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Zhao W, Soininen J, Hu A, Liu J, Li M, Wang J. The structure of bacteria-fungi bipartite networks along elevational gradients in contrasting climates. Mol Ecol 2024:e17442. [PMID: 38953280 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
Climate change is altering species distribution and modifying interactions in microbial communities. Understanding microbial community structure and their interactions is crucial to interpreting ecosystem responses to climate change. Here, we examined the assemblages of stream bacteria and fungi, and the associations between the two groups along elevational gradients in two regions with contrasting precipitation and temperature, that is the Galong and Qilian mountains of the Tibetan Plateau. In the wetter and warmer region, the species richness significantly increased and decreased with elevation for bacteria and fungi, respectively, while were nonsignificant in the drier and colder region. Their bipartite network structure was also different by showing significant increases in connectance and nestedness towards higher elevations only in the wetter and warmer region. In addition, these correlation network structure generally exhibited similar positive association with species richness in the wetter and warmer region and the drier and colder region. In the wetter and warmer region, climatic change along elevation was more important in determining connectance and nestedness, whereas microbial species richness exerted a stronger influence on network structure and robustness in the drier and colder region. These findings indicate substantial forthcoming changes in microbial diversity and network structure in warming climates, especially in wetter and warmer regions on Earth, advancing the understanding of microbial bipartite interactions' response to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqian Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Janne Soininen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ang Hu
- Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Jinfu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Mingjia Li
- Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianjun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
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Abuin-Denis L, Piloto-Sardiñas E, Maitre A, Wu-Chuang A, Mateos-Hernández L, Paulino PG, Bello Y, Bravo FL, Gutierrez AA, Fernández RR, Castillo AF, Mellor LM, Foucault-Simonin A, Obregon D, Estrada-García MP, Rodríguez-Mallon A, Cabezas-Cruz A. Differential nested patterns of Anaplasma marginale and Coxiella-like endosymbiont across Rhipicephalus microplus ontogeny. Microbiol Res 2024; 286:127790. [PMID: 38851009 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the intricate ecological interactions within the microbiome of arthropod vectors is crucial for elucidating disease transmission dynamics and developing effective control strategies. In this study, we investigated the ecological roles of Coxiella-like endosymbiont (CLE) and Anaplasma marginale across larval, nymphal, and adult stages of Rhipicephalus microplus. We hypothesized that CLE would show a stable, nested pattern reflecting co-evolution with the tick host, while A. marginale would exhibit a more dynamic, non-nested pattern influenced by environmental factors and host immune responses. Our findings revealed a stable, nested pattern characteristic of co-evolutionary mutualism for CLE, occurring in all developmental stages of the tick. Conversely, A. marginale exhibited variable occurrence but exerted significant influence on microbial community structure, challenging our initial hypotheses of its non-nested dynamics. Furthermore, in silico removal of both microbes from the co-occurrence networks altered network topology, underscoring their central roles in the R. microplus microbiome. Notably, competitive interactions between CLE and A. marginale were observed in nymphal network, potentially reflecting the impact of CLE on the pathogen transstadial-transmission. These findings shed light on the complex ecological dynamics within tick microbiomes and have implications for disease management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianet Abuin-Denis
- Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Avenue 31 between 158 and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba; ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France
| | - Elianne Piloto-Sardiñas
- ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France; Direction of Animal Health, National Center for Animal and Plant Health, Carretera de Tapaste y Autopista Nacional, Apartado Postal 10, San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque 32700, Cuba
| | - Apolline Maitre
- ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France; INRAE, UR 0045 Laboratoire de Recherches sur le Développement de l'Elevage (SELMET-LRDE), Corte 20250, France; EA 7310, Laboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse, Corte, France
| | - Alejandra Wu-Chuang
- ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France
| | - Lourdes Mateos-Hernández
- ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France
| | - Patrícia Gonzaga Paulino
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Seropedica 23890-000, Brazil
| | - Yamil Bello
- Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Avenue 31 between 158 and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba
| | - Frank Ledesma Bravo
- Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Avenue 31 between 158 and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba
| | - Anays Alvarez Gutierrez
- Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Avenue 31 between 158 and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba
| | - Rafmary Rodríguez Fernández
- National Laboratory of Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Autopista San Antonio de los Baños, Km 112, San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa 38100, Cuba
| | - Alier Fuentes Castillo
- National Laboratory of Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Autopista San Antonio de los Baños, Km 112, San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa 38100, Cuba
| | - Luis Méndez Mellor
- National Laboratory of Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Autopista San Antonio de los Baños, Km 112, San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa 38100, Cuba
| | - Angélique Foucault-Simonin
- ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France
| | - Dasiel Obregon
- School of Environmental Sciences University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Mario Pablo Estrada-García
- Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Avenue 31 between 158 and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba
| | - Alina Rodríguez-Mallon
- Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Avenue 31 between 158 and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba.
| | - Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
- ANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France.
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3
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Domínguez-Garcia V, Molina FP, Godoy O, Bartomeus I. Interaction network structure explains species' temporal persistence in empirical plant-pollinator communities. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:423-429. [PMID: 38302580 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02314-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Despite clear evidence that some pollinator populations are declining, our ability to predict pollinator communities prone to collapse or species at risk of local extinction is remarkably poor. Here, we develop a model grounded in the structuralist approach that allows us to draw sound predictions regarding the temporal persistence of species in mutualistic networks. Using high-resolution data from a six-year study following 12 independent plant-pollinator communities, we confirm that pollinator species with more persistent populations in the field are theoretically predicted to tolerate a larger range of environmental changes. Persistent communities are not necessarily more diverse, but are generally located in larger habitat patches, and present a distinctive combination of generalist and specialist species resulting in a more nested structure, as predicted by previous theoretical work. Hence, pollinator interactions directly inform about their ability to persist, opening the door to use theoretically informed models to predict species' fate within the ongoing global change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Oscar Godoy
- Departamento de Biología, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias del Mar (INMAR), Universidad de Cádiz, Puerto Real, Spain
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Sánchez Sánchez M, Lara C. Exotic and native plants play equally important roles in supporting and structuring plant-hummingbird networks within urban green spaces. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16996. [PMID: 38406283 PMCID: PMC10893870 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Urban gardens, despite their transformed nature, serve as invaluable microcosms for a quantitative examination of floral resource provision to urban pollinators, considering the plant's origin. Thus, knowledge has increased, emphasizing the importance of these green areas for hosting and conserving pollinator communities. However, there is a significant knowledge gap concerning the changing availability of these native and exotic floral resources over time and their impact on structuring interaction networks with specific pollinators. Methods Over a year-long period, monthly surveys were conducted to record both native and exotic plant species visited by hummingbirds in an urban garden at Tlaxcala, Mexico. Flower visits were recorded, and the total flowers on each plant visited were tallied. Additionally, all observed hummingbirds were recorded during the transect walks, regardless of plant visits, to determine hummingbird abundance. The interactions were summarized using matrices, and network descriptors like connectance, specializacion, nestedness, and modularity were computed. Plant and hummingbird species in the core and periphery of the network were also identified. Lastly, simulations were performed to assess the network's resilience to the extinction of highly connected native and exotic plant species, including those previously situated in the network's core. Results We recorded 4,674 interactions between 28 plant species, and eight hummingbird species. The majority of plants showed an ornithophilic syndrome, with 20 species considered exotic. Despite asynchronous flowering, there was overlap observed across different plant species throughout the year. Exotic plants like Jacaranda mimosifolia and Nicotiana glauca produced more flowers annually than native species. The abundance of hummingbirds varied throughout the study, with Saucerottia berillyna being the most abundant species. The plant-hummingbird network displayed high connectance, indicating generalization in their interaction. Significant nestedness was observed, mainly influenced by exotic plant species. The core of the network was enriched with exotic plants, while Basilinna leucotis and Cynanthus latirostris played central roles among hummingbirds. Network resilience to species extinction remained generally high. Conclusions Our findings provide valuable insights into the dynamics and structure of plant-hummingbird interactions in urban gardens, emphasizing the influence of exotic plant species and the network's resilience to perturbations. Understanding and managing the impact of exotic plants on such networks is crucial for the conservation and sustainable functioning of urban ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monserrat Sánchez Sánchez
- Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Maestría en Biotecnología y Manejo de Recursos Naturales, San Felipe Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Carlos Lara
