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Kaspari M, Weiser MD, Siler CD, Marshall KE, Smith SN, Stroh KM, de Beurs KM. Capacity and establishment rules govern the number of nonnative species in communities of ground-dwelling invertebrates. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e10856. [PMID: 38487748 PMCID: PMC10937486 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10856] [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: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Nonnative species are a key agent of global change. However, nonnative invertebrates remain understudied at the community scales where they are most likely to drive local extirpations. We use the North American NEON pitfall trapping network to document the number of nonnative species from 51 invertebrate communities, testing four classes of drivers. We sequenced samples using the eDNA from the sample's storage ethanol. We used AICc informed regression to evaluate how native species richness, productivity, habitat, temperature, and human population density and vehicular traffic account for continent-wide variation in the number of nonnative species in a local community. The percentage of nonnatives varied 3-fold among habitat types and over 10-fold (0%-14%) overall. We found evidence for two types of constraints on nonnative diversity. Consistent with Capacity rules (i.e., how the number of niches and individuals reflect the number of species an ecosystem can support) nonnatives increased with existing native species richness and ecosystem productivity. Consistent with Establishment Rules (i.e., how the dispersal rate of nonnative propagules and the number of open sites limits nonnative species richness) nonnatives increased with automobile traffic-a measure of human-generated propagule pressure-and were twice as common in pastures than native grasslands. After accounting for drivers associated with a community's ability to support native species (native species richness and productivity), nonnatives are more common in communities that are regularly seasonally disturbed (pastures and, potentially deciduous forests) and those experiencing more vehicular traffic. These baseline values across the US North America will allow NEON's monitoring mission to document how anthropogenic change-from disturbance to propagule transport, from temperature to trends in local extinction-further shape biotic homogenization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kaspari
- Geographical Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
- Conservation Ecology CenterSmithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology InstituteFront RoyalVirginiaUSA
| | - Michael D. Weiser
- Geographical Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
| | - Cameron D. Siler
- Geographical Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
| | - Katie E. Marshall
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Sierra N. Smith
- Geographical Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
| | - Katherine M. Stroh
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
| | - Kirsten M. de Beurs
- Laboratory of Geo‐Information Science and Remote SensingWageningen University and ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
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Jiang JJ, Zhao YJ, Guo Y, Gao L, Richards CL, Siemann E, Wu J, Li B, Ju RT. Restoration of native saltmarshes can reverse arthropod assemblages and trophic interactions changed by a plant invasion. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e2740. [PMID: 36102220 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Plant invasions profoundly impact both natural and managed ecosystems, and removal of the invasive plants addresses only part of the problem of restoring impacted areas. The rehabilitation of diverse communities and their ecosystem functions following removal of invasive plants is an important goal of ecological restoration. Arthropod assemblages and trophic interactions are important indicators of the success of restoration, but they have largely been overlooked in saltmarshes. We determined how arthropod assemblages and trophic interactions changed with the invasion of the exotic plant Spartina alterniflora and with the restoration of the native plant Phragmites australis following Spartina removal in a Chinese saltmarsh. We investigated multiple biotic and abiotic variables to gain insight into the factors underlying the changes in arthropod assemblages and trophic structure. We found that although Spartina invasion had changed arthropod diversity, community structure, feeding-guild composition, and the diets of arthropod natural enemies in the saltmarsh, these changes could be reversed by the restoration of native Phragmites vegetation following removal of the invader. The variation in arthropod assemblages and trophic structure were critically associated with four biotic and abiotic variables (aboveground biomass, plant density, leaf N, and soil salinity). Our findings demonstrate the positive effects of controlling invasive plants on biodiversity and nutrient cycling and provide a foundation for assessing the efficacy of ecological restoration projects in saltmarshes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Jia Jiang
- National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Jie Zhao
- National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yaolin Guo
- National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lei Gao
- Shanghai Academy of Landscape Architecture Science and Planning, Shanghai, China
| | - Christina L Richards
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Evan Siemann
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Jihua Wu
- National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, Yunnan University, Chenggong, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Rui-Ting Ju
- National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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3
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Germeroth L, Sumnicht T, Verble R. Scale-Dependent Spatial Ecology of Paleotropical Leaf Litter Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). DIVERSITY 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/d15040494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
The grain for which an observer conducts a study is an important determinant of its outcome. Studies of ants have considered spatial grains spanning from single meters to entire forest ecosystems and found patterns related to nutrient availability, leaf litter depth, disturbance, and forest composition. Here, we examine a Bornean leaf litter ant community at small (1–4 m) and large (50–250 m) spatial scales and consider the differences in community structure using structured 1 m2 quadrats sampled via leaf litter sifting and Berlese extraction. We found that small-scale patterns in ant abundance and richness did not spatially autocorrelate within a plot until >1.5 m. Leaf litter characteristics, forest stand characteristics and sampling season were homogenous among our sites, suggesting that macro-scale stand variables are not largely regulating the small spatial scale ant communities: These may be driven by microclimate, competition, niche space, nutrient available, microclimatic conditions, or other localized effects. Further experimental work is needed to elicit causal mechanisms.
