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Hussain ST, Baumann C. The human side of biodiversity: coevolution of the human niche, palaeo-synanthropy and ecosystem complexity in the deep human past. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230021. [PMID: 38583478 PMCID: PMC10999276 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Today's biodiversity crisis fundamentally threatens the habitability of the planet, thus ranking among the primary human challenges of our time. Much emphasis is currently placed on the loss of biodiversity in the Anthropocene, yet these debates often portray biodiversity as a purely natural phenomenon without much consideration of its human dimensions and frequently lack long-term vistas. This paper offers a deep-time perspective on the key role of the evolving human niche in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity dynamics. We summarize research on past hunter-gatherer ecosystem contributions and argue that human-environment feedback systems with important biodiversity consequences are probably a recurrent feature of the Late Pleistocene, perhaps with even deeper roots. We update current understandings of the human niche in this light and suggest that the formation of palaeo-synanthropic niches in other animals proffers a powerful model system to investigate recursive interactions of foragers and ecosystems. Archaeology holds important knowledge here and shows that ecosystem contributions vary greatly in relation to different human lifeways, some of which are lost today. We therefore recommend paying more attention to the intricate relationship between biodiversity and cultural diversity, contending that promotion of the former depends on fostering the latter. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shumon T. Hussain
- MESH – Center for Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities & Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Weyertal 59, 50937 Cologne, Germany
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark
- BIOCHANGE – Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Chris Baumann
- Biogeology Research Group, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PL 64 (Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2), 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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2
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Friant S. Human behaviors driving disease emergence. Evol Anthropol 2024; 33:e22015. [PMID: 38130075 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between humans, animals, and the environment facilitate zoonotic spillover-the transmission of pathogens from animals to humans. Narratives that cast modern humans as exogenous and disruptive forces that encroach upon "natural" disease systems limit our understanding of human drivers of disease. This review leverages theory from evolutionary anthropology that situates humans as functional components of disease ecologies, to argue that human adaptive strategies to resource acquisition shape predictable patterns of high-risk human-animal interactions, (2) humans construct ecological processes that facilitate spillover, and (3) contemporary patterns of epidemiological risk are emergent properties of interactions between human foraging ecology and niche construction. In turn, disease ecology serves as an important vehicle to link what some cast as opposing bodies of theory in human ecology. Disease control measures should consider human drivers of disease as rational, adaptive, and dynamic and capitalize on our capacity to influence ecological processes to mitigate risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagan Friant
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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3
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Gaynor KM. A big-headed problem drives an ecological chain reaction. Science 2024; 383:370-371. [PMID: 38271504 DOI: 10.1126/science.adn3484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Disruption of key species interactions reverberates across an African savanna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M Gaynor
- Departments of Zoology and Botany, The University of British Columbia (Musqueam) Territory, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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4
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Ellis PW, Page AM, Wood S, Fargione J, Masuda YJ, Carrasco Denney V, Moore C, Kroeger T, Griscom B, Sanderman J, Atleo T, Cortez R, Leavitt S, Cook-Patton SC. The principles of natural climate solutions. Nat Commun 2024; 15:547. [PMID: 38263156 PMCID: PMC10805724 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44425-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Natural climate solutions can mitigate climate change in the near-term, during a climate-critical window. Yet, persistent misunderstandings about what constitutes a natural climate solution generate unnecessary confusion and controversy, thereby delaying critical mitigation action. Based on a review of scientific literature and best practices, we distill five foundational principles of natural climate solutions (nature-based, sustainable, climate-additional, measurable, and equitable) and fifteen operational principles for practical implementation. By adhering to these principles, practitioners can activate effective and durable natural climate solutions, enabling the rapid and wide-scale adoption necessary to meaningfully contribute to climate change mitigation.
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5
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Shukla I, Gaynor KM, Worm B, Darimont CT. The diversity of animals identified as keystone species. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10561. [PMID: 37818247 PMCID: PMC10560868 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the keystone species concept was conceived of over 50 years ago, contemporary efforts to synthesize related literature have been limited. Our objective was to create a list of keystone animal species identified in the literature and to examine the variation in the traits of species and the ecosystem influences they elicit. We documented 230 species considered keystones. A clustering analysis classified them into five archetypes based on combinations of their taxonomic class, body size, trophic level, and role (consumers, modifiers, or prey). Although conservation and public perception of keystones primarily focuses on large vertebrate consumers, our analysis reveals that researchers have defined a wide diversity of keystone species, with large variation in associated ecosystem processes. Future research may confront ambiguity in the definition of keystone status, as well as clarify the type, abundance, and quality of data required to assign the term. Identifying keystones with increased rigor would not only enrich the literature but also inform intervention to safeguard threatened keystones and their associated influences on ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ishana Shukla
- Department of GeographyUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Kaitlyn M. Gaynor
- Departments of Botany and ZoologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Boris Worm
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Chris T. Darimont
- Department of GeographyUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
- Raincoast Conservation FoundationDenny IslandBritish ColumbiaCanada
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6
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Yurkowski DJ, McCulloch E, Ogloff WR, Johnson KF, Amiraux R, Basu N, Elliott KH, Fisk AT, Ferguson SH, Harris LN, Hedges KJ, Jacobs K, Loewen TN, Matthews CJD, Mundy CJ, Niemi A, Rosenberg B, Watt CA, McKinney MA. Mercury accumulation, biomagnification, and relationships to δ 13C, δ 15N and δ 34S of fishes and marine mammals in a coastal Arctic marine food web. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 193:115233. [PMID: 37421916 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115233] [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: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Combining mercury and stable isotope data sets of consumers facilitates the quantification of whether contaminant variation in predators is due to diet, habitat use and/or environmental factors. We investigated inter-species variation in total Hg (THg) concentrations, trophic magnification slope between δ15N and THg, and relationships of THg with δ13C and δ34S in 15 fish and four marine mammal species (249 individuals in total) in coastal Arctic waters. Median THg concentration in muscle varied between species ranging from 0.08 ± 0.04 μg g-1 dw in capelin to 3.10 ± 0.80 μg g-1 dw in beluga whales. Both δ15N (r2 = 0.26) and δ34S (r2 = 0.19) best explained variation in log-THg across consumers. Higher THg concentrations occurred in higher trophic level species that consumed more pelagic-associated prey than consumers that rely on the benthic microbial-based food web. Our study illustrates the importance of using a multi-isotopic approach that includes δ34S when investigating trophic Hg dynamics in coastal marine systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Yurkowski
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
| | - Elena McCulloch
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
| | - Wesley R Ogloff
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kelsey F Johnson
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Rémi Amiraux
- Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Niladri Basu
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
| | - Aaron T Fisk
- School of the Environment, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Steven H Ferguson
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Les N Harris
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Kevin J Hedges
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Kevin Jacobs
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Tracey N Loewen
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Cory J D Matthews
