in the city: Replacing roadside shrubs by wildflower meadows increases insect numbers and reduces maintenance costs. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234327. [PMID: 32516354 PMCID: PMC7282654 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Massive declines in insect biodiversity and biomass are reported from many regions and habitats. In urban areas, creation of native wildflower meadows is one option to support insects and reduce maintenance costs of urban green spaces. However, benefits for insect conservation may depend on previous land use, and the size and location of new wildflower meadows. We show effects of conversion of roadside plantings-from exotic shrubs into wildflower meadows-on (1) the abundance of 13 arthropod taxa-Opiliones, Araneae, Isopoda, Collembola, Orthoptera, Aphidoidea, Auchenorrhyncha, Heteroptera, Coleoptera, Nematocera, Brachycera, Apocrita, Formicidae-and (2) changes in maintenance costs. We assessed the influence of vegetation type (meadow vs. woody), meadow age, size, location (distance to city boundary), and mowing regime. We found many, but not all, arthropod taxa profiting from meadows in terms of arthropod activity abundance in pitfall traps and arthropod density in standardized suction samples. Arthropod number in meadows was 212% higher in pitfall traps and 260% higher in suction samples compared to woody vegetation. The increased arthropod number in meadows was independent of the size and isolation of green spaces for most taxa. However, mowing regime strongly affected several arthropod taxa, with an increase of 63% of total arthropod density in unmown compared to mown meadow spots. Costs of green space maintenance were fivefold lower for meadows than for woody vegetation. Our study shows that (1) many different arthropod taxa occur in roadside vegetation in urban areas, (2) replacement of exotic woody vegetation by native wildflower meadows can significantly increase arthropod abundance, especially if meadow management permits temporarily unmown areas, and (3) maintenance costs can be considerably reduced by converting woody plantings into wildflower meadows. Considering many groups of arthropods, our study provides new insights into possible measures to support arthropods in urban environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karsten Mody
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Doris Lerch
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Ann-Kathrin Müller
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nadja K. Simons
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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33
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Thiel T, Gaschler S, Mody K, Blüthgen N, Drossel B. Impact of plant defense level variability on specialist and generalist herbivores. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-020-00461-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
AbstractMost organisms are defended against others, and defenses such as secondary metabolites in plants vary across species, individuals, and subindividual organs. Plant leaves show an impressive variability in quantitative defense levels, even within the same individual. Such variation might mirror physiological constraints or represent an evolved trait. One important hypothesis for the prevalence of defense variability is that it reduces herbivory due to non-linear averaging (Jensen’s inequality). In this study, we explore the conditions under which this hypothesis is valid and how it depends on the degree of specialization of the herbivores. We thus distinguish between generalists, non-sequestering specialists, and sequestering specialists that are able to convert consumed plant defense into own defense against predators. We propose a plant-herbivore model that takes into account herbivore preference, predation pressure on the herbivores, and the three herbivore specialization strategies we consider. Our computer simulations reveal that defense level variability reduces herbivory by all three populations when nutrient concentration is strongly correlated with defense level. If the nutrient concentration is the same in all leaves, the plant benefits from high defense level variability only when the herbivores are specialists that show a considerable degree of preference for leaves on which they perform best.