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4
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Traba J, Gómez‐Catasús J, Barrero A, Bustillo‐de la Rosa D, Zurdo J, Hervás I, Pérez‐Granados C, García de la Morena EL, Santamaría A, Reverter M. Comparative assessment of satellite- and drone-based vegetation indices to predict arthropod biomass in shrub-steppes. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2707. [PMID: 35808937 PMCID: PMC10078389 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Arthropod biomass is a key element in ecosystem functionality and a basic food item for many species. It must be estimated through traditional costly field sampling, normally at just a few sampling points. Arthropod biomass and plant productivity should be narrowly related because a large majority of arthropods are herbivorous, and others depend on these. Quantifying plant productivity with satellite or aerial vehicle imagery is an easy and fast procedure already tested and implemented in agriculture and field ecology. However, the capability of satellite or aerial vehicle imagery for quantifying arthropod biomass and its relationship with plant productivity has been scarcely addressed. Here, we used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and satellite Sentinel-2 (S2) imagery to establish a relationship between plant productivity and arthropod biomass estimated through ground-truth field sampling in shrub steppes. We UAV-sampled seven plots of 47.6-72.3 ha at a 4-cm pixel resolution, subsequently downscaling spatial resolution to 50 cm resolution. In parallel, we used S2 imagery from the same and other dates and locations at 10-m spatial resolution. We related several vegetation indices (VIs) with arthropod biomass (epigeous, coprophagous, and four functional consumer groups: predatory, detritivore, phytophagous, and diverse) estimated at 41-48 sampling stations for UAV flying plots and in 67-79 sampling stations for S2. VIs derived from UAV were consistently and positively related to all arthropod biomass groups. Three out of seven and six out of seven S2-derived VIs were positively related to epigeous and coprophagous arthropod biomass, respectively. The blue normalized difference VI (BNDVI) and enhanced normalized difference VI (ENDVI) showed consistent and positive relationships with arthropod biomass, regardless of the arthropod group or spatial resolution. Our results showed that UAV and S2-VI imagery data may be viable and cost-efficient alternatives for quantifying arthropod biomass at large scales in shrub steppes. The relationship between VI and arthropod biomass is probably habitat-dependent, so future research should address this relationship and include several habitats to validate VIs as proxies of arthropod biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Traba
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | - J. Gómez‐Catasús
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Novia University of Applied SciencesEkenäsFinland
| | - A. Barrero
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | - D. Bustillo‐de la Rosa
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | - J. Zurdo
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | - I. Hervás
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | - C. Pérez‐Granados
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Ecology DepartmentAlicante UniversityAlicanteSpain
| | - E. L. García de la Morena
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Biodiversity Node S.L. Sector ForestaMadridSpain
| | - A. Santamaría
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | - M. Reverter
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM). Department of EcologyUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio GlobalUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
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5
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Queiroz ACM, Marques TG, Ribas CR, Cornelissen T, Nogueira A, Schmidt FA, Feitosa R, Sobrinho TG, Quinet Y, Baccaro FB, Ulysséa MA, Vargas AB, Morini MSC, Souza JLP, Paolucci L, Dáttilo W, Del‐Claro K, Lange D, Santos J, Silva RR, Campos RBF, Albuquerque EZ, Izzo T, Rabello AM, Solar RRC, Soares SA, Carvalho KS, Moraes AB, Torezan‐Silingardi HM, Nahas L, dos Santos IA, Costa‐Milanez CB, Esteves F, Frizzo T, Harada AY, DaRocha W, Diehl‐Fleig E. Ant diversity decreases during the dry season: A meta‐analysis of the effects of seasonality on ant richness and abundance. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antônio C. M. Queiroz
- Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras ‐ UFLA, Campus Universitário Lavras Brazil
| | - Tatianne G. Marques
- Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada, Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais ‐ IFNMG ‐ Campus Salinas Salinas Brazil
| | - Carla R. Ribas
- Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras ‐ UFLA, Campus Universitário Lavras Brazil
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | - Tatiana G. Cornelissen
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, UFMG Belo Horizonte Brazil
| | - Anselmo Nogueira
- Laboratório de Interações Planta‐Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas Universidade Federal do ABC São Bernardo do Campo Brazil
| | - Fernando A. Schmidt
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza Universidade Federal do Acre Rio Branco Brazil
| | - Rodrigo M. Feitosa
- Departamento de Zoologia, Laboratório de Sistemática e Biologia de Formigas Universidade Federal do Paraná Curitiba Brazil
| | - Tathiana G. Sobrinho
- Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Laboratório de Sistemática e Ecologia de Insetos Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus São Mateus São Mateus Brazil
| | - Yves Quinet
- Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Entomologia Universidade Estadual do Ceará Fortaleza Brazil
| | | | - Mônica A. Ulysséa
- Laboratório de Sistemática, Evolução e Biologia de Hymenoptera Museu de Zoologia da USP São Paulo Brazil
- Moreau Lab Cornell University Comstock Hall Ithaca NY USA
| | - André B. Vargas
- Centro Universitário de Volta Redonda – UniFOA Volta Redonda Brazil
| | - Maria Santina C. Morini
- Laboratório de Mirmecologia do Alto Tietê, Núcleo de Ciências Ambientais Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes Mogi das Cruzes Brazil
| | | | - Lucas N. Paolucci
- Departamento de Biologia Geral Universidade Federal de Viçosa Viçosa Brazil
| | - Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología Instituto de Ecología AC Xalapa Mexico
| | - Kleber Del‐Claro
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e de Interações Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia Brazil
| | - Denise Lange
- Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Campus Santa Helena Santa Helena Brazil
| | - Jean C. Santos
- Departamento de Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia & Biodiversidade Universidade Federal de Sergipe São Cristóvão Brazil
| | - Rogério R. Silva
- Coordenação de Ciências da Terra e Ecologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Belém Brazil
| | - Renata B. F. Campos
- Laboratório de Ecologia, ambiente e território, PPG Gestão Integrada do Território Universidade Vale do Rio Doce Governador Valadares Brazil
| | - Emília Z. Albuquerque
- School of Life Sciences, Rabeling Lab Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA
- AntLab, National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington District of Columbia USA
| | - Thiago Izzo
- Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia de Comunidades Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso Cuiabá Brazil
| | - Ananza M. Rabello
- Instituto de Estudos do Xingu, Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará São Félix do Xingu Brazil
| | - Ricardo R. C. Solar
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Centro de Síntese Ecológica e Conservação Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Brazil
| | - Stela A. Soares
- Secretaria Estadual de Educação de Mato Grosso do Sul Campo Grande Brazil
| | - Karine S. Carvalho
- Departamento de Ciências Naturais Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Campus Vitória da Conquista Vitória da Conquista Brazil
| | | | - Helena M. Torezan‐Silingardi
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e de Interações Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia Brazil
| | - Larissa Nahas
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e de Interações Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia Brazil
| | | | - Cinthia B. Costa‐Milanez
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto Ouro Preto Brazil
| | - Flávia Esteves
- Department of Entomology Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences San Francisco USA
| | - Tiago Frizzo
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro Brasília Brazil
| | - Ana Y. Harada
- Coordenação em Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi Belém Brazil
| | - Wesley DaRocha
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Insetos Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Laboratório de Mirmecologia (CPDC) Centro de Pesquisa do Cacau (CEPEC) Ilhéus Brazil
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6
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Achury R, Clement L, Ebeling A, Meyer S, Voigt W, Weisser WW. Plant diversity and functional identity alter ant occurrence and activity in experimental grasslands. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4252] [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
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Achury
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
| | - Lars Clement
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Friedrich‐Schiller‐University Jena Jena Germany
| | - Anne Ebeling
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Friedrich‐Schiller‐University Jena Jena Germany
| | - Sebastian Meyer
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
| | - Winfried Voigt
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Friedrich‐Schiller‐University Jena Jena Germany
| | - Wolfgang W. Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
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7
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LeGrice RJ, Ward DF, Holwell GI. Coastal Diptera species and communities and their geographic distribution in Aotearoa|New Zealand. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03014223.2021.2017304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J. LeGrice
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Darren F. Ward
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Gregory I. Holwell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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8
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Brant HSC, da Silva PG, de Castro FS, Perillo LN, de Siqueira Neves F. Spatiotemporal Patterns of Ant Metacommunity in a Montane Forest Archipelago. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 50:886-898. [PMID: 34292497 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-021-00901-2] [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: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Naturally fragmented landscapes are adequate systems for evaluating patterns and mechanisms that determine species distribution without confounding effects of anthropogenic fragmentation and habitat loss. We aimed to evaluate an ant metacommunity's spatiotemporal patterns in montane forest islands amid a grassland-dominated matrix. We assessed these patterns by deconstructing the ant metacommunity into forest-dependent and habitat generalist species. We sampled twice a year (summer and winter) over 2 years (2014 and 2015), using soil and arboreal pitfall traps, in fourteen forest islands (varying in size, shape, and connectivity) in the Espinhaço Range Biosphere Reserve, Brazil. We evaluated the relationship between ant species richness, composition (β-diversity), and predictor variables of forest island structure (canopy cover and understory density) and landscape structure (forest amount, number of forest islands, and shape). We sampled 99 ant species, 66.7% of which were classified as forest-dependent and 33.3% as habitat generalist species. We found that ant β-diversity was higher in space than in time, and that species composition variation in time (temporal β-diversity) differed between ant species groups. Both ant groups responded differently to forest island and landscape structure characteristics. Landscape structure seems to act as a spatial filter and the forest islands' local characteristics as an environmental filter, which jointly determine the local and regional diversity. We demonstrate the importance that forest archipelagos pose to ant metacommunity's structure and dynamics in montane tropical regions. Mountaintop conservation and management strategies must consider the forest island archipelago to maintain the biodiversity and the functioning of these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humberto Soares Caldeira Brant
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Uso dos Recursos Naturais, Univ Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Pedro Giovâni da Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
| | - Flávio Siqueira de Castro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Lucas Neves Perillo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Bocaina Biologia da Conservação, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Frederico de Siqueira Neves
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Uso dos Recursos Naturais, Univ Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Depto de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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9
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Leponce M, Corbara B, Delabie JH, Orivel J, Aberlenc HP, Bail J, Barrios H, Campos RI, do Nascimento IC, Compin A, Didham RK, Floren A, Medianero E, Ribeiro SP, Roisin Y, Schmidl J, Tishechkin AK, Winchester NN, Basset Y, Dejean A. Spatial and functional structure of an entire ant assemblage in a lowland Panamanian rainforest. Basic Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2021.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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10