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - C J Mundy
- Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Andrea Niemi
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Bruno Rosenberg
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Cortney A Watt
- Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Melissa A McKinney
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
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7
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Corsini M, Jagiello Z, Walesiak M, Redlisiak M, Stadnicki I, Mierzejewska E, Szulkin M. Breeding in the pandemic: short-term lockdown restrictions in a European capital city did not alter the life-history traits of two urban adapters. Urban Ecosyst 2022; 26:1-11. [PMID: 36532698 PMCID: PMC9748896 DOI: 10.1007/s11252-022-01309-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Humans are transforming natural habitats into managed urban green areas and impervious surfaces at an unprecedented pace. Yet the effects of human presence per se on animal life-history traits are rarely tested. This is particularly true in cities, where human presence is often indissociable from urbanisation itself. The onset of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, along with the resulting lockdown restrictions, offered a unique, "natural experiment" to investigate wildlife responses to a sudden reduction in human activity. We analysed four years of avian breeding data collected in a European capital city to test whether lockdown measures altered nestbox occupancy and life-history traits in terms of egg laying date, incubation duration and clutch size in two urban adapters: great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Lockdown measures, which modulated human presence, did not influence any of the life-history traits investigated. In contrast, the interaction between year and tree cover, a distinct ecological attribute of the urban space, was positively associated with clutch size, a key avian life-history and reproductive trait. This highlights the importance of inter-year variation and habitat quality over human activity on urban wildlife reproduction. We discuss our results in the light of other urban wildlife studies carried out during the pandemic, inviting the scientific community to carefully interpret all lockdown-associated shifts in biological traits. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11252-022-01309-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Corsini
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Zuzanna Jagiello
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, Poznań, 60-625 Poland
| | - Michał Walesiak
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Stoczek 1, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
| | - Michał Redlisiak
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
- Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Bird Migration Research Station, ul. Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Ignacy Stadnicki
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
- Artes Liberales, University of Warsaw, ul. Nowy Świat 69, 00-046 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewa Mierzejewska
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marta Szulkin
- Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
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8
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Cusworth G, Lorimer J, Brice J, Garnett T. Green rebranding: Regenerative agriculture, future-pasts, and the naturalisation of livestock. TRANSACTIONS (INSTITUTE OF BRITISH GEOGRAPHERS : 1965) 2022; 47:1009-1027. [PMID: 36618006 PMCID: PMC9796824 DOI: 10.1111/tran.12555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Anxieties around the relationship between livestock agriculture and the environmental crisis are driving sustained discussions about the place of beef and dairy farming in a sustainable food system. Proposed solutions range from 'clean-cow' sustainable intensification to 'no-cow', animal free futures, both of which encourage a disruptive break with past practice. This paper reviews the alternative proposition of regenerative agriculture that naturalises beef and dairy production by invoking the past to justify future, nature-based solutions. Drawing on fieldwork in the UK, it first introduces two of the most prominent strands to this green rebranding of cattle: the naturalisation of ruminant methane emissions and the optimisation of soil carbon sequestration via the use of ruminant grazing animals. Subsequent thematic analysis outlines the three political strategies of post-pastoral storytelling, political ecological baselining and a probiotic model of bovine biopolitics that perform this naturalisation. The conclusion assesses the potential and the risks of this approach to grounding the geographies and the temporalities of agricultural transition in the Anthropocene: an epoch in which time is out of joint and natures are multiple and non-analogue, such that they provide slippery and contested grounds for political solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Cusworth
- Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, Oxford Martin SchoolUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | | | - Jeremy Brice
- Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, Oxford Martin SchoolUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Tara Garnett
- Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, Oxford Martin SchoolUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
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9
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Lennox RJ, Brownscombe JW, Darimont C, Horodysky A, Levi T, Raby GD, Cooke SJ. The roles of humans and apex predators in sustaining ecosystem structure and function: Contrast, complementarity and coexistence. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Robert J. Lennox
- Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries at NORCE Norwegian Research Center Bergen Norway
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) Trondheim Norway
| | - Jacob W. Brownscombe
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
- Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Fisheries and Oceans Canada Burlington Ontario Canada
| | | | - Andrij Horodysky
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science Hampton University Hampton Virginia USA
| | - Taal Levi
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USA
| | - Graham D. Raby
- Department of Biology Trent University Peterborough Ontario Canada
| | - Steven J. Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
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10
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Jansen van Vuuren A, Fritz H, Venter JA. Five small antelope species diets indicate different levels of anthrodependence in the Overberg Renosterveld, South Africa. Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.13030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amauréé Jansen van Vuuren
- Department of Conservation Management, Faculty of Science Nelson Mandela University Western Cape South Africa
| | - Hervé Fritz
- REHABS, International Research Laboratory, CNRS‐NMU‐UCBL Nelson Mandela University George South Africa
| | - Jan A. Venter
- Department of Conservation Management, Faculty of Science Nelson Mandela University Western Cape South Africa
- REHABS, International Research Laboratory, CNRS‐NMU‐UCBL Nelson Mandela University George South Africa
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11
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Mérillet L, Robert M, Hernvann PY, Pecuchet L, Pavoine S, Mouchet M, Primicerio R, Kopp D. Effects of life-history traits and network topological characteristics on the robustness of marine food webs. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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12
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Replicating nature's fabric: High information markets and the sustainability of global seafood. FOOD WEBS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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13
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Jepson PR. To capitalise on the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, we need institutional redesign to empower advances in restoration ecology and rewilding. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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14
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Perkins SE, Shilling F, Collinson W. Anthropause Opportunities: Experimental Perturbation of Road Traffic and the Potential Effects on Wildlife. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.833129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic severely reduced many human activities. So pronounced was the change, it has given rise to the term “anthropause”: the considerable alteration of modern human activities. Among these was surface transportation, with prolonged traffic reductions, in excess, of 50% in many countries. Roads and traffic are responsible for functionally fragmenting ecosystems, wildlife populations, and species interactions. The unintentional “dialing-down” of traffic has given continuous monitoring systems of wildlife-vehicle conflict a unique opportunity to study the consequences of perturbing this source of wildlife disturbance and mortality. Experimental manipulation of traffic at the global scale would not have been possible without mitigation responses to SARS-CoV-2. Such a perturbation allows robust empirical investigation into wildlife responses to traffic, including changes in mortality, behavior, genetic connectivity, and knock-on ecosystem effects, the responses to which can be replicated across a global network of wildlife-vehicle conflict monitoring systems. We review the extent to which these extensive data-collection systems provide the primary source of data to study many of these responses, providing the raw material to understand some striking wildlife consequences of the anthropause.
