51
|
Green AJ, Elmberg J. Ecosystem services provided by waterbirds. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2013; 89:105-22. [PMID: 23786594 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2012] [Revised: 05/16/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Ecosystem services are ecosystem processes that directly or indirectly benefit human well-being. There has been much recent literature identifying different services and the communities and species that provide them. This is a vital first step towards management and maintenance of these services. In this review, we specifically address the waterbirds, which play key functional roles in many aquatic ecosystems, including as predators, herbivores and vectors of seeds, invertebrates and nutrients, although these roles have often been overlooked. Waterbirds can maintain the diversity of other organisms, control pests, be effective bioindicators of ecological conditions, and act as sentinels of potential disease outbreaks. They also provide important provisioning (meat, feathers, eggs, etc.) and cultural services to both indigenous and westernized societies. We identify key gaps in the understanding of ecosystem services provided by waterbirds and areas for future research required to clarify their functional role in ecosystems and the services they provide. We consider how the economic value of these services could be calculated, giving some examples. Such valuation will provide powerful arguments for waterbird conservation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andy J Green
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, E-41092, Sevilla, Spain
| | | |
Collapse
|
52
|
Food Web Assembly at the Landscape Scale: Using Stable Isotopes to Reveal Changes in Trophic Structure During Succession. Ecosystems 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9636-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
53
|
Identifying Potential Habitat for the Endangered Aleutian Shield Fern Using Topographical Characteristics. JOURNAL OF FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 2012. [DOI: 10.3996/032012-jfwm-023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The Aleutian shield fern Polystichum aleuticum is endemic to the Aleutian archipelago of Alaska and is listed as endangered pursuant to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Despite numerous efforts to discover new populations of this species, only four known populations are documented to date, and information is needed to prioritize locations for future surveys. Therefore, we incorporated topographical habitat characteristics (elevation, slope, aspect, distance from coastline, and anthropogenic footprint) found at known Aleutian shield fern locations into a Geographical Information System (GIS) model to create a habitat suitability map for the entirety of the Andreaonof Islands. A total of 18 islands contained 489.26 km2 of highly suitable and moderately suitable habitat when weighting each factor equally. This study reports a habitat suitability map for the endangered Aleutian shield fern using topographical characteristics, which can be used to assist current and future recovery efforts for the species.
Collapse
|
54
|
Loreau M, Daufresne T, Gonzalez A, Gravel D, Guichard F, Leroux SJ, Loeuille N, Massol F, Mouquet N. Unifying sources and sinks in ecology and Earth sciences. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Experimental Ecology Station; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; 09200; Moulis; France
| | - Tanguy Daufresne
- Institut National pour la Recherche Agronomique; UMR 210 Eco&Sols; 2 Place Viala; 34060; Montpellier Cedex 2; France
| | - Andrew Gonzalez
- Department of Biology; McGill University; 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield; Montreal; Quebec; H3A 1B1; Canada
| | - Dominique Gravel
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie; Université du Québec à Rimouski; 300 Allée des Ursulines; Québec; G5L 3A1; Canada
| | - Frédéric Guichard
- Department of Biology; McGill University; 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield; Montreal; Quebec; H3A 1B1; Canada
| | - Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of Biology; University of Ottawa; 30 Marie Curie; Ottawa; K1N 6N5; Canada
| | | | | | - Nicolas Mouquet
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution UMR 5554, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université Montpellier 2, CC 065, Place Eugène Bataillon; 34095; Montpellier Cedex 05; France
| |
Collapse
|
55
|