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Prather RM, Castillioni K, Welti EAR, Kaspari M, Souza L. Abiotic factors and plant biomass, not plant diversity, strongly shape grassland arthropods under drought conditions. Ecology 2020; 101:e03033. [PMID: 32112407 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Arthropod abundance and diversity often track plant biomass and diversity at the local scale. However, under altered precipitation regimes and anthropogenic disturbances, plant-arthropod relationships are expected to be increasingly controlled by abiotic, rather than biotic, factors. We used an experimental precipitation gradient combined with human management in a temperate mixed-grass prairie to examine (1) how two drivers, altered precipitation and biomass removal, can synergistically affect abiotic factors and plant communities and (2) how these effects can cascade upward, impacting the arthropod food web. Both drought and hay harvest increased soil surface temperature, and drought decreased soil moisture. Arthropod abundance decreased with low soil moisture and, contrary to our predictions, decreased with increased plant biomass. Arthropod diversity increased with soil moisture, decreased with high surface temperatures, and tracked arthropod abundance but was unaffected by plant diversity or quality. Our experiment demonstrates that arthropod abundance is directly constrained by abiotic factors and plant biomass, in turn constraining local arthropod diversity. If robust, this result suggests climate change in the southern Great Plains may directly reduce arthropod diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M Prather
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Karen Castillioni
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Ellen A R Welti
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Lara Souza
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
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11
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Hughes DF, Meshaka WE, Lieb CS, Pechmann JHK. Latitudinal Variation in Life History Reveals a Reproductive Advantage in the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum). COPEIA 2019. [DOI: 10.1643/ch-19-266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel F. Hughes
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1207 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801; . Send reprint requests to this address
| | - Walter E. Meshaka
- Section of Zoology and Botany, State Museum of Pennsylvania, 300 North Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120;
| | - Carl S. Lieb
- UTEP Biodiversity Collections, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, Texas 79968;
| | - Joseph H. K. Pechmann
- Department of Biology, Western Carolina University, 130 Natural Science Building, Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723;
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12
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Prather RM, Kaspari M. Plants regulate grassland arthropod communities through biomass, quality, and habitat heterogeneity. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Prather
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
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13
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Kaspari M, Bujan J, Roeder KA, Beurs K, Weiser MD. Species energy and Thermal Performance Theory predict 20‐yr changes in ant community abundance and richness. Ecology 2019; 100:e02888. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kaspari
- Geographical Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - Jelena Bujan
- Geographical Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
- Department of Biology University of Louisville Louisville Kentucky 40208 USA
| | - Karl A. Roeder
- Geographical Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - Kirsten Beurs
- Department of Geography and Sustainability University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - Michael D. Weiser
- Geographical Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
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14
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Maravalhas JB, Vasconcelos HL. Ant diversity in Neotropical savannas: Hierarchical processes acting at multiple spatial scales. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:412-422. [PMID: 31556096 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Understanding what creates and maintains macroscale biodiversity gradients is a central focus of ecological and evolutionary research. Spatial patterns in diversity are driven by a hierarchy of factors operating at multiple scales. Historical and climatic factors drive large-scale patterns of diversity by affecting the size of regional species pools, while habitat heterogeneity or microhabitat characteristics further influence species coexistence at small scales. We tested the degree to which the species-energy, historical factors, habitat heterogeneity and local environment hypotheses explain observed patterns of ant diversity across hierarchical spatial scales. We sampled ground-dwelling ants at 29 sites within a Neotropical savanna region, the Brazilian Cerrado. We measured species density - an abundance-dependent diversity metric - and rarefied species richness - an abundance-independent metric - at spatial scales with varying grain sizes. For each hypothesis, two correlates were used to predict ant diversity patterns: (a) species-energy: rainfall and productivity; (b) historical factors: historical variation in rainfall and refugial areas; (c) habitat heterogeneity: heterogeneity in greenness and diversity of land cover; and (d) local factors: contents of sand and coarse fragments in the soil. Ant diversity patterns correlated to net primary productivity and to the proportion of coarse fragments in the soil, corroborating the species-energy and local environment hypotheses, respectively. Soil negatively influenced species density, but not rarefied species richness, which was positively influenced by productivity. We found scale dependencies in the effects of soil/productivity on species density; productivity best predicted species density patterns at large scales, since sampling completeness offset the abundance-driven effects of soil. Considering abundance differences may help to discern the mechanisms underlying the relationship between macroscale diversity patterns and its ecological drivers. Plant productivity affected ant diversity independently of abundance, possibly by limiting the size of regional species pools. On the other hand, soil properties had an abundance-dependent effect on ant diversity, indicating a sampling mechanism. Our findings are consistent with predictions of the hierarchical theory of diversity. Large-scale patterns of productivity limit regional diversity, an effect that cascades down to finer spatial scales, where soil properties influence the number of coexisting species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas B Maravalhas
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
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15
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Spatio-temporal climate change contributes to latitudinal diversity gradients. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:1419-1429. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0962-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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16
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Gibb H, Grossman BF, Dickman CR, Decker O, Wardle GM. Long‐term responses of desert ant assemblages to climate. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1549-1563. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Heloise Gibb
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Blair F. Grossman
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Chris R. Dickman
- Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Orsolya Decker
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Glenda M. Wardle
- Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
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17
