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Karpińska O, Kamionka‐Kanclerska K, Czortek P, Dyderski MK, Czeszczewik D. Patterns of avian tree usage in the primeval temperate forests of Białowieża National Park. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11138. [PMID: 38628913 PMCID: PMC11019296 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11138] [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] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Species distribution and resource utilization are a fundamental aspect of ecology. By analyzing the tree space usage by birds and determining the species composition of birds across different parts of trees, our study could shed light on the mechanisms shaping co-occurrence patterns in bird communities. Therefore, our study aimed to determine the species composition of birds across different parts of trees. We investigated whether species richness differs between positions on a tree and how these positions influence the probability of occurrence of the 10 most frequently observed bird species. To achieve this, we observed birds within permanent plots in Białowieża National Park (BNP) and analyzed the distribution patterns of birds within six vertical and three horizontal sectors of trees. The compositional dissimilarity between tree sectors was assessed using detrended correspondence analysis. We employed generalized linear mixed-effects models to examine differences in species richness. The majority of the BNP bird community was associated with the branches, while other birds occupied the tree crown trunks and the understory trunks. Species richness was the highest on branches in the crown part of trees, followed by lower species richness on trunks associated with crowns, and the lowest richness was observed on branches and trunks in the understory. These results indicate that branches in the middle and lower parts of the crown serve as avian diversity hotspots on trees, likely due to the abundance of various food sources. The differing patterns of tree usage by specific bird species may suggest the avoidance of interspecific competition for resources. The study results of tree usage by bird species obtained in the primeval forest provides a reference point for studies conducted in human-altered woods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliwia Karpińska
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of ScienceUniversity of SiedlceSiedlcePoland
| | | | - Patryk Czortek
- Białowieża Geobotanical Station, Faculty of BiologyUniversity of WarsawBiałowieżaPoland
| | | | - Dorota Czeszczewik
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of ScienceUniversity of SiedlceSiedlcePoland
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Calders K, Brede B, Newnham G, Culvenor D, Armston J, Bartholomeus H, Griebel A, Hayward J, Junttila S, Lau A, Levick S, Morrone R, Origo N, Pfeifer M, Verbesselt J, Herold M. StrucNet: a global network for automated vegetation structure monitoring. REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 2023; 9:587-598. [PMID: 38505271 PMCID: PMC10946942 DOI: 10.1002/rse2.333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Climate change and increasing human activities are impacting ecosystems and their biodiversity. Quantitative measurements of essential biodiversity variables (EBV) and essential climate variables are used to monitor biodiversity and carbon dynamics and evaluate policy and management interventions. Ecosystem structure is at the core of EBVs and carbon stock estimation and can help to inform assessments of species and species diversity. Ecosystem structure is also used as an indirect indicator of habitat quality and expected species richness or species community composition. Spaceborne measurements can provide large-scale insight into monitoring the structural dynamics of ecosystems, but they generally lack consistent, robust, timely and detailed information regarding their full three-dimensional vegetation structure at local scales. Here we demonstrate the potential of high-frequency ground-based laser scanning to systematically monitor structural changes in vegetation. We present a proof-of-concept high-temporal ecosystem structure time series of 5 years in a temperate forest using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). We also present data from automated high-temporal laser scanning that can allow upscaling of vegetation structure scanning, overcoming the limitations of a typically opportunistic TLS measurement approach. Automated monitoring will be a critical component to build a network of field monitoring sites that can provide the required calibration data for satellite missions to effectively monitor the structural dynamics of vegetation over large areas. Within this perspective, we reflect on how this network could be designed and discuss implementation pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Calders
- CAVElab – Computational & Applied Vegetation Ecology, Department of EnvironmentGhent UniversityCoupure links 653Ghent9000Belgium
- School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern FinlandJoensuu80101Finland
| | - Benjamin Brede
- Helmholtz Center Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for GeosciencesSection 1.4 Remote Sensing and GeoinformaticsTelegrafenbergPotsdam14473Germany
| | | | - Darius Culvenor
- Environmental Sensing SystemsBentleigh EastVictoria3165Australia
| | - John Armston
- Department of Geographical SciencesUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Harm Bartholomeus
- Laboratory of Geo‐Information Science and Remote SensingWageningen UniversityWageningen6708 PBthe Netherlands
| | - Anne Griebel
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney UniversityLocked Bag 1797PenrithNew South Wales2751Australia
| | - Jodie Hayward
- CSIRO564 Vanderlin DriveBerrimahNorthern Territory0828Australia
| | - Samuli Junttila
- School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern FinlandJoensuu80101Finland
| | - Alvaro Lau
- Laboratory of Geo‐Information Science and Remote SensingWageningen UniversityWageningen6708 PBthe Netherlands
| | - Shaun Levick
- CSIRO564 Vanderlin DriveBerrimahNorthern Territory0828Australia
| | - Rosalinda Morrone
- Climate and Earth Observation GroupNational Physical LaboratoryHampton Road, TeddingtonLondonUK
| | - Niall Origo
