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Chiappero MF, Rossetti MR, Moreno ML, Pérez-Harguindeguy N. A global meta-analysis reveals a consistent reduction of soil fauna abundance and richness as a consequence of land use conversion. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 946:173822. [PMID: 38906293 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Land use conversion of natural to production systems is one of the most important threats to belowground communities and to the key ecosystem processes in which they are involved. Available literature shows positive, negative, and neutral effects of land use changes on soil fauna communities; and these varying effects may be due to different characteristics of natural and production systems and soil organisms. We hypothesize that land conversion from high to low plant biomass, diversity, and structural complexity systems may have the most negative impacts on soil fauna. Here, we performed the first meta-analysis evaluating the overall effects of land use conversion on soil invertebrate communities and the influence of factors related to characteristics of natural and production systems, of soil fauna communities and methods. We compiled a dataset of 260 publications that yielded 1732 observations for soil fauna abundance and 459 for richness. Both abundance and richness showed a global decline as a consequence of natural land conversion to production systems. These negative effects were stronger, in general, when the conversion occurred in tropical and subtropical sites, and when natural systems were replaced by croplands, pastures and grazing systems. The effects of land use conversion also depended on soil property changes. In addition, the abundance of most taxa and richness of Acari and Collembola were strongly reduced by land use changes while Annelida were not affected. The highest reduction in abundance was recorded in omnivores and predators, whereas detritivores showed a reduction in richness. Our meta-analysis shows consistent evidence of soil biodiversity decline due to different land use changes and the partial dependence of those effects on the magnitude of changes in vegetation. These findings stress the need to continue developing production modes that effectively preserve soil biodiversity and ecosystem processes, without hampering food production.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Fernanda Chiappero
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María Rosa Rossetti
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.
| | - María Laura Moreno
- Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas (INECOA), CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina
| | - Natalia Pérez-Harguindeguy
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina; Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
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2
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He F, Svenning JC, Chen X, Tockner K, Kuemmerle T, le Roux E, Moleón M, Gessner J, Jähnig SC. Freshwater megafauna shape ecosystems and facilitate restoration. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1141-1163. [PMID: 38411930 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13062] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Freshwater megafauna, such as sturgeons, giant catfishes, river dolphins, hippopotami, crocodylians, large turtles, and giant salamanders, have experienced severe population declines and range contractions worldwide. Although there is an increasing number of studies investigating the causes of megafauna losses in fresh waters, little attention has been paid to synthesising the impacts of megafauna on the abiotic environment and other organisms in freshwater ecosystems, and hence the consequences of losing these species. This limited understanding may impede the development of policies and actions for their conservation and restoration. In this review, we synthesise how megafauna shape ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems and discuss their potential for enhancing ecosystem restoration. Through activities such as movement, burrowing, and dam and nest building, megafauna have a profound influence on the extent of water bodies, flow dynamics, and the physical structure of shorelines and substrata, increasing habitat heterogeneity. They enhance nutrient cycling within fresh waters, and cross-ecosystem flows of material, through foraging and reproduction activities. Freshwater megafauna are highly connected to other freshwater organisms via direct consumption of species at different trophic levels, indirect trophic cascades, and through their influence on habitat structure. The literature documenting the ecological impacts of freshwater megafauna is not evenly distributed among species, regions, and types of ecological impacts, with a lack of quantitative evidence for large fish, crocodylians, and turtles in the Global South and their impacts on nutrient flows and food-web structure. In addition, population decline, range contraction, and the loss of large individuals have reduced the extent and magnitude of megafaunal impacts in freshwater ecosystems, rendering a posteriori evaluation more difficult. We propose that reinstating freshwater megafauna populations holds the potential for restoring key ecological processes such as disturbances, trophic cascades, and species dispersal, which will, in turn, promote overall biodiversity and enhance nature's contributions to people. Challenges for restoration actions include the shifting baseline syndrome, potential human-megafauna competition for habitats and resources, damage to property, and risk to human life. The current lack of historical baselines for natural distributions and population sizes of freshwater megafauna, their life history, trophic interactions with other freshwater species, and interactions with humans necessitates further investigation. Addressing these knowledge gaps will improve our understanding of the ecological roles of freshwater megafauna and support their full potential for facilitating the development of effective conservation and restoration strategies to achieve the coexistence of humans and megafauna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengzhi He
- Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shengbei Street 4888, Changchun, 130102, China
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin, 10099, Germany
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Xing Chen
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Klement Tockner
- Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Faculty for Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 9, Frankfurt am Main, 60438, Germany
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin, 10099, Germany
| | - Elizabeth le Roux
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Marcos Moleón
- Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Avenida de Fuente Nueva S/N, Granada, 18071, Spain
| | - Jörn Gessner
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
| | - Sonja C Jähnig
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin, 10099, Germany
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3
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Ryser R, Chase JM, Gauzens B, Häussler J, Hirt MR, Rosenbaum B, Brose U. Landscape configuration can flip species-area relationships in dynamic meta-food-webs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230138. [PMID: 38913064 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatial and trophic processes profoundly influence biodiversity, yet ecological theories often treat them independently. The theory of island biogeography and related theories on metacommunities predict higher species richness with increasing area across islands or habitat patches. In contrast, food-web theory explores the effects of traits and network structure on coexistence within local communities. Exploring the mechanisms by which landscape configurations interact with food-web dynamics in shaping metacommunities is important for our understanding of biodiversity. Here, we use a meta-food-web model to explore the role of landscape configuration in determining species richness and show that when habitat patches are interconnected by dispersal, more species can persist on smaller islands than predicted by classical theory. When patch sizes are spatially aggregated, this effect flattens the slope of the species-area relationship. Surprisingly, when landscapes have random patch-size distributions, the slope of the species-area relationships can even flip and become negative. This could be explained by higher biomass densities of lower trophic levels that then support species occupying higher trophic levels, which only persist on small and well-connected patches. This highlights the importance of simultaneously considering landscape configuration and local food-web dynamics to understand drivers of species-area relationships in metacommunities.This article is part of the theme issue 'Diversity-dependence of dispersal: interspecific interactions determine spatial dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remo Ryser
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Jonathan M Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute for Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle 06108, Germany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Johanna Häussler
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Myriam R Hirt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Benjamin Rosenbaum
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Ulrich Brose
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena 07743, Germany
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4
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Eskuche-Keith P, Hill SL, López-López L, Rosenbaum B, Saunders RA, Tarling GA, O'Gorman EJ. Temperature alters the predator-prey size relationships and size-selectivity of Southern Ocean fish. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3979. [PMID: 38729972 PMCID: PMC11087476 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48279-0] [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: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
A primary response of many marine ectotherms to warming is a reduction in body size, to lower the metabolic costs associated with higher temperatures. The impact of such changes on ecosystem dynamics and stability will depend on the resulting changes to community size-structure, but few studies have investigated how temperature affects the relative size of predators and their prey in natural systems. We utilise >3700 prey size measurements from ten Southern Ocean lanternfish species sampled across >10° of latitude to investigate how temperature influences predator-prey size relationships and size-selective feeding. As temperature increased, we show that predators became closer in size to their prey, which was primarily associated with a decline in predator size and an increase in the relative abundance of intermediate-sized prey. The potential implications of these changes include reduced top-down control of prey populations and a reduction in the diversity of predator-prey interactions. Both of these factors could reduce the stability of community dynamics and ecosystem resistance to perturbations under ocean warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Eskuche-Keith
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.