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Storch D, Bohdalková E, Okie J. The more-individuals hypothesis revisited: the role of community abundance in species richness regulation and the productivity-diversity relationship. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:920-937. [PMID: 29659144 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Species richness increases with energy availability, yet there is little consensus as to the exact processes driving this species-energy relationship. The most straightforward explanation is the more-individuals hypothesis (MIH). It states that higher energy availability promotes a higher total number of individuals in a community, which consequently increases species richness by allowing for a greater number of species with viable populations. Empirical support for the MIH is mixed, partially due to the lack of proper formalisation of the MIH and consequent confusion as to its exact predictions. Here, we review the evidence of the MIH and evaluate the reliability of various predictions that have been tested. There is only limited evidence that spatial variation in species richness is driven by variation in the total number of individuals. There are also problems with measures of energy availability, with scale-dependence, and with the direction of causality, as the total number of individuals may sometimes itself be driven by the number of species. However, even in such a case the total number of individuals may be involved in diversity regulation. We propose a formal theory that encompasses these processes, clarifying how the different factors affecting diversity dynamics can be disentangled.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Storch
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Eliška Bohdalková
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Jordan Okie
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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18
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Kwon TS. High competition between ant species at intermediate temperatures. J Therm Biol 2018; 72:59-66. [PMID: 29496016 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Living organisms have been moving rapidly toward their favorable thermal regions as climate warms. Their competitive interactions will change significantly as a result of changes in distribution, abundance, and species composition. This study examines the relationship of competition intensity (frequency of competitive interactions) with temperature and the influence of competition on the occurrence of ant species. Competition between ants was surveyed at six different temperature sites using baits and the abundance of ants was surveyed using pitfall traps. The intensity of interspecific competition (abundance-corrected bait species displacement) was high at intermediate temperature sites (unimodal). Ant species are hierarchically organized in behavioral dominance. Two low-temperature ant species had decreased in the rank of behavioral dominance at warmer temperature sites because of the abundance of dominant intermediate temperature ant species. Ant species co-occurred randomly at the local scale. However, they were segregated at regional scale because of environmental filtering (temperature). Ant competition did not influence the occurrence of ant species at local or regional scale. These results suggest that the influence of changes in interspecific competition because of climate warming might not be great for ants in temperate regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae-Sung Kwon
- Forest Insect Pests and Diseases Division, National Institute of Forest Science, 57 Hoegi-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-712, Republic of Korea.
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19
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Ramos CS, Isabel Bellocq M, Paris CI, Filloy J. Environmental drivers of ant species richness and composition across the Argentine Pampas grassland. AUSTRAL ECOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina S. Ramos
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
| | - M. Isabel Bellocq
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
| | - Carolina I. Paris
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
| | - Julieta Filloy
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
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20
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Kaspari M, Bujan J, Weiser MD, Ning D, Michaletz ST, Zhili H, Enquist BJ, Waide RB, Zhou J, Turner BL, Wright SJ. Biogeochemistry drives diversity in the prokaryotes, fungi, and invertebrates of a Panama forest. Ecology 2017; 98:2019-2028. [PMID: 28500769 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2016] [Revised: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 05/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Humans are both fertilizing the world and depleting its soils, decreasing the diversity of aquatic ecosystems and terrestrial plants in the process. We know less about how nutrients shape the abundance and diversity of the prokaryotes, fungi, and invertebrates of Earth's soils. Here we explore this question in the soils of a Panama forest subject to a 13-yr fertilization with factorial combinations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) and a separate micronutrient cocktail. We contrast three hypotheses linking biogeochemistry to abundance and diversity. Consistent with the Stress Hypothesis, adding N suppressed the abundance of invertebrates and the richness of all three groups of organisms by ca. 1 SD or more below controls. Nitrogen addition plots were 0.8 pH units more acidic with 18% more exchangeable aluminum, which is toxic to both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. These stress effects were frequently reversed, however, when N was added with P (for prokaryotes and invertebrates) and with added K (for fungi). Consistent with the Abundance Hypothesis, adding P generally increased prokaryote and invertebrate diversity, and adding K enhanced invertebrate diversity. Also consistent with the Abundance Hypothesis, increases in invertebrate abundance generated increases in richness. We found little evidence for the Competition Hypothesis: that single nutrients suppressed diversity by favoring a subset of high nutrient specialists, and that nutrient combinations suppressed diversity even more. Instead, combinations of nutrients, and especially the cation/micronutrient treatment, yielded the largest increases in richness in the two eukaryote groups. In sum, changes in soil biogeochemistry revealed a diversity of responses among the three dominant soil groups, positive synergies among nutrients, and-in contrast with terrestrial plants-the frequent enhancement of soil biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology, Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Jelena Bujan
- Department of Biology, Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Michael D Weiser
- Department of Biology, Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Daliang Ning
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Sean T Michaletz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA.,Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS J495, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545, USA
| | - He Zhili
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA.,Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, USA
| | - Robert B Waide
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, USA.,LTER Network Office, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, USA
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA.,CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Benjamin L Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