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Schwarz B, Vázquez DP, CaraDonna PJ, Knight TM, Benadi G, Dormann CF, Gauzens B, Motivans E, Resasco J, Blüthgen N, Burkle LA, Fang Q, Kaiser‐Bunbury CN, Alarcón R, Bain JA, Chacoff NP, Huang S, LeBuhn G, MacLeod M, Petanidou T, Rasmussen C, Simanonok MP, Thompson AH, Fründ J. Temporal scale‐dependence of plant–pollinator networks. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Schwarz
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
| | - Diego P. Vázquez
- Argentine Inst. for Dryland Research, CONICET Mendoza Argentina
- Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National Univ. of Cuyo Mendoza Argentina
| | - Paul J. CaraDonna
- Chicago Botanic Garden Glencoe IL USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
| | - Tiffany M. Knight
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Martin Luther Univ. Halle‐Wittenberg Halle Germany
| | - Gita Benadi
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
| | - Carsten F. Dormann
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
- Freiburg Inst. for Advanced Studies, Univ. of Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau Germany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
| | - Elena Motivans
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle Germany
| | - Julian Resasco
- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Colorado Boulder CO USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Dept of Biology, Technische Univ. Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
| | | | - Qiang Fang
- College of Agriculture, Henan Univ. of Science and Technology Luoyang PR China
| | | | - Ruben Alarcón
- Dept of Biology, California State Univ. Channel Islands Camarillo CA USA
| | - Justin A. Bain
- Chicago Botanic Garden Glencoe IL USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
- Plant Biology and Conservation Program, Northwestern Univ. Evanston IL USA
| | - Natacha P. Chacoff
- Inst. de Ecología Regional (IER), Univ. Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)‐Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Tucumán Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Univ. Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) Tucumán Argentina
| | - Shuang‐Quan Huang
- Inst. of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal Univ. Wuhan PR China
| | - Gretchen LeBuhn
- Dept of Biology, San Francisco State Univ. San Francisco CA USA
| | - Molly MacLeod
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers Univ. New Brunswick NJ USA
| | - Theodora Petanidou
- Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology, Dept of Geography, Univ. of the Aegean Mytilene Greece
| | | | - Michael P. Simanonok
- Dept of Ecology, Montana State Univ. Bozeman MT USA
- Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, US Geological Survey Jamestown ND USA
| | - Amibeth H. Thompson
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Martin Luther Univ. Halle‐Wittenberg Halle Germany
| | - Jochen Fründ
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
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Wehner K, Schäfer L, Blüthgen N, Mody K. Seed type, habitat and time of day influence post-dispersal seed removal in temperate ecosystems. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8769. [PMID: 32206451 PMCID: PMC7075361 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Seed survival is of great importance for the performance of plant species and it is strongly affected by post-dispersal seed removal by either different animals such as granivorous species and secondary dispersers or abiotic conditions such as wind or water. The success of post-dispersal seed removal depends on seed specific traits including seed size, the presence of coats or elaiosomes, the mode of seed dispersion, and on the habitat in which seeds happen to arrive. In the present study we asked how seed traits (dehulled vs. intact; size; dispersal mode), habitat (forest vs. grassland), and time of day (night vs. day) influence post-dispersal seed removal of the four plant species Chelidonium majus, Lotus corniculatus, Tragopogon pratensis and Helianthus annuus. Seed removal experiments were performed in three regions in Hesse, Germany. The results showed different, inconsistent influences of time of day, depending on habitat and region, but consistent variation across seed types. C. majus and dehulled H. annuus seeds had the fastest removal rates. The impact of the habitat on post-dispersal seed removal was very low, only intact H. annuus seeds were removed at significantly higher rates in grasslands than in forests. Our study demonstrates consistent differences across seed types across different habitats and time: smaller seeds and those dispersed by animals had a faster removal rate. It further highlights that experimental studies need to consider seeds in their natural form to be most realistic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Lea Schäfer
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Karsten Mody
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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Abstract