| | | | - Lucía López-López
- Ecosystem Oceanography Group (GRECO), Oceanographic Centre of Santander (CN IEO, CSIC), Santander, Spain
| | - Benjamin Rosenbaum
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | | | - Eoin J O'Gorman
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
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5
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Cirtwill AR, Åkesson A, Wootton KL, Eklöf A. Species motif participation provides unique information about species risk of extinction. J Anim Ecol 2024. [PMID: 38556748 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14081] [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: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Loss of species in food webs can set in motion a cascade of additional (secondary) extinctions. A species' position in a food web (e.g. its trophic level or number of interactions) is known to affect its ability to persist following disturbance. These simple measures, however, offer only a coarse description of how species fit into their community. One would therefore expect that more detailed structural measures such as participation in three-species motifs (meso-scale structures which provide information on a species' direct and indirect interactions) will also be related to probability of persistence. Disturbances affecting the basal resources have particularly strong effects on the rest of the food web. However, how disturbances branch out and affect consumer persistence depends on the structural pattern of species interactions in several steps. The magnitude, for example, the proportion of basal resources lost, will likely also affect the outcome. Here, we analyse whether a consumer's risk of secondary extinction after the removal of basal resources depends on the consumer's motif participation and how this relationship varies with the severity of disturbance. We show that consumer species which participate more frequently in the direct competition motif and less frequently in the omnivory motif generally have higher probability of persistence following disturbance to basal resources. However, both the strength of the disturbance and the overall network structure (i.e. connectance) affect the strength and direction of relationships between motif participation and persistence. Motif participation therefore captures important trends in species persistence and provides a rich description of species' structural roles in their communities, but must be considered in the context of network structure as a whole and of the specific disturbance applied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa R Cirtwill
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anna Åkesson
- Department of Theoretical Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Kate L Wootton
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Anna Eklöf
- Department of Theoretical Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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6
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Beaudrot L, Acevedo MA, Gorczynski D, Harris NC. Geographic differences in body size distributions underlie food web connectance of tropical forest mammals. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6965. [PMID: 38521800 PMCID: PMC10960815 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57500-5] [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: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding variation in food web structure over large spatial scales is an emerging research agenda in food web ecology. The density of predator-prey links in a food web (i.e., connectance) is a key measure of network complexity that describes the mean proportional dietary breadth of species within a food web. Connectance is a critical component of food web robustness to species loss: food webs with lower connectance have been shown to be more susceptible to secondary extinctions. Identifying geographic variation in food web connectance and its drivers may provide insight into community robustness to species loss. We investigated the food web connectance of ground-dwelling tropical forest mammal communities in multiple biogeographic regions to test for differences among regions in food web connectance and to test three potential drivers: primary productivity, contemporary anthropogenic pressure, and variation in mammal body mass distributions reflective of historical extinctions. Mammal communities from fifteen protected forests throughout the Neo-, Afro-, and Asian tropics were identified from systematic camera trap arrays. Predator-prey interaction data were collected from published literature, and we calculated connectance for each community as the number of observed predator-prey links relative to the number of possible predator-prey links. We used generalized linear models to test for differences among regions and to identify the site level characteristics that best predicted connectance. We found that mammal food web connectance varied significantly among continents and that body size range was the only significant predictor. More possible predator-prey links were observed in communities with smaller ranges in body size and therefore sites with smaller body size ranges had higher mean proportional dietary breadth. Specifically, mammal communities in the Neotropics and in Madagascar had significantly higher connectance than mammal communities in Africa. This geographic variation in contemporary mammalian food web structure may be the product of historical extinctions in the Late Quaternary, which led to greater losses of large-bodied species in the Neotropics and Madagascar thus contributing to higher average proportional dietary breadth among the remaining smaller bodied species in these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Beaudrot
- Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Miguel A Acevedo
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Daniel Gorczynski
- Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nyeema C Harris
- Applied Wildlife Ecology Lab, School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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7
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Dijoux S, Pichon NA, Sentis A, Boukal DS. Body size and trophic position determine the outcomes of species invasions along temperature and productivity gradients. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14310. [PMID: 37811596 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14310] [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: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Species invasions are predicted to increase in frequency with global change, but quantitative predictions of how environmental filters and species traits influence the success and consequences of invasions for local communities are lacking. Here we investigate how invaders alter the structure, diversity and stability regime of simple communities across environmental gradients (habitat productivity, temperature) and community size structure. We simulate all three-species trophic modules (apparent and exploitative competition, trophic chain and intraguild predation). We predict that invasions most often succeed in warm and productive habitats and that successful invaders include smaller competitors, intraguild predators and comparatively small top predators. This suggests that species invasions and global change may facilitate the downsizing of food webs. Furthermore, we show that successful invasions leading to species substitutions rarely alter system stability, while invasions leading to increased diversity can destabilize or stabilize community dynamics depending on the environmental conditions and invader's trophic position.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Dijoux
- Department of Ecosystems Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Noémie A Pichon
- Ecology and Genetics Unit, Faculty of Science, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Arnaud Sentis
- INRAE, Aix Marseille University, UMR RECOVER, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - David S Boukal
- Department of Ecosystems Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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8
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Ortiz E, Ramos-Jiliberto R, Arim M. Prey selection along a predators' body size gradient evidences the role of different trait-based mechanisms in food web organization. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292374. [PMID: 37797081 PMCID: PMC10553361 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
