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Puig-Gironès R, Santos X, Bros V. Long-interval effects of wildfires on the functional diversity of land snails. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 876:162677. [PMID: 36894101 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In fire-prone regions, fire is a major natural disturbance which shapes ecosystem function and community composition. Fire has a direct and dramatic effect on soil fauna and, especially, on non-mobile species such as land snails. The factors that make the Mediterranean Basin a fire-prone region may also lead to the appearance after fires of certain functional traits related to ecological and physiological characteristics. Knowledge of how community structure and function change along the post-fire succession will be useful for understanding the processes that drive biodiversity patterns in burnt areas and for implementing appropriate biodiversity management strategies. Here, we examine long-interval taxonomic and functional changes occurred in a snail community four and 18 years after a fire in the Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac Natural Park (NE Spain). Our field-based study demonstrates that the land snail assemblage responds both taxonomically and functionally to fire and that there was a clear replacement of dominant species from the first to the second sampling period. Variation in community composition between different post-fire ages can be attributed to snail species traits and successional changes in post-fire habitat conditions. At taxonomic level, there was great variation in snail species turnover between both periods, being the development of the understorey vegetation structure the main driver of this variation. The replacement of functional traits between times since fire suggests that xerophilic and mesophilic preferences play an important role after fire and are largely determined by the complexity of post-fire microhabitats. Our analysis indicates that immediately after a fire there is a time-window of opportunity that attracts species specializing in early successional habitats, which thereafter are replaced due to the changing conditions resulting from succession. Consequently, knowing the functional traits of species is important for determining the impacts of disturbances on the taxonomic and functional communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Puig-Gironès
- Departament de Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Girona, C. Maria Aurèlia Capmany 69, 17003 Girona, Catalonia, Spain; Equip de Biologia de la Conservació, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals & Institut de la Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBIO), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
| | - Xavier Santos
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. Padre Armando Quintas s/n, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Vicenç Bros
- Oficina Tècnica de Parcs Naturals, Diputació de Barcelona, Urgell 187, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Patterns of Mekong Mollusc Biodiversity: Identification of Emerging Threats and Importance to Management and Livelihoods in a Region of Globally Significant Biodiversity and Endemism. WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12092619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) is a key biodiversity hotspot. To facilitate conservation and management, we examine mollusc biodiversity patterns and distribution along LMB’s longitudinal gradients, identify environmental drivers, and discuss the importance of these drivers to management. Cluster analysis, redundancy analysis (RDA), and variation partitioning were conducted using mollusc data collected from 63 sampling sites. Results indicated that species diversity is dominated by gastropods (61%) and bivalves (39%) and feeding trait diversity by scrapers (52%) and filter-collectors (37%). Only 48 species (49%) out of 98 taxa have been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) including a growing number of invasive species. The lack of complete, up-to-date information highlights the need for more research on both native and alien species. Cluster analysis revealed a clear mollusc biodiversity structure along the LMB’s longitudinal segments. Diversity was lowest in upstream tributaries, increased in upstream main channels, and was highest in downstream channels and the Mekong delta, the exception being the observed high gastropod abundance in Chi-Mun river mouth and Luang Prabang areas. The RDA and variation partitioning demonstrated that combined physical–chemical and climatic conditions are the key drivers of biodiversity patterns. Given the potential spread of invasive alien species and increasing anthropogenic impacts, further ecological research, regular monitoring, and adaptive management are needed to sustain mollusc biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, which contribute to food security, nutrition, and livelihoods in the LMB.
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Vendetti JE, Burnett E, Carlton L, Curran AT, Lee C, Matsumoto R, Mc Donnell R, Reich I, Willadsen O. The introduced terrestrial slugs Ambigolimax nyctelius (Bourguignat, 1861) and Ambigolimax valentianus (Férussac, 1821) (Gastropoda: Limacidae) in California, with a discussion of taxonomy, systematics, and discovery by citizen science. J NAT HIST 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2018.1536230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jann E. Vendetti
- Malacology Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Emily Burnett
- Division of Biology, Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA, USA
| | - Lidia Carlton
- Participant in SLIME (Snails and Slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Anne T. Curran
- Participant in SLIME (Snails and Slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Cedric Lee
- Malacology Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Participant in SLIME (Snails and Slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ron Matsumoto
- Participant in SLIME (Snails and Slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Rory Mc Donnell
- Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Inga Reich
- Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Ole Willadsen
- Division of Biology, Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA, USA
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