Multi-trophic interactions maintain critical ecosystem functions. Biodiversity is declining globally, while responses of trophic interactions to biodiversity change are largely unclear. Thus, studying responses of multi-trophic interaction robustness to biodiversity change is crucial for understanding ecosystem functioning and persistence. We investigate plant-Hemiptera (antagonism) and Hemiptera-ant (mutualism) interaction networks in response to experimental manipulation of tree diversity. We show increased diversity at both higher trophic levels (Hemiptera and ants) and increased robustness through redundancy of lower level species of multi-trophic interactions when tree diversity increased. Hemiptera and ant diversity increased with tree diversity through non-additive diversity effects. Network analyses identified that tree diversity also increased the number of tree and Hemiptera species used by Hemiptera and ant species, and decreased the specialization on lower trophic level species in both mutualistic and antagonist interactions. Our results demonstrate that bottom-up effects of tree diversity ascend through trophic levels regardless of interaction type. Thus, local tree diversity is a key driver of multi-trophic community diversity and interaction robustness in forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Fornoff
- 1 Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg , Tennenbacherstraße 4, 79196 Freiburg , Germany
| | - Alexandra-Maria Klein
- 1 Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg , Tennenbacherstraße 4, 79196 Freiburg , Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- 2 Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt , Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287 Darmstadt , Germany
| | - Michael Staab
- 1 Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg , Tennenbacherstraße 4, 79196 Freiburg , Germany
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Vogt J, Klaus VH, Both S, Fürstenau C, Gockel S, Gossner MM, Heinze J, Hemp A, Hölzel N, Jung K, Kleinebecker T, Lauterbach R, Lorenzen K, Ostrowski A, Otto N, Prati D, Renner S, Schumacher U, Seibold S, Simons N, Steitz I, Teuscher M, Thiele J, Weithmann S, Wells K, Wiesner K, Ayasse M, Blüthgen N, Fischer M, Weisser WW. Eleven years' data of grassland management in Germany. Biodivers Data J 2019; 7:e36387. [PMID: 31598068 PMCID: PMC6778154 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.7.e36387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [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: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The 150 grassland plots were located in three study regions in Germany, 50 in each region. The dataset describes the yearly grassland management for each grassland plot using 116 variables. General information includes plot identifier, study region and survey year. Additionally, grassland plot characteristics describe the presence and starting year of drainage and whether arable farming had taken place 25 years before our assessment, i.e. between 1981 and 2006. In each year, the size of the management unit is given which, in some cases, changed slightly across years. Mowing, grazing and fertilisation were systematically surveyed: Mowing is characterised by mowing frequency (i.e. number of cuts per year), dates of cutting and different technical variables, such as type of machine used or usage of conditioner. For grazing, the livestock species and age (e.g. cattle, horse, sheep), the number of animals, stocking density per hectare and total duration of grazing were recorded. As a derived variable, the mean grazing intensity was then calculated by multiplying the livestock units with the duration of grazing per hectare [LSU days/ha]. Different grazing periods during a year, partly involving different herds, were summed up to an annual grazing intensity for each grassland. For fertilisation, information on the type and amount of different types of fertilisers was recorded separately for mineral and organic fertilisers, such as solid farmland manure, slurry and mash from a bioethanol factory. Our fertilisation measures neglect dung dropped by livestock during grazing. For each type of fertiliser, we calculated its total nitrogen content, derived from chemical analyses by the producer or agricultural guidelines (Table 3). All three management types, mowing, fertilisation and grazing, were used to calculate a combined land use intensity index (LUI) which is frequently used to define a measure for the land use intensity. Here, fertilisation is expressed as total nitrogen per hectare [kg N/ha], but does not consider potassium and phosphorus. Information on additional management practices in grasslands was also recorded including levelling, to tear-up matted grass covers, rolling, to remove surface irregularities, seed addition, to close gaps in the sward. New information Investigating the relationship between human land use and biodiversity is important to understand if and how humans affect it through the way they manage the land and to develop sustainable land use strategies. Quantifying land use (the ‘X’ in such graphs) can be difficult as humans manage land using a multitude of actions, all of which may affect biodiversity, yet most studies use rather simple measures of land use, for example, by creating land use categories such as conventional vs. organic agriculture. Here, we provide detailed data on grassland management to allow for detailed analyses and the development of land use theory. The raw data have already been used for > 100 papers on the effect of management on biodiversity (e.g. Manning et al. 2015).