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
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5
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Deng J, Taylor W, Levin SA, Saavedra S. On the limits to invasion prediction using coexistence outcomes. J Theor Biol 2024; 577:111674. [PMID: 38008157 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/28/2023]
Abstract
The dynamics of ecological communities in nature are typically characterized by probabilistic processes involving invasion dynamics. Because of technical challenges, however, the majority of theoretical and experimental studies have focused on coexistence dynamics. Therefore, it has become central to understand the extent to which coexistence outcomes can be used to predict analogous invasion outcomes relevant to systems in nature. Here, we study the limits to this predictability under a geometric and probabilistic Lotka-Volterra framework. We show that while individual survival probability in coexistence dynamics can be fairly closely translated into invader colonization probability in invasion dynamics, the translation is less precise between community persistence and community augmentation, and worse between exclusion probability and replacement probability. These results provide a guiding and testable theoretical framework regarding the translatability of outcomes between coexistence and invasion outcomes when communities are represented by Lotka-Volterra dynamics under environmental uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Deng
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Washington Taylor
- Center for Theoretical Physics, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Simon A Levin
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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Davies CB, Davis TS, Griswold T. Forest restoration treatments indirectly diversify pollination networks via floral- and temperature-mediated effects. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2927. [PMID: 37864785 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
In North American conifer forests, a variety of federally initiated thinning programs are implemented to restore pre-European settlement forest structures, but these changes may impact ecosystem function via impacts on sensitive biotic communities. Across the wildland-urban interface of the Front Range region of Colorado, agencies associated with the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) have implemented thinning treatments across thousands of hectares of ponderosa pine forest; here we leverage these treatments as an experimental framework to examine thinning effects on a pollinator community. We measured variation in forest structure and sampled bee community assemblages using multiple methods (trapping and netting) to compare bee biodiversity and patterns of floral visitation by bees (bee-flower networks) between mechanically thinned stands that were 3-10 years after treatment and nonthinned stands. Three key findings emerged: (1) Native bee abundance, richness, and diversity were 120%, 53%, and 37% greater, respectively, in thinned stands. In addition, nestedness, richness, and abundance of bee-flower interactions were all substantially higher in thinned stands, and there was increased functional redundancy in bee assemblages after thinning. (2) Structural equation modeling indicated that variation in temperature and floral abundance were mediated by canopy openness and correlated with bee richness and abundance, thereby indirectly driving variation in bee-flower interactions. (3) Four floral species (Penstemon virens, Cerastium arvense, Erysimum capitatum, and Geranium caespitosum) were identified as key connectors in bee-flower interaction networks, though these were not necessarily the most abundant flowering plants. Our analyses indicate that native bee α-diversity and bee-flower interactions positively responded to thinning treatments, and these effects were indirectly driven by canopy removal. We conclude that CFLRP treatments have conservation value for native bee communities. Further monitoring is warranted to evaluate the longevity of these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cora B Davies
- Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Thomas Seth Davis
- Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Terry Griswold
- USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
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Russo L, Stout JC. Manipulating network connectance by altering plant attractiveness. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16319. [PMID: 38025756 PMCID: PMC10640842 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mutualistic interactions between plants and their pollinating insects are critical to the maintenance of biodiversity. However, we have yet to demonstrate that we are able to manage the structural properties of these networks for the purposes of pollinator conservation and preserving functional outcomes, such as pollination services. Our objective was to explore the extent of our ability to experimentally increase, decrease, and maintain connectance, a structural attribute that reflects patterns of insect visitation and foraging preferences. Patterns of connectance relate to the stability and function of ecological networks. Methods We implemented a 2-year field experiment across eight sites in urban Dublin, Ireland, applying four agrochemical treatments to fixed communities of seven flowering plant species in a randomized block design. We spent ~117 h collecting 1,908 flower-visiting insects of 92 species or morphospecies with standardized sampling methods across the 2 years. We hypothesized that the fertilizer treatment would increase, herbicide decrease, and a combination of both maintain the connectance of the network, relative to a control treatment of just water. Results Our results showed that we were able to successfully increase network connectance with a fertilizer treatment, and maintain network connectance with a combination of fertilizer and herbicide. However, we were not successful in decreasing network connectance with the herbicide treatment. The increase in connectance in the fertilized treatment was due to an increased species richness of visiting insects, rather than changes to their abundance. We also demonstrated that this change was due to an increase in the realized proportion of insect visitor species rather than increased visitation by common, generalist species of floral visitors. Overall, this work suggests that connectance is an attribute of network structure that can be manipulated, with implications for management goals or conservation efforts in these mutualistic communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Russo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Jane C. Stout
- Department of Botany, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
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Muñoz-Galicia D, Lara C, Castillo-Guevara C, Cuautle M, Rodríguez-Flores C. Impacts of land use change on native plant-butterfly interaction networks from central Mexico. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16205. [PMID: 37842070 PMCID: PMC10576501 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Land use change is a key catalyst of global biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Deforestation and conversion of natural habitats to agricultural or urban areas can profoundly disrupt plant-flower visitor interactions by altering their abundances and distribution. Yet, specific studies analyzing the effects of land use change on the structure of networks of the interactions between particular groups of flower visitors and their plants are still scarce. Here, we aimed to analyze how converting native habitats affects the species composition of butterfly communities and their plants, and whether this, in turn, leads to changes in the structure of interaction networks in the modified habitats. Methods We performed bi-monthly censuses for a year to record plant-butterfly interactions and assess species diversity across three habitat types, reflecting a land-use change gradient. From original native juniper forest to urban and agricultural zones in central Mexico, one site per land use type was surveyed. Interactions were summarized in matrices on which we calculated network descriptors: connectance, nestedness and modularity. Results We found highest butterfly diversity in native forest, with the most unique species (i.e., species not shared with the other two sites). Agricultural and urban sites had similar diversity, yet the urban site featured more unique species. The plant species richness was highest in the urban site, and the native forest site had the lowest plant species richness, with most of the plants being unique to this site. Butterfly and plant compositions contrasted most between native forest and modified sites. Network analysis showed differences between sites in the mean number of links and interactions. The urban network surpassed agriculture and native forest networks in links, while the native forest network had more interactions than the agriculture and urban networks. Native plants had more interactions than alien species. All networks exhibited low connectance and significant nestedness and modularity, with the urban network featuring the most modules (i.e., 10 modules). Conclusions Converting native habitats to urban or agricultural areas reshapes species composition, diversity and interaction network structure for butterfly communities and plants. The urban network showed more links and modules, suggesting intricate urban ecosystems due to diverse species, enhanced resources, and ecological niches encouraging interactions and coexistence. These findings emphasize the impacts of land use change on plant-butterfly interactions and the structure of their interaction networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deysi Muñoz-Galicia
- Maestría en Biotecnología y Manejo de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, San Felipe Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Carlos Lara
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, San Felipe Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Citlalli Castillo-Guevara
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, San Felipe Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Mariana Cuautle
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, San Felipe Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Claudia Rodríguez-Flores
- Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico
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Galai G, He X, Rotblat B, Pilosof S. Ecological network analysis reveals cancer-dependent chaperone-client interaction structure and robustness. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6277. [PMID: 37805501 PMCID: PMC10560210 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41906-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells alter the expression levels of metabolic enzymes to fuel proliferation. The mitochondrion is a central hub of metabolic reprogramming, where chaperones service hundreds of clients, forming chaperone-client interaction networks. How network structure affects its robustness to chaperone targeting is key to developing cancer-specific drug therapy. However, few studies have assessed how structure and robustness vary across different cancer tissues. Here, using ecological network analysis, we reveal a non-random, hierarchical pattern whereby the cancer type modulates the chaperones' ability to realize their potential client interactions. Despite the low similarity between the chaperone-client interaction networks, we highly accurately predict links in one cancer type based on another. Moreover, we identify groups of chaperones that interact with similar clients. Simulations of network robustness show that this group structure affects cancer-specific response to chaperone removal. Our results open the door for new hypotheses regarding the ecology and evolution of chaperone-client interaction networks and can inform cancer-specific drug development strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geut Galai