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15
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Gorra TR, Garcia SCR, Langhans MR, Hoshijima U, Estes JA, Raimondi PT, Tinker MT, Kenner MC, Kroeker KJ. Southeast Alaskan kelp forests: inferences of process from large-scale patterns of variation in space and time. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20211697. [PMID: 35042419 PMCID: PMC8767212 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans were considered external drivers in much foundational ecological research. A recognition that humans are embedded in the complex interaction networks we study can provide new insight into our ecological paradigms. Here, we use time-series data spanning three decades to explore the effects of human harvesting on otter-urchin-kelp trophic cascades in southeast Alaska. These effects were inferred from variation in sea urchin and kelp abundance following the post fur trade repatriation of otters and a subsequent localized reduction of otters by human harvest in one location. In an example of a classic trophic cascade, otter repatriation was followed by a 99% reduction in urchin biomass density and a greater than 99% increase in kelp density region wide. Recent spatially concentrated harvesting of otters was associated with a localized 70% decline in otter abundance in one location, with urchins increasing and kelps declining in accordance with the spatial pattern of otter occupancy within that region. While the otter-urchin-kelp trophic cascade has been associated with alternative community states at the regional scale, this research highlights how small-scale variability in otter occupancy, ostensibly due to spatial variability in harvesting or the risk landscape for otters, can result in within-region patchiness in these community states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torrey R. Gorra
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Sabrina C. R. Garcia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Michael R. Langhans
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Umihiko Hoshijima
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - James A. Estes
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Pete T. Raimondi
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - M. Tim Tinker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Michael C. Kenner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Kristy J. Kroeker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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16
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Louvrier JLP, Planillo A, Stillfried M, Hagen R, Börner K, Kimmig S, Ortmann S, Schumann A, Brandt M, Kramer-Schadt S. Spatiotemporal interactions of a novel mesocarnivore community in an urban environment before and during SARS-CoV-2 lockdown. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:367-380. [PMID: 34775595 PMCID: PMC8652482 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Studying species interactions and niche segregation under human pressure provides important insights into species adaptation, community functioning and ecosystem stability. Due to their high plasticity in behaviour and diet, urban mesocarnivores are ideal species for studying community assembly in novel communities. We analysed the spatial and temporal species interactions of an urban mesocarnivore community composed of the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the marten Martes sp. as native species, the raccoon Procyon lotor as invasive species, and the cat Felis catus as a domestic species in combination with human disturbance modulated by the SARS‐CoV‐2 lockdown effect that happened while the study was conducted. We analysed camera trap data and applied a joint species distribution model to understand not only the environmental variables influencing the detection of mesocarnivores and their use intensity of environmental features but also the species’ co‐occurrences while accounting for environmental variables. We then assessed whether they displayed temporal niche partitioning based on activity analyses, and finally analysed at a smaller temporal scale the time of delay after the detection of another focal species. We found that species were more often detected and displayed a higher use intensity in gardens during the SARS‐CoV‐2 lockdown period, while showing a shorter temporal delay during the same period, meaning a high human‐induced spatiotemporal overlap. All three wild species spatially co‐occurred within the urban area, with a positive response of raccoons to cats in detection and use intensity, whereas foxes showed a negative trend towards cats. When assessing the temporal partitioning, we found that all wild species showed overlapping nocturnal activities. All species displayed temporal segregation based on temporal delay. According to the temporal delay analyses, cats were the species avoided the most by all wild species. To conclude, we found that although the wild species were positively associated in space, the avoidance occurred at a smaller temporal scale, and human pressure in addition led to high spatiotemporal overlap. Our study sheds light to the complex patterns underlying the interactions in a mesocarnivore community both spatially and temporally, and the exacerbated effect of human pressure on community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie L P Louvrier
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Aimara Planillo
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Gartenhaus, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Robert Hagen
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Sophia Kimmig
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sylvia Ortmann
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anke Schumann
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Miriam Brandt
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Gartenhaus, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Protecting an icon: Javan rhinoceros frontline management and conservation. ORYX 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s003060531900139x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractManagers of threatened species in remote protected areas play a pivotal role in shaping the outcomes of management and conservation programmes. The island of Java supports the last remaining population of the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus, a Critically Endangered megaherbivore with only 72 individuals persisting in the wild, in Ujung Kulon National Park. Substantial resources are being invested to manage the Javan rhinoceros and it is difficult to monitor it in the rainforest to assess whether management actions have been successful. Insights from frontline staff into the outcomes of past conservation actions and the future actions required may be key to enhancing the outcomes of conservation actions for threatened species. To study the perceptions of frontline staff towards the conservation of the Javan rhinoceros, management actions and their outcomes, we surveyed all 36-frontline staff in Ujung Kulon National Park. Although staff perceptions of conservation outcomes were generally positive, they noted key anthropogenic threats and challenges to rhinoceros protection inherent to the survival of the last Javan rhinoceros population. Staff identified increased threat of disease transfer from domestic stock to the rhinoceros, in spite of protective fencing, and the combined effects of illegal firewood collection and agricultural encroachment on rhinoceros habitat. Systematically recording and incorporating the perceptions of frontline staff in remote and often inaccessible protected areas can help identify important areas for future conservation and threat mitigation that can facilitate better protection for the Javan rhinoceros and other iconic species.
