1
|
Lundgren EJ, Bergman J, Trepel J, le Roux E, Monsarrat S, Kristensen JA, Pedersen RØ, Pereyra P, Tietje M, Svenning JC. Functional traits-not nativeness-shape the effects of large mammalian herbivores on plant communities. Science 2024; 383:531-537. [PMID: 38301018 DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Large mammalian herbivores (megafauna) have experienced extinctions and declines since prehistory. Introduced megafauna have partly counteracted these losses yet are thought to have unusually negative effects on plants compared with native megafauna. Using a meta-analysis of 3995 plot-scale plant abundance and diversity responses from 221 studies, we found no evidence that megafauna impacts were shaped by nativeness, "invasiveness," "feralness," coevolutionary history, or functional and phylogenetic novelty. Nor was there evidence that introduced megafauna facilitate introduced plants more than native megafauna. Instead, we found strong evidence that functional traits shaped megafauna impacts, with larger-bodied and bulk-feeding megafauna promoting plant diversity. Our work suggests that trait-based ecology provides better insight into interactions between megafauna and plants than do concepts of nativeness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Lundgren
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia
| | - Juraj Bergman
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jonas Trepel
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Elizabeth le Roux
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
- Aarhus Institute for Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Sophie Monsarrat
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Rewilding Europe, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Jeppe Aagaard Kristensen
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rasmus Østergaard Pedersen
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Patricio Pereyra
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones, Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia, Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos Almirante Storni (CIMAS), San Antonio Oeste, Argentina
| | - Melanie Tietje
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Belowground mechanism reveals climate change impacts on invasive clonal plant establishment. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2860. [PMID: 35190658 PMCID: PMC8861118 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06918-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change and disturbance can alter invasion success of clonal plants by differentially affecting the clonal traits influencing their establishment as young plants. Clonal traits related to the vegetative reproduction of native Pascopyrum smithii and non-native Bromus inermis grass seedlings were evaluated under altered precipitation frequencies and a single grazing event. Pascopyrum smithii maintained similar vegetative reproduction under three simulated precipitation frequencies whereas B. inermis vegetative reproduction declined as precipitation became more intermittent. Vegetative reproduction of the non-native B. inermis was greater than the native P. smithii under all simulated precipitation frequencies except the most intermittent scenario. A single grazing event did not affect either species’ response to intra-annual precipitation variability but did slightly reduce their clonal growth and increase their bud dormancy. In young plants, clonal traits of the invasive grass favored its superior expansion and population growth compared to the native grass except under the most severe climate change scenario. Grassland restoration using native P. smithii seeds would be successful in most years due to its resilient clonal growth in a changing climate. Clonal infrastructure development in young plants is critical to clonal plant establishment and persistence in a changing climate and under disturbed conditions.
Collapse
|
3
|
Archibald S, Hempson GP. Competing consumers: contrasting the patterns and impacts of fire and mammalian herbivory in Africa. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0309. [PMID: 27502374 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Fire and herbivory are the two consumers of above-ground biomass globally. They have contrasting impacts as they differ in terms of selectivity and temporal occurrence. Here, we integrate continental-scale data on fire and herbivory in Africa to explore (i) how environmental drivers constrain these two consumers and (ii) the degree to which each consumer affects the other. Environments conducive to mammalian herbivory are not necessarily the same as those conducive to fire, although their spheres of influence do overlap-especially in grassy ecosystems which are known for their frequent fires and abundance of large mammalian herbivores. Interactions between fire and herbivory can be competitive, facultative or antagonistic, and we explore this with reference to the potential for alternative ecosystem states. Although fire removes orders of magnitude more biomass than herbivory their methane emissions are very similar, and in the past, herbivores probably emitted more methane than fire. We contrast the type of herbivory and fire in different ecosystems to define 'consumer-realms'.This article is part of the themed issue 'Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sally Archibald
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag, Johannesburg, South Africa Natural Resources and the Environment, CSIR, PO Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Gareth P Hempson