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Vogt
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany
| | - Valentin H Klaus
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Institute of Landscape Ecology, Münster, Germany Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Institute of Landscape Ecology Münster Germany.,ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences Zürich Switzerland
| | - Steffen Both
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Fresing, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Fresing Germany.,Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Halle, Germany Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften Halle Germany
| | - Cornelia Fürstenau
- Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Institute for Computer Science, Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Distributed Information Systems, Jena, Germany Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Institute for Computer Science, Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Distributed Information Systems Jena Germany
| | - Sonja Gockel
- Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Institute of Ecology, Jena, Germany Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Institute of Ecology Jena Germany.,ThüringenForst, Forstliches Forschungs- und Kompetenzzentrum Gotha, Gotha, Germany ThüringenForst, Forstliches Forschungs- und Kompetenzzentrum Gotha Gotha Germany
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany.,Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Forest Entomology, Birmensdorf, Switzerland Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Forest Entomology Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Johannes Heinze
- Universität Potsdam, Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam, Germany Universität Potsdam, Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology Potsdam Germany
| | - Andreas Hemp
- University of Bayreuth, Department of Plant Systematics, Bayreuth, Germany University of Bayreuth, Department of Plant Systematics Bayreuth Germany
| | - Nobert Hölzel
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Institute of Landscape Ecology, Münster, Germany Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Institute of Landscape Ecology Münster Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology, Ulm, Germany University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology Ulm Germany
| | - Till Kleinebecker
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, nstitute of Landscape Ecology, Münster, Germany Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, nstitute of Landscape Ecology Münster Germany.,Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management, Gießen, Germany Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management Gießen Germany
| | - Ralf Lauterbach
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology, Ulm, Germany University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology Ulm Germany
| | - Katrin Lorenzen
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany
| | - Andreas Ostrowski
- Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Institute for Computer Science, Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Distributed Information Systems, Jena, Germany Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Institute for Computer Science, Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Distributed Information Systems Jena Germany
| | - Niclas Otto
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany
| | - Daniel Prati
- University of Bern, Institute of Plant Science, Department of Biology, Bern, Switzerland University of Bern, Institute of Plant Science, Department of Biology Bern Switzerland
| | - Swen Renner
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences BOKU, Institute of Zoology, Vienna, Austria University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences BOKU, Institute of Zoology Vienna Austria
| | - Uta Schumacher
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BiK-F, Frankfurt, Germany Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BiK-F Frankfurt Germany
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany
| | - Nadja Simons
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany.,University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, Darmstadt, Germany University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks Darmstadt Germany
| | - Iris Steitz
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology, Ulm, Germany University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology Ulm Germany
| | - Miriam Teuscher
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BiK-F, Frankfurt, Germany Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BiK-F Frankfurt Germany
| | - Jan Thiele
- Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute for Biodiversity, Braunschweig, Germany Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute for Biodiversity Braunschweig Germany
| | - Sandra Weithmann
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology, Ulm, Germany University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology Ulm Germany
| | - Konstans Wells
- The University of Adelaide, Department of Biosciences, Adelaide, Australia The University of Adelaide, Department of Biosciences Adelaide Australia.,University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology, Ulm, Georgia University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology Ulm Georgia
| | - Kerstin Wiesner
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology, Ulm, Germany University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology Ulm Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, Darmstadt, Germany University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks Darmstadt Germany
| | - Markus Fischer
- Universität Bern, Institute of Plant Science, Department of Biology, Bern, Germany Universität Bern, Institute of Plant Science, Department of Biology Bern Germany.,Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BiK-F, Frankfurt, Germany Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BiK-F Frankfurt Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany Technische Universität München, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Freising Germany