An increase in prey richness, prey size and predator trophic position with predator body size has been consistently reported as prime features of food web organization. These trends have been explained by non-exclusive mechanisms. First, the increase in energy demand with body size determines that larger predators must reduce prey selectivity for achieving the required number of resources, being consumption relationships independent of prey traits. Second, when consumption is restricted by gape limitation, small predators are constrained to select among small prey. However, this selection weakens over large predators, which progressively consume more and larger prey. Finally, the optimal foraging mechanism predicts that larger predators optimize their diet by selecting only large prey with high energy reward. Each one of these mechanisms can individually explain the increase in prey richness, prey size and predator trophic position with predator body size but their relative importance or the direct evidence for their combined role was seldom considered. Here we use the community assembly by trait selection (CATS) theory for evaluating the support for each one of these mechanisms based on the prey selection patterns that they predict. We analyzed how prey body size and trophic guild determine prey selection by predators of increasing body size in a killifish guild from a temporary pond system. Results support the combination of the three mechanisms to explain the structural trends in our food web, although their strength is contingent on prey trophic group. Overall, high energy prey are preferred by larger predators, and small predators select small prey of all trophic status. However, large predators prefer large primary producers and avoid large carnivorous prey, probably because of the inherent risk of consuming other carnivorous. Our study provides a mechanistic understanding of how predator traits determine the selection of prey traits affecting food web assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Ortiz
- Departamento de Ecología y Gestión Ambiental-Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de la República, Maldonado, Uruguay
| | | | - Matías Arim
- Departamento de Ecología y Gestión Ambiental-Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de la República, Maldonado, Uruguay
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9
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Collyer G, Perkins DM, Petsch DK, Siqueira T, Saito V. Land-use intensification systematically alters the size structure of aquatic communities in the Neotropics. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:4094-4106. [PMID: 37059700 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Land-use and land-cover transitions can affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a myriad of ways, including how energy is transferred within food-webs. Size spectra (i.e. relationships between body size and biomass or abundance) provide a means to assess how food-webs respond to environmental stressors by depicting how energy is transferred from small to larger organisms. Here, we investigated changes in the size spectrum of aquatic macroinvertebrates along a broad land-use intensification gradient (from Atlantic Forest to mechanized agriculture) in 30 Brazilian streams. We expected to find a steeper size spectrum slope and lower total biomass in more disturbed streams due to higher energetic expenditure in physiologically stressful conditions, which has a disproportionate impact on large individuals. As expected, we found that more disturbed streams had fewer small organisms than pristine forest streams, but, surprisingly, they had shallower size spectrum slopes, which indicates that energy might be transferred more efficiently in disturbed streams. Disturbed streams were also less taxonomically diverse, suggesting that the potentially higher energy transfer in these webs might be channelled via a few efficient trophic links. However, because total biomass was higher in pristine streams, these sites still supported a greater number of larger organisms and longer food chains (i.e. larger size range). Our results indicate that land-use intensification decreases ecosystem stability and enhances vulnerability to population extinctions by reducing the possible energetic pathways while enhancing efficiency between the remaining food-web linkages. Our study represents a step forward in understanding how land-use intensification affects trophic interactions and ecosystem functioning in aquatic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanna Collyer
- Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Daniel M Perkins
- School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Danielle K Petsch
- Oceanography and Limnology Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Tadeu Siqueira
- Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Victor Saito
- Environmental Sciences Department, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
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10
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DiFiore BP, Stier AC. Variation in body size drives spatial and temporal variation in lobster-urchin interaction strength. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:1075-1088. [PMID: 37038648 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13918] [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: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2023]
Abstract
How strongly predators and prey interact is both notoriously context dependent and difficult to measure. Yet across taxa, interaction strength is strongly related to predator size, prey size and prey density, suggesting that general cross-taxonomic relationships could be used to predict how strongly individual species interact. Here, we ask how accurately do general size-scaling relationships predict variation in interaction strength between specific species that vary in size and density across space and time? To address this question, we quantified the size and density dependence of the functional response of the California spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus, foraging on a key ecosystem engineer, the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, in experimental mesocosms. Based on these results, we then estimated variation in lobster-urchin interaction strength across five sites and 9 years of observational data. Finally, we compared our experimental estimates to predictions based on general size-scaling relationships from the literature. Our results reveal that predator and prey body size has the greatest effect on interaction strength when prey abundance is high. Due to consistently high urchin densities in the field, our simulations suggest that body size-relative to density-accounted for up to 87% of the spatio-temporal variation in interaction strength. However, general size-scaling relationships failed to predict the magnitude of interactions between lobster and urchin; even the best prediction from the literature was, on average, an order of magnitude (+18.7×) different than our experimental predictions. Harvest and climate change are driving reductions in the average body size of many marine species. Anticipating how reductions in body size will alter species interactions is critical to managing marine systems in an ecosystem context. Our results highlight the extent to which differences in size-frequency distributions can drive dramatic variation in the strength of interactions across narrow spatial and temporal scales. Furthermore, our work suggests that species-specific estimates for the scaling of interaction strength with body size, rather than general size-scaling relationships, are necessary to quantitatively predict how reductions in body size will alter interaction strengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bartholomew P DiFiore
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
| | - Adrian C Stier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, 93116, USA
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11
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Pierrat É, Laurent A, Dorber M, Rygaard M, Verones F, Hauschild M. Advancing water footprint assessments: Combining the impacts of water pollution and scarcity. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 870:161910. [PMID: 36736405 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Several water footprint indicators have been developed to curb freshwater stress. Volumetric footprints support water allocation decisions and strive to increase water productivity in all sectors. In contrast, impact-oriented footprints are used to minimize the impacts of water use on human health, ecosystems, and freshwater resources. Efforts to combine both perspectives in a harmonized framework have been undertaken, but common challenges remain, such as pollution and ecosystems impacts modelling. To address these knowledge gaps, we build upon a water footprint assessment framework proposed at conceptual level to expand and operationalize relevant features. We propose two regionalized indicators, namely the water biodiversity footprint and the water resource footprint, that aggregate all impacts from toxic chemicals, nutrients, and water scarcity. The first impact indicator represents the impacts on freshwater ecosystems. The second one models the competition for freshwater resources and its consequences on freshwater availability. As part of the framework, we complement the two indicators with a sustainability assessment representing the levels above which ecological and human freshwater needs are no longer sustained. We test our approach assessing the sustainability of water use in the European Union in 2010. Water stress hampers 15 % of domestic, agricultural and industrial water demand, mainly due to irrigation and pesticide emissions in southern Europe. Moreover, damage to the freshwater ecosystems is widespread and mostly resulting from chemical emissions from industry. Approximately 5 % of the area is exceeding the regional sustainability limits for ecosystems and human water requirements altogether. Concerted efforts from all sectors are needed to reduce the impacts of emissions and water consumption under the sustainability limits. These advances are considered an important step toward the harmonization of volumetric and impact-oriented approaches to achieve consistent and holistic water footprinting as well as contributing to strengthen the policy relevance of water footprint assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Éléonore Pierrat
- Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Alexis Laurent
- Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Martin Dorber
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskøleringen 5, 7034, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Martin Rygaard
- Water Technology and Processes, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskøleringen 5, 7034, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Michael Hauschild
- Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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12
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Martinez ND. Predicting ecosystem metaphenome from community metagenome: A grand challenge for environmental biology. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9872. [PMID: 36911308 PMCID: PMC9994474 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9872] [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: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Elucidating how an organism's characteristics emerge from its DNA sequence has been one of the great triumphs of biology. This triumph has cumulated in sophisticated computational models that successfully predict how an organism's detailed phenotype emerges from its specific genotype. Inspired by that effort's vision and empowered by its methodologies, a grand challenge is described here that aims to predict the biotic characteristics of an ecosystem, its metaphenome, from nucleic acid sequences of all the species in its community, its metagenome. Meeting this challenge would integrate rapidly advancing abilities of environmental nucleic acids (eDNA and eRNA) to identify organisms, their ecological interactions, and their evolutionary relationships with advances in mechanistic models of complex ecosystems. Addressing the challenge would help integrate ecology and evolutionary biology into a more unified and successfully predictive science that can better help describe and manage ecosystems and the services they provide to humanity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neo D. Martinez
- Center for Complex Networks and Systems, School of Informatics, Computing, and EngineeringIndiana University, BloomingtonIndianaBloomingtonUSA
- Pacific Ecoinformatics and Computational Ecology LabCABerkeleyUSA
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13
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Schleuning M, García D, Tobias JA. Animal functional traits: Towards a trait‐based ecology for whole ecosystems. Funct Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Schleuning
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Frankfurt (Main) Germany
| | - Daniel García
- Departamento Biología de Organismos y Sistemas (Universidad de Oviedo) and Instituto Mixto de Investigación en Biodiversidad (Universidad de Oviedo‐CSIC‐Principado de Asturias) Oviedo Spain
| | - Joseph A. Tobias
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park Ascot UK
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14
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Antunes AC, Gauzens B, Brose U, Potapov AM, Jochum M, Santini L, Eisenhauer N, Ferlian O, Cesarz S, Scheu S, Hirt MR. Environmental drivers of local abundance–mass scaling in soil animal communities. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09735] [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)
- Ana Carolina Antunes
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Ulrich Brose
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Anton M. Potapov
- Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Inst. of Zoology and Anthropology, Univ. of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
| | - Malte Jochum
- Experimental Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Leipzig Univ. Leipzig Germany
| | - Luca Santini
- Dept of Biology and Biotechnologies ‘Charles Darwin', Sapienza Univ. of Rome Rome Italy
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- Experimental Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Leipzig Univ. Leipzig Germany
| | - Olga Ferlian
- Experimental Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Leipzig Univ. Leipzig Germany
| | - Simone Cesarz
- Experimental Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Leipzig Univ. Leipzig Germany
| | - Stefan Scheu
- Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Inst. of Zoology and Anthropology, Univ. of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use Göttingen Germany
| | - Myriam R. Hirt
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
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15
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Gebert F, Steffan‐Dewenter I, Kronbach P, Peters MK. The role of diversity, body size and climate in dung removal: a correlative and experimental approach. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2181-2191. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Friederike Gebert
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111 Birmensdorf Switzerland
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter. University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg Germany
| | - Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter. University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg Germany
| | - Patrick Kronbach
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter. University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg Germany
| | - Marcell K. Peters
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter. University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg Germany
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16
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Wu Q, Aubret F, Wu L, Ding P. Sex‐specific shifts in morphology and diet in a frog after 50 years of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou China
| | - Fabien Aubret
- School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences (SAEVS), Faculty of Science and Health Charles Sturt University Port Macquarie New South Wales Australia
| | - Lingbing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry Hainan University Haikou China
| | - Ping Ding
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou China
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17
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Junker RR, Albrecht J, Becker M, Keuth R, Farwig N, Schleuning M. Towards an animal economics spectrum for ecosystem research. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14051] [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)
- Robert R. Junker
- Evolutionary Ecology of Plants Department of Biology University of Marburg 35043 Marburg Germany
- Department of Environment and Biodiversity University of Salzburg 5020 Salzburg Austria
| | - Jörg Albrecht
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Marcel Becker
- Conservation Ecology Department of Biology University of Marburg 35043 Marburg Germany
| | - Raya Keuth
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Nina Farwig
- Conservation Ecology Department of Biology University of Marburg 35043 Marburg Germany
| | - Matthias Schleuning
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
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18
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Gaüzère P, O'Connor L, Botella C, Poggiato G, Münkemüller T, Pollock LJ, Brose U, Maiorano L, Harfoot M, Thuiller W. The diversity of biotic interactions complements functional and phylogenetic facets of biodiversity. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2093-2100.e3. [PMID: 35334226 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversities are important facets of biodiversity. Studying them together has improved our understanding of community dynamics, ecosystem functioning, and conservation values.1-3 In contrast to species, traits, and phylogenies, the diversity of biotic interactions has so far been largely ignored as a biodiversity facet in large-scale studies. This neglect represents a crucial shortfall because biotic interactions shape community dynamics, drive important aspects of ecosystem functioning,4-7 provide services to humans, and have intrinsic conservation value.8,9 Hence, the diversity of interactions can provide crucial and unique information with respect to other diversity facets. Here, we leveraged large datasets of trophic interactions, functional traits, phylogenies, and spatial distributions of >1,000 terrestrial vertebrate species across Europe at a 10-km resolution. We computed the diversity of interactions (interaction diversity [ID]) in addition to functional diversity (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD). After controlling for species richness, surplus and deficits of ID were neither correlated with FD nor with PD, thus representing unique and complementary information to the commonly studied facets of diversity. A three-dimensional mapping allowed for visualizing different combinations of ID-FD-PD simultaneously. Interestingly, the spatial distribution of these diversity combinations closely matched the boundaries between 10 European biogeographic regions and revealed new interaction-rich areas in the European Boreal region and interaction-poor areas in Central Europe. Our study demonstrates that the diversity of interactions adds new and ecologically relevant information to multifacetted, large-scale diversity studies with implications for understanding eco-evolutionary processes and informing conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Gaüzère
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France.
