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Zhao Y, Mendenhall CD, Matthews TJ, Wang D, Li W, Liu X, Tang S, Han P, Wei G, Kang Y, Wu C, Wang R, Zeng D, Frishkoff LO, Si X. Land-use change interacts with island biogeography to alter bird community assembly. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232245. [PMID: 38471555 PMCID: PMC10932711 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2245] [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: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities have reshaped biodiversity on islands worldwide. However, it remains unclear how island attributes and land-use change interactively shape multiple facets of island biodiversity through community assembly processes. To answer this, we conducted bird surveys in various land-use types (mainly forest and farmland) using transects on 34 oceanic land-bridge islands in the largest archipelago of China. We found that bird species richness increased with island area and decreased with isolation, regardless of the intensity of land-use change. However, forest-dominated habitats exhibited lower richness than farmland-dominated habitats. Island bird assemblages generally comprised species that share more similar traits or evolutionary histories (i.e. functional and/or phylogenetic clustering) than expected if assemblages were randomly assembled. Contrary to our expectations, we observed that bird assemblages in forest-dominated habitats were more clustered on large and close islands, whereas assemblages in farmland-dominated habitats were more clustered on small islands. These contrasting results indicate that land-use change interacts with island biogeography to alter the community assembly of birds on inhabited islands. Our findings emphasize the importance of incorporating human-modified habitats when examining the community assembly of island biota, and further suggest that agricultural landscapes on large islands may play essential roles in protecting countryside island biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhao Zhao
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Thomas J. Matthews
- GEES (School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences) and Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
- CE3C – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group / CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute and Universidade dos Açores – Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, PT-9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal
| | - Duorun Wang
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Wande Li
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangxu Liu
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Shupei Tang
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Han
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangpeng Wei
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Kang
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenxiao Wu
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Wang
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Di Zeng
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Luke O. Frishkoff
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
| | - Xingfeng Si
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
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Tommasi N, Biella P, Maggioni D, Fallati L, Agostinetto G, Labra M, Galli P, Galimberti A. DNA metabarcoding unveils the effects of habitat fragmentation on pollinator diversity, plant-pollinator interactions, and pollination efficiency in Maldive islands. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6394-6404. [PMID: 35651283 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation affects biodiversity, but with unclear effects on pollinators and their interactions with plants in anthropized landscapes. Islands could serve as open air laboratories, suitable to disentangle how land-use alteration impacts pollination ecology. In Maldive islands we investigated how pollinator richness, plant-pollinator interactions and pollination efficiency are influenced by the green area fragmentation (i.e., gardens and semi-natural patches). Moreover, we considered the mediating role of pollinator body size and the plant trait of being invasive in shaping interactions. To do this, we surveyed pollinator insects from 11 islands representing a gradient of green area fragmentation. A DNA metabarcoding approach was adopted to identify the pollen transported by pollinators and characterize the plant-pollinator interactions. We found that intermediate levels of green area fragmentation characterized pollinator communities and increased their species richness, while decreasing interaction network complexity. Invasive plants were more frequently found on pollinator bodies than native or exotic noninvasive ones, indicating a concerningly higher potential for pollen dispersal and reproduction of the former ones. Intriguingly, pollinator body size mediated the effect of landscape alteration on interactions, as only the largest bees expanded the foraging diet in terms of plant richness in the transported pollen at increasing fragmentation. In parallel, the pollination efficiency increased with pollinator species richness in two sentinel plants. This study shows that moderate landscape fragmentation of green areas shapes many aspects of the pollination ecosystem service, where despite interactions being less complex and mediated by pollinator body size, pollinator insect biodiversity and potential plant reproduction are supported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Tommasi
- ZooplantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- INFN Sezione Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Biella
- ZooplantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Maggioni
- Earth and Environmental Science Department, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Center), Magoodhoo, Maldives
| | - Luca Fallati
- Earth and Environmental Science Department, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Center), Magoodhoo, Maldives
| | - Giulia Agostinetto
- ZooplantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Massimo Labra
- ZooplantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- INFN Sezione Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Galli
- Earth and Environmental Science Department, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Center), Magoodhoo, Maldives
| | - Andrea Galimberti
- ZooplantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- INFN Sezione Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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3
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Walentowitz A, Lenzner B, Essl F, Strandberg N, Castilla-Beltrán A, Fernández-Palacios JM, Björck S, Connor S, Haberle SG, Ljung K, Prebble M, Wilmshurst JM, Froyd CA, de Boer EJ, de Nascimento L, Edwards ME, Stevenson J, Beierkuhnlein C, Steinbauer MJ, Nogué S. Long-term trajectories of non-native vegetation on islands globally. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:729-741. [PMID: 36958810 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
Human-mediated changes in island vegetation are, among others, largely caused by the introduction and establishment of non-native species. However, data on past changes in non-native plant species abundance that predate historical documentation and censuses are scarce. Islands are among the few places where we can track human arrival in natural systems allowing us to reveal changes in vegetation dynamics with the arrival of non-native species. We matched fossil pollen data with botanical status information (native, non-native), and quantified the timing, trajectories and magnitude of non-native plant vegetational change on 29 islands over the past 5000 years. We recorded a proportional increase in pollen of non-native plant taxa within the last 1000 years. Individual island trajectories are context-dependent and linked to island settlement histories. Our data show that non-native plant introductions have a longer and more dynamic history than is generally recognized, with critical implications for biodiversity baselines and invasion biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Walentowitz
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Bernd Lenzner
- BioInvasions, Global Change, Macroecology Group, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Franz Essl
- BioInvasions, Global Change, Macroecology Group, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nichola Strandberg
- School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Alvaro Castilla-Beltrán
- Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Universidad of La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Spain