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Zhou L, Peabotuwage I, Luo K, Quan RC, Goodale E. Using playback to test leadership in mixed-species flocks and compare flocking with mobbing. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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19
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Slade E, McKechnie I, Salomon AK. Archaeological and Contemporary Evidence Indicates Low Sea Otter Prevalence on the Pacific Northwest Coast During the Late Holocene. Ecosystems 2021; 25:548-566. [PMID: 35509679 PMCID: PMC9016008 DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00671-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The historic extirpation and subsequent recovery of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have profoundly changed coastal social-ecological systems across the northeastern Pacific. Today, the conservation status of sea otters is informed by estimates of population carrying capacity or growth rates independent of human impacts. However, archaeological and ethnographic evidence suggests that for millennia, complex hunting and management protocols by Indigenous communities limited sea otter abundance near human settlements to reduce the negative impacts of this keystone predator on shared shellfish prey. To assess relative sea otter prevalence in the Holocene, we compared the size structure of ancient California mussels (Mytilus californianus) from six archaeological sites in two regions on the Pacific Northwest Coast, to modern California mussels at locations with and without sea otters. We also quantified modern mussel size distributions from eight locations on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, varying in sea otter occupation time. Comparisons of mussel size spectra revealed that ancient mussel size distributions are consistently more similar to modern size distributions at locations with a prolonged absence of sea otters. This indicates that late Holocene sea otters were maintained well below carrying capacity near human settlements as a result of human intervention. These findings illuminate the conditions under which sea otters and humans persisted over millennia prior to the Pacific maritime fur trade and raise important questions about contemporary conservation objectives for an iconic marine mammal and the social-ecological system in which it is embedded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Slade
- School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6 Canada
| | - Iain McKechnie
- Historical Ecology & Coastal Archaeology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett B246a, 3800 Finnerty Rd, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2 Canada
- Hakai Institute, Heriot Bay, Quadra Island, British Columbia Canada
- Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Bamfield, British Columbia V0R 1B0 Canada
| | - Anne K. Salomon
- School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6 Canada
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20
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Watanabe K, Kuwae T. An unintended ecological benefit from human intervention: The enhancement of carbon storage in seagrass meadows. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Watanabe
- Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group Port and Airport Research Institute Yokosuka Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kuwae
- Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group Port and Airport Research Institute Yokosuka Japan
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21
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Wilmers CC, Nisi AC, Ranc N. COVID-19 suppression of human mobility releases mountain lions from a landscape of fear. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3952-3955.e3. [PMID: 34197728 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Humans have outsized effects on ecosystems, in part by initiating trophic cascades that impact all levels of the food chain.1,2 Theory suggests that disease outbreaks can reverse these impacts by modifying human behavior,3,4 but this has not yet been tested. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a natural experiment to test whether a virus could subordinate humans to an intermediate link in the trophic chain, releasing a top carnivore from a landscape of fear. Shelter-in-place orders in the Bay Area of California led to a 50% decline in human mobility, which resulted in a relaxation of mountain lion aversion to urban areas. Rapid changes in human mobility thus appear to act quickly on food web functions, suggesting an important pathway by which emerging infectious diseases will impact not only human health but ecosystems as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher C Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
| | - Anna C Nisi
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Nathan Ranc
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
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22
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Moll RJ, Killion AK, Hayward MW, Montgomery RA. A Framework for the Eltonian Niche of Humans. Bioscience 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biab055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Recent research has highlighted several influential roles that humans play in ecosystems, including that of a superpredator, hyperkeystone species, and niche constructor. This work has begun to describe the Eltonian niche of humans, which encompasses humanity's cumulative ecological and evolutionary roles in trophic systems. However, we lack a unifying framework that brings together these strands of research, links them to ecoevolutionary and sociocultural theory, and identifies current research needs. In this article, we present such a framework in hope of facilitating a more holistic approach to operationalizing human roles in trophic systems across an increasingly anthropogenic biosphere. The framework underscores how humans play numerous nuanced roles in trophic systems, from top-down to bottom-up, that entail not only pernicious effects but also benefits for many nonhuman species. Such a nuanced view of the Eltonian niche of humans is important for understanding complex social–ecological system functioning and enacting effective policies and conservation measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remington J Moll
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, United States
| | - Alexander K Killion
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
| | - Matt W Hayward
- Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia
- Mammal Research Centre, University of Pretoria, Tshwane, South Africa, and with the Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
| | - Robert A Montgomery
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney, United Kingdom
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23
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Jurelevicius D, Cotta SR, Montezzi LF, Dias ACF, Mason OU, Picão RC, Jansson JK, Seldin L. Enrichment of potential pathogens in marine microbiomes with different degrees of anthropogenic activity. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2021; 268:115757. [PMID: 33168375 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities in coastal marine ecosystems can lead to an increase in the abundance of potentially harmful microorganisms in the marine environment. To understand anthropogenic impacts on the marine microbiome, we first used publicly available microbial phylogenetic and functional data to establish a dataset of bacterial genera potentially related to pathogens that cause diseases (BGPRD) in marine organisms. Representatives of low-, medium- and highly impacted marine coastal environments were selected, and the abundance and composition of their microbial communities were determined by quantitative PCR and 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. In total, 72 BGPRD were cataloged, and 11, 36 and 37 BGPRD were found in low-, medium- and highly human-impacted ecosystems, respectively. The absolute abundance of BGPRD and the co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (AGR) increased with the degree of anthropogenic perturbation in these ecosystems. Anthropogenically impacted coastal microbiomes were compositionally and functionally distinct from those of less impacted sites, presenting features that may contribute to adverse outcomes for marine macrobiota in the Anthropocene era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo Jurelevicius
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
| | - Simone R Cotta
- ESALQ - Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Lara F Montezzi
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Armando C F Dias
- ESALQ - Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Olivia U Mason
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Renata C Picão
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Janet K Jansson
- Earth and Biological, Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Lucy Seldin
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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24
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Guimarães PR. The Structure of Ecological Networks Across Levels of Organization. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012220-120819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Interactions connect the units of ecological systems, forming networks. Individual-based networks characterize variation in niches among individuals within populations. These individual-based networks merge with each other, forming species-based networks and food webs that describe the architecture of ecological communities. Networks at broader spatiotemporal scales portray the structure of ecological interactions across landscapes and over macroevolutionary time. Here, I review the patterns observed in ecological networks across multiple levels of biological organization. A fundamental challenge is to understand the amount of interdependence as we move from individual-based networks to species-based networks and beyond. Despite the uneven distribution of studies, regularities in network structure emerge across scales due to the fundamental architectural patterns shared by complex networks and the interplay between traits and numerical effects. I illustrate the integration of these organizational scales by exploring the consequences of the emergence of highly connected species for network structures across scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo R. Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
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25
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Hileman J, Kallstenius I, Häyhä T, Palm C, Cornell S. Keystone actors do not act alone: A business ecosystem perspective on sustainability in the global clothing industry. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241453. [PMID: 33125411 PMCID: PMC7598521 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Global industries are typically dominated by a few disproportionately large and influential transnational corporations, or keystone actors. While concentration of economic production is not a new phenomenon, in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, the scale of the impacts of keystone actors on diverse social-ecological systems continues to grow. In this article, we investigate how keystone actors in the global clothing industry engage in collaboration with a variety of other organizations to address nine interrelated biophysical and socioeconomic sustainability challenges. We expand on previous theoretical and empirical research by focusing on the larger business ecosystem in which keystone actors are embedded, and use network analysis to assess the contributions of different actor types to the architecture of the ecosystem. This systemic approach to the study of keystone actors and sustainability challenges highlights an important source of influence largely not addressed in previous research: the presence of organizations that occupy strategic positions around keystone actors. Such knowledge can help identify governance strategies for advancing industry-wide transformation towards sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Hileman