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Xie He
- Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, 27 N Main St, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Barak Rotblat
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel
| | - Shai Pilosof
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
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Ellis EE, Edmondson JL, Maher KH, Hipperson H, Campbell SA. Negative effects of urbanisation on diurnal and nocturnal pollen-transport networks. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1382-1393. [PMID: 37272470 PMCID: PMC10946945 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14261] [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: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Pollinating insects are declining due to habitat loss and climate change, and cities with limited habitat and floral resources may be particularly vulnerable. The effects of urban landscapes on pollination networks remain poorly understood, and comparative studies of taxa with divergent niches are lacking. Here, for the first time, we simultaneously compare nocturnal moth and diurnal bee pollen-transport networks using DNA metabarcoding and ask how pollination networks are affected by increasing urbanisation. Bees and moths exhibited substantial divergence in the communities of plants they interact with. Increasing urbanisation had comparable negative effects on pollen-transport networks of both taxa, with significant declines in pollen species richness. We show that moths are an important, but overlooked, component of urban pollen-transport networks for wild flowering plants, horticultural crops, and trees. Our findings highlight the need to include both bee and non-bee taxa when assessing the status of critical plant-insect interactions in urbanised landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie E. Ellis
- School of BiosciencesThe University of SheffieldSheffieldUK
- NERC Environmental Omics Facility, School of BiosciencesThe University of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | | | - Kathryn H. Maher
- NERC Environmental Omics Facility, School of BiosciencesThe University of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - Helen Hipperson
- NERC Environmental Omics Facility, School of BiosciencesThe University of SheffieldSheffieldUK
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Deb S, Bhandary S, Dutta PS. Evading tipping points in socio-mutualistic networks via structure mediated optimal strategy. J Theor Biol 2023; 567:111494. [PMID: 37075828 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
The threat of large-scale pollinator decline is increasing globally under stress from multiple anthropogenic pressures. Traditional approaches have focused on managing endangered species at an individual level, in which the effect of complex interactions such as mutualism and competition are amiss. Here, we develop a coupled socio-mutualistic network model that captures the change in pollinator dynamics with human conservation opinion in a deteriorating environment. We show that the application of social norm (or conservation) at the pollinator nodes is fit to prevent sudden community collapse in representative networks of varied topology. Whilst primitive strategies have focused on regulating abundance as a mitigation strategy, the role of network structure has been largely overlooked. Here, we develop a novel network structure-mediated conservation strategy to find the optimal set of nodes on which norm implementation successfully prevents community collapse. We find that networks of intermediate nestedness require conservation at a minimum number of nodes to prevent a community collapse. We claim the robustness of the optimal conservation strategy (OCS) after validation on several simulated and empirical networks of varied complexity against a broad range of system parameters. Dynamical analysis of the reduced model shows that incorporating social norms allows the pollinator abundance to grow that would have otherwise crossed a tipping point and undergo extinction. Together, this novel means OCS provides a potential plan of action for conserving plant-pollinator networks bridging the gap between research in mutualistic networks and conservation ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smita Deb
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, Punjab 140 001, India
| | - Subhendu Bhandary
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, Punjab 140 001, India
| | - Partha Sharathi Dutta
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, Punjab 140 001, India.
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12
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Ai YY, Liu Q, Hu HX, Shen T, Mo YX, Wu XF, Li JL, Dossa GG, Song L. Terrestrial and epiphytic orchids exhibit different diversity and distribution patterns along an elevation gradient of Mt. Victoria, Myanmar. Glob Ecol Conserv 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023] Open
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13
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Plant-frugivore network simplification under habitat fragmentation leaves a small core of interacting generalists. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1214. [PMID: 36357489 PMCID: PMC9649668 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04198-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation impacts seed dispersal processes that are important in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, it is still unclear how habitat fragmentation affects frugivorous interactions due to the lack of high-quality data on plant-frugivore networks. Here we recorded 10,117 plant-frugivore interactions from 22 reservoir islands and six nearby mainland sites using the technology of arboreal camera trapping to assess the effects of island area and isolation on the diversity, structure, and stability of plant-frugivore networks. We found that network simplification under habitat fragmentation reduces the number of interactions involving specialized species and large-bodied frugivores. Small islands had more connected, less modular, and more nested networks that consisted mainly of small-bodied birds and abundant plants, as well as showed evidence of interaction release (i.e., dietary expansion of frugivores). Our results reveal the importance of preserving large forest remnants to support plant-frugivore interaction diversity and forest functionality. Smaller communities, such as those on islands, under ecological network simplification reduce interactions between specialist organisms.
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14
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Russo L, Fitzpatrick Ú, Larkin M, Mullen S, Power E, Stanley D, White C, O'Rourke A, Stout JC. Conserving diversity in Irish plant-pollinator networks. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9347. [PMID: 36225829 PMCID: PMC9532247 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Beneficial insects provide valuable services upon which we rely, including pollination. Pollinator conservation is a global priority, and a significant concern in Ireland, where over half of extant bee species have declined significantly in recent decades. As flower‐visiting insects rely on flowering plants, one way to conserve and promote pollinator populations is to protect high‐quality habitat. We analyzed the structure of insect–flower interactions from multiple habitat categories in a large database of interactions from Ireland. Our primary goals were to compare spatial and temporal variation in Irish network structures, compare Irish networks to published networks from other countries, and provide evidence‐based recommendations for pollinator conservation in Ireland by identifying well‐visited plant species that may promote high pollinator diversity, abundance, and functional complementarity. Habitat types within Ireland differed substantially: seminatural grasslands had the highest pollinator species richness and largest number of unique pollinator species, while intensively managed habitats exhibited negative asymmetry (more plant than pollinator species). This negative asymmetry is notable because most plant–pollinator networks exhibit a positive asymmetry. Within intensively managed habitats, agricultural and urban habitats differed. Urban habitats had the highest number of non‐native plant species while agricultural habitats had the lowest pollinator species richness. We also found Irish networks varied across the growing season, where July had the highest plant and insect species richness. When comparing Irish networks to published networks from other countries, we found Irish networks had a higher ratio of plant species to pollinator species, and that this difference was most evident in agricultural habitats. This ratio means the typical network asymmetry (more pollinator than plant species) was flipped (more plant than pollinator species) in the Irish network. We conclude that conserving seminatural grasslands in Ireland will be an essential component of pollinator conservation and identify thirty‐five plant species important for restoring seminatural habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Russo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee USA.,Botany Department Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
| | | | - Michelle Larkin
- Botany and Plant Science, School of Natural Sciences Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway Galway Ireland
| | - Sarah Mullen
- Botany Department Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
| | - Eileen Power
- Botany Department Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
| | - Dara Stanley
- School of Agriculture and Food Science University College Dublin Dublin 4 Ireland
| | - Cian White
- Botany Department Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
| | - Aoife O'Rourke
- Botany Department Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
| | - Jane C Stout
- Botany Department Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
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15
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Song C, Simmons BI, Fortin MJ, Gonzalez A. Generalism drives abundance: A computational causal discovery approach. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010302. [PMID: 36173959 PMCID: PMC9521805 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A ubiquitous pattern in ecological systems is that more abundant species tend to be more generalist; that is, they interact with more species or can occur in wider range of habitats. However, there is no consensus on whether generalism drives abundance (a selection process) or abundance drives generalism (a drift process). As it is difficult to conduct direct experiments to solve this chicken-and-egg dilemma, previous studies have used a causal discovery method based on formal logic and have found that abundance drives generalism. Here, we refine this method by correcting its bias regarding skewed distributions, and employ two other independent causal discovery methods based on nonparametric regression and on information theory, respectively. Contrary to previous work, all three independent methods strongly indicate that generalism drives abundance when applied to datasets on plant-hummingbird communities and reef fishes. Furthermore, we find that selection processes are more important than drift processes in structuring multispecies systems when the environment is variable. Our results showcase the power of the computational causal discovery approach to aid ecological research. Ever since Aristotle, the chicken-or-egg causality dilemma has baffled researchers. Such causality dilemmas are abundant in ecological research, where causal directions are often assumed but not tested. An archetypal example is whether being a generalist causes a species to be more abundant, or whether being more abundant causes a species to be generalists. Without doubt, the gold standard to establish causal directions is controlled experiments. However, controlled experiments that can disentangle the direction of causality in this case are challenging because it involves controlling biotic or abiotic niche breadth. These challenges create an opportunity for computational tools to detect the most likely causal direction. Here, by adapting a set of recently developed computational methods, we provide strong evidence that generalism drives abundance, overturning the previously established direction. We hope our work raises awareness of the potential for computational discovery methods to address long-standing questions in ecology, especially increasingly large datasets become available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuliang Song