- Island Ecology and Biogeography Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Spain
| | - José María Fernández-Palacios
- Island Ecology and Biogeography Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Spain
| | - Svante Björck
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Simon Connor
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity & Heritage, and School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Simon G Haberle
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity & Heritage, and School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Karl Ljung
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Matiu Prebble
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Te Kura Aronukurangi-School of Earth and Environment, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha-University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Janet M Wilmshurst
- Long Term Ecology Laboratory, Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
| | | | - Erik J de Boer
- Departament d'Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geociències Marines, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lea de Nascimento
- Island Ecology and Biogeography Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Spain
| | - Mary E Edwards
- School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Janelle Stevenson
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity & Heritage, and School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Carl Beierkuhnlein
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Geographical Institute Bayreuth (GIB), Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Science (BayCEER), Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Manuel J Steinbauer
- Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER) & Bayreuth Center of Sport Science (BaySpo), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Sandra Nogué
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
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Steibl S, Gebauer G, Laforsch C. Impacts on food web properties of island invertebrate communities vary between different human land uses. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 831:154838. [PMID: 35346698 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154838] [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: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Human land use is of growing concern for island ecosystems. Besides direct impacts on biodiversity, land uses can alter the functioning and structure of ecosystems. Central to this are impacts on food webs. The release of additional nutrients from human origin, habitat homogenization, or environmental filtering due to human land use can change the diet of individual consumer species (i.e., their trophic niches) and the distribution and overlap of trophic niches within a food web. However, it remains largely unclear whether the effects on food web properties vary between the different and predominant human land uses present on islands. Here, we investigated the impact of two dominant human land uses on small oceanic islands (i.e., urban and tourism development) and tested if and how different land uses on islands affect food web structure. To disentangle human land uses, we investigated islands, which were either privately owned by a tourist facility (i.e., exclusively tourism land use) or experienced urban development from the local population (i.e., urban land use), or remained uninhabited, serving as reference sites free of direct land use. Using stable isotope analysis, we show that isotope signature, trophic (isotopic) niches, and overall food web properties of the investigated island invertebrate communities were significantly changed under both land use regimes. While trophic diversity was reduced and trophic niche widths increased under tourism land use, the investigated food webs showed reduced trophic diversity at the food web base and a more uneven trophic niche distribution under urban land use. In summary, these findings show that different human land uses can have contrasting impacts on oceanic island food webs. As oceanic islands experience rapidly growing human land conversion, our results indicate that they may also face increasing yet unpredictable long-term changes in food web dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Steibl
- Department of Animal Ecology I and BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Gerhard Gebauer
- BayCEER - Laboratory of Isotope Biogeochemistry, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Christian Laforsch
- Department of Animal Ecology I and BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
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Biella P, Ssymank A, Galimberti A, Galli P, Perlík M, Ramazzotti F, Rota A, Tommasi N. Updating the list of flower-visiting bees, hoverflies and wasps in the central atolls of Maldives, with notes on land-use effects. Biodivers Data J 2022; 10:e85107. [PMID: 36761651 PMCID: PMC9848504 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.10.e85107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maldives islands host a unique biodiversity, but their integrity is threatened by climate change and impacting land-uses (e.g. cemented or agricultural areas). As pollinators provide key services for the ecosystems and for the inhabitants, it is crucial to know which pollinators occur in the islands, to characterise their genetic identity and to understand which plants they visit and the size of the human impact. Given that no significant faunistic surveys of Hymenoptera have been published for the country in more than 100 years and that Syrphidae were only partly investigated, we sampled islands in the central part of the Maldives country (Faafu and Daahlu atolls) and hand-netted flower-visiting bees, wasps and hoverflies (Hymenoptera: Anthophila, Crabronidae, Sphecidae, Vespidae, Scoliidae and Diptera: Syrphidae). Overall, we found 21 species; 76.4% of the collected specimens were Anthophila (bees), 12.7% belonged to several families of wasps and 10.8% of individuals were Syrphidae. It seems that one third of species are new for the Maldives, based on the published literature. Human land-uses seem to shape the local pollinator fauna since the assemblages of bees, wasps and hoverflies from urbanised and agricultural islands differed from those in resort and natural ones. These pollinators visited 30 plant species in total, although some invasive plants hosted the highest number of flower visitor species. Biogeographically, this pollinating fauna is mostly shared with Sri Lanka and India. Genetically, the used marker hinted for a unique fauna in relation to the rest of the distribution ranges in most cases, although generally within the level of intraspecific genetic variation. This study significantly contributes to increasing the knowledge on the pollinator diversity and genetic identity in Maldives islands also considering the important implications for the islands' land-use and the role of invasive plants. This study will be pivotal for future pollination studies and biodiversity conservation efforts in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Biella
- ZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, ItalyZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-BicoccaMilanoItaly
| | - Axel Ssymank
- Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Bonn, GermanyBundesamt für NaturschutzBonnGermany
| | - Andrea Galimberti
- ZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, ItalyZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-BicoccaMilanoItaly
| | - Paolo Galli
- Earth and Environmental Science Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, ItalyEarth and Environmental Science Department, University of Milano-BicoccaMilanoItaly,MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Center), Magoodhoo, MaldivesMaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Center)MagoodhooMaldives
| | - Michal Perlík
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicFaculty of Science, University of South BohemiaCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic,Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of SciencesCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Fausto Ramazzotti
- ZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, ItalyZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-BicoccaMilanoItaly
| | - Alessia Rota
- ZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, ItalyZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-BicoccaMilanoItaly
| | - Nicola Tommasi
- ZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, ItalyZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-BicoccaMilanoItaly
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