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21
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Kwon TS. Ant assemblages along the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range in South Korea: Human roads and temperature niche. JOURNAL OF ASIA-PACIFIC BIODIVERSITY 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2015.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
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22
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Have stump piles any effect on the pine weevil (Hylobius abietis L.) incidence and seedling damage? Glob Ecol Conserv 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2015.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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23
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Pelini SL, Diamond SE, Nichols LM, Stuble KL, Ellison AM, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, Gotelli NJ. Geographic differences in effects of experimental warming on ant species diversity and community composition. Ecosphere 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/es14-00143.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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24
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Longino JT, Branstetter MG, Colwell RK. How ants drop out: ant abundance on tropical mountains. PLoS One 2014; 9:e104030. [PMID: 25098722 PMCID: PMC4123913 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Accepted: 07/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In tropical wet forests, ants are a large proportion of the animal biomass, but the factors determining abundance are not well understood. We characterized ant abundance in the litter layer of 41 mature wet forest sites spread throughout Central America (Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica) and examined the impact of elevation (as a proxy for temperature) and community species richness. Sites were intentionally chosen to minimize variation in precipitation and seasonality. From sea level to 1500 m ant abundance very gradually declined, community richness declined more rapidly than abundance, and the local frequency of the locally most common species increased. These results suggest that within this elevational zone, density compensation is acting, maintaining high ant abundance as richness declines. In contrast, in sites above 1500 m, ant abundance dropped abruptly to much lower levels. Among these high montane sites, community richness explained much more of the variation in abundance than elevation, and there was no evidence of density compensation. The relative stability of abundance below 1500 m may be caused by opposing effects of temperature on productivity and metabolism. Lower temperatures may decrease productivity and thus the amount of food available for consumers, but slower metabolisms of consumers may allow maintenance of higher biomass at lower resource supply rates. Ant communities at these lower elevations may be highly interactive, the result of continuous habitat presence over geological time. High montane sites may be ephemeral in geological time, resulting in non-interactive communities dominated by historical and stochastic processes. Abundance in these sites may be determined by the number of species that manage to colonize and/or avoid extinction on mountaintops.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T Longino
- Department of Biology, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Michael G Branstetter
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Robert K Colwell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America, and University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
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25
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Sol D, González-Lagos C, Moreira D, Maspons J, Lapiedra O. Urbanisation tolerance and the loss of avian diversity. Ecol Lett 2014; 17:942-50. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2014] [Revised: 02/20/2014] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sol
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès; Catalonia 08193 Spain
- CSIC; Cerdanyola del Vallès; Catalonia 08193 Spain
| | - Cesar González-Lagos
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès; Catalonia 08193 Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas; Universidad Austral de Chile; Valdivia Chile
| | - Darío Moreira
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta Canada T6G 2E9
| | - Joan Maspons
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès; Catalonia 08193 Spain
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26
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Kwon TS. An empirical test of mid-domain effect using Korean ant richness. JOURNAL OF ASIA-PACIFIC BIODIVERSITY 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2014.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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27
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Resasco J, Pelini SL, Stuble KL, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, Diamond SE, Ellison AM, Gotelli NJ, Levey DJ. Using historical and experimental data to reveal warming effects on ant assemblages. PLoS One 2014; 9:e88029. [PMID: 24505364 PMCID: PMC3913719 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2013] [Accepted: 01/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Historical records of species are compared with current records to elucidate effects of recent climate change. However, confounding variables such as succession, land-use change, and species invasions make it difficult to demonstrate a causal link between changes in biota and changes in climate. Experiments that manipulate temperature can overcome this issue of attribution, but long-term impacts of warming are difficult to test directly. Here we combine historical and experimental data to explore effects of warming on ant assemblages in southeastern US. Observational data span a 35-year period (1976–2011), during which mean annual temperatures had an increasing trend. Mean summer temperatures in 2010–2011 were ∼2.7°C warmer than in 1976. Experimental data come from an ongoing study in the same region, for which temperatures have been increased ∼1.5–5.5°C above ambient from 2010 to 2012. Ant species richness and evenness decreased with warming under natural but not experimental warming. These discrepancies could have resulted from differences in timescales of warming, abiotic or biotic factors, or initial species pools. Species turnover tended to increase with temperature in observational and experimental datasets. At the species level, the observational and experimental datasets had four species in common, two of which exhibited consistent patterns between datasets. With natural and experimental warming, collections of the numerically dominant, thermophilic species, Crematogaster lineolata, increased roughly two-fold. Myrmecina americana, a relatively heat intolerant species, decreased with temperature in natural and experimental warming. In contrast, species in the Solenopsis molesta group did not show consistent responses to warming, and Temenothorax pergandei was rare across temperatures. Our results highlight the difficulty of interpreting community responses to warming based on historical records or experiments alone. Because some species showed consistent responses to warming based on thermal tolerances, understanding functional traits may prove useful in explaining responses of species to warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Resasco