| | - Louise O'Connor
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Christophe Botella
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Giovanni Poggiato
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Tamara Münkemüller
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Laura J Pollock
- Biology Department, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Ulrich Brose
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany; German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Luigi Maiorano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin," "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Michael Harfoot
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Wilfried Thuiller
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France
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19
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Kuile AM, Apigo A, Bui A, DiFiore B, Forbes ES, Lee M, Orr D, Preston DL, Behm R, Bogar T, Childress J, Dirzo R, Klope M, Lafferty KD, McLaughlin J, Morse M, Motta C, Park K, Plummer K, Weber D, Young R, Young H. Predator–prey interactions of terrestrial invertebrates are determined by predator body size and species identity. Ecology 2022; 103:e3634. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Miller‐ter Kuile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Austen Apigo
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - An Bui
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Bartholomew DiFiore
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Elizabeth S. Forbes
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Michelle Lee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Devyn Orr
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Daniel L. Preston
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado United States
| | - Rachel Behm
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Taylor Bogar
- School of Biological Sciences University of Hong Kong Hong Kong HK
| | - Jasmine Childress
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Rodolfo Dirzo
- Department of Biology Stanford University, Gilbert Biology Building, 371 Jane Stanford Way Stanford California United States
| | - Maggie Klope
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Kevin D. Lafferty
- Western Ecological Research Center U.S. Geological Survey, at Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara United States
| | - John McLaughlin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Marisa Morse
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Carina Motta
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Kevin Park
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Katherine Plummer
- Department of Biology Stanford University, Gilbert Biology Building, 371 Jane Stanford Way Stanford California United States
| | - David Weber
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia United States
| | - Ronny Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
| | - Hillary Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California United States
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20
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Albert G, Gauzens B, Loreau M, Wang S, Brose U. The hidden role of multi-trophic interactions in driving diversity-productivity relationships. Ecol Lett 2021; 25:405-415. [PMID: 34846785 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Resource-use complementarity of producer species is often invoked to explain the generally positive diversity-productivity relationships. Additionally, multi-trophic interactions that link processes across trophic levels have received increasing attention as a possible key driver. Given that both are integral to natural ecosystems, their interactive effect should be evident but has remained hidden. We address this issue by analysing diversity-productivity relationships in a simulation experiment of producer communities nested within complex food-webs, manipulating resource-use complementarity and multi-trophic animal richness. We show that these two mechanisms interactively create diverse communities of complementary producer species. This shapes diversity-productivity relationships such that their joint contribution generally exceeds their individual effects. Specifically, multi-trophic interactions in animal-rich ecosystems facilitate producer coexistence by preventing competitive exclusion despite overlaps in resource-use, which increases the realised complementarity. The interdependence of food-webs and producer complementarity in creating biodiversity-productivity relationships highlights the importance to adopt a multi-trophic perspective on biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Albert
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Michel Loreau
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, France
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ulrich Brose
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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21
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Antiqueira PAP, Petchey OL, Rezende F, Machado Velho LF, Rodrigues LC, Romero GQ. Warming and top predator loss drive direct and indirect effects on multiple trophic groups within and across ecosystems. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:428-442. [PMID: 34808001 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The interspecific interactions within and between adjacent ecosystems strongly depend on the changes in their abiotic and biotic components. However, little is known about how climate change and biodiversity loss in a specific ecosystem can impact the multiple trophic interactions of different biological groups within and across ecosystems. We used natural microecosystems (tank-bromeliads) as a model system to investigate the main and interactive effects of aquatic warming and aquatic top predator loss (i.e. trophic downgrading) on trophic relationships in three integrated food web compartments: (a) aquatic micro-organisms, (b) aquatic macro-organisms and (c) terrestrial predators (i.e. via cross-ecosystem effects). The aquatic top predator loss substantially impacted the three food web compartments. In the aquatic macrofauna compartment, trophic downgrading increased the filter feeder richness and abundance directly and indirectly via an increase in detritivore richness, likely through a facilitative interaction. For the microbiota compartment, aquatic top predator loss had a negative effect on algae richness, probably via decreasing the input of nutrients from predator biological activities. Furthermore, the more active terrestrial predators responded more to aquatic top predator loss, via an increase in some components of aquatic macrofauna, than more stationary terrestrial predators. The aquatic trophic downgrading indirectly altered the richness and abundance of cursorial terrestrial predators, but these effects had different direction according to the aquatic functional group, filter feeder or other detritivores. The web-building predators were indirectly affected by aquatic trophic downgrading due to increased filter feeder richness. Aquatic warming did not affect the aquatic micro- or macro-organisms but did positively affect the abundance of web-building terrestrial predators. These results allow us to raise a predictive framework of how different anthropogenic changes predicted for the next decades, such as aquatic warming and top predator loss, could differentially affect multiple biological groups through interactions within and across ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Augusto P Antiqueira
- Laboratório de Interações Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biologia (IB), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - Owen L Petchey
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Felipe Rezende
- Laboratório de Interações Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biologia (IB), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - Luiz Felipe Machado Velho
- Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura (NUPELIA)/PEA/CCB, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, Brazil.,Instituto Cesumar de Ciência e Tecnolgia - ICETI. Universidade Cesumar - UniCesumar- PPGTL, Maringá, Brazil
| | - Luzia Cleide Rodrigues
- Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura (NUPELIA)/PEA/CCB, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Quevedo Romero
- Laboratório de Interações Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biologia (IB), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
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22
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Mor JR, Muñoz I, Sabater S, Zamora L, Ruhi A. Energy limitation or sensitive predators? Trophic and non-trophic impacts of wastewater pollution on stream food webs. Ecology 2021; 103:e03587. [PMID: 34792187 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Impacts of environmental stressors on food webs are often difficult to predict because trophic levels can respond in divergent ways, and biotic interactions may dampen or amplify responses. Here we studied food-web level impacts of urban wastewater pollution, a widespread source of degradation that can alter stream food webs via top-down and bottom-up processes. Wastewater may (i) subsidize primary producers by decreasing nutrient limitation, inducing a wide-bottomed trophic pyramid. However, (ii) wastewater may also reduce the quality and diversity of resources, which could decrease energy transfer efficiency by reducing consumer fitness, leading to predator starvation. Additionally, (iii) if higher trophic levels are particularly sensitive to pollution, primary consumers could be released from predation pressure. We tested these hypotheses in 10 pairs of stream sites located upstream and downstream of urban wastewater effluents with different pollutant levels. We found that wastewater pollution reduced predator richness by ~34%. Community Size Spectra (CSS) slopes were steeper downstream than upstream of wastewater effluents-in all except one impact site where predators became locally extinct. Further, variation in downstream CSS slopes were correlated with pollution loads: the more polluted the stream, the steeper the CSS. We estimate that wastewater pollution decreased energy transfer efficiencies to primary consumers by ~70%, limiting energy supply to predators. Additionally, traits increasing vulnerability to chemical pollution were overrepresented among predators, which presented compressed trophic niches (δ15 N- δ13 C) downstream of effluents. Our results show that wastewater pollution can impact stream food webs via a combination of energy limitation to consumers and extirpation of pollution-sensitive top predators. Understanding the indirect (biotically-mediated) vs. direct (abiotic) mechanisms controlling responses to stress may help anticipating impacts of altered water quantity and quality-key signatures of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi-René Mor
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain.,Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Isabel Muñoz