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Arnan X, Molowny-Horas R, Blüthgen N. Food resource exploitation and functional resilience in ant communities found in common Mediterranean habitats. Sci Total Environ 2019; 684:126-135. [PMID: 31153062 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how ecosystems may cope with future environmental change is a key challenge in modern ecology. Ecosystem resilience depends on both functional redundancy (the number of species making a similar contribution to a given ecosystem function) and response diversity (variability in the responses of functionally similar species to disturbance). Ants provide numerous important ecosystem functions that are rooted in their dietary ecology. We focused on food resource exploitation and analyzed how functional redundancy and response diversity changed across common habitats for Mediterranean ant communities. Our aim was to assess the vulnerability of ant-furnished ecosystem functions to future environmental change. We used cafeteria experiments to identify ant functional groups: we offered ants a variety of seeds, insects, and liquid sugars. Then, using more general baits, we estimated ant species richness and abundance. We also examined 12 ant traits (morphological, social, ecobehavioral, and physiological) thought to reflect responses to disturbance. We found that most Mediterranean ant species are dietary generalists. Functional redundancy was highest and lowest for sugar and seed consumers, respectively, a consistent trend across habitats that was unrelated to species richness. Response diversity did not depend on ant functional group. Interestingly, both functional redundancy and response diversity were higher in pine forests and shrublands than in oak forests, a pattern that was consistent regardless of whether the functional groups were examined collectively or individually. Variation in functional redundancy and response diversity was strongly driven by site-specific species richness. Response diversity also varied based on trait type. Ecosystem functions mediated by seed-consuming ants should be the most vulnerable to environmental change, and habitat type and local species richness should affect the vulnerability of any ecosystem functions mediated by ant dietary ecology. Species-poor communities in forests should be the most vulnerable, while species-rich communities in open habitats should be the most resilient.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nico Blüthgen
- Faculty of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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39
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Feit B, Blüthgen N, Traugott M, Jonsson M. Resilience of ecosystem processes: a new approach shows that functional redundancy of biological control services is reduced by landscape simplification. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1568-1577. [PMID: 31313484 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [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: 02/25/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Functional redundancy can increase the resilience of ecosystem processes by providing insurance against species loss and the effects of abundance fluctuations. However, due to the difficulty of assessing individual species' contributions and the lack of a metric allowing for a quantification of redundancy within communities, few attempts have been made to estimate redundancy for individual ecosystem processes. We present a new method linking interaction metrics with metabolic theory that allows for a quantification of redundancy at the level of ecosystem processes. Using this approach, redundancy in the predation on aphids and other prey by natural enemies across a landscape heterogeneity gradient was estimated. Functional redundancy of predators was high in heterogeneous landscapes, low in homogeneous landscapes and scaled with predator specialisation. Our approach allows quantifying functional redundancy within communities and can be used to assess the role of functional redundancy across a wide variety of ecosystem processes and environmental factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Feit
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Traugott
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Mattias Jonsson
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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Abstract
Background Mechanical defenses are very common and diverse in prey species, for example in oribatid mites. Here, the probably most complex form of morphological defense is known as ptychoidy, that enables the animals to completely retract the appendages into a secondary cavity and encapsulate themselves. The two groups of ptychoid mites constituting the Ptyctima, i.e. Euphthiracaroidea and Phthiracaroidea, have a hardened cuticle and are well protected against similar sized predators. Euphthiracaroidea additionally feature predator-repelling secretions. Since both taxa evolved within the glandulate group of Oribatida, the question remains why Phthiracaroidea lost this additional protection. In earlier predation bioassays, chemically disarmed specimens of Euphthiracaroidea were cracked by the staphylinid beetle Othius punctulatus, whereas equally sized specimens of Phthiracaroidea survived. We thus hypothesized that Phthiracaroidea can withstand significantly more force than Euphthiracaroidea and that the specific body form in each group is key in understanding the loss of chemical defense in Phthiracaroidea. To measure force resistance, we adapted the principle of machines applying compressive forces for very small animals and tested the two ptyctimous taxa as well as the soft-bodied mite Archegozetes longisetosus. Results Some Phthiracaroidea individuals sustained about 560,000 times their body weight. Their mean resistance was about three times higher, and their mean breaking point in relation to body weight nearly two times higher than Euphthiracaroidea individuals. The breaking point increased with body weight and differed significantly between the two taxa. Across taxa, the absolute force resistance increased sublinearly (with a 0.781 power term) with the animal's body weight. Force resistance of A. longisetosus was inferior in all tests (about half that of Euphthiracaroidea after accounting for body weight). As an important determinant of mechanical resistance in ptychoid mites, the individuals' cuticle thickness increased sublinearly with body diameter and body mass as well and did not differ significantly between the taxa. Conclusion We showed the feasibility of the force resistance measurement method, and our results were consistent with the hypothesis that Phthiracaroidea compensated its lack of chemical secretions by a heavier mechanical resistance based on a different body form and associated build-up of hemolymph pressure (defensive trade-off).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schmelzle