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Shannon L. Pelini
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Katharine L. Stuble
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Nathan J. Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Robert R. Dunn
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Diamond
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Aaron M. Ellison
- Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nicholas J. Gotelli
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Douglas J. Levey
- National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America
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28
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Hurlbert AH, Stegen JC. When should species richness be energy limited, and how would we know? Ecol Lett 2014; 17:401-13. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2013] [Revised: 09/02/2013] [Accepted: 12/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Allen H. Hurlbert
- Department of Biology; University of North Carolina; Chapel Hill NC 27599-3280 USA
- Curriculum for Environment and Ecology; University of North Carolina; Chapel Hill NC 27599 USA
| | - James C. Stegen
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; 902 Battelle Blvd P.O. Box 999, MSIN J4-18 Richland WA 99352 USA
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29
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Marques T, Schoereder JH. Ant diversity partitioning across spatial scales: Ecological processes and implications for conserving Tropical Dry Forests. AUSTRAL ECOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tatianne Marques
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia; Departamento de Entomologia; Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Viçosa MG 36570-000 Brazil
| | - José H. Schoereder
- Departamento de Biologia Geral; Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Viçosa Minas Gerais Brazil
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30
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Braschler B, Chown SL, Gaston KJ. The Fynbos and sUcculent Karoo biomes do not have exceptional local ant richness. PLoS One 2012; 7:e31463. [PMID: 22396733 PMCID: PMC3292543 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2010] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Fynbos (FB) and Succulent Karoo biomes (SKB) have high regional plant diversity despite relatively low productivity. Local diversity in the region varies but is moderate. For insects, previous work suggests that strict phytophages, but not other taxa, may have high regional richness. However, what has yet to be investigated is whether the local insect species richness of FB and SKB is unusual for a region of this productivity level at this latitude, and whether regional richness is also high. Here we determine whether this is the case for ants. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We use species richness data from pitfall traps in the FB and SKB in the Western Cape Province, South Africa and a global dataset of local ant richness extracted from the literature. We then relate the globally derived values of local richness to two energy-related predictors--productive energy (NDVI) and temperature, and to precipitation, and compare the data from the FB and SKB with these relationships. We further compare our local richness estimates with that of similar habitats worldwide, and regional ant richness with estimates derived from other regions. The local ant species richness of the FB and SKB falls within the general global pattern relating ant richness to energy, and is similar to that in comparable habitats elsewhere. At a regional scale, the richness of ants across all of our sites is not exceptional by comparison with other regional estimates from across the globe. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Local richness of ants in the FB and SKB is not exceptional by global standards. Initial analyses suggest that regional diversity is also not exceptional for the group. It seems unlikely that the mechanisms which have contributed to the development of extraordinarily high regional plant diversity in these biomes have had a strong influence on the ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Braschler
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
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31
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Mulder C, Boit A, Mori S, Vonk JA, Dyer SD, Faggiano L, Geisen S, González AL, Kaspari M, Lavorel S, Marquet PA, Rossberg AG, Sterner RW, Voigt W, Wall DH. Distributional (In)Congruence of Biodiversity–Ecosystem Functioning. ADV ECOL RES 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-396992-7.00001-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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32
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Lessard JP, Borregaard MK, Fordyce JA, Rahbek C, Weiser MD, Dunn RR, Sanders NJ. Strong influence of regional species pools on continent-wide structuring of local communities. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:266-74. [PMID: 21676973 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a long tradition in ecology of evaluating the relative contribution of the regional species pool and local interactions on the structure of local communities. Similarly, a growing number of studies assess the phylogenetic structure of communities, relative to that in the regional species pool, to examine the interplay between broad-scale evolutionary and fine-scale ecological processes. Finally, a renewed interest in the influence of species source pools on communities has shown that the definition of the source pool influences interpretations of patterns of community structure. We use a continent-wide dataset of local ant communities and implement ecologically explicit source pool definitions to examine the relative importance of regional species pools and local interactions for shaping community structure. Then we assess which factors underlie systematic variation in the structure of communities along climatic gradients. We find that the average phylogenetic relatedness of species in ant communities decreases from tropical to temperate regions, but the strength of this relationship depends on the level of ecological realism in the definition of source pools. We conclude that the evolution of climatic niches influences the phylogenetic structure of regional source pools and that the influence of regional source pools on local community structure is strong.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Philippe Lessard
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
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Jenkins CN, Sanders NJ, Andersen AN, Arnan X, Brühl CA, Cerda X, Ellison AM, Fisher BL, Fitzpatrick MC, Gotelli NJ, Gove AD, Guénard B, Lattke JE, Lessard JP, McGlynn TP, Menke SB, Parr CL, Philpott SM, Vasconcelos HL, Weiser MD, Dunn RR. Global diversity in light of climate change: the case of ants. DIVERS DISTRIB 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00770.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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Pelini SL, Boudreau M, McCoy N, Ellison AM, Gotelli NJ, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR. Effects of short-term warming on low and high latitude forest ant communities. Ecosphere 2011. [DOI: 10.1890/es11-00097.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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35