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Sabater
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain.,Institute of Aquatic Ecology, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Lluís Zamora
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Albert Ruhi
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
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23
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Li Z, Zhang H, Xu Y, Wang S. Composition of ‘fast–slow’ traits drives avian community stability over North America. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhouyuan Li
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing China
- China Grassland Research Center School of Grassland Science Beijing Forestry University Beijing China
| | - Heng Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing China
| | - Yanjie Xu
- The Finnish Museum of Natural History University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group Wageningen University and Research Wageningen the Netherlands
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing China
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24
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Jochum M, Barnes AD, Brose U, Gauzens B, Sünnemann M, Amyntas A, Eisenhauer N. For flux's sake: General considerations for energy-flux calculations in ecological communities. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:12948-12969. [PMID: 34646445 PMCID: PMC8495806 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Global change alters ecological communities with consequences for ecosystem processes. Such processes and functions are a central aspect of ecological research and vital to understanding and mitigating the consequences of global change, but also those of other drivers of change in organism communities. In this context, the concept of energy flux through trophic networks integrates food-web theory and biodiversity-ecosystem functioning theory and connects biodiversity to multitrophic ecosystem functioning. As such, the energy-flux approach is a strikingly effective tool to answer central questions in ecology and global-change research. This might seem straight forward, given that the theoretical background and software to efficiently calculate energy flux are readily available. However, the implementation of such calculations is not always straight forward, especially for those who are new to the topic and not familiar with concepts central to this line of research, such as food-web theory or metabolic theory. To facilitate wider use of energy flux in ecological research, we thus provide a guide to adopting energy-flux calculations for people new to the method, struggling with its implementation, or simply looking for background reading, important resources, and standard solutions to the problems everyone faces when starting to quantify energy fluxes for their community data. First, we introduce energy flux and its use in community and ecosystem ecology. Then, we provide a comprehensive explanation of the single steps towards calculating energy flux for community data. Finally, we discuss remaining challenges and exciting research frontiers for future energy-flux research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Jochum
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiologyLeipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Ulrich Brose
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiodiversityUniversity of JenaJenaGermany
| | - Benoit Gauzens
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiodiversityUniversity of JenaJenaGermany
| | - Marie Sünnemann
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiologyLeipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Angelos Amyntas
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiodiversityUniversity of JenaJenaGermany
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiologyLeipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
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25
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Trogisch S, Liu X, Rutten G, Xue K, Bauhus J, Brose U, Bu W, Cesarz S, Chesters D, Connolly J, Cui X, Eisenhauer N, Guo L, Haider S, Härdtle W, Kunz M, Liu L, Ma Z, Neumann S, Sang W, Schuldt A, Tang Z, van Dam NM, von Oheimb G, Wang MQ, Wang S, Weinhold A, Wirth C, Wubet T, Xu X, Yang B, Zhang N, Zhu CD, Ma K, Wang Y, Bruelheide H. The significance of tree-tree interactions for forest ecosystem functioning. Basic Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2021.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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26
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Lasmar CJ, Rosa C, Queiroz ACM, Nunes CA, Imata MMG, Alves GP, Nascimento GB, Ázara LN, Vieira L, Louzada J, Feitosa RM, Brescovit AD, Passamani M, Ribas CR. Temperature and productivity distinctly affect the species richness of ectothermic and endothermic multitrophic guilds along a tropical elevational gradient. Oecologia 2021; 197:243-257. [PMID: 34370096 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05011-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The diversity of endotherms and ectotherms may be differently affected by ambient temperature and net primary productivity (NPP). Additionally, little is known about how these drivers affect the diversity of guilds of different trophic levels. We assessed the relative role of temperature and NPP in multitrophic guilds of ectothermic (arthropods: ants, ground beetles, spiders, and harvestmen) and endothermic (large mammals) animals along a tropical elevational gradient. We sampled arthropods at eight elevation belts and large mammals at 14 elevation belts in Atlantic rainforest (ranging from 600 to 2450 m.a.s.l.) of Itatiaia National Park, Southeast Brazil. Overall arthropod species richness was more associated with temperature than overall large-mammal species richness, while the latter was more associated with NPP. When separated into trophic guilds, we found that the species richness associated with NPP increased across arthropod trophic levels from herbivores to predators. Conversely, although NPP influenced large-mammal herbivore species richness, its effects did not seem to accumulate across large-mammal trophic levels since the species richness of large-mammal omnivores was more associated with temperature and none of the variables we studied influenced large-mammal predators. We suggest that thermal physiological differences between ectotherms and endotherms are responsible for the way in which arthropods and large mammals interact with or are constrained by the environment. Furthermore, the inconsistency regarding the role of temperature and NPP on species richness across multitrophic guilds of ectotherms and endotherms could indicate that thermal physiological differences might also interfere with energy use and flux in the food web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaim J Lasmar
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, PO Box 3037, Lavras, MG, 37200-900, Brazil.
| | - Clarissa Rosa
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Antônio C M Queiroz
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, PO Box 3037, Lavras, MG, 37200-900, Brazil
| | - Cássio A Nunes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Brazil
| | - Mayara M G Imata
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, PO Box 3037, Lavras, MG, 37200-900, Brazil
| | - Guilherme P Alves
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, PO Box 3037, Lavras, MG, 37200-900, Brazil
| | - Gabriela B Nascimento
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, PO Box 3037, Lavras, MG, 37200-900, Brazil
| | - Ludson N Ázara
- Laboratório de Aracnologia, Departamento de Invertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, 20, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 940-040, Brazil
| | - Letícia Vieira
- Laboratório de Ecologia Florestal, Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, 37200-000, Brazil
| | - Júlio Louzada
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Invertebrados, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, 37200-000, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo M Feitosa
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19020, Curitiba, PR, 81531-980, Brazil
| | - Antonio D Brescovit
- Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, 05503-900, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Passamani
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Mamíferos, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, 37200-000, Brazil
| | - Carla R Ribas
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, PO Box 3037, Lavras, MG, 37200-900, Brazil
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27
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Emery KA, Dugan JE, Bailey RA, Miller RJ. Species identity drives ecosystem function in a subsidy-dependent coastal ecosystem. Oecologia 2021; 196:1195-1206. [PMID: 34324077 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05002-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Declines in species diversity carry profound implications for ecosystem functioning. Communities of primary producers and consumers interact on evolutionary as well as ecological time scales, shaping complex relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In subsidized ecosystems, resource inputs are independent of consumer actions, offering a simplified view of the relationship between species diversity and function for higher trophic levels. With food webs supported by substantial but variable inputs of detritus from adjacent marine ecosystems, sandy beaches are classic examples of subsidized ecosystems. We investigated effects of consumer species diversity and identity on a key ecological function, consumption of kelp wrack from nearshore giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests. We assessed effects of species richness on kelp consumption by experimentally manipulating richness of six common species of invertebrate detritivores in laboratory mesocosms and conducting field assays of kelp consumption on beaches. Consumer richness had no effect on kelp consumption in the field and a slight negative effect in laboratory experiments. Kelp consumption was most strongly affected by the species composition of the detritivore community. Species identity and body size of intertidal detritivores drove variation in kelp consumption rates in both experiments and field assays. Our results provide further evidence that species traits, rather than richness per se, influence ecosystem function most, particularly in detrital-based food webs with high functional redundancy across species. On sandy beaches, where biodiversity is threatened by rising sea levels and expanding development, our findings suggest that loss of large-bodied consumer species could disproportionally impact ecosystem function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle A Emery
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Jenifer E Dugan
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - R A Bailey
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, Fife, UK