- Department of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Benno I. Simmons
- Department of Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, United Kingdom
| | - Marie-Josée Fortin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Andrew Gonzalez
- Department of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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16
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Morozumi C, Loy X, Reynolds V, Schiffer A, Morrison B, Savage J, Brosi B. Simultaneous niche expansion and contraction in plant–pollinator networks under drought. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Connor Morozumi
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Emory Univ. Atlanta GA USA
| | - Xingwen Loy
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Emory Univ. Atlanta GA USA
- Southeastern Center for Conservation, Atlanta Botanical Garden Atlanta GA USA
| | - Victoria Reynolds
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Annie Schiffer
- Dept of Environmental Sciences, Emory Univ. Atlanta GA USA
- Dept of Biology, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Beth Morrison
- Dept of Environmental Sciences, Emory Univ. Atlanta GA USA
| | - Jade Savage
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Bishop's Univ. Sherbrooke QC Canada
| | - Berry Brosi
- Dept of Environmental Sciences, Emory Univ. Atlanta GA USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
- Dept of Biology, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
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17
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Saavedra S, Bartomeus I, Godoy O, Rohr RP, Zu P. Towards a system-level causative knowledge of pollinator communities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210159. [PMID: 35491588 PMCID: PMC9058529 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Pollination plays a central role in both crop production and maintaining biodiversity. However, habitat loss, pesticides, invasive species and larger environmental fluctuations are contributing to a dramatic decline of pollinators worldwide. Different management solutions require knowledge of how ecological communities will respond following interventions. Yet, anticipating the response of these systems to interventions remains extremely challenging due to the unpredictable nature of ecological communities, whose nonlinear behaviour depends on the specific details of species interactions and the various unknown or unmeasured confounding factors. Here, we propose that this knowledge can be derived by following a probabilistic systems analysis rooted on non-parametric causal inference. The main outcome of this analysis is to estimate the extent to which a hypothesized cause can increase or decrease the probability that a given effect happens without making assumptions about the form of the cause-effect relationship. We discuss a road map for how this analysis can be accomplished with the aim of increasing our system-level causative knowledge of natural communities. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ignasi Bartomeus
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), 41092, Isla de la Cartuja, Seville, Spain
| | - Oscar Godoy
- Departamento de Biología, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias del Mar (INMAR), Universidad de Cádiz, Royal Port E-11510, Spain
| | - Rudolf P. Rohr
- Department of Biology - Ecology and Evolution, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, Fribourg CH-1700, Switzerland
| | - Penguan Zu
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich CH-8092, Switzerland,Department Fish Ecology and Evolution, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Seestrasse 79, Kastanienbaum CH-6047, Switzerland
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18
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Fitness effects of plasmids shape the structure of bacteria-plasmid interaction networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2118361119. [PMID: 35613058 PMCID: PMC9295774 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118361119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a great challenge for modern medicine. Plasmids are important vectors of antibiotic resistance genes. Plasmids can have context-dependent effects on their hosts, generally slowing their growth rate but also providing protection from specific antibiotics and heavy metals. Thus, models that predict population densities based on interactions between species are useful for explaining plasmid dynamics. Here, we predict with a simple ecological model the properties of a host (e.g., bacteria) and symbiont (e.g., plasmid) interaction network. Using experimental microbial communities and a conjugative plasmid, we confirm our predictions that beneficial symbionts spread more widely through a microbial community and provide key experimental results for network ecologists seeking to uncover the determinants of ecological network structure.
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19
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Vitorino BD, Frota AVBD, Maruyama PK, Nunes JRDS, Vizentin-Bugoni J. Influence of sampling methods on the description of a Neotropical seed dispersal network. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2021.103805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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20
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Liao J, Bearup D, Strona G. A patch-dynamic metacommunity perspective on the persistence of mutualistic and antagonistic bipartite networks. Ecology 2022; 103:e3686. [PMID: 35315055 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The structure of interactions between species within a community plays a key role in maintaining biodiversity. Previous studies have found that the effects of these structures might substantially differ depending on interaction type, for example, a highly connected and nested architecture stabilizes mutualistic communities, while the stability of antagonistic communities is enhanced in modular and weakly connected structures. Here we show that, when network dynamics are modelled using a patch-dynamic metacommunity framework, the qualitative differences between antagonistic and mutualistic systems disappear, with nestedness and modularity interacting to promote metacommunity persistence. However, the interactive effects are significantly weaker in antagonistic metacommunities. Our model also predicts an increase in connectance, nestedness and modularity over time in both types of interaction, except in antagonistic networks where nestedness declines. At steady state, we find a strong negative correlation between nestedness and modularity in both mutualistic and antagonistic metacommunities. These predictions are consistent with the structural trends found in a large dataset of real-world antagonistic and mutualistic communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinbao Liao
- Ministry of Education's Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Ziyang Road 99, Nanchang, China
| | - Daniel Bearup
- University of Kent, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, Parkwood Road, Canterbury, UK
| | - Giovanni Strona
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 4, Finland
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21
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Kishi S. Nested structure is dependent on visitor sex in the flower‒visitor networks in Kyoto, Japan. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8743. [PMID: 35356578 PMCID: PMC8939293 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The characteristics of flower‒visitor networks, comprised of multiple species interacting with each other, predict ecological and evolutionary processes. Intraspecific and interspecific variations in interaction patterns should affect network structures. Because female and male visitors usually differ in flower‐visiting patterns due to mating strategy, visitor sex should affect nestedness, in which specialist species interact with a subset of species that interact with generalist species. I hypothesized that a network of male visitors and flowering plants would be more nested than a female network because males are less picky about which flowers they visit. To examine the effect of visitor sex on nestedness, I used museum specimens of insects and built 11 flower–visitor species networks, each composed of female and male subnetworks, and compared the strength of nestedness and related network metrics between the subnetworks. I found that male subnetworks were significantly more nested than female ones, and species networks were less nested than male or female subnetworks. The result may be attributable to the by‐chance selection of flowers by males. Because a nested structure is predicted to promote community stability in mutualistic flower–visitor networks, the greater nestedness of male subnetworks may suggest a positive effect of male visitors on pollination community stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeki Kishi
- Research Center for Agricultural Information Technology National Agriculture and Food Research Organization Minato Tokyo Japan
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22
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Brief Pollination Assessment of a Critically Endangered Food-Deceptive Orchid (Cypripedium guttatum) Using a Network Approach. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11060798. [PMID: 35336680 PMCID: PMC8950287 DOI: 10.3390/plants11060798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The translocation of orchids (Orchidaceae) cannot be successful if one is unaware of their effective pollinators and plant–pollinator interactions. Cypripedium guttatum is a generalized food-deceptive orchid, which is highly threatened in the Republic of Korea, thus, requiring immediate translocation actions. Although effective pollinators of the orchid are well known in China, little is known about the pollinators in the Republic of Korea and the ecological context in which the orchid can be successfully pollinated. To briefly assess the pollination of C. guttatum prior to translocation, we conducted a one-month survey of general pollination and the community-wide plant–pollinator network properties. Over 21 h of observation, we found that an effective pollinator of the orchid was the sweat bee Lasioglossum virideglaucum. The network was significantly specialized and modular, but not significantly nested. L. virideglaucum (pollinator) and Arabis gemmifera (plant) were determined to be keystone species, based on network metrics. A total of six network modules were identified and the flower colors of the plant species belonging to the C. guttatum module were purple, white, and yellow. After comparing the daily network patterns, we found that pollination of the orchid was accomplished when various flowering plant species bloom, and the nestedness value was high. This study revealed that high plant and pollinator richness could increase the chance that the deceptive orchid would be pollinated. Our study suggests that the network properties of this food-deceptive orchid community could provide useful insight into understanding the ecologically suitable habitat for the translocation of the highly threatened orchid species C. guttatum.