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CAMPOS RICARDOI, VASCONCELOS HERALDOL, ANDERSEN ALANN, FRIZZO TIAGOLM, SPENA KELLYC. Multi-scale ant diversity in savanna woodlands: an intercontinental comparison. AUSTRAL ECOL 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02255.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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36
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Wimp GM, Murphy SM, Finke DL, Huberty AF, Denno RF. Increased primary production shifts the structure and composition of a terrestrial arthropod community. Ecology 2010; 91:3303-11. [DOI: 10.1890/09-1291.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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37
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Kaspari M, Stevenson BS, Shik J, Kerekes JF. Scaling community structure: how bacteria, fungi, and ant taxocenes differentiate along a tropical forest floor. Ecology 2010; 91:2221-6. [DOI: 10.1890/09-2089.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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38
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CHONG CHEESENG, HOFFMANN ARYA, THOMSON LINDAJ. Local-scale spatial dynamics of ants in a temperate agroecosystem. AUSTRAL ECOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2010.02155.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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39
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Akatov VV, Akatova TV. Saturation and invasion resistance of non-interactive plant communities. RUSS J ECOL+ 2010. [DOI: 10.1134/s1067413610030069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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40
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Donoso DA, Johnston MK, Kaspari M. Trees as templates for tropical litter arthropod diversity. Oecologia 2010; 164:201-11. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-010-1607-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2009] [Accepted: 02/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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41
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DEVOTO MARIANO, MEDAN DIEGO, ROIG-ALSINA ARTURO, MONTALDO NORBERTOH. Patterns of species turnover in plant-pollinator communities along a precipitation gradient in Patagonia (Argentina). AUSTRAL ECOL 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.01987.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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42
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Manzaneda AJ, Rey PJ. Assessing ecological specialization of an ant–seed dispersal mutualism through a wide geographic range. Ecology 2009; 90:3009-22. [PMID: 19967857 DOI: 10.1890/08-2274.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio J Manzaneda
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avda. Maria Luisa s/n, E-41013 Sevilla, Spain.
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44
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard G. Pearson
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Luz Boyero
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 2072 Balboa Ancón, Panamá
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46
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Mertl AL, Ryder Wilkie KT, Traniello JFA. Impact of Flooding on the Species Richness, Density and Composition of Amazonian Litter-Nesting Ants. Biotropica 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00520.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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47
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Dunn RR, Agosti D, Andersen AN, Arnan X, Bruhl CA, Cerdá X, Ellison AM, Fisher BL, Fitzpatrick MC, Gibb H, Gotelli NJ, Gove AD, Guenard B, Janda M, Kaspari M, Laurent EJ, Lessard JP, Longino JT, Majer JD, Menke SB, McGlynn TP, Parr CL, Philpott SM, Pfeiffer M, Retana J, Suarez AV, Vasconcelos HL, Weiser MD, Sanders NJ. Climatic drivers of hemispheric asymmetry in global patterns of ant species richness. Ecol Lett 2009; 12:324-33. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01291.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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48
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Gardezi T, Gonzalez A. Scale Dependence of Species‐Energy Relationships: Evidence from Fishes in Thousands of Lakes. Am Nat 2008; 171:800-15. [DOI: 10.1086/587520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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49
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Menke SB, Fisher RN, Jetz W, Holway DA. Biotic and abiotic controls of Argentine ant invasion success at local and landscape scales. Ecology 2008; 88:3164-73. [PMID: 18229850 DOI: 10.1890/07-0122.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Although the ecological success of introduced species hinges on biotic interactions and physical conditions, few experimental studies--especially on animals--have simultaneously investigated the relative importance of both types of factors. The lack of such research may stem from the common assumption that native and introduced species exhibit similar environmental tolerances. Here we combine experimental and spatial modeling approaches (1) to determine the relative importance of biotic and abiotic controls of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) invasion success, (2) to examine how the importance of these factors changes with spatial scale in southern California (USA), and (3) to assess how Argentine ants differ from native ants in their environmental tolerances. A factorial field experiment that combined native ant removal with irrigation revealed that Argentine ants failed to invade any dry plots (even those lacking native ants) but readily invaded all moist plots. Native ants slowed the spread of Argentine ants into irrigated plots but did not prevent invasion. In areas without Argentine ants, native ant species showed variable responses to irrigation. At the landscape scale, Argentine ant occurrence was positively correlated with minimum winter temperature (but not precipitation), whereas native ant diversity increased with precipitation and was negatively correlated with minimum winter temperature. These results are of interest for several reasons. First, they demonstrate that fine-scale differences in the physical environment can eclipse biotic resistance from native competitors in determining community susceptibility to invasion. Second, our results illustrate surprising complexities with respect to how the abiotic factors limiting invasion can change with spatial scale, and third, how native and invasive species can differ in their responses to the physical environment. Idiosyncratic and scale-dependent processes complicate attempts to forecast where introduced species will occur and how their range limits may shift as a result of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- S B Menke
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0116, USA.
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50
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Evans KL, Newson SE, Storch D, Greenwood JJD, Gaston KJ. Spatial scale, abundance and the species–energy relationship in British birds. J Anim Ecol 2008; 77:395-405. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01332.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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