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag, Johannesburg, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Belowground bud bank response to grazing under severe, short-term drought. Oecologia 2015; 178:795-806. [PMID: 25676105 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3249-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2013] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
While the effects of drought and grazing are often studied separately, these disturbances co-occur in grasslands worldwide and interactively influence population, community, and ecosystem processes. The effects of drought and grazing on the belowground bud bank may dictate the trajectory of community recovery because new shoots arise from belowground buds after disturbance in perennial grasslands. We therefore investigated the separate and interactive effects of severe drought and grazing on the belowground bud bank and aboveground vegetation in the tallgrass prairie of northeast Kansas, USA. Contrary to our expectations, we observed changes in community structure and declines in species richness both above and below ground in response to drought and grazing. We also hypothesized that drought would reduce bud bank density of all taxonomic groups, but found that grass bud and shoot densities remained constant across all drought and grazing treatment combinations. While sedge and forb bud and shoot densities were reduced by drought, only sedge bud density declined to a greater extent when grazed under drought conditions. Live rhizome biomass did not vary by treatment and was highly correlated with bud bank density, suggesting that bud demography is tightly linked to the production and senescence of rhizomes. Despite the effects of drought and grazing on aboveground net primary productivity and community structure, our work suggests that grasses stabilize tallgrass prairie plant communities because their rhizomes and associated buds persist through co-occurring disturbances.
Collapse
|
6
|
Eby S, Burkepile DE, Fynn RWS, Burns CE, Govender N, Hagenah N, Koerner SE, Matchett KJ, Thompson DI, Wilcox KR, Collins SL, Kirkman KP, Knapp AK, Smith MD. Loss of a large grazer impacts savanna grassland plant communities similarly in North America and South Africa. Oecologia 2014; 175:293-303. [PMID: 24554031 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-2895-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2013] [Accepted: 01/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Eby
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA,
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Dalgleish HJ, Kula AR, Hartnett DC, Sandercock BK. Responses of two bunchgrasses to nitrogen addition in tallgrass prairie: the role of bud bank demography. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2008; 95:672-680. [PMID: 21632392 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.2007277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Growth of tallgrass prairie plants, many of which maintain substantial bud banks, can be limited by nitrogen (N), water, and/or light. We hypothesized that tallgrass prairie plants respond to increases in N through demographic effects on the bud bank. We tested the effects of a pulse of N on (1) bud bank demography, (2) plant reproductive allocation, and (3) ramet size. We parameterized matrix models, considering each genet as a population of plant parts. Nitrogen addition significantly impacted bud bank demography in two subdominant species of bunchgrass: Sporobolus heterolepis (a C(4) grass) and Koeleria macrantha (a C(3) grass), but had no effect on the size of individual ramets. Emergence from the bud bank and ramet population growth rates (λ) were significantly higher in S. heterolepis genets that received supplemental N. Nitrogen addition also affected the bud demography of K. macrantha, but N addition decreased rather than increased λ. Prospective and retrospective demographic analyses indicated that bud bank dynamics were the most important demographic processes driving plant responses to nutrient availability. Thus, the variation in productivity in these tallgrass prairie species is driven principally by the demography of the bud bank rather than by the physiology and growth of aboveground tillers. Improved understanding of bud bank dynamics may lead to improved predictive models of grassland responses to environmental changes such as altered N deposition and precipitation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harmony J Dalgleish
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 116 Ackert Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506 USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Kojola I, Helle T, Niskanen M, Aikio P. Effects of lichen biomass on winter diet, body mass and reproduction of semi-domesticated reindeerRangifer t. tarandusin Finland. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 1995. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.1995.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilpo Kojola
- Ilpo Kojola, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Reindeer Research, FIN-99910 Kaamanen, Finland
| | - Timo Helle
- Timo Helle, The Finnish Forest Research Institute, Rovaniemi Research Station, Box 16, FIN-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Mikko Niskanen
- Mikko Niskanen, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Meltaus Game Research Station, FIN-97340 Meltaus, Finland
| | - Pekka Aikio
- Pekka Aikio, Sami Institute, P. O. Box 220, N-9520 Guovdageaionu, Norway
| |
Collapse
|