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Lagendijk DDG, Cueva-Arias D, Van Oosten AR, Berg MP. Impact of three co-occurring physical ecosystem engineers on soil Collembola communities. Oecologia 2022; 198:1085-1096. [PMID: 35391556 PMCID: PMC9056452 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05152-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The interplay between organisms with their abiotic environment may have profound effects within ecological networks, but are still poorly understood. Soil physical ecosystem engineers (EEs) modify the abiotic environment, thereby potentially affecting the distribution of other species, such as microarthropods. We focus on three co-occurring physical EEs (i.e. cattle, vegetation, macrodetritivore) known for their profound effect on soil properties (e.g. pore volume, microclimate, litter thickness). We determined their effects on Collembola community composition and life-form strategy (a proxy for vertical distribution in soil) in a European salt marsh. Soil cores were collected in grazed (compacted soil, under short and tall vegetation) and non-grazed areas (decompacted soil, under short and tall vegetation), their pore structure analysed using X-ray computed tomography, after which Collembola were extracted. Collembola species richness was lower in grazed sites, but abundances were not affected by soil compaction or vegetation height. Community composition differed between ungrazed sites with short vegetation and the other treatments, due to a greater dominance of epigeic Collembola and lower abundance of euedaphic species in this treatment. We found that the three co-occurring EEs and their interactions modify the physical environment of soil fauna, particularly through changes in soil porosity and availability of litter. This alters the relative abundance of Collembola life-forms, and thus the community composition within the soil. As Collembola are known to play a crucial role in decomposition processes, these compositional changes in litter and soil layers are expected to affect ecosystem processes and functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- D D G Lagendijk
- Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa.
| | - D Cueva-Arias
- Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A R Van Oosten
- Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - M P Berg
- Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Conservation and Community Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Preparing for translocations of a Critically Endangered petrel through targeted monitoring of nest survival and breeding biology. ORYX 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s0030605320000794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The population of the recently-described Whenua Hou diving petrel Pelecanoides whenuahouensis comprises c. 200 adults that all breed in a single 0.018 km2 colony in a dune system vulnerable to erosion. The species would therefore benefit from the establishment of a second breeding population through a translocation. However, given the small size of the source population, it is essential that translocations are informed by carefully targeted monitoring data. We therefore modelled nest survival at the remaining population in relation to potential drivers (distance to sea and burrow density of conspecifics and a competitor) across three breeding seasons with varying climatic conditions as a result of the southern oscillation cycle. We also documented breeding phenology and burrow attendance, and measured chicks, to generate growth curves. We estimated egg survival at 0.686, chick survival at 0.890, overall nest survival at 0.612, and found no indication that nest survival was affected by distance to sea or burrow density. Whenua Hou diving petrels laid eggs in mid October, eggs hatched in late November, and chicks fledged in mid January at c. 86% of adult weight. Burrow attendance (i.e. feeds) decreased from 0.94 to 0.65 visits per night as chicks approached fledging. Nest survival and breeding biology were largely consistent among years despite variation in climate. Nest survival estimates will facilitate predictions about future population trends and suitability of prospective translocation sites. Knowledge of breeding phenology will inform the timing of collection of live chicks for translocation, and patterns of burrow attendance combined with growth curves will structure hand-rearing protocols. A tuhinga whakarāpopoto (te reo Māori abstract) can be found in the Supplementary material.
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Separating the effects of climate, bycatch, predation and harvesting on tītī (Ardenna grisea) population dynamics in New Zealand: A model-based assessment. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0243794. [PMID: 33315952 PMCID: PMC7735597 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A suite of factors may have contributed to declines in the tītī (sooty shearwater; Ardenna grisea) population in the New Zealand region since at least the 1960s. Recent estimation of the magnitude of most sources of non-natural mortality has presented the opportunity to quantitatively assess the relative importance of these factors. We fit a range of population dynamics models to a time-series of relative abundance data from 1976 until 2005, with the various sources of mortality being modelled at the appropriate part of the life-cycle. We present estimates of effects obtained from the best-fitting model and using model averaging. The best-fitting models explained much of the variation in the abundance index when survival and fecundity were linked to the Southern Oscillation Index, with strong decreases in adult survival, juvenile survival and fecundity being related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Predation by introduced animals, harvesting by humans, and bycatch in fisheries also appear to have contributed to the population decline. It is envisioned that the best-fitting models will form the basis for quantitative assessments of competing management strategies. Our analysis suggests that sustainability of the New Zealand tītī population will be most influenced by climate, in particular by how climate change will affect the frequency and intensity of ENSO events in the future. Removal of the effects of both depredation by introduced predators and harvesting by humans is likely to have fewer benefits for the population than alleviating climate effects.
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Fischer JH, McCauley CF, Armstrong DP, Debski I, Wittmer HU. Contrasting responses of lizard occurrences to burrowing by a critically endangered seabird. COMMUNITY ECOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1556/168.2019.20.1.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. H. Fischer
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - C. F. McCauley
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - D. P. Armstrong
- Wildlife Ecology Group, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - I. Debski
- Aquatic Unit, Department of Conservation, PO Box 10420, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - H. U. Wittmer
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
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Sagar RL, Mitchell C, Rayner MJ, Stanley MC, Dunphy BJ. Maximising success: Translocation does not negatively impact stress reactivity and development in petrel chicks. Glob Ecol Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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Thoresen JJ, Towns D, Leuzinger S, Durrett M, Mulder CPH, Wardle DA. Invasive rodents have multiple indirect effects on seabird island invertebrate food web structure. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2017; 27:1190-1198. [PMID: 28140497 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Revised: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Burrowing seabirds that nest on islands transfer nutrients from the sea, disturb the soil through burrowing, damage tree foliage when landing, and thereby modify the surface litter. However, seabirds are in decline worldwide, as are their community- and ecosystem-level impacts, primarily due to invasive predatory mammals. The direct and indirect effects of seabird decline on communities and ecosystems are inherently complex. Here we employed network analysis, as a means of simplifying ecological complexity, to better understand the effects seabird loss may have on island invertebrate communities. Using data on leaf litter communities, we constructed invertebrate food webs for each of 18 offshore oceanic islands in northeastern New Zealand, nine of which have high seabird densities and nine of were invaded by rats. Ten network topological metrics (including entropy, generality, and vulnerability) were compared between rat-invaded and uninvaded (seabird-dominant) islands. We found that, on rat-invaded islands, the invertebrate food webs were smaller and less complex than on their seabird-dominated counterparts, which may be due to the suppression of seabird-derived nutrients and consequent effects on trophic cascades. This decreased complexity of food webs due to the presence of rats is indicative of lower ecosystem resistance via lower trophic redundancy. Our results show that rat effects on island ecosystems are manifested throughout entire food webs, and demonstrate how network analysis may be useful to assess ecosystem recovery status as these invaded islands are restored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J Thoresen
- Institute for Applied Ecology, Auckland University of Technology, 33 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - David Towns
- Institute for Applied Ecology, Auckland University of Technology, 33 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand
- Department of Conservation, Private Bag 68-908, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Sebastian Leuzinger
- Institute for Applied Ecology, Auckland University of Technology, 33 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Mel Durrett
- Department of Biology and Wildlife and Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775, USA
- Department of Biology, Rhodes College, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, Tennessee, 38112, USA
| | - Christa P H Mulder
- Department of Biology and Wildlife and Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775, USA
| | - David A Wardle
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901-83, Umeå, Sweden
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Wardle DA, Peltzer DA. Impacts of invasive biota in forest ecosystems in an aboveground–belowground context. Biol Invasions 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-017-1372-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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