- Department of Biology, Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Department of Biology, Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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41
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Hoenle PO, Blüthgen N, Brückner A, Kronauer DJC, Fiala B, Donoso DA, Smith MA, Ospina Jara B, von Beeren C. Species-level predation network uncovers high prey specificity in a Neotropical army ant community. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:2423-2440. [PMID: 31050080 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [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: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 03/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Army ants are among the top arthropod predators and considered keystone species in tropical ecosystems. During daily mass raids with many thousand workers, army ants hunt live prey, likely exerting strong top-down control on prey species. Many tropical sites exhibit a high army ant species diversity (>20 species), suggesting that sympatric species partition the available prey niches. However, whether and to what extent this is achieved has not been intensively studied yet. We therefore conducted a large-scale diet survey of a community of surface-raiding army ants at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. We systematically collected 3,262 prey items from eleven army ant species (genera Eciton, Nomamyrmex and Neivamyrmex). Prey items were classified as ant prey or non-ant prey. The prey nearly exclusively consisted of other ants (98%), and most booty was ant brood (87%). Using morphological characters and DNA barcoding, we identified a total of 1,103 ant prey specimens to the species level. One hundred twenty-nine ant species were detected among the army ant prey, representing about 30% of the known local ant diversity. Using weighted bipartite network analyses, we show that prey specialization in army ants is unexpectedly high and prey niche overlap very small. Besides food niche differentiation, we uncovered a spatiotemporal niche differentiation in army ant raid activity. We discuss competition-driven multidimensional niche differentiation and predator-prey arms races as possible mechanisms underlying prey specialization in army ants. By combining systematic prey sampling with species-level prey identification and network analyses, our integrative approach can guide future research by portraying how predator-prey interactions in complex communities can be reliably studied, even in cases where morphological prey identification is infeasible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp O Hoenle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, New York
| | - Brigitte Fiala
- Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - David A Donoso
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
| | - M Alex Smith
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Christoph von Beeren
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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42
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Wehner K, Renker C, Brückner A, Simons NK, Weisser WW, Blüthgen N. Land‐use in Europe affects land snail assemblages directly and indirectly by modulating abiotic and biotic drivers. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Katja Wehner
- Ecological Networks Technische Universität Darmstadt Schnittspahnstraße 3 64287 Darmstadt Germany
| | - Carsten Renker
- Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz/Landessammlung für Naturkunde RLP Reichklarastraße 1 55116 Mainz Germany
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology 1200 E. California Boulevard Pasadena California 91125 USA
| | - Nadja K. Simons
- Ecological Networks Technische Universität Darmstadt Schnittspahnstraße 3 64287 Darmstadt Germany
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technische Universität München Hans‐Carl‐von‐Carlowitz‐Platz 2 85350 Freising‐Weihenstephan Germany
| | - Wolfgang W. Weisser
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technische Universität München Hans‐Carl‐von‐Carlowitz‐Platz 2 85350 Freising‐Weihenstephan Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Technische Universität Darmstadt Schnittspahnstraße 3 64287 Darmstadt Germany
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Felipe-Lucia MR, Soliveres S, Penone C, Manning P, van der Plas F, Boch S, Prati D, Ammer C, Schall P, Gossner MM, Bauhus J, Buscot F, Blaser S, Blüthgen N, de Frutos A, Ehbrecht M, Frank K, Goldmann K, Hänsel F, Jung K, Kahl T, Nauss T, Oelmann Y, Pena R, Polle A, Renner S, Schloter M, Schöning I, Schrumpf M, Schulze ED, Solly E, Sorkau E, Stempfhuber B, Tschapka M, Weisser WW, Wubet T, Fischer M, Allan E. Multiple forest attributes underpin the supply of multiple ecosystem services. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4839. [PMID: 30446752 PMCID: PMC6240034 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07082-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Trade-offs and synergies in the supply of forest ecosystem services are common but the drivers of these relationships are poorly understood. To guide management that seeks to promote multiple services, we investigated the relationships between 12 stand-level forest attributes, including structure, composition, heterogeneity and plant diversity, plus 4 environmental factors, and proxies for 14 ecosystem services in 150 temperate forest plots. Our results show that forest attributes are the best predictors of most ecosystem services and are also good predictors of several synergies and trade-offs between services. Environmental factors also play an important role, mostly in combination with forest attributes. Our study suggests that managing forests to increase structural heterogeneity, maintain large trees, and canopy gaps would promote the supply of multiple ecosystem services. These results highlight the potential for forest management to encourage multifunctional forests and suggest that a coordinated landscape-scale strategy could help to mitigate trade-offs in human-dominated landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- María R Felipe-Lucia
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Santiago Soliveres
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690, Alicante, Spain
