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Hromada SJ, Iacchetta MG, Beas BJ, Flaherty J, Fulbright MC, Wild KH, Scott AF, Gienger C. Low-Intensity Agriculture Shapes Amphibian and Reptile Communities: Insights from a 10-Year Monitoring Study. HERPETOLOGICA 2021. [DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-20-00007.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven J. Hromada
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - Michael G. Iacchetta
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - Benjamin J. Beas
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - James Flaherty
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - Michael C. Fulbright
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - Kristoffer H. Wild
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - A. Floyd Scott
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
| | - C.M. Gienger
- Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37040, USA
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2
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Arnan X, Silva CHF, Reis DQA, Oliveira FMP, Câmara T, Ribeiro EMS, Andersen AN, Leal IR. Individual and interactive effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic composition and diversity of extrafloral nectary-bearing plants in Brazilian Caatinga. Oecologia 2021; 198:267-277. [PMID: 34767071 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05074-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD) and climate change represent two of the major threats to biodiversity globally, but their combined effects are not well understood. Here we investigate the individual and interactive effects of increasing CAD and decreasing rainfall on the composition and taxonomic (TD), functional (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of plants possessing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) in semi-arid Brazilian Caatinga. EFNs attract ants that protect plants against insect herbivore attack and are extremely prevalent in the Caatinga flora. EFN-bearing plants were censused along gradients of disturbance and rainfall in Catimbau National Park in north-eastern Brazil. We recorded a total of 2243 individuals belonging to 21 species. Taxonomic and functional composition varied along the rainfall gradient, but not along the disturbance gradient. There was a significant interaction between increasing disturbance and decreasing rainfall, with CAD leading to decreased TD, FD and PD in the most arid areas, and to increased TD, FD and PD in the wettest areas. We found a strong phylogenetic signal in the EFN traits we analysed, which explains the strong matching between patterns of FD and PD along the environmental gradients. The interactive effects of disturbance and rainfall revealed by our study indicate that the decreased rainfall forecast for Caatinga under climate change will increase the sensitivity of EFN-bearing plants to anthropogenic disturbance. This has important implications for the availability of a key food resource, which would likely have cascading effects on higher trophic levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Arnan
- Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Garanhuns, Rua Capitão Pedro Rodrigues 105, Garanhuns, PE, 55290-000, Brazil.
| | - Carlos H F Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Daniela Q A Reis
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Fernanda M P Oliveira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Talita Câmara
- Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Garanhuns, Rua Capitão Pedro Rodrigues 105, Garanhuns, PE, 55290-000, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Elâine M S Ribeiro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil.,Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Pernambuco-Campus Petrolina, BR 203, km 2, s/n, Vila Eduardo, Petrolina, PE, 56328-903, Brazil
| | - Alan N Andersen
- Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0810, Australia
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil
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3
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Kazes K, Rotem G, Ziv Y. Effects of Vineyards and Olive Plantations on Reptiles in a Mediterranean Agroecosystem. HERPETOLOGICA 2020. [DOI: 10.1655/0018-0831-76.4.414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kesem Kazes
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 8410501 Israel
| | - Guy Rotem
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 8410501 Israel
| | - Yaron Ziv
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 8410501 Israel
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4
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Quantifying the differences in avian attack rates on reptiles
between an infrastructure and a control site. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-020-01393-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Howell HJ, Mothes CC, Clements SL, Catania SV, Rothermel BB, Searcy CA. Amphibian responses to livestock use of wetlands: new empirical data and a global review. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 29:e01976. [PMID: 31323162 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Pastureland currently occupies 26% of Earth's ice-free land surface. As the global human population continues to increase and developing countries consume more protein-rich diets, the amount of land devoted to livestock grazing will only continue to rise. To mitigate the loss of global biodiversity as a consequence of the ever-expanding amount of land converted from native habitat into pastureland for livestock grazing, an understanding of how livestock impact wildlife is critical. While previous reviews have examined the impact of livestock on a wide variety of taxa, there have been no reviews examining how global livestock grazing affects amphibians. We conducted both an empirical study in south-central Florida examining the impact of cattle on amphibian communities and a quantitative literature review of similar studies on five continents. Our empirical study analyzed amphibian community responses to cattle as both a binary (presence/absence) variable, and as a continuous variable based on cow pie density. Across all analyses, we were unable to find any evidence that cattle affected the amphibian community at our study site. The literature review returned 46 papers that met our criteria for inclusion. Of these studies, 15 found positive effects of livestock on amphibians, 21 found neutral/mixed effects, and 10 found negative effects. Our quantitative analysis of these data indicates that amphibian species that historically occurred in closed-canopy habitats are generally negatively affected by livestock presence. In contrast, open-canopy amphibians are likely to experience positive effects from the presence of livestock, and these positive effects are most likely to occur in locations with cooler climates and/or greater precipitation seasonality. Collectively, our empirical work and literature review demonstrate that under the correct conditions well-managed rangelands are able to support diverse assemblages of amphibians. These rangeland ecosystems may play a critical role in protecting future amphibian biodiversity by serving as an "off-reserve" system to supplement the biodiversity conserved within traditional protected areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hunter J Howell