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23
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Yan C. Nestedness interacts with subnetwork structures and interconnection patterns to affect community dynamics in ecological multilayer networks. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:738-751. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro‐ecosystems Institute of Innovation Ecology & College of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou 730000 China
- Yuzhong Mountain Ecosystems Observation and Research Station Lanzhou University Lanzhou 730000 China
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24
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Smith GP, Gardner J, Gibbs J, Griswold T, Hauser M, Yanega D, Ponisio LC. Sex‐associated differences in the network roles of pollinators. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gordon P. Smith
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior Cornell University W361 Mudd Hall, 215 Tower Road Ithaca New York 14853 USA
- Department of Biology Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Oregon 272 Onyx Bridge Eugene Oregon 97403 USA
- Department of Entomology University of California, Riverside 417 Entomology Bldg. Riverside California 92521 USA
| | - Joel Gardner
- Department of Entomology University of Manitoba 12 Dafoe Road Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
| | - Jason Gibbs
- Department of Entomology University of Manitoba 12 Dafoe Road Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
| | - Terry Griswold
- USDA‐ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit Utah State University 1410 North 800 East Logan Utah 84322 USA
| | - Martin Hauser
- Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch California Department of Food and Agriculture 3294 Meadowview Road Sacramento California 95832 USA
| | - Doug Yanega
- Department of Entomology University of California, Riverside 417 Entomology Bldg. Riverside California 92521 USA
| | - Lauren C. Ponisio
- Department of Biology Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Oregon 272 Onyx Bridge Eugene Oregon 97403 USA
- Department of Entomology University of California, Riverside 417 Entomology Bldg. Riverside California 92521 USA
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25
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Baruah G. The impact of individual variation on abrupt collapses in mutualistic networks. Ecol Lett 2021; 25:26-37. [PMID: 34672068 PMCID: PMC9297894 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Individual variation is central to species involved in complex interactions with others in an ecological system. Such ecological systems could exhibit tipping points in response to changes in the environment, consequently leading to abrupt transitions to alternative, often less desirable states. However, little is known about how individual trait variation could influence the timing and occurrence of abrupt transitions. Using 101 empirical mutualistic networks, I model the eco‐evolutionary dynamics of such networks in response to gradual changes in strength of co‐evolutionary interactions. Results indicated that individual variation facilitates the timing of transition in such networks, albeit slightly. In addition, individual variation significantly increases the occurrence of large abrupt transitions. Furthermore, topological network features also positively influence the occurrence of such abrupt transitions. These findings argue for understanding tipping points using an eco‐evolutionary perspective to better forecast abrupt transitions in ecological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Baruah
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag,, Kastanienbaum, CH, Switzerland.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, CH, Switzerland
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26
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Wei N, Kaczorowski RL, Arceo-Gómez G, O'Neill EM, Hayes RA, Ashman TL. Pollinators contribute to the maintenance of flowering plant diversity. Nature 2021; 597:688-692. [PMID: 34497416 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03890-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Mechanisms that favour rare species are key to the maintenance of diverse communities1-3. One of the most critical tasks for conservation of flowering plant biodiversity is to understand how plant-pollinator interactions contribute to the maintenance of rare species4-7. Here we show that niche partitioning in pollinator use and asymmetric facilitation confer fitness advantage of rarer species in a biodiversity hotspot using phylogenetic structural equation modelling that integrates plant-pollinator and interspecific pollen transfer networks with floral functional traits. Co-flowering species filtered pollinators via floral traits, and rarer species showed greater pollinator specialization leading to higher pollination-mediated male and female fitness than more abundant species. When plants shared pollinator resources, asymmetric facilitation via pollen transport dynamics benefitted the rarer species at the cost of more abundant species, serving as an alternative diversity-promoting mechanism. Our results emphasize the importance of community-wide plant-pollinator interactions that affect reproduction for biodiversity maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Wei
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,The Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, OH, USA.
| | - Rainee L Kaczorowski
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Gerardo Arceo-Gómez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA
| | - Elizabeth M O'Neill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Rebecca A Hayes
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tia-Lynn Ashman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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27
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Neff F, Brändle M, Ambarlı D, Ammer C, Bauhus J, Boch S, Hölzel N, Klaus VH, Kleinebecker T, Prati D, Schall P, Schäfer D, Schulze ED, Seibold S, Simons NK, Weisser WW, Pellissier L, Gossner MM. Changes in plant-herbivore network structure and robustness along land-use intensity gradients in grasslands and forests. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/20/eabf3985. [PMID: 33990326 PMCID: PMC8121428 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf3985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Land-use intensification poses major threats to biodiversity, such as to insect herbivore communities. The stability of these communities depends on interactions linking herbivores and host plants. How interaction network structure begets robustness, and thus stability, in different ecosystems and how network structure and robustness are altered along land-use intensity gradients are unclear. We analyzed plant-herbivore networks based on literature-derived interactions and long-term sampling from 289 grasslands and forests in three regions of Germany. Network size and nestedness were the most important determinants of network robustness in both ecosystems. Along land-use intensity gradients, networks in moderately grazed grasslands were more robust than in those managed by frequent mowing or fertilization. In forests, changes of network robustness along land-use intensity gradients relied on changes in plant species richness. Our results expand our knowledge of the stability of plant-herbivore networks and indicate options for management aimed at stabilizing herbivore communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Neff
- Forest Entomology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstr. 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
- Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Brändle
- Division of Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 8, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Didem Ambarlı
- Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Düzce University, 81620 Düzce, Turkey
| | - Christian Ammer
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jürgen Bauhus
- Chair of Silviculture, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Boch
- Ecosystem Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstr. 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Valentin H Klaus
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 2, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Till Kleinebecker
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Landscape Ecology and Landscape Planning, Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Daniel Prati
- Plant Ecology, Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter Schall
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Deborah Schäfer
- Botanical Garden of the University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ernst-Detlef Schulze
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management in Mountain Landscapes, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Nadja K Simons
- Ecological Networks, Technical University of Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Landscape Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstr. 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Forest Entomology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstr. 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
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28
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Gao E, Wang Y, Bi C, Kaiser-Bunbury CN, Zhao Z. Restoration of Degraded Alpine Meadows Improves Pollination Network Robustness and Function in the Tibetan Plateau. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.632961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological restoration is widely used to mitigate the negative impacts of anthropogenic activities. There is an increasing demand to identify suitable restoration management strategies for specific habitat and disturbance types to restore interactions between organisms of degraded habitats, such as pollination. In the Tibetan Plateau, alpine meadows have suffered severe degradation due to overgrazing and climate change. Protecting vegetation by fencing during the growing season is a widely applied management regime for restoration of degraded grasslands in this region. Here, we investigated the effect of this restoration strategy on plant–pollinator communities and plant reproduction in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We collected interaction and seed set data monthly across three grazed (grazed all year) and three ungrazed (fenced during growing season) alpine meadows in growing seasons of two consecutive years. We found ungrazed meadows produced more flowers and attracted more pollinator visits. Many common network metrics, such as nestedness, connectance, network specialization, and modularity, did not differ between grazing treatments. However, plants in ungrazed meadows were more robust to secondary species extinction than those in grazed meadows. The observed changes in the networks corresponded with higher seed set of plants that rely on pollinators for reproduction. Our results indicate that protection from grazing in growing seasons improves pollination network stability and function and thus is a viable restoration approach for degraded meadows.