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ivan Kallstenius
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tiina Häyhä
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Celinda Palm
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sarah Cornell
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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26
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Montgomery RA, Macdonald DW, Hayward MW. The inducible defences of large mammals to human lethality. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert A. Montgomery
- Research on the Ecology of Carnivores and their Prey (RECaP) Laboratory Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University East Lansing MI USA
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology University of OxfordThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreTubney House Tubney Oxon UK
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology University of OxfordThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreTubney House Tubney Oxon UK
| | - Matthew W. Hayward
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences University of Newcastle Callaghan NSW Australia
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology Nelson Mandela University Port Elizabeth South Africa
- Centre for Wildlife Management University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
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27
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Sea-level rise and the emergence of a keystone grazer alter the geomorphic evolution and ecology of southeast US salt marshes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:17891-17902. [PMID: 32661151 PMCID: PMC7395507 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1917869117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human disturbances, climate change, and their combined effects on species distributions and environmental conditions are increasingly modifying the organization of our world’s oceans, forests, grasslands, wetlands, tundras, and reefs. Here, we reveal that these contemporary conditions can trigger the emergence of novel keystone species. Across the southeastern US coastal plain, sea-level rise is outpacing salt marsh vertical accretion, causing these grasslands to be tidally inundated for longer and softening marsh substrates to levels optimal for crab burrowing. Using field experiments, measurements, surveys, and models, we show that these conditions amplify the burrowing and grazing effects of a previously inconspicuous crab, enabling it to redefine predator–prey interactions, eco-geomorphic feedbacks, and the mechanisms by which salt marshes are responding to climate change. Keystone species have large ecological effects relative to their abundance and have been identified in many ecosystems. However, global change is pervasively altering environmental conditions, potentially elevating new species to keystone roles. Here, we reveal that a historically innocuous grazer—the marsh crab Sesarma reticulatum—is rapidly reshaping the geomorphic evolution and ecological organization of southeastern US salt marshes now burdened by rising sea levels. Our analyses indicate that sea-level rise in recent decades has widely outpaced marsh vertical accretion, increasing tidal submergence of marsh surfaces, particularly where creeks exhibit morphologies that are unable to efficiently drain adjacent marsh platforms. In these increasingly submerged areas, cordgrass decreases belowground root:rhizome ratios, causing substrate hardness to decrease to within the optimal range for Sesarma burrowing. Together, these bio-physical changes provoke Sesarma to aggregate in high-density grazing and burrowing fronts at the heads of tidal creeks (hereafter, creekheads). Aerial-image analyses reveal that resulting “Sesarma-grazed” creekheads increased in prevalence from 10 ± 2% to 29 ± 5% over the past <25 y and, by tripling creek-incision rates relative to nongrazed creekheads, have increased marsh-landscape drainage density by 8 to 35% across the region. Field experiments further demonstrate that Sesarma-grazed creekheads, through their removal of vegetation that otherwise obstructs predator access, enhance the vulnerability of macrobenthic invertebrates to predation and strongly reduce secondary production across adjacent marsh platforms. Thus, sea-level rise is creating conditions within which Sesarma functions as a keystone species that is driving dynamic, landscape-scale changes in salt-marsh geomorphic evolution, spatial organization, and species interactions.
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28
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Sagoff M. Fact and value in invasion biology. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2020; 34:581-588. [PMID: 31724202 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Some invasion biologists contend their science has reached a consensus on 4 facts: cost estimates of the effects of nonindigenous species provided in papers by Pimentel et al. are credible; invasive species generally, not just predators, pose significant extinction threats; characteristic biological differences distinguish novel from native species, ecosystems, communities, and processes; and ontological dualism, which distinguishes between natural and anthropogenic processes and influences, plays a useful role in biological inquiry. I contend there is no convincing empirical evidence for any of these propositions. Leading invasion biologists cite their agreement about these propositions as evidence for them and impugn the motives of critics who believe consensus should be based on evidence not the other way around.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Sagoff
- Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030, U.S.A
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29
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Perry GH. How human behavior can impact the evolution of genetically-mediated behavior in wild non-human species. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2020; 206:337-342. [PMID: 32201915 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-020-01415-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Humans intensely modify the ecosystems we inhabit. Many of the impacts that this behavior can have on other species also sharing these spaces are obvious. A prime example is the devastating current extinction crisis. Yet some populations of non-human, non-domesticated species survive or even appear to thrive in heavily disturbed or human-built habitats. Theoretically, this apparent paradox could be facilitated partly by the evolution of genetically-mediated trait adaptations to the impacts of human behavior. At the least, persistence in strongly modified habitats would provide requisite selection pressures for this process to potentially occur in the future. In fact, we have a growing number of well-characterized examples of morphological trait adaptations to human behavior. However, our knowledge of genetically-mediated behavioral adaptations in similar contexts is less well developed. In this review I set up and discuss several evolutionary scenarios by which human behavior might have impacted the evolution of genetically mediated behavior in non-human, non-domestic species and highlight several approaches that could be used in future studies of this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- George H Perry
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. .,Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA. .,Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA. .,DFG Center for Advanced Studies, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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30
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Murphy GEP, Romanuk TN, Worm B. Cascading effects of climate change on plankton community structure. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:2170-2181. [PMID: 32128147 PMCID: PMC7042755 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Plankton communities account for at least half of global primary production and play a key role in the global carbon cycle. Warming and acidification may alter the interaction chains in these communities from the bottom and top of the food web. Yet, the relative importance of these potentially complex interactions has not yet been quantified. Here, we examine the isolated and combined effects of warming, acidification, and reductions in phytoplankton and predator abundances in a series of factorial experiments. We find that warming directly impacts the top of the food web, but that the intermediate trophic groups are more strongly influenced by indirect effects mediated by altered top-down interactions. Direct manipulations of predator and phytoplankton abundance reveal similar strong top-down interactions following top predator decline. A meta-analysis of published experiments further supports the conclusion that warming has stronger direct impacts on the top and bottom of the food web rather than the intermediate trophic groups, with important differences between freshwater and marine plankton communities. Our results reveal that the trophic effect of warming cascading down from the top of the plankton food web is a powerful agent of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Boris Worm
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNSCanada
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31
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Nadal J, Ponz C, Margalida A, Pennisi L. Ecological markers to monitor migratory bird populations: Integrating citizen science and transboundary management for conservation purposes. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2020; 255:109875. [PMID: 32063321 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Countries share responsibility for the management and conservation of migratory bird species. However, a limited understanding of population dynamics hampers the implementation of harvest and transboundary management. Age-ratios and population density can be useful indicators to assess population dynamics to improve management and conservation actions. Here, the dynamics of an Atlantic population of Common quail Coturnix coturnix, using 32,508 quail samples and 4814 hunter questionnaires over a 20-year period (1996-2016) served as a comparative study for examining age-ratio patterns related to different geographic zones, population density and weather parameters. Results show that age-ratios varied over zones and years, specifically age-ratio 1 (AR1), used as an index of late breeding attempts, varied from 0.1 to 0.21. Age-ratio 2 (AR2), a surrogate of central recruitment, varied from 0.16 to 0.66. Finally, age-ratio 3 (AR3), used as an indicator of the population's annual breeding success, varied from 3.69 to 6.68. Age-ratio is linked to internal and external factors (i.e. effect of rainfall, variations over time and density-dependent relationships) depicting how quail age groups make segregated migration in time and space. Quail age groups perform a complex pattern of migration because of entwined changes in abundance, migration routes and timing, influencing population connectivity and dynamics. Our findings highlight the relevance of citizen science and transboundary agreements to improve management and conservation measures of migrant species. Administrations and policy-makers in developed and developing countries must coordinate efforts to engage hunters in a participatory management systems to achieve sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Nadal
- Department of Animal Science, Division of Wildlife, Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain.