Reese SL, Estes JA, Jarman WM. Organochlorine contaminants in coastal marine ecosystems of southern Alaska: inferences from spatial patterns in blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus). CHEMOSPHERE 2012; 88:873-880. [PMID: 22579453 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.03.096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2011] [Revised: 03/28/2012] [Accepted: 03/31/2012] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We measured the concentrations and chemical structures of persistent organochlorines (OCs) in blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus) from 44 sites across southwest and southeast Alaska in an effort to determine both the sources of these compounds and the extent to which this region might be contaminated. High PCB concentrations were detected at Amchitka, Adak, and Unalaska Islands (83, 430, and 2800μgkg(-1) dry weight, respectively) in the Aleutians with relatively low concentrations elsewhere (7.1-51μgkg(-1) dry weight). Heavy PCB congener profiles (indicative of localized point sources) characterized the high concentration sites whereas distinctly lighter congener profiles (indicative of atmospheric transport) characterized the lower concentration sites. Elevated PCB concentrations at Adak were restricted to a small area along the island's eastern shore, suggesting either limited dispersion or rapid dilution of these compounds. More uniform chlorinated pesticide concentrations among the collection sites suggests that these compounds are entering the Aleutian ecosystem from distant sources. Pesticide concentrations correlated significantly with seabird density across the islands we sampled, thus identifying biological transport as a delivery mechanism of these compounds to the Aleutian archipelago. Our findings do not implicate persistent organochlorines as a significant factor in the recent pinniped and sea otter population declines across southwest Alaska.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stacey L Reese
- Long Marine Lab, University of California, Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
56
|
Caut S, Angulo E, Pisanu B, Ruffino L, Faulquier L, Lorvelec O, Chapuis JL, Pascal M, Vidal E, Courchamp F. Seabird modulations of isotopic nitrogen on islands. PLoS One 2012; 7:e39125. [PMID: 22723945 PMCID: PMC3377609 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2012] [Accepted: 05/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The transport of nutrients by migratory animals across ecosystem boundaries can significantly enrich recipient food webs, thereby shaping the ecosystems' structure and function. To illustrate the potential role of islands in enabling the transfer of matter across ecosystem boundaries to be gauged, we investigated the influence of seabirds on nitrogen input on islands. Basing our study on four widely differing islands in terms of their biogeography and ecological characteristics, sampled at different spatial and temporal intervals, we analyzed the nitrogen isotopic values of the main terrestrial ecosystem compartments (vascular plants, arthropods, lizards and rodents) and their relationship to seabird values. For each island, the isotopic values of the ecosystem were driven by those of seabirds, which ultimately corresponded to changes in their marine prey. First, terrestrial compartments sampled within seabird colonies were the most enriched in δ(15)N compared with those collected at various distances outside colonies. Second, isotopic values of the whole terrestrial ecosystems changed over time, reflecting the values of seabirds and their prey, showing a fast turnover throughout the ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that seabird-derived nutrients not only spread across the terrestrial ecosystems and trophic webs, but also modulate their isotopic values locally and temporally on these islands. The wealth of experimental possibilities in insular ecosystems justifies greater use of these model systems to further our understanding of the modalities of trans-boundary nutrient transfers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stéphane Caut
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigationes Científicas (CSIC), Avda. Americo Vespucio, Sevilla, Spain.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
57
|
Zmudczyńska K, Olejniczak I, Zwolicki A, Iliszko L, Convey P, Stempniewicz L. Influence of allochtonous nutrients delivered by colonial seabirds on soil collembolan communities on Spitsbergen. Polar Biol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-012-1169-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
58
|
|
59
|
Wardle DA, Bardgett RD, Callaway RM, Van der Putten WH. Terrestrial ecosystem responses to species gains and losses. Science 2011; 332:1273-7. [PMID: 21659595 DOI: 10.1126/science.1197479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 225] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Ecosystems worldwide are losing some species and gaining others, resulting in an interchange of species that is having profound impacts on how these ecosystems function. However, research on the effects of species gains and losses has developed largely independently of one another. Recent conceptual advances regarding effects of species gain have arisen from studies that have unraveled the mechanistic basis of how invading species with novel traits alter biotic interactions and ecosystem processes. In contrast, studies on traits associated with species loss are fewer, and much remains unknown about how traits that predispose species to extinction affect ecological processes. Species gains and losses are both consequences and drivers of global change; thus, explicit integration of research on how both processes simultaneously affect ecosystem functioning is key to determining the response of the Earth system to current and future human activities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A Wardle
- Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Faculty of Forestry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901-83 Umeå, Sweden.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
60
|
Maron JL, Pearson DE. Vertebrate predators have minimal cascading effects on plant production or seed predation in an intact grassland ecosystem. Ecol Lett 2011; 14:661-9. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01633.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
61
|
Ecological Effects of Live Salmon Exceed Those of Carcasses During an Annual Spawning Migration. Ecosystems 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-011-9431-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
62
|
Abstract
The study of natural gradients in nutrient subsidies between ecosystems allows for predictions of how changes in one system can affect biodiversity in another. We performed a large-scale empirical test of the role of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in structuring riparian plant communities. A comparison of 50 watersheds in the remote Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia's central coast in Canada shows that salmon influence nutrient loading to plants,shifting plant communities toward nutrient-rich species, which in turn decreases plant diversity.These effects are mediated by interactions between salmon density and the physical characteristics of watersheds. Predicting how salmon affect terrestrial ecosystems is central to conservation plans that aim to better integrate ecosystem values into resource management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morgan D Hocking
- Earth2Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
| | | |
Collapse
|
63
|
|
64
|
Young HS, McCauley DJ, Dirzo R. Differential responses to guano fertilization among tropical tree species with varying functional traits. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2011; 98:207-214. [PMID: 21613110 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1000159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Seabirds often cause significant changes to soil properties, and seabird-dominated systems often host unique plant communities. This study experimentally (1) examined species-specific responses to seabird guano gradients, (2) considered the role that differential functional traits among species play in altering plant response to guano, and (3) investigated the implications of seabird guano on range-expanding species. METHODS Using a greenhouse fertilization experiment, we examined how guano fertilization affects the growth and functional traits of four tree species dominant in the Pacific Islands: Cocos nucifera, Pisonia grandis, Scaevola sericea, and Tournefortia argentea. In these systems, seabirds are frequently found in association with three of these four species; the remaining species, C. nucifera, is a recently proliferating species commonly found in the region but rarely associated with seabirds. KEY RESULTS We determined that responses to guano addition differed significantly between species in ways that were consistent with predictions based on differing functional traits among species. Notably, we demonstrated that C. nucifera showed no growth responses to guano additions, whereas all seabird-associated plants showed strong responses. CONCLUSIONS These results provide experimental evidence of differential species response to guano additions, suggesting that differences in species functional traits may contribute to changes in plant communities in seabird-dominated areas, with seabird-associated species garnering performance advantages in these high-nutrient environments. Among these species, results also suggest that C. nucifera may have a competitive advantage in low-nutrient environments, providing an unusual example of how a range-expanding plant species can profit from low-nutrient environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hillary S Young
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
65
|
Morris MR, Stanford JA. Floodplain succession and soil nitrogen accumulation on a salmon river in southwestern Kamchatka. ECOL MONOGR 2011. [DOI: 10.1890/08-2296.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
66
|
Abstract
Predators are predominantly valued for their ability to control prey, as indicators of high levels of biodiversity and as tourism attractions. This view, however, is incomplete because it does not acknowledge that predators may play a significant role in the delivery of critical life-support services such as ecosystem nutrient cycling. New research is beginning to show that predator effects on nutrient cycling are ubiquitous. These effects emerge from direct nutrient excretion, egestion or translocation within and across ecosystem boundaries after prey consumption, and from indirect effects mediated by predator interactions with prey. Depending on their behavioural ecology, predators can create heterogeneous or homogeneous nutrient distributions across natural landscapes. Because predator species are disproportionately vulnerable to elimination from ecosystems, we stand to lose much more from their disappearance than their simple charismatic attractiveness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J Schmitz