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29
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Dallas TA, Jordano P. Species-area and network-area relationships in host-helminth interactions. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203143. [PMID: 33757356 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The scaling relationship observed between species richness and the geographical area sampled (i.e. the species-area relationship (SAR)) is a widely recognized macroecological relationship. Recently, this theory has been extended to trophic interactions, suggesting that geographical area may influence the structure of species interaction networks (i.e. network-area relationships (NARs)). Here, we use a global dataset of host-helminth parasite interactions to test existing predictions from macroecological theory. Scaling between single locations to the global host-helminth network by sequentially adding networks together, we find support that geographical area influences species richness and the number of species interactions in host-helminth networks. However, species-area slopes were larger for host species relative to their helminth parasites, counter to theoretical predictions. Lastly, host-helminth network modularity-capturing the tendency of the network to form into separate subcommunities-decreased with increasing area, also counter to theoretical predictions. Reconciling this disconnect between existing theory and observed SAR and NAR will provide insight into the spatial structuring of ecological networks, and help to refine theory to highlight the effects of network type, species distributional overlap, and the specificity of trophic interactions on NARs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tad A Dallas
- Department of Biological Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Americo Vespucio, Isla de La Cartuja, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
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30
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Lin L, Chen Y, Xu G, Zhang Y, Zhang S, Ma K. Impacts of Urbanization Undermine Nestedness of the Plant-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Network. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:626671. [PMID: 33767678 PMCID: PMC7985257 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.626671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cities are prone to ecological problems, yet the impacts of rapid global urbanization on the feedback between above- and belowground subsystems remain largely unknown. We sampled the roots of 8 common herbaceous plants within the Fifth Ring (urban areas) and in Jiufeng National Forest Park (rural areas) in Beijing (China) to assess the impacts of urbanization on the network of plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal associations. Using Illumina MiSeq sequencing, 81 AM fungal OTUs were identified in 78 herb root samples. The Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou indices of root AM fungi in urban areas were significantly higher than those in rural areas. In this study, a significantly nested mycorrhizal association network was observed in rural areas (NODF = 64.68), whereas a non-nested pattern was observed in urban areas (NODF = 55.50). The competition index C-score (0.0769) of AM fungi in urban areas was slightly lower than that in rural areas (0.1431), and the species specialization (d’) of 8 host plants and fungal dissimilarity among 8 host plants in urban areas were significantly lower than those in rural areas. Convergent associations among hosts may be an important factor influencing this non-nested pattern of the plant-AM fungi network in urban areas. Generalists, rather than specialists, were enhanced during the establishment of mycorrhizal associations in urban areas. Our results suggest that reduced selectivity of host plants, and generalist promotion and specialist reduction of AM fungi during urbanization may contribute to the non-nested network of plant-AM fungal associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Litao Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guorui Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla County, China
| | - Yuxin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Keming Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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31
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Hoeppke C, Simmons BI. maxnodf: An R package for fair and fast comparisons of nestedness between networks. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Hoeppke
- Conservation Science Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Faculty of Mathematics University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Mathematical Institute University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Benno I. Simmons
- Conservation Science Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK
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32
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Medeiros LP, Boege K, Del-Val E, Zaldívar-Riverón A, Saavedra S. Observed Ecological Communities Are Formed by Species Combinations That Are among the Most Likely to Persist under Changing Environments. Am Nat 2021; 197:E17-E29. [PMID: 33417517 DOI: 10.1086/711663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractDespite the rich biodiversity found in nature, it is unclear to what extent some combinations of interacting species, while conceivable in a given place and time, may never be realized. Yet solving this problem is important for understanding the role of randomness and predictability in the assembly of ecological communities. Here we show that the specific combinations of interacting species that emerge from the ecological dynamics within regional species pools are not all equally likely to be seen; rather, they are among the most likely to persist under changing environments. First, we use niche-based competition matrices and Lotka-Volterra models to demonstrate that realized combinations of interacting species are more likely to persist under random parameter perturbations than the majority of potential combinations with the same number of species that could have been formed from the regional pool. We then corroborate our theoretical results using a 10-year observational study, recording 88 plant-herbivore communities across three different forest successional stages. By inferring and validating plant-mediated communities of competing herbivore species, we find that observed combinations of herbivores have an expected probability of species persistence higher than half of all potential combinations. Our findings open up the opportunity to establish a formal probabilistic and predictive understanding of the composition of ecological communities.
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33
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The network structure and eco-evolutionary dynamics of CRISPR-induced immune diversification. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:1650-1660. [PMID: 33077929 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01312-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
As a heritable sequence-specific adaptive immune system, CRISPR-Cas is a powerful force shaping strain diversity in host-virus systems. While the diversity of CRISPR alleles has been explored, the associated structure and dynamics of host-virus interactions have not. We explore the role of CRISPR in mediating the interplay between host-virus interaction structure and eco-evolutionary dynamics in a computational model and compare the results with three empirical datasets from natural systems. We show that the structure of the networks describing who infects whom and the degree to which strains are immune, are respectively modular (containing groups of hosts and viruses that interact strongly) and weighted-nested (specialist hosts are more susceptible to subsets of viruses that in turn also infect the more generalist hosts with many spacers matching many viruses). The dynamic interplay between these networks influences transitions between dynamical regimes of virus diversification and host control. The three empirical systems exhibit weighted-nested immunity networks, a pattern our theory shows is indicative of hosts able to suppress virus diversification. Previously missing from studies of microbial host-pathogen systems, the immunity network plays a key role in the coevolutionary dynamics.
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34
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Maliet O, Loeuille N, Morlon H. An individual-based model for the eco-evolutionary emergence of bipartite interaction networks. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1623-1634. [PMID: 32885919 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
How ecological interaction networks emerge on evolutionary time scales remains unclear. Here we build an individual-based eco-evolutionary model for the emergence of mutualistic, antagonistic and neutral bipartite interaction networks. Exploring networks evolved under these scenarios, we find three main results. First, antagonistic interactions tend to foster species and trait diversity, while mutualistic interactions reduce diversity. Second, antagonistic interactors evolve higher specialisation, which results in networks that are often more modular than neutral ones; resource species in these networks often display phylogenetic conservatism in interaction partners. Third, mutualistic interactions lead to networks that are more nested than neutral ones, with low phylogenetic conservatism in interaction partners. These results tend to match overall empirical trends, demonstrating that structures of empirical networks that have most often been explained by ecological processes can result from an evolutionary emergence. Our model contributes to the ongoing effort of better integrating ecological interactions and macroevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Odile Maliet
- Institut de biologie de l'Ecole normale supérieure (IBENS), Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Nicolas Loeuille
- Sorbonne Université, UPEC, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement, IEES, Paris, F-75005, France
| | - Hélène Morlon
- Institut de biologie de l'Ecole normale supérieure (IBENS), Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
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35
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Saavedra S, Medeiros LP, AlAdwani M. Structural forecasting of species persistence under changing environments. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1511-1521. [PMID: 32776667 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The persistence of a species in a given place not only depends on its intrinsic capacity to consume and transform resources into offspring, but also on how changing environmental conditions affect its growth rate. However, the complexity of factors has typically taken us to choose between understanding and predicting the persistence of species. To tackle this limitation, we propose a probabilistic approach rooted on the statistical concepts of ensemble theory applied to statistical mechanics and on the mathematical concepts of structural stability applied to population dynamics models - what we call structural forecasting. We show how this new approach allows us to estimate a probability of persistence for single species in local communities; to understand and interpret this probability conditional on the information we have concerning a system; and to provide out-of-sample predictions of species persistence as good as the best experimental approaches without the need of extensive amounts of data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lucas P Medeiros
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mohammad AlAdwani
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA
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36
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CaraDonna PJ, Waser NM. Temporal flexibility in the structure of plant–pollinator interaction networks. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul J. CaraDonna
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
- Chicago Botanic Garden Glencoe IL 60022 USA
| | - Nickolas M. Waser
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Univ. of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
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37