| | - Carolina Ponz
- Department of Animal Science, Division of Wildlife, Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain
| | - Antoni Margalida
- Department of Animal Science, Division of Wildlife, Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain; Institute for Game and Wildlife Research, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain; Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Pennisi
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, USA
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32
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Faurby S, Silvestro D, Werdelin L, Antonelli A. Brain expansion in early hominins predicts carnivore extinctions in East Africa. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:537-544. [PMID: 31943670 PMCID: PMC7079157 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
While the anthropogenic impact on ecosystems today is evident, it remains unclear if the detrimental effect of hominins on co-occurring biodiversity is a recent phenomenon or has also been the pattern for earlier hominin species. We test this using the East African carnivore fossil record. We analyse the diversity of carnivores over the last four million years and investigate whether any decline is related to an increase in hominin cognitive capacity, vegetation changes or climatic changes. We find that extinction rates in large carnivores correlate with increased hominin brain size and with vegetation changes, but not with precipitation or temperature changes. While temporal analyses cannot distinguish between the effects of vegetation changes and hominins, we show through spatial analyses of contemporary carnivores in Africa that only hominin causation is plausible. Our results suggest that substantial anthropogenic influence on biodiversity started millions of years earlier than currently assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Søren Faurby
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, SE, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Daniele Silvestro
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, SE, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden.,Department of Computational Biology, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Quartier Sorge, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lars Werdelin
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE, 10405, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexandre Antonelli
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, SE, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden.,Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, U.K
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33
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Bubnicki JW, Churski M, Schmidt K, Diserens TA, Kuijper DPJ. Linking spatial patterns of terrestrial herbivore community structure to trophic interactions. eLife 2019; 8:e44937. [PMID: 31577225 PMCID: PMC6805123 DOI: 10.7554/elife.44937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Large herbivores influence ecosystem functioning via their effects on vegetation at different spatial scales. It is often overlooked that the spatial distribution of large herbivores results from their responses to interacting top-down and bottom-up ecological gradients that create landscape-scale variation in the structure of the entire community. We studied the complexity of these cascading interactions using high-resolution camera trapping and remote sensing data in the best-preserved European lowland forest, Białowieża Forest, Poland. We showed that the variation in spatial distribution of an entire community of large herbivores is explained by species-specific responses to both environmental bottom-up and biotic top-down factors in combination with human-induced (cascading) effects. We decomposed the spatial variation in herbivore community structure and identified functionally distinct landscape-scale herbivory regimes ('herbiscapes'), which are predicted to occur in a variety of ecosystems and could be an important mechanism creating spatial variation in herbivory maintaining vegetation heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcin Churski
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of SciencesBiałowieżaPoland
| | - Krzysztof Schmidt
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of SciencesBiałowieżaPoland
| | - Tom A Diserens
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of SciencesBiałowieżaPoland
| | - Dries PJ Kuijper
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of SciencesBiałowieżaPoland
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34
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Root‐Bernstein M, Ladle R. Ecology of a widespread large omnivore, Homo sapiens, and its impacts on ecosystem processes. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:10874-10894. [PMID: 31641442 PMCID: PMC6802023 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Discussions of defaunation and taxon substitution have concentrated on megafaunal herbivores and carnivores, but mainly overlooked the particular ecological importance of megafaunal omnivores. In particular, the Homo spp. have been almost completely ignored in this context, despite the extinction of all but one hominin species present since the Plio-Pleistocene. Large omnivores have a particular set of ecological functions reflecting their foraging flexibility and the varied disturbances they create, functions that may maintain ecosystem stability and resilience. Here, we put the ecology of Homo sapiens in the context of comparative interspecific ecological roles and impacts, focusing on the large omnivore guild, as well as comparative intraspecific variation, focusing on hunter-gatherers.We provide an overview of the functional traits of H. sapiens, which can be used to spontaneously provide the functions for currently ecologically extinct or endangered ecosystem processes. We consider the negative impacts of variations in H. sapiens phenotypic strategies, its possible status as an invasive species, and the potential to take advantage of its learning capacities to decouple negative and positive impacts.We provide examples of how practices related to foraging, transhumance, and hunting could contribute to rewilding-inspired programs either drawing on hunter-gatherer baselines of H. sapiens, or as proxies for extinct or threatened large omnivores. We propose that a greater focus on intraspecific ecological variation and interspecific comparative ecology of H. sapiens can provide new avenues for conservation and ecological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith Root‐Bernstein
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of BioscienceAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
- Institute of Ecology and BiodiversitySantiagoChile
- UMR Sciences pour l'Action et le Développement, Activités, Produits, TerritoiresINRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris‐SaclayThiverval‐GrignonFrance
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)SantiagoChile
| | - Richard Ladle
- School of Science and HealthFederal University of AlagoasAlagoasBrazil
- School of Geography and the EnvironmentOxford UniversityOxfordUK
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35
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Somaweera R, Brien ML, Sonneman T, Didham RK, Webber BL. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: Knowledge shortfalls threaten the effective conservation of freshwater crocodiles. Glob Ecol Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
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36
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Lacher TE, Davidson AD, Fleming TH, Gómez-Ruiz EP, McCracken GF, Owen-Smith N, Peres CA, Vander Wall SB. The functional roles of mammals in ecosystems. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Lacher
- Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ana D Davidson
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Theodore H Fleming
- Emeritus, Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Emma P Gómez-Ruiz
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México
| | - Gary F McCracken
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Norman Owen-Smith