- Climate and Earth Observation GroupNational Physical LaboratoryHampton Road, TeddingtonLondonUK
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle UniversityNewcastle Upon TyneNE1 7RUUK
| | - Jan Verbesselt
- Laboratory of Geo‐Information Science and Remote SensingWageningen UniversityWageningen6708 PBthe Netherlands
| | - Martin Herold
- Helmholtz Center Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for GeosciencesSection 1.4 Remote Sensing and GeoinformaticsTelegrafenbergPotsdam14473Germany
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Boron V, Deere NJ, Hyde M, Bardales R, Stasiukynas D, Payán E. Habitat modification destabilizes spatial associations and persistence of Neotropical carnivores. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3722-3731.e4. [PMID: 37625415 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Spatial relationships between sympatric species underpin biotic interactions, structure ecological communities, and maintain ecosystem health. However, the resilience of interspecific spatial associations to human habitat modification remains largely unknown, particularly in tropical regions where anthropogenic impacts are often greatest. We applied multi-state multi-species occurrence models to camera trap data across nine tropical landscapes in Colombia to understand how prominent threats to forest ecosystems influence Neotropical carnivore occurrence and interspecific spatial associations, with implications for biotic interactions. We show that carnivore occurrence represents a delicate balance between local environmental conditions and interspecific interactions that can be compromised in areas of extensive habitat modification. The stability of carnivore spatial associations depends on forest cover to mediate antagonistic encounters with apex predators and structurally intact forests to facilitate coexistence between competing mesocarnivores. Notably, we demonstrate that jaguars play an irreplaceable role in spatially structuring mesocarnivore communities, providing novel evidence on their role as keystone species. With increasing global change, conserving both the extent and quality of tropical forests is imperative to support carnivores and preserve the spatial associations that underpin ecosystem stability and resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Boron
- Panthera, 8W 40th Street, New York 10018, USA; World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), The Living Planet Centre, Rufford House, Brewery Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 4LL, UK.
| | - Nicolas J Deere
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK.
| | - Matthew Hyde
- Panthera, 8W 40th Street, New York 10018, USA; Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | | | | | - Esteban Payán
- Panthera, 8W 40th Street, New York 10018, USA; Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York 10460, USA
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Martínez-Quintana Á, Lasker HR, Wilson AM. Three-dimensional species distribution modelling reveals the realized spatial niche for coral recruitment on contemporary Caribbean reefs. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1497-1509. [PMID: 37380335 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
The three-dimensional structure of habitats is a critical component of species' niches driving coexistence in species-rich ecosystems. However, its influence on structuring and partitioning recruitment niches has not been widely addressed. We developed a new method to combine species distribution modelling and structure from motion, and characterized three-dimensional recruitment niches of two ecosystem engineers on Caribbean coral reefs, scleractinian corals and gorgonians. Fine-scale roughness was the most important predictor of suitable habitat for both taxa, and their niches largely overlapped, primarily due to scleractinians' broader niche breadth. Crevices and holes at mm scales on calcareous rock with low coral cover were more suitable for octocorals than for scleractinian recruits, suggesting that the decline in scleractinian corals is facilitating the recruitment of octocorals on contemporary Caribbean reefs. However, the relative abundances of the taxa were independent of the amount of suitable habitat on the reef, emphasizing that niche processes alone do not predict recruitment rates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Howard R Lasker
- Department of Environment and Sustainability, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
- Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Adam M Wilson
- Department of Geography, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
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Russo NJ, Davies AB, Blakey RV, Ordway EM, Smith TB. Feedback loops between 3D vegetation structure and ecological functions of animals. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1597-1613. [PMID: 37419868 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14272] [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: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystems function in a series of feedback loops that can change or maintain vegetation structure. Vegetation structure influences the ecological niche space available to animals, shaping many aspects of behaviour and reproduction. In turn, animals perform ecological functions that shape vegetation structure. However, most studies concerning three-dimensional vegetation structure and animal ecology consider only a single direction of this relationship. Here, we review these separate lines of research and integrate them into a unified concept that describes a feedback mechanism. We also show how remote sensing and animal tracking technologies are now available at the global scale to describe feedback loops and their consequences for ecosystem functioning. An improved understanding of how animals interact with vegetation structure in feedback loops is needed to conserve ecosystems that face major disruptions in response to climate and land-use change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Russo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rachel V Blakey
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California, USA
| | - Elsa M Ordway
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Thomas B Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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