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, USA
| | - Caitlin C Mothes
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, USA
| | - Stephanie L Clements
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, USA
| | - Shantel V Catania
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, USA
| | | | - Christopher A Searcy
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, USA
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Val J, Travers SK, Oliver I, Koen TB, Eldridge DJ. Recent grazing reduces reptile richness but historic grazing filters reptiles based on their functional traits. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James Val
- Office of Environment and Heritage Buronga NSW Australia
| | - Samantha K. Travers
- Centre for Ecosystem ScienceSchool of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Ian Oliver
- Office of Environment and Heritage Gosford NSW Australia
| | - Terry B. Koen
- Office of Environment and Heritage Cowra NSW Australia
| | - David J. Eldridge
- Centre for Ecosystem ScienceSchool of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
- Office of Environment and Heritage, c/‐ School of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
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Andersen AN. Responses of ant communities to disturbance: Five principles for understanding the disturbance dynamics of a globally dominant faunal group. J Anim Ecol 2018; 88:350-362. [PMID: 30280380 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Ecological disturbance is fundamental to the dynamics of biological communities, yet a conceptual framework for understanding the responses of faunal communities to disturbance remains elusive. Here, I propose five principles for understanding the disturbance dynamics of ants-a globally dominant faunal group that is widely used as bioindicators in land management, which appear to have wide applicability to other taxa. These principles are as follows: (1) The most important effects of habitat disturbance on ants are typically indirect, through its effects on habitat structure, microclimate, resource availability and competitive interactions; (2) habitat openness is a key driver of variation in ant communities; (3) ant species responses to disturbance are to a large degree determined by their responses to habitat openness; (4) the same disturbance will have different effects on ants in different habitats, because of different impacts on habitat openness; and (5) ant community responses to the same disturbance will vary according to ant functional composition and biogeographical history in relation to habitat openness. I illustrate these principles using results primarily from studies of ant responses to fire, a dominant agent of disturbance globally, to provide a common disturbance currency for comparative analysis. I argue that many of the principles also apply to other faunal groups and so can be considered as general ecological "laws." As is the case for ants, many impacts of habitat disturbance on other faunal groups are fundamentally related to habitat openness, the effects of disturbance on it and the functional composition of species in relation to it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan N Andersen
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia
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Pulsford SA, Lindenmayer DB, Driscoll DA. Reptiles and frogs conform to multiple conceptual landscape models in an agricultural landscape. DIVERS DISTRIB 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A. Pulsford
- Fenner School of Environment & Society; The Australian National University; Acton ACT Australia
| | - David B. Lindenmayer
- Fenner School of Environment & Society; The Australian National University; Acton ACT Australia
| | - Don A. Driscoll
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Centre for Integrative Ecology; Deakin University; Burwood VIC Australia
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Gavish Y, Ziv Y. Joint Effect of Habitat Identity and Spatial Distance on Spiders' Community Similarity in a Fragmented Transition Zone. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168417. [PMID: 28033386 PMCID: PMC5199073 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the main processes that affect community similarity have been the focus of much ecological research. However, the relative effects of environmental and spatial aspects in structuring ecological communities is still unresolved and is probably scale-dependent. Here, we examine the effect of habitat identity and spatial distance on fine-grained community similarity within a biogeographic transition zone. We compared four hypotheses: i) habitat identity alone, ii) spatial proximity alone, iii) non-interactive effects of both habitat identity and spatial proximity, and iv) interactive effect of habitat identity and spatial proximity. We explored these hypotheses for spiders in three fragmented landscapes located along the sharp climatic gradient of Southern Judea Lowlands (SJL), Israel. We sampled 14,854 spiders (from 199 species or morphospecies) in 644 samples, taken in 35 patches and stratified to nine different habitats. We calculated the Bray-Curtis similarity between all samples-pairs. We divided the pairwise values to four functional distance categories (same patch, different patches from the same landscape, adjacent landscapes and distant landscapes) and two habitat categories (same or different habitats) and compared them using non-parametric MANOVA. A significant interaction between habitat identity and spatial distance was found, such that the difference in mean similarity between same-habitat pairs and different-habitat pairs decreases with spatial distance. Additionally, community similarity decayed with spatial distance. Furthermore, at all distances, same-habitat pairs had higher similarity than different-habitats pairs. Our results support the fourth hypothesis of interactive effect of habitat identity and spatial proximity. We suggest that the environmental complexity of habitats or increased habitat specificity of species near the edge of their distribution range may explain this pattern. Thus, in transitions zones care should be taken when using habitats as surrogate of community composition in conservation planning since similar habitats in different locations are more likely to support different communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoni Gavish
- Spatial Ecology Lab, Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- * E-mail:
| | - Yaron Ziv
- Spatial Ecology Lab, Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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