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Carlos A Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen B Vander Wall
- Department of Biology and the Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
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37
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Riascos JM, Valencia N, Peña EJ, Cantera JR. Inhabiting the technosphere: The encroachment of anthropogenic marine litter in Neotropical mangrove forests and its use as habitat by macrobenthic biota. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2019; 142:559-568. [PMID: 31232339 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2018] [Revised: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Coastal urbanization is leading to the accumulation of anthropogenic litter. Understanding the distribution and habitat use of litter by marine biota is important to predict how organisms will respond to anthropogenic changes. We assessed the density, distribution and composition of surface macro-litter (SML) in mangrove forests in Buenaventura (Colombia) and analysed how these microhabitats are used by marine biota. SML density ranged from 2 to 314 g m-2 (0.22 to 35.5 items m-2), implying that mangrove forests surrounding Buenaventura city are among the most polluted coastal areas in the World. Biological assemblages colonizing SML differed according to position on the forest and litter type. The encroachment of SML in mangrove forest enables a seemingly transient colonization of resident and immigrant biota from intertidal rocky shores and subtidal hard bottoms. The successful colonization of SML poses questions regarding the potential for plastics or their leaching chemicals to transfer through food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M Riascos
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecología de Estuarios y Manglares, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
| | - Natasha Valencia
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecología de Estuarios y Manglares, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Enrique J Peña
- Grupo de Biología de Plantas y Microorganismos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Jaime R Cantera
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecología de Estuarios y Manglares, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
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Cotta SR, Cadete LL, van Elsas JD, Andreote FD, Dias ACF. Exploring bacterial functionality in mangrove sediments and its capability to overcome anthropogenic activity. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2019; 141:586-594. [PMID: 30955771 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Mangrove forests are highly productive yet vulnerable ecosystems that act as important carbon sinks ("blue carbon"). The objective of this work was to analyze the impact of anthropogenic activities on microbiome structure and functioning. The metagenomic analysis revealed that the taxonomic compositions were grossly similar across all mangrove microbiomes. Remarkably, these microbiomes, along the gradient of anthropogenic impact, showed fluctuations in the relative abundances of bacterial taxa predicted to be involved in sulfur cycling processes. Functions involved in sulfur metabolism, such as APS pathways (associated with sulfate reduction and sulfur oxidation processes) were prevalent across the microbiomes, being sox and dsrAB genes highly expressed on anthropogenically-impacted areas. Apparently, the oil-impacted microbiomes were more affected in taxonomic than in functional terms, as high functional redundancies were noted across them. The microbial gene diversity found was typical for a functional system, even following the previous disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Raposo Cotta
- Department of Soil Science, ESALQ/USP, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Luana Lira Cadete
- Department of Soil Science, ESALQ/USP, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Jan Dirk van Elsas
- Microbial Ecology Group, Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, AG, Groningen, the Netherlands
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Hubert J, Campbell J, van der Beek JG, den Haan MF, Verhave R, Verkade LS, Slabbekoorn H. Effects of broadband sound exposure on the interaction between foraging crab and shrimp - A field study. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 243:1923-1929. [PMID: 30408881 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.09.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Revised: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Aquatic animals live in an acoustic world in which they often rely on sound detection and recognition for various aspects of life that may affect survival and reproduction. Human exploitation of marine resources leads to increasing amounts of anthropogenic sound underwater, which may affect marine life negatively. Marine mammals and fishes are known to use sounds and to be affected by anthropogenic noise, but relatively little is known about invertebrates such as decapod crustaceans. We conducted experimental trials in the natural conditions of a quiet cove. We attracted shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) and common shrimps (Crangon crangon) with an experimentally fixed food item and compared trials in which we started playback of a broadband artificial sound to trials without exposure. During trials with sound exposure, the cumulative count of crabs that aggregated at the food item was lower, while variation in cumulative shrimp count could be explained by a negative correlation with crabs. These results suggest that crabs may be negatively affected by artificially elevated noise levels, but that shrimps may indirectly benefit by competitive release. Eating activity for the animals present was not affected by the sound treatment in either species. Our results show that moderate changes in acoustic conditions due to human activities can affect foraging interactions at the base of the marine food chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen Hubert
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
| | - James Campbell
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Rik Verhave
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Laura S Verkade
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, the Netherlands
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40
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Size-dependent loss of aboveground animals differentially affects grassland ecosystem coupling and functions. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3684. [PMID: 30206214 PMCID: PMC6133970 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06105-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that community-level responses to human-induced biodiversity loss start with a decrease of interactions among communities and between them and their abiotic environment. The structural and functional consequences of such interaction losses are poorly understood and have rarely been tested in real-world systems. Here, we analysed how 5 years of progressive, size-selective exclusion of large, medium, and small vertebrates and invertebrates—a realistic scenario of human-induced defaunation—impacts the strength of relationships between above- and belowground communities and their abiotic environment (hereafter ecosystem coupling) and how this relates to ecosystem functionality in grasslands. Exclusion of all vertebrates results in the greatest level of ecosystem coupling, while the additional loss of invertebrates leads to poorly coupled ecosystems. Consumer-driven changes in ecosystem functionality are positively related to changes in ecosystem coupling. Our results highlight the importance of invertebrate communities for maintaining ecological coupling and functioning in an increasingly defaunated world. Defaunation can have impacts on ecosystem functioning that are currently little understood. Using an exclusion experiment, Risch et al. show the impacts of vertebrate and invertebrate losses on ecosystem coupling, particularly emphasising the role of invertebrates in ecosystem functioning.