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
67
|
Paine RT. Macroecology: does it ignore or can it encourage further ecological syntheses based on spatially local experimental manipulations? (American Society of Naturalists address). Am Nat 2011; 176:385-93. [PMID: 20735261 DOI: 10.1086/656273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Detailed natural history coupled to experimental ecology has provided a rich harvest of insights into how natural communities in all ecosystems function, insights that cannot be gleaned from macroecological analyses. That detail, generated by small-spatial-scale but often lengthy experiments, is essential to managing and even restoring ecosystems. My essay focuses primarily on the ecology of exposed rocky intertidal shores, but I believe the derived implications are generalizable to all ecosystems. A mainly experimental approach has tended to avoid a preoccupation with niches but instead has focused on the ecological roles exercised by particular species. Attention to roles has produced a growing appreciation for trophic cascades and their consequences, with obvious implications for the management of fisheries and the conservation significance of apex predators. Some studies are more phenomenological and others more reductionist in focus, but all provide pathways toward understanding abundance and body size variation or a miscellany of indirect effects. Microecology in all ecosystems should continue to prosper independently of a macroecological, predominately terrestrial perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert T Paine
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
68
|
Mulder C, Boit A, Bonkowski M, De Ruiter PC, Mancinelli G, Van der Heijden MG, Van Wijnen HJ, Vonk JA, Rutgers M. A Belowground Perspective on Dutch Agroecosystems: How Soil Organisms Interact to Support Ecosystem Services. ADV ECOL RES 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-374794-5.00005-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
69
|
Epanchin PN, Knapp RA, Lawler SP. Nonnative trout impact an alpine-nesting bird by altering aquatic-insect subsidies. Ecology 2010; 91:2406-15. [PMID: 20836462 DOI: 10.1890/09-1974.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Adjacent food webs may be linked by cross-boundary subsidies: more-productive donor systems can subsidize consumers in less-productive neighboring recipient systems. Introduced species are known to have direct effects on organisms within invaded communities. However, few studies have addressed the indirect effects of nonnative species in donor systems on organisms in recipient systems. We studied the direct role of introduced trout in altering a lake-derived resource subsidy and their indirect effects in altering a passerine bird's response to that subsidy. We compared the abundance of aquatic insects and foraging Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis dawsoni, "Rosy-Finch") at fish-containing vs. fishless lakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California (USA). Introduced trout outcompeted Rosy-Finches for emerging aquatic insects (i.e., mayflies). Fish-containing lakes had 98% fewer mayflies than did fishless lakes. In lakes without fish, Rosy-Finches showed an aggregative response to emerging aquatic insects with 5.9 times more Rosy-Finches at fishless lakes than at fish-containing lakes. Therefore, the introduction of nonnative fish into the donor system reduced both the magnitude of the resource subsidy and the strength of cross-boundary trophic interactions. Importantly, the timing of the subsidy occurs when Rosy-Finches feed their young. If Rosy-Finches rely on aquatic-insect subsidies to fledge their young, reductions in the subsidy by introduced trout may have decreased Rosy-Finch abundances from historic levels. We recommend that terrestrial recipients of aquatic subsidies be included in conservation and restoration plans for ecosystems with alpine lakes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter N Epanchin
- Graduate Group in Ecology, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
70
|
Indirect effects of ant eradication efforts on offshore islets in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Biol Invasions 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-010-9848-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
71
|
Pisanu B, Caut S, Gutjahr S, Vernon P, Chapuis JL. Introduced black rats Rattus rattus on Ile de la Possession (Iles Crozet, Subantarctic): diet and trophic position in food webs. Polar Biol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-010-0867-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
72
|
Shears NT, Ross PM. Toxic cascades: multiple anthropogenic stressors have complex and unanticipated interactive effects on temperate reefs. Ecol Lett 2010; 13:1149-59. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01512.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
73
|
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn J Leroux
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada.