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Schwarz B, Vázquez DP, CaraDonna PJ, Knight TM, Benadi G, Dormann CF, Gauzens B, Motivans E, Resasco J, Blüthgen N, Burkle LA, Fang Q, Kaiser‐Bunbury CN, Alarcón R, Bain JA, Chacoff NP, Huang S, LeBuhn G, MacLeod M, Petanidou T, Rasmussen C, Simanonok MP, Thompson AH, Fründ J. Temporal scale‐dependence of plant–pollinator networks. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Schwarz
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
| | - Diego P. Vázquez
- Argentine Inst. for Dryland Research, CONICET Mendoza Argentina
- Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National Univ. of Cuyo Mendoza Argentina
| | - Paul J. CaraDonna
- Chicago Botanic Garden Glencoe IL USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
| | - Tiffany M. Knight
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Martin Luther Univ. Halle‐Wittenberg Halle Germany
| | - Gita Benadi
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
| | - Carsten F. Dormann
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
- Freiburg Inst. for Advanced Studies, Univ. of Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau Germany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
| | - Elena Motivans
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle Germany
| | - Julian Resasco
- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Colorado Boulder CO USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Dept of Biology, Technische Univ. Darmstadt Darmstadt Germany
| | | | - Qiang Fang
- College of Agriculture, Henan Univ. of Science and Technology Luoyang PR China
| | | | - Ruben Alarcón
- Dept of Biology, California State Univ. Channel Islands Camarillo CA USA
| | - Justin A. Bain
- Chicago Botanic Garden Glencoe IL USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
- Plant Biology and Conservation Program, Northwestern Univ. Evanston IL USA
| | - Natacha P. Chacoff
- Inst. de Ecología Regional (IER), Univ. Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)‐Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Tucumán Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Univ. Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) Tucumán Argentina
| | - Shuang‐Quan Huang
- Inst. of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal Univ. Wuhan PR China
| | - Gretchen LeBuhn
- Dept of Biology, San Francisco State Univ. San Francisco CA USA
| | - Molly MacLeod
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers Univ. New Brunswick NJ USA
| | - Theodora Petanidou
- Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology, Dept of Geography, Univ. of the Aegean Mytilene Greece
| | | | - Michael P. Simanonok
- Dept of Ecology, Montana State Univ. Bozeman MT USA
- Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, US Geological Survey Jamestown ND USA
| | - Amibeth H. Thompson
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Martin Luther Univ. Halle‐Wittenberg Halle Germany
| | - Jochen Fründ
- Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, Univ. of Freiburg Tennenbacher Str. 4 DE‐79106 Freiburg Germany
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38
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Song C, Saavedra S. Telling ecological networks apart by their structure: An environment-dependent approach. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1007787. [PMID: 32324730 PMCID: PMC7200011 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The network architecture of an ecological community describes the structure of species interactions established in a given place and time. It has been suggested that this architecture presents unique features for each type of ecological interaction: e.g., nested and modular architectures would correspond to mutualistic and antagonistic interactions, respectively. Recently, Michalska-Smith and Allesina (2019) proposed a computational challenge to test whether it is indeed possible to differentiate ecological interactions based on network architecture. Contrary to the expectation, they found that this differentiation is practically impossible, moving the question to why it is not possible to differentiate ecological interactions based on their network architecture alone. Here, we show that this differentiation becomes possible by adding the local environmental information where the networks were sampled. We show that this can be explained by the fact that environmental conditions are a confounder of ecological interactions and network architecture. That is, the lack of association between network architecture and type of ecological interactions changes by conditioning on the local environmental conditions. Additionally, we find that environmental conditions are linked to the stability of ecological networks, but the direction of this effect depends on the type of interaction network. This suggests that the association between ecological interactions and network architectures exists, but cannot be fully understood without attention to the environmental conditions acting upon them. It has been suggested that different types of species interactions lead to ecological networks with different architectures. For example, mutualistic and antagonistic interaction networks have been shown to have nested and modular architectures, respectively. Importantly, this differentiation can provide clues about the link between the dynamics and structures shaping ecological communities. Recently, Michalska-Smith and Allesina (2019) turned this assumption into a serious computational challenge for the scientific community. Here, we embrace this challenge. We confirm that network architecture alone is not enough to differentiate interaction networks. However, we show that network architectures can differentiate between mutualistic and antagonistic interaction networks by using information about their local environmental conditions. In other words, ignoring environmental information throws out the predictable patterns of network architectures along environmental gradients. Thus, this response is also a reminder that ecological networks may only make sense in the light of environmental information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuliang Song
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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39
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Renaud E, Baudry E, Bessa‐Gomes C. Influence of taxonomic resolution on mutualistic network properties. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:3248-3259. [PMID: 32273984 PMCID: PMC7140996 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecologists are increasingly interested in plant-pollinator networks that synthesize in a single object the species and the interactions linking them within their ecological context. Numerous indices have been developed to describe the structural properties and resilience of these networks, but currently, these indices are calculated for a network resolved to the species level, thus preventing the full exploitation of numerous datasets with a lower taxonomic resolution. Here, we used datasets from the literature to study whether taxonomic resolution has an impact on the properties of plant-pollinator networks.For a set of 41 plant-pollinator networks from the literature, we calculated nine network index values at three different taxonomic resolutions: species, genus, and family. We used nine common indices assessing the structural properties or resilience of networks: nestedness (estimated using the nestedness index based on overlap and decreasing fill [NODF], weighted NODF, discrepancy [BR], and spectral radius [SR]), connectance, modularity, robustness to species loss, motifs frequencies, and normalized degree.We observed that modifying the taxonomic resolution of these networks significantly changes the absolute values of the indices that describe their properties, except for the spectral radius and robustness. After the standardization of indices measuring nestedness with the Z-score, three indices-NODF, BR, and SR for binary matrices-are not significantly different at different taxonomic resolutions. Finally, the relative values of all indices are strongly conserved at different taxonomic resolutions.We conclude that it is possible to meaningfully estimate the properties of plant-pollinator interaction networks with a taxonomic resolution lower than the species level. We would advise using either the SR or robustness on untransformed data, or the NODF, discrepancy, or SR (for weighted networks only) on Z-scores. Additionally, connectance and modularity can be compared between low taxonomic resolution networks using the rank instead of the absolute values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Renaud
- Ecologie Systématique EvolutionCNRSAgroParisTechUniversité Paris‐SaclayOrsayFrance
| | - Emmanuelle Baudry
- Ecologie Systématique EvolutionCNRSAgroParisTechUniversité Paris‐SaclayOrsayFrance
| | - Carmen Bessa‐Gomes
- Ecologie Systématique EvolutionCNRSAgroParisTechUniversité Paris‐SaclayOrsayFrance
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40
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Terry JCD, Lewis OT. Finding missing links in interaction networks. Ecology 2020; 101:e03047. [PMID: 32219855 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Documenting which species interact within ecological communities is challenging and labor intensive. As a result, many interactions remain unrecorded, potentially distorting our understanding of network structure and dynamics. We test the utility of four structural models and a new coverage-deficit model for predicting missing links in both simulated and empirical bipartite networks. We find they can perform well, although the predictive power of structural models varies with the underlying network structure. The accuracy of predictions can be improved by ensembling multiple models. Augmenting observed networks with most-likely missing links improves estimates of qualitative network metrics. Tools to identify likely missing links can be simple to implement, allowing the prioritization of research effort and more robust assessment of network properties.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
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41
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Ramos-Robles M, Vargas-Cardoso OR, Corona-López AM, Flores-Palacios A, Toledo-Hernández VH. Spatio-temporal variation of Cerambycidae-host tree interaction networks. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228880. [PMID: 32040535 PMCID: PMC7010308 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its high ecological importance, the commensal interactions at community level are poorly studied. In tropical dry forests (TDF) there is a great diversity of species adapted to the high seasonality that characterizes them; however, little is known regarding how the spatial and temporal availability of resources generates changes in the pattern of commensal interactions. We experimentally studied changes in the diversity, composition, and pattern of interactions in spatio-temporal associations between the saproxylophagous beetles and their host trees in a TDF in Morelos, Mexico. A total of 65 host tree species were selected, from which 16 wood sections were obtained per species. These sections were exposed in the field to allow oviposition by the cerambycids under four different (spatio-temporal) treatments. We analyzed the network structure and generated indices at species level (i.e., specialization, species strength, and effective partners) and those related to physical characteristics of the wood (hardness and degradation rate) and the cerambycids (body size). In total, 1,323 individuals of 57 species of cerambycids emerged. Our results showed that, independently of the space and time, the network presented a nested and modular structure, with a high specialization degree and a high turnover of cerambycid species and their interactions. In general, we found that the cerambycids are mostly associated with softwood species with a lower decomposition rate of wood, as well as with the most abundant host species. The commensalistic interactions between the cerambycids and their host trees are highly specialized but are not spatio-temporally static. The high turnover in the interactions is caused by the emergence patterns of cerambycids, which seem to restrict their use to certain species. The knowledge of the spatio-temporal variation in Cerambycidae-host tree interactions allows us to predict how environmental and structural changes in the habitat can modify the species ensemble, and therefore its interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Ramos-Robles