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41
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Gama ADS, de Paula M, da Silva RRV, Ferreira WS, de Medeiros PM. Exotic species as models to understand biocultural adaptation: Challenges to mainstream views of human-nature relations. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0196091. [PMID: 29708981 PMCID: PMC5927417 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A central argument in the research on traditional knowledge, which persists in the scientific literature, is that the entrance of exotic plants in local medical systems is directly associated with acculturation. However, this logic has put an end for a long period to efforts to understand why such species have so successfully entered socio-ecological systems or even their real role in such systems. This study provides evidence that (1) in some socio-environmental contexts, exotic medicinal species usually confer greater adaptive advantages to local populations, and (2) despite their general importance, exotic species only excel in medical systems when cost-benefit ratio is favorable to them. Thus, in order to avoid the loss of knowledge about native plants and to ensure biocultural conservation, it is necessary to create strategies to amplify the advantages of these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Dourado Sena Gama
- Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Ambientais, Estrada para o Barrocão, Barreiras, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Marcelo de Paula
- Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Ambientais, Estrada para o Barrocão, Barreiras, Bahia, Brazil
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42
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O'Bryan CJ, Braczkowski AR, Beyer HL, Carter NH, Watson JEM, McDonald-Madden E. The contribution of predators and scavengers to human well-being. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:229-236. [PMID: 29348647 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0421-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Predators and scavengers are frequently persecuted for their negative effects on property, livestock and human life. Research has shown that these species play important regulatory roles in intact ecosystems including regulating herbivore and mesopredator populations that in turn affect floral, soil and hydrological systems. Yet predators and scavengers receive surprisingly little recognition for their benefits to humans in the landscapes they share. We review these benefits, highlighting the most recent studies that have documented their positive effects across a range of environments. Indeed, the benefits of predators and scavengers can be far reaching, affecting human health and well-being through disease mitigation, agricultural production and waste-disposal services. As many predators and scavengers are in a state of rapid decline, we argue that researchers must work in concert with the media, managers and policymakers to highlight benefits of these species and the need to ensure their long-term conservation. Furthermore, instead of assessing the costs of predators and scavengers only in economic terms, it is critical to recognize their beneficial contributions to human health and well-being. Given the ever-expanding human footprint, it is essential that we construct conservation solutions that allow a wide variety of species to persist in shared landscapes. Identifying, evaluating and communicating the benefits provided by species that are often considered problem animals is an important step for establishing tolerance in these shared spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J O'Bryan
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
| | - Alexander R Braczkowski
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Hawthorne L Beyer
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Neil H Carter
- Human-Environment Systems Center, College of Innovation and Design, Boise State University, Boise, ID, 83725, USA
| | - James E M Watson
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia.,Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY, 10460, USA
| | - Eve McDonald-Madden
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
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43
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Albuquerque UP, Gonçalves PHS, Ferreira Júnior WS, Chaves LS, Oliveira RCDS, Silva TLLD, Santos GCD, Araújo EDL. Humans as niche constructors: Revisiting the concept of chronic anthropogenic disturbances in ecology. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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44
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Mohlenhoff KA, Codding BF. When does it pay to invest in a patch? The evolution of intentional niche construction. Evol Anthropol 2017; 26:218-227. [PMID: 29027331 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Humans modify their environments in ways that significantly transform the earth's ecosystems. Recent research suggests that such niche-constructing behaviors are not passive human responses to environmental variation, but instead should be seen as active and intentional management of the environment. Although such research is useful in highlighting the interactive dynamics between humans and their natural world, the niche-construction framework, as currently applied, fails to explain why people would decide to modify their environments in the first place. To help resolve this problem, we use a model of technological intensification to analyze the cost-benefit trade-offs associated with niche construction as a form of patch investment. We use this model to assess the costs and benefits of three paradigmatic cases of intentional niche construction in Western North America: the application of fire in acorn groves, the manufacture of fishing weirs, and the adoption of maize agriculture. Intensification models predict that investing in patch modification (niche construction) only provides a net benefit when the amount of resources needed crosses a critical threshold that makes the initial investment worthwhile. From this, it follows that low-cost investments, such as burning in oak groves, should be quite common, while more costly investments, such as maize agriculture, should be less common and depend on the alternatives available in the local environment. We examine how patterns of mobility, risk management, territoriality, and private property also co-evolve with the costs and benefits of niche construction. This approach illustrates that explaining niche-constructing behavior requires understanding the economic trade-offs involved in patch investment. Integrating concepts from niche construction and technological intensification models within a behavioral ecological framework provides insights into the coevolution and active feedback between adaptive behaviors and environmental change across human history.
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Newsome TM, Greenville AC, Ćirović D, Dickman CR, Johnson CN, Krofel M, Letnic M, Ripple WJ, Ritchie EG, Stoyanov S, Wirsing AJ. Top predators constrain mesopredator distributions. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15469. [PMID: 28534486 PMCID: PMC5457510 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Top predators can suppress mesopredators by killing them, competing for resources and instilling fear, but it is unclear how suppression of mesopredators varies with the distribution and abundance of top predators at large spatial scales and among different ecological contexts. We suggest that suppression of mesopredators will be strongest where top predators occur at high densities over large areas. These conditions are more likely to occur in the core than on the margins of top predator ranges. We propose the Enemy Constraint Hypothesis, which predicts weakened top-down effects on mesopredators towards the edge of top predators' ranges. Using bounty data from North America, Europe and Australia we show that the effects of top predators on mesopredators increase from the margin towards the core of their ranges, as predicted. Continuing global contraction of top predator ranges could promote further release of mesopredator populations, altering ecosystem structure and contributing to biodiversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Newsome
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3125, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Global Trophic Cascades Program, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA.,School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Aaron C Greenville
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,National Environmental Science Programme Threatened Species Recovery Hub, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Duško Ćirović
- Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
| | - Christopher R Dickman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,National Environmental Science Programme Threatened Species Recovery Hub, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Chris N Johnson
- School of Biological Sciences and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Miha Krofel
- Wildlife Ecology Research Group, Department of Forestry, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
| | - Mike Letnic
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - William J Ripple
- Global Trophic Cascades Program, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Euan G Ritchie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Stoyan Stoyanov
- Wildlife Management Department, University of Forestry, Sofia 1756, Bulgaria
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
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Lamarre JF, Legagneux P, Gauthier G, Reed ET, Bêty J. Predator-mediated negative effects of overabundant snow geese on arctic-nesting shorebirds. Ecosphere 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-François Lamarre
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques (CEN); Université du Québec à Rimouski; 300 allée des Ursulines Rimouski Quebec G5L 3A1 Canada
| | - Pierre Legagneux
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques (CEN); Université du Québec à Rimouski; 300 allée des Ursulines Rimouski Quebec G5L 3A1 Canada
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Département de Biologie and Centre d’études Nordiques (CEN); Université Laval; 1045 Avenue de la Médecine Québec Quebec G1V 0A6 Canada
| | - Eric T. Reed
- Canadian Wildlife Service; Environment and Climate Change Canada; 5019 52nd Street Yellowknife Northwest Territories X1A 2P7 Canada
| | - Joël Bêty
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques (CEN); Université du Québec à Rimouski; 300 allée des Ursulines Rimouski Quebec G5L 3A1 Canada
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47
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Inkpen SA. Demarcating Nature, Defining Ecology: Creating a Rationale for the Study of Nature’s “Primitive Conditions”. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1162/posc_a_00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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48
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Sullivan AP, Bird DW, Perry GH. Human behaviour as a long-term ecological driver of non-human evolution. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:65. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-016-0065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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49
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Barley SC, Meeuwig JJ. The Power and the Pitfalls of Large-scale, Unreplicated Natural Experiments. Ecosystems 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-016-0028-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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