| | | |
Collapse
|
74
|
Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Gravel
- Biology Department, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
75
|
Romero GQ, Srivastava DS. Food-web composition affects cross-ecosystem interactions and subsidies. J Anim Ecol 2010; 79:1122-31. [PMID: 20584097 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2010.01716.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
1. Ecosystems may affect each other through trophic interactions that cross ecosystem boundaries as well as via the transfer of subsidies, but these effects can vary depending on the identity of species involved in the interaction. 2. In this study, we manipulated two terrestrial bromeliad-living spider species (Aglaoctenus castaneus, Corinna gr. rubripes) that have variable hunting modes, to test their individual and combined effects on aquatic invertebrate community structure and ecosystem processes (i.e. decomposition rate and nitrogen cycling). We predicted that these terrestrial predators can affect aquatic invertebrates and nutrient dynamics within water-filled bromeliads. 3. Aglaoctenus spiders reduced the richness, abundance and biomass of aquatic insect larvae via consumptive or non-consumptive effects on ovipositing terrestrial adults, but effects of the two spider species in combination were usually the linear average of their monoculture effects. In contrast, invertebrates with entirely aquatic life cycles were unaffected or facilitated by spiders. Spiders did not affect either net detritivore biomass or the flux of detrital nitrogen to the bromeliad. Instead, Corinna spiders contributed allochthonous nitrogen to bromeliads. 4. Our results provide the novel observations that predators in one ecosystem not only directly reduce taxa whose life cycles cross-ecosystem boundaries, but also indirectly facilitate taxa whose life cycles are entirely within the second ecosystem. This compensatory response between cross-ecosystem and within-ecosystem taxa may have led to an attenuation of top-down effects across ecosystem boundaries. In addition, our results add to a growing consensus that species identity is an important determinant of community structure and ecosystem functioning. Thus, the composition of both terrestrial and aquatic food webs may affect the strength of cross-ecosystem interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Q Romero
- Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, IBILCE, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, CEP 15054-000, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | | |
Collapse
|
76
|
Berke SK. Functional Groups of Ecosystem Engineers: A Proposed Classification with Comments on Current Issues. Integr Comp Biol 2010; 50:147-57. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icq077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
77
|
Spiller DA, Piovia-Scorr J, Wright AN, Yang LH, Takimoto G, Schoener TW, Iwata T. Marine subsidies have multiple effects on coastal food webs. Ecology 2010; 91:1424-34. [PMID: 20503874 DOI: 10.1890/09-0715.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The effect of resource subsidies on recipient food webs has received much recent attention. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of significant seasonal seaweed deposition events, caused by hurricanes and other storms, on species inhabiting subtropical islands. The seaweed represents a pulsed resource subsidy that is consumed by amphipods and flies, which are eaten by lizards and predatory arthropods, which in turn consume terrestrial herbivores. Additionally, seaweed decomposes directly into the soil under plants. We added seaweed to six shoreline plots and removed seaweed from six other plots for three months; all plots were repeatedly monitored for 12 months after the initial manipulation. Lizard density (Anolis sagrei) responded rapidly, and the overall average was 63% higher in subsidized than in removal plots. Stable-isotope analysis revealed a shift in lizard diet composition toward more marine-based prey in subsidized plots. Leaf damage was 70% higher in subsidized than in removal plots after eight months, but subsequent damage was about the same in the two treatments. Foliage growth rate was 70% higher in subsidized plots after 12 months. Results of a complementary study on the relationship between natural variation in marine subsidies and island food web components were consistent with the experimental results. We suggest two causal pathways for the effects of marine subsidies on terrestrial plants: (1) the "fertilization effect" in which seaweed adds nutrients to plants, increasing their growth rate, and (2) the "predator diet shift effect" in which lizards shift from eating local prey (including terrestrial herbivores) to eating mostly marine detritivores.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A Spiller
- Section of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616-8755, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
78
|
Wardle DA, Karl BJ, Beggs JR, Yeates GW, Williamson WM, Bonner KI. Determining the impact of scale insect honeydew, and invasive wasps and rodents, on the decomposer subsystem in a New Zealand beech forest. Biol Invasions 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-009-9670-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
79
|
Abstract