| | - Robert J Miller
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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28
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Potapov AM, Rozanova OL, Semenina EE, Leonov VD, Belyakova OI, Bogatyreva VY, Degtyarev MI, Esaulov AS, Korotkevich AY, Kudrin AA, Malysheva EA, Mazei YA, Tsurikov SM, Zuev AG, Tiunov AV. Size compartmentalization of energy channeling in terrestrial belowground food webs. Ecology 2021; 102:e03421. [PMID: 34086977 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Size-structured food webs form integrated trophic systems where energy is channeled from small to large consumers. Empirical evidence suggests that size structure prevails in aquatic ecosystems, whereas in terrestrial food webs trophic position is largely independent of body size. Compartmentalization of energy channeling according to size classes of consumers was suggested as a mechanism that underpins functioning and stability of terrestrial food webs including those belowground, but their structure has not been empirically assessed across the whole size spectrum. Here we used stable isotope analysis and metabolic regressions to describe size structure and energy use in eight belowground communities with consumers spanning 12 orders of magnitude in living body mass, from protists to earthworms. We showed a negative correlation between trophic position and body mass in invertebrate communities and a remarkable nonlinearity in community metabolism and trophic positions across all size classes. Specifically, we found that the correlation between body mass and trophic level is positive in the small-sized (protists, nematodes, arthropods below 1 μg in body mass), neutral in the medium-sized (arthropods of 1 μg to 1 mg), and negative in the large-sized consumers (large arthropods, earthworms), suggesting that these groups form compartments with different trophic organization. Based on this pattern, we propose a concept of belowground food webs being composed of (1) size-structured micro-food web driving fast energy channeling and nutrient release, for example in microbial loop; (2) arthropod macro-food web with no clear correlation between body size and trophic level, hosting soil arthropod diversity and subsidizing aboveground predators; and (3) "trophic whales," sequestering energy in their large bodies and restricting its propagation to higher trophic levels in belowground food webs. The three size compartments are based on a similar set of basal resources, but contribute to different ecosystem-level functions and respond differently to variations in climate, soil characteristics and land use. We suggest that the widely used vision of resource-based energy channeling in belowground food webs can be complemented with size-based energy channeling, where ecosystem multifunctionality, biodiversity, and stability are supported by a balance across individual size compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton M Potapov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia.,J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Oksana L Rozanova
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Eugenia E Semenina
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladislav D Leonov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga I Belyakova
- Penza State University, Krasnaya Street 40, Penza, 440068, Russia
| | - Varvara Yu Bogatyreva
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Maxim I Degtyarev
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anton S Esaulov
- Penza State University, Krasnaya Street 40, Penza, 440068, Russia
| | - Anastasiya Yu Korotkevich
- Institute of Biology and Chemistry, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Kibalchicha Street 6k3, 129164, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexey A Kudrin
- Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaja 28, 167000, Syktyvkar, Russia
| | | | - Yuri A Mazei
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991, Moscow, Russia.,Faculty of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, 1 International University Park Road, Dayun New Town, Longgang District, Shenzhen, 517182, China
| | - Sergey M Tsurikov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrey G Zuev
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexei V Tiunov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
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29
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Bonnaffé W, Danet A, Legendre S, Edeline E. Comparison of size‐structured and species‐level trophic networks reveals antagonistic effects of temperature on vertical trophic diversity at the population and species level. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Willem Bonnaffé
- Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, UPEC, CNRS, INRA, IRD, Inst. d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris (iEES‐Paris) Paris France
- Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics Lab, Dept of Zoology, Univ. of Oxford Oxford UK
- Inst. de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, INSERM, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research Univ. Paris France
| | - Alain Danet
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, UMR 7204 MNHN‐CNRS‐Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris Paris France
| | - Stéphane Legendre
- Inst. de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, INSERM, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research Univ. Paris France
| | - Eric Edeline
- Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, UPEC, CNRS, INRA, IRD, Inst. d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris (iEES‐Paris) Paris France
- ESE Ecology and Ecosystem Health, INRA, Agrocampus Ouest Rennes France
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30
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Carmona CP, Tamme R, Pärtel M, de Bello F, Brosse S, Capdevila P, González-M R, González-Suárez M, Salguero-Gómez R, Vásquez-Valderrama M, Toussaint A. Erosion of global functional diversity across the tree of life. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/13/eabf2675. [PMID: 33771870 PMCID: PMC7997514 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf2675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Although one-quarter of plant and vertebrate species are threatened with extinction, little is known about the potential effect of extinctions on the global diversity of ecological strategies. Using trait and phylogenetic information for more than 75,000 species of vascular plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fish, we characterized the global functional spectra of each of these groups. Mapping extinction risk within these spectra showed that larger species with slower pace of life are universally threatened. Simulated extinction scenarios exposed extensive internal reorganizations in the global functional spectra, which were larger than expected by chance for all groups, and particularly severe for mammals and amphibians. Considering the disproportionate importance of the largest species for ecological processes, our results emphasize the importance of actions to prevent the extinction of the megabiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos P Carmona
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, 51005 Tartu, Estonia.
| | - Riin Tamme
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Meelis Pärtel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Francesco de Bello
- Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación, CSIC-UV, Carretera Moncada-Náquera, Km. 4.5 Apartado Oficial, 46113 Moncada (Valencia), Spain
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Na Zlaté stoce 1, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Sébastien Brosse
- Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR5174), Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse 3, CNRS, IRD, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France
| | - Pol Capdevila
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Rd., Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Ave., BS8 1TQ Bristol, UK
| | - Roy González-M
- Programa Ciencias de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Carrera 1 #16-20, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Manuela González-Suárez
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | | | - Maribel Vásquez-Valderrama
- Laboratorio de Invasiones Biologicas, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción, Victoria 631, Concepción, Chile
| | - Aurèle Toussaint
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
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31
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Benkendorf DJ, Whiteman HH. Omnivore density affects community structure through multiple trophic cascades. Oecologia 2021; 195:397-407. [PMID: 33392792 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04836-0] [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: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Omnivores can dampen trophic cascades by feeding at multiple trophic levels, yet few studies have evaluated how intraspecific variation of omnivores influences community structure. The speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) is a common and omnivorous minnow that consumes algae and invertebrates. We studied effects of size and size structure on top-down control by dace and how effects scaled with density. Dace were manipulated in a mesocosm experiment and changes in invertebrate and algal communities and ecosystem function were monitored. Omnivores affected experimental communities via two distinct trophic pathways (benthic and pelagic). In the benthic pathway, dace reduced macroinvertebrate biomass, thereby causing density-mediated indirect effects that led to increased benthic algal biomass. Dace also reduced pelagic predatory macroinvertebrate biomass (hemipterans), thereby increasing the abundance of emerging insects. The effect of dace and hemipterans on emerging insects was mediated by a non-linear response to dace with peak emergence at intermediate dace density. In contrast with recent studies, omnivore size and size structure had no clear effect, indicating that small and large dace in our experiment shared similar functional roles. Our results support that the degree to which omnivores dampen trophic cascades depends on their relative effect on multiple trophic levels, such that the more omnivorous a predator is, the more likely cascades will be dampened. Availability of abundant macroinvertebrates, and the absence of top predators, may have shifted dace diets from primary to secondary consumption, strengthening density-dependent trophic cascades. Both omnivore density and dietary shifts are important factors influencing omnivore-mediated communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald J Benkendorf
- Watershed Studies Institute, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA. .,High Lonesome Institute, De Beque, CO, 81630, USA. .,Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, 5210 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322-5210, USA.