| | - Caterina Penone
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter Manning
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Georg-Voigt-Straße 14-16, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Fons van der Plas
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Georg-Voigt-Straße 14-16, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
- Department of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Steffen Boch
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Prati
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christian Ammer
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter Schall
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85350, Freising, Germany
| | - Jürgen Bauhus
- Chair of Silviculture, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Francois Buscot
- Soil Ecology Department, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan Blaser
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Angel de Frutos
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martin Ehbrecht
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kevin Frank
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Kezia Goldmann
- Soil Ecology Department, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Falk Hänsel
- Environmental Informatics, Faculty of Geography, Philipps-University Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 12, 35037, Marburg, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, 89069, Ulm, Germany
| | - Tiemo Kahl
- UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Thuringian Forest, Brunnenstraße 1, 98711, Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig, Germany
| | - Thomas Nauss
- Environmental Informatics, Faculty of Geography, Philipps-University Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 12, 35037, Marburg, Germany
| | - Yvonne Oelmann
- Geoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19-23, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rodica Pena
- Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andrea Polle
- Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Swen Renner
- Institute of Zoology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Schloter
- Research Unit for Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85758, Oberschleissheim, Germany
- Technical University of Munich, Emil-Ramann-Str 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | - Ingo Schöning
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Marion Schrumpf
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Ernst-Detlef Schulze
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Emily Solly
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Sorkau
- Geoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19-23, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Barbara Stempfhuber
- Research Unit for Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85758, Oberschleissheim, Germany
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, 89069, Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Luis Clement Avenue, Building 401 Tupper, Balboa Ancón, Panama
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85350, Freising, Germany
| | - Tesfaye Wubet
- Soil Ecology Department, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBIK-F), Georg-Voigt-Straße 14-16, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
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Mesquita‐Neto JN, Blüthgen N, Schlindwein C. Flowers with poricidal anthers and their complex interaction networks—Disentangling legitimate pollinators and illegitimate visitors. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- José N. Mesquita‐Neto
- Departamento de Botânica Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais Brazil
- Laboratorio de Ecologia de Abejas, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas y Químicas, Faculdad de Ciencias Básicas Universidad Católica del Maule Talca Chile
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology Technische Universität Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
| | - Clemens Schlindwein
- Departamento de Botânica Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais Brazil
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Plas F, Allan E, Fischer M, Alt F, Arndt H, Binkenstein J, Blaser S, Blüthgen N, Böhm S, Hölzel N, Klaus VH, Kleinebecker T, Morris K, Oelmann Y, Prati D, Renner SC, Rillig MC, Schaefer HM, Schloter M, Schmitt B, Schöning I, Schrumpf M, Solly EF, Sorkau E, Steckel J, Steffan‐Dewenter I, Stempfhuber B, Tschapka M, Weiner CN, Weisser WW, Werner M, Westphal C, Wilcke W, Manning P. Towards the development of general rules describing landscape heterogeneity–multifunctionality relationships. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Rosumek FB, Blüthgen N, Brückner A, Menzel F, Gebauer G, Heethoff M. Unveiling community patterns and trophic niches of tropical and temperate ants using an integrative framework of field data, stable isotopes and fatty acids. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5467. [PMID: 30155364 PMCID: PMC6109374 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [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: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The use and partitioning of trophic resources is a central aspect of community function. On the ground of tropical forests, dozens of ant species may be found together and ecological mechanisms should act to allow such coexistence. One hypothesis states that niche specialization is higher in the tropics, compared to temperate regions. However, trophic niches of most species are virtually unknown. Several techniques might be combined to study trophic niche, such as field observations, fatty acid analysis (FAA) and stable isotope analysis (SIA). In this work, we combine these three techniques to unveil partitioning of trophic resources in a tropical and a temperate community. We describe patterns of resource use, compare them between communities, and test correlation and complementarity of methods to unveil both community patterns and species' niches. Methods Resource use was assessed with seven kinds of bait representing natural resources available to ants. Neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) profiles, and δ15N and δ13C isotope signatures of the species were also obtained. Community patterns and comparisons were analyzed with clustering, correlations, multivariate analyses and interaction networks. Results Resource use structure was similar in both communities. Niche breadths (H') and