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Orthon Ricardo Vargas-Cardoso
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Angélica María Corona-López
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Alejandro Flores-Palacios
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Víctor Hugo Toledo-Hernández
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
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Classen A, Eardley CD, Hemp A, Peters MK, Peters RS, Ssymank A, Steffan‐Dewenter I. Specialization of plant-pollinator interactions increases with temperature at Mt. Kilimanjaro. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:2182-2195. [PMID: 32128148 PMCID: PMC7042760 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM Species differ in their degree of specialization when interacting with other species, with significant consequences for the function and robustness of ecosystems. In order to better estimate such consequences, we need to improve our understanding of the spatial patterns and drivers of specialization in interaction networks. METHODS Here, we used the extensive environmental gradient of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, East Africa) to study patterns and drivers of specialization, and robustness of plant-pollinator interactions against simulated species extinction with standardized sampling methods. We studied specialization, network robustness and other network indices of 67 quantitative plant-pollinator networks consisting of 268 observational hours and 4,380 plant-pollinator interactions along a 3.4 km elevational gradient. Using path analysis, we tested whether resource availability, pollinator richness, visitation rates, temperature, and/or area explain average specialization in pollinator communities. We further linked pollinator specialization to different pollinator taxa, and species traits, that is, proboscis length, body size, and species elevational ranges. RESULTS We found that specialization decreased with increasing elevation at different levels of biological organization. Among all variables, mean annual temperature was the best predictor of average specialization in pollinator communities. Specialization differed between pollinator taxa, but was not related to pollinator traits. Network robustness against simulated species extinctions of both plants and pollinators was lowest in the most specialized interaction networks, that is, in the lowlands. CONCLUSIONS Our study uncovers patterns in plant-pollinator specialization along elevational gradients. Mean annual temperature was closely linked to pollinator specialization. Energetic constraints, caused by short activity timeframes in cold highlands, may force ectothermic species to broaden their dietary spectrum. Alternatively or in addition, accelerated evolutionary rates might facilitate the establishment of specialization under warm climates. Despite the mechanisms behind the patterns have yet to be fully resolved, our data suggest that temperature shifts in the course of climate change may destabilize pollination networks by affecting network architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Classen
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Connal D. Eardley
- Unit of Environmental Sciences and ManagementNorth West UniversityPotchefstroomSouth Africa
| | - Andreas Hemp
- Department of Plant SystematicsUniversity of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
| | - Marcell K. Peters
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Ralph S. Peters
- Department ArthropodaZoological Research Museum Alexander KoenigBonnGermany
| | | | - Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
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43
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Song C, Von Ahn S, Rohr RP, Saavedra S. Towards a Probabilistic Understanding About the Context-Dependency of Species Interactions. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:384-396. [PMID: 32007296 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Observational and experimental studies have shown that an interaction class between two species (be it mutualistic, competitive, antagonistic, or neutral) may switch to a different class, depending on the biotic and abiotic factors within which species are observed. This complexity arising from the evidence of context-dependencies has underscored a difficulty in establishing a systematic analysis about the extent to which species interactions are expected to switch in nature and experiments. Here, we propose an overarching theoretical framework, by integrating probabilistic and structural approaches, to establish null expectations about switches of interaction classes across environmental contexts. This integration provides a systematic platform upon which it is possible to establish new hypotheses, clear predictions, and quantifiable expectations about the context-dependency of species interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuliang Song
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av., Cambridge 02139, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Von Ahn
- Department of Mathematics, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av., Cambridge 02139, MA, USA
| | - Rudolf P Rohr
- Department of Biology - Ecology and Evolution, University of Fribourg Chemin du Musée 10, Fribourg CH-1700, Switzerland
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Av., Cambridge 02139, MA, USA.
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44
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Maia KP, Vaughan IP, Memmott J. Plant species roles in pollination networks: an experimental approach. OIKOS 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.06183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kate P. Maia
- Life Sciences Building, Univ. of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue Bristol BS81TQ UK
| | | | - Jane Memmott
- Life Sciences Building, Univ. of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue Bristol BS81TQ UK
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45
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Simmons BI, Hoeppke C, Sutherland WJ. Beware greedy algorithms. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:804-807. [PMID: 30874298 PMCID: PMC6850377 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benno I Simmons
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Christoph Hoeppke
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - William J Sutherland
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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46
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Song C, Rohr RP, Saavedra S. Beware z-scores. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:808-809. [PMID: 30874304 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Song, Rohr, and Saavedra (2017) have proposed a methodology to compare network properties across systems with different sizes and constraints, in response to the fact that z-scores cannot be used for such purposes. Simmons, Hoeppke, and Sutherland (2019) have shown that part of the methodology can be improved. Here, we show that all previous results hold and are strengthened by the new methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuliang Song
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Rudolf P Rohr
- Department of Biology - Ecology and Evolution, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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47
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Fan Y, Xiao Y, Momeni B, Liu YY. Horizontal gene transfer can help maintain the equilibrium of microbial communities. J Theor Biol 2018; 454:53-59. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.05.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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48
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Cenci S, Song C, Saavedra S. Rethinking the importance of the structure of ecological networks under an environment-dependent framework. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:6852-6859. [PMID: 30073049 PMCID: PMC6065350 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A major quest in network and community ecology has been centered on understanding the importance of structural patterns in species interaction networks-the synthesis of who interacts with whom in a given location and time. In the past decades, much effort has been devoted to infer the importance of a particular structure by its capacity to tolerate an external perturbation on its structure or dynamics. Here, we demonstrate that such a perspective leads to inconsistent conclusions. That is, the importance of a network structure changes as a function of the external perturbations acting on a community at any given point in time. Thus, we discuss a research agenda to investigate the relative importance of the structure of ecological networks under an environment-dependent framework. We hypothesize that only by studying systematically the link between network structure and community dynamics under an environment-dependent framework, we can uncover the limits at which communities can tolerate environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Cenci
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringMITCambridgeMassachusetts
| | - Chuliang Song
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringMITCambridgeMassachusetts
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringMITCambridgeMassachusetts
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49
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Song C, Saavedra S. Structural stability as a consistent predictor of phenological events. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180767. [PMID: 29899073 PMCID: PMC6015855 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The timing of the first and last seasonal appearance of a species in a community typically follows a pattern that is governed by temporal factors. While it has been shown that changes in the environment are linked to phenological changes, the direction of this link appears elusive and context-dependent. Thus, finding consistent predictors of phenological events is of central importance for a better assessment of expected changes in the temporal dynamics of ecological communities. Here we introduce a measure of structural stability derived from species interaction networks as an estimator of the expected range of environmental conditions compatible with the existence of a community. We test this measure as a predictor of changes in species richness recorded on a daily basis in a high-arctic plant-pollinator community during two spring seasons. We find that our measure of structural stability is the only consistent predictor of changes in species richness among different ecological and environmental variables. Our findings suggest that measures based on the notion of structural stability can synthesize the expected variation of environmental conditions tolerated by a community, and explain more consistently the phenological changes observed in ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuliang Song
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 02139 Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 02139 Cambridge, MA, USA
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50
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Song C, Altermatt F, Pearse I, Saavedra S. Structural changes within trophic levels are constrained by within-family assembly rules at lower trophic levels. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1221-1228. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Revised: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Chuliang Song
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; MIT; 77 Massachusetts Av. Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Aquatic Ecology; EAWAG; Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies; University of Zurich; Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Ian Pearse
- U.S. Geological Survey; Collins Science Center; 2150 Centre Ave #C Ft Collins CO 80526 USA
| | - Serguei Saavedra
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; MIT; 77 Massachusetts Av. Cambridge MA 02139 USA
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