Predator species individually are known to have important effects on plant communities and ecosystem functions such as production, decomposition, and elemental cycling, the nature of which is determined by a key functional trait, predator hunting mode. However, it remains entirely uncertain how predators with different hunting modes combine to influence ecosystem function. I report on an experiment conducted in a New England grassland ecosystem that quantified the net effects of a sit-and-wait and an actively hunting spider species on the plant composition and functioning of a New England grassland ecosystem. I manipulated predator functional diversity by varying the dominance ratio of the two predator species among five treatments using a replacement series design. Experimentation revealed that predator functional diversity effects propagated down the live plant-based chain to affect the levels of plant diversity, and plant litter quality, elemental cycling, and production. Moreover, many of these effects could be approximately by the weighted average of the individual predator species effects, suggesting that this kind of predator diversity effect on ecosystems is not highly nonlinear.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J Schmitz
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06515, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
80
|
Towns DR, Wardle DA, Mulder CPH, Yeates GW, Fitzgerald BM, Richard Parrish G, Bellingham PJ, Bonner KI. Predation of seabirds by invasive rats: multiple indirect consequences for invertebrate communities. OIKOS 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2008.17186.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
81
|
Bergstrom DM, Lucieer A, Kiefer K, Wasley J, Belbin L, Pedersen TK, Chown SL. Indirect effects of invasive species removal devastate World Heritage Island. J Appl Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01601.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 291] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
82
|
Wardle DA, Bellingham PJ, Bonner KI, Mulder CPH. Indirect effects of invasive predators on litter decomposition and nutrient resorption on seabird-dominated islands. Ecology 2009; 90:452-64. [DOI: 10.1890/08-0097.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
83
|
Moller H. Matauranga Maori, science and seabirds in New Zealand. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1080/03014220909510151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
84
|
Angel A, Wanless RM, Cooper J. Review of impacts of the introduced house mouse on islands in the Southern Ocean: are mice equivalent to rats? Biol Invasions 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-008-9401-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
85
|
Sergio F, Caro T, Brown D, Clucas B, Hunter J, Ketchum J, McHugh K, Hiraldo F. Top Predators as Conservation Tools: Ecological Rationale, Assumptions, and Efficacy. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2008. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.39.110707.173545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 376] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Sergio
- Department of Applied Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, 41013 Seville, Spain;
| | - Tim Caro
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Danielle Brown
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Barbara Clucas
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Jennifer Hunter
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - James Ketchum
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Katherine McHugh
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Fernando Hiraldo
- Department of Applied Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, 41013 Seville, Spain;
| |
Collapse
|
86
|
Valett HM, Thomas SA, Mulholland PJ, Webster JR, Dahm CN, Fellows CS, Crenshaw CL, Peterson CG. ENDOGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS CONTROL OF ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION: N CYCLING IN HEADWATER STREAMS. Ecology 2008; 89:3515-27. [PMID: 19137956 DOI: 10.1890/07-1003.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- H M Valett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
87
|
|
88
|
Davis NE, O'Dowd DJ, Green PT, Nally RM. Effects of an alien ant invasion on abundance, behavior, and reproductive success of endemic island birds. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2008; 22:1165-1176. [PMID: 18637918 DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00984.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Biological invaders can reconfigure ecological networks in communities, which changes community structure, composition, and ecosystem function. We investigated whether impacts caused by the introduced yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), a pantropical invader rapidly expanding its range, extend to higher-order consumers by comparing counts, behaviors, and nesting success of endemic forest birds in ant-invaded and uninvaded rainforest on Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Point counts and direct behavioral observations showed that ant invasion altered abundances and behaviors of the bird species we examined: the Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus erythropleurus), Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica natalis), and Christmas Island White-eye (Zosterops natalis). The thrush, which frequents the forest floor, altered its foraging and reproductive behaviors in ant-invaded forest, where nest-site location changed, and nest success and juvenile counts were lower. Counts of the dove, which forages exclusively on the forest floor, were 9-14 times lower in ant-invaded forest. In contrast, counts and foraging success of the white-eye, a generalist feeder in the understory and canopy, were higher in ant-invaded forest, where mutualism between the ant and honeydew-secreting scale insects increased the abundance of scale-insect prey. These complex outcomes involved the interplay of direct interference by ants and altered resource availability and habitat structure caused indirectly by ant invasion. Ecological meltdown, rapidly unleashed by ant invasion, extended to these endemic forest birds and may affect key ecosystem processes, including seed dispersal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naomi E Davis