network metrics (Q and H2') indicated similar levels of generalization between communities. A few species presented more specialized niches, such as Wasmannia auropunctata and Lasius fuliginosus. Stable isotope signatures and NLFA profiles also indicated high generalization, although the latter differed between communities, with temperate species having higher amounts of fat and proportions of C18:1n9. Bait use and NLFA profile similarities were correlated, as well as species' specialization indices (d') for the two methods. Similarities in δ15N and bait use, and in δ13C and NLFA profiles, were also correlated. Discussion Our results agree with the recent view that specialization levels do not change with latitude or species richness. Partition of trophic resources alone does not explain species coexistence in these communities, and might act together with behavioral and environmental mechanisms. Temperate species presented NLFA patterns distinct from tropical ones, which may be related to environmental factors. All methods corresponded in their characterization of species' niches to some extent, and were robust enough to detect differences even in highly generalized communities. However, their combination provides a more comprehensive picture of resource use, and it is particularly important to understand individual niches of species. FAA was applied here for the first time in ant ecology, and proved to be a valuable tool due to its combination of specificity and temporal representativeness. We propose that a framework combining field observations with chemical analysis is valuable to understand resource use in ant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix B Rosumek
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Florian Menzel
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes-Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Michael Heethoff
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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Frank K, Krell FT, Slade EM, Raine EH, Chiew LY, Schmitt T, Vairappan CS, Walter P, Blüthgen N. Global dung webs: high trophic generalism of dung beetles along the latitudinal diversity gradient. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1229-1236. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Frank
- Ecological Networks; Department of Biology; Technische Universität Darmstadt; Schnittspahnstr. 3 D-64287 Darmstadt Germany
| | - Frank-Thorsten Krell
- Department of Zoology; Denver Museum of Nature & Science; 2001 Colorado Blvd Denver Colorado 80205-5798 USA
| | - Eleanor M. Slade
- Department of Zoology; University of Oxford; South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PS UK
- Lancaster Environment Centre; University of Lancaster; Lancaster LA1 4YQ UK
| | - Elizabeth H. Raine
- Department of Zoology; University of Oxford; South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PS UK
| | - Li Yuen Chiew
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation; University Malaysia Sabah; Jalan UMS; 88400 Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology; University of Würzburg; D-97074 Würzburg Germany
| | - Charles S. Vairappan
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation; University Malaysia Sabah; Jalan UMS; 88400 Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Philippe Walter
- Laboratoire d'Endocrinologie des Insectes; Faculté des Sciences; Université de Nantes; 44072 Nantes Cedex 03 France
- 130, Village F-09300 Montségur France
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks; Department of Biology; Technische Universität Darmstadt; Schnittspahnstr. 3 D-64287 Darmstadt Germany
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El-Shimy I, Morkel M, Blüthgen N. PO-180 Dissecting the effects of EGF starvation on EGFR signalling in the mouse small intestine using 3D organoid culture systems. ESMO Open 2018. [DOI: 10.1136/esmoopen-2018-eacr25.701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
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Ispasanie S, Kistler S, Heberle A, Uhlitz F, Kasack K, Dittmar G, Blüthgen N, Thedieck K, Campbell S, Sers C. PO-503 HDAC inhibitor resistance in colorectal cancer: RAS and AMP; MYC – the partners in crime. ESMO Open 2018. [DOI: 10.1136/esmoopen-2018-eacr25.518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
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Ströbel B, Schmelzle S, Blüthgen N, Heethoff M. An automated device for the digitization and 3D modelling of insects, combining extended-depth-of-field and all-side multi-view imaging. Zookeys 2018:1-27. [PMID: 29853774 PMCID: PMC5968080 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.759.24584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [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: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Digitization of natural history collections is a major challenge in archiving biodiversity. In recent years, several approaches have emerged, allowing either automated digitization, extended depth of field (EDOF) or multi-view imaging of insects. Here, we present DISC3D: a new digitization device for pinned insects and other small objects that combines all these aspects. A PC and a microcontroller board control the device. It features a sample holder on a motorized two-axis gimbal, allowing the specimens to be imaged from virtually any view. Ambient, mostly reflection-free illumination is ascertained by two LED-stripes circularly installed in two hemispherical white-coated domes (front-light and back-light). The device is equipped with an industrial camera and a compact macro lens, mounted on a motorized macro rail. EDOF images are calculated from an image stack using a novel calibrated scaling algorithm that meets the requirements of the pinhole camera model (a unique central perspective). The images can be used to generate a calibrated and real color texturized 3Dmodel by ‘structure from motion’ with a visibility consistent mesh generation. Such models are ideal for obtaining morphometric measurement data in 1D, 2D and 3D, thereby opening new opportunities for trait-based research in taxonomy, phylogeny, eco-physiology, and functional ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Ströbel
- Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Schöfferstr. 3, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Sebastian Schmelzle
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Heethoff
- Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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