- Australian Centre for Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
89
|
Frank DA. Evidence for top predator control of a grazing ecosystem. OIKOS 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16846.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
90
|
Schmitz OJ, Grabowski JH, Peckarsky BL, Preisser EL, Trussell GC, Vonesh JR. FROM INDIVIDUALS TO ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION: TOWARD AN INTEGRATION OF EVOLUTIONARY AND ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY. Ecology 2008; 89:2436-45. [PMID: 18831165 DOI: 10.1890/07-1030.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J Schmitz
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
91
|
Tiegs SD, Peter FD, Robinson CT, Uehlinger U, Gessner MO. Leaf decomposition and invertebrate colonization responses to manipulated litter quantity in streams. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1899/07-054.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. D. Tiegs
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zurich, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - F. D. Peter
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zurich, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - C. T. Robinson
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zurich, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - U. Uehlinger
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zurich, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - M. O. Gessner
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zurich, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
92
|
Detrimental effects of two widespread invasive ant species on weight and survival of colonial nesting seabirds in the Hawaiian Islands. Biol Invasions 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-008-9233-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
93
|
Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J Schmitz
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
94
|
Marczak LB, Hoover TM, Richardson JS. Trophic interception: how a boundary-foraging organism influences cross-ecosystem fluxes. OIKOS 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.15982.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
|
95
|
Marczak LB, Hoover TM, Richardson JS. Trophic interception: how a boundary-foraging organism influences cross-ecosystem fluxes. OIKOS 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.15982.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
96
|
Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J Schmitz
- Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
97
|
An invasive frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, increases new leaf production and leaf litter decomposition rates through nutrient cycling in Hawaii. Biol Invasions 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-007-9133-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
98
|
Fukami T, Wardle DA, Bellingham PJ, Mulder CPH, Towns DR, Yeates GW, Bonner KI, Durrett MS, Grant-Hoffman MN, Williamson WM. Above- and below-ground impacts of introduced predators in seabird-dominated island ecosystems. Ecol Lett 2006; 9:1299-307. [PMID: 17118004 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00983.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 197] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Predators often exert multi-trophic cascading effects in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how such predation may indirectly impact interactions between above- and below-ground biota is poorly understood, despite the functional importance of these interactions. Comparison of rat-free and rat-invaded offshore islands in New Zealand revealed that predation of seabirds by introduced rats reduced forest soil fertility by disrupting sea-to-land nutrient transport by seabirds, and that fertility reduction in turn led to wide-ranging cascading effects on belowground organisms and the ecosystem processes they drive. Our data further suggest that some effects on the belowground food web were attributable to changes in aboveground plant nutrients and biomass, which were themselves related to reduced soil disturbance and fertility on invaded islands. These results demonstrate that, by disrupting across-ecosystem nutrient subsidies, predators can indirectly induce strong shifts in both above- and below-ground biota via multiple pathways, and in doing so, act as major ecosystem drivers.
Collapse
|
99
|
Abstract
Biodiversity lies at the core of ecosystem processes fueling our planet's vital life-support systems; its degradation--by us--is threatening our own well-being and will disproportionately impact the poor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Díaz
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC) and FCEFyN, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|