| | - Howard H Whiteman
- Watershed Studies Institute, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA.,High Lonesome Institute, De Beque, CO, 81630, USA
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32
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Coux C, Donoso I, Tylianakis JM, García D, Martínez D, Dehling DM, Stouffer DB. Tricky partners: native plants show stronger interaction preferences than their exotic counterparts. Ecology 2020; 102:e03239. [PMID: 33125718 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In ecological networks, neutral predictions suggest that species' interaction frequencies are proportional to their relative abundances. Deviations from neutral predictions thus correspond to interaction preferences (when positive) or avoidances (when negative), driven by nonneutral (e.g., niche-based) processes. Exotic species interact with many partners with which they have not coevolved, and it remains unclear whether this systematically influences the strength of neutral processes on interactions, and how these interaction-level differences scale up to entire networks. To fill this gap, we compared interactions between plants and frugivorous birds at nine forest sites in New Zealand varying in the relative abundance and composition of native and exotic species, with independently sampled data on bird and plant abundances from the same sites. We tested if the strength and direction of interaction preferences differed between native and exotic species. We further evaluated whether the performance of neutral predictions at the site level was predicted by the proportion of exotic interactions in each network from both bird and plant perspectives, and the species composition in each site. We found that interactions involving native plants deviated more strongly from neutral predictions than did interactions involving exotics. This "pickiness" of native plants could be detrimental in a context of global biotic homogenization where they could be increasingly exposed to novel interactions with neutrally interacting mutualists. However, the realization of only a subset of interactions in different sites compensated for the neutrality of interactions involving exotics, so that neutral predictions for whole networks did not change systematically with the proportion of exotic species or species composition. Therefore, the neutral and niche processes that underpin individual interactions may not scale up to entire networks. This shows that seemingly simplistic neutral assumptions entail complex processes and can provide valuable understanding of community assembly or invasion dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Coux
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
| | - Isabel Donoso
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt (Main), 60325, Germany.,Departamento Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad (UMIB, CSIC-UO-PA), Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33071, Spain
| | - Jason M Tylianakis
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
| | - Daniel García
- Departamento Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad (UMIB, CSIC-UO-PA), Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33071, Spain
| | - Daniel Martínez
- Departamento Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad (UMIB, CSIC-UO-PA), Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33071, Spain
| | - D Matthias Dehling
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
| | - Daniel B Stouffer
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
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33
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Schmitz OJ, Leroux SJ. Food Webs and Ecosystems: Linking Species Interactions to the Carbon Cycle. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-104730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
All species within ecosystems contribute to regulating carbon cycling because of their functional integration into food webs. Yet carbon modeling and accounting still assumes that only plants, microbes, and invertebrate decomposer species are relevant to the carbon cycle. Our multifaceted review develops a case for considering a wider range of species, especially herbivorous and carnivorous wild animals. Animal control over carbon cycling is shaped by the animals’ stoichiometric needs and functional traits in relation to the stoichiometry and functional traits of their resources. Quantitative synthesis reveals that failing to consider these mechanisms can lead to serious inaccuracies in the carbon budget. Newer carbon-cycle models that consider food-web structure based on organismal functional traits and stoichiometry can offer mechanistically informed predictions about the magnitudes of animal effects that will help guide new empirical research aimed at developing a coherent understanding of the interactions and importance of all species within food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J. Schmitz
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
| | - Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada
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34
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Häussler J, Barabás G, Eklöf A. A Bayesian network approach to trophic metacommunities shows that habitat loss accelerates top species extinctions. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1849-1861. [PMID: 32981202 PMCID: PMC7702078 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We develop a novel approach to analyse trophic metacommunities, which allows us to explore how progressive habitat loss affects food webs. Our method combines classic metapopulation models on fragmented landscapes with a Bayesian network representation of trophic interactions for calculating local extinction rates. This means that we can repurpose known results from classic metapopulation theory for trophic metacommunities, such as ranking the habitat patches of the landscape with respect to their importance to the persistence of the metacommunity as a whole. We use this to study the effects of habitat loss, both on model communities and the plant‐mammal Serengeti food web dataset as a case study. Combining straightforward parameterisability with computational efficiency, our method permits the analysis of species‐rich food webs over large landscapes, with hundreds or even thousands of species and habitat patches, while still retaining much of the flexibility of explicit dynamical models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Häussler
- EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.,Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger-Str. 159, Jena, 07743, Germany
| | - György Barabás
- Linköping University, Linköping, SE-58183, Sweden.,MTA-ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
| | - Anna Eklöf
- Linköping University, Linköping, SE-58183, Sweden
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35
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Lachish S, Brandell EE, Craft ME, Dobson AP, Hudson PJ, MacNulty DR, Coulson T. Investigating the Dynamics of Elk Population Size and Body Mass in a Seasonal Environment Using a Mechanistic Integral Projection Model. Am Nat 2020; 196:E23-E45. [PMID: 32673097 DOI: 10.1086/708723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Environmentally mediated changes in body size often underlie population responses to environmental change, yet this is not a universal phenomenon. Understanding when phenotypic change underlies population responses to environmental change is important for obtaining insights and robust predictions of population dynamics in a changing world. We develop a dynamic integral projection model that mechanistically links environmental conditions to demographic rates and phenotypic traits (body size) via changes in resource availability and individual energetics. We apply the model to the northern Yellowstone elk population and explore population responses to changing patterns of seasonality, incorporating the interdependence of growth, demography, and density-dependent processes operating through population feedback on available resources. We found that small changes in body size distributions can have large impacts on population dynamics but need not cause population responses to environmental change. Environmental changes that altered demographic rates directly, via increasing or decreasing resource availability, led to large population impacts in the absence of substantial changes to body size distributions. In contrast, environmentally driven shifts in body size distributions could occur with little consequence for population dynamics when the effect of environmental change on resource availability was small and seasonally restricted and when strong density-dependent processes counteracted expected population responses. These findings highlight that a robust understanding of how associations between body size and demography influence population responses to environmental change will require knowledge of the shape of the relationship between phenotypic distributions and vital rates, the population status with regard to its carrying capacity, and importantly the nature of the environmentally driven change in body size and carrying capacity.
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36
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Hirt MR, Tucker M, Müller T, Rosenbaum B, Brose U. Rethinking trophic niches: Speed and body mass colimit prey space of mammalian predators. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:7094-7105. [PMID: 32760514 PMCID: PMC7391329 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Realized trophic niches of predators are often characterized along a one-dimensional range in predator-prey body mass ratios. This prey range is constrained by an "energy limit" and a "subdue limit" toward small and large prey, respectively. Besides these body mass ratios, maximum speed is an additional key component in most predator-prey interactions.Here, we extend the concept of a one-dimensional prey range to a two-dimensional prey space by incorporating a hump-shaped speed-body mass relation. This new "speed limit" additionally constrains trophic niches of predators toward fast prey.To test this concept of two-dimensional prey spaces for different hunting strategies (pursuit, group, and ambush predation), we synthesized data on 63 terrestrial mammalian predator-prey interactions, their body masses, and maximum speeds.We found that pursuit predators hunt smaller and slower prey, whereas group hunters focus on larger but mostly slower prey and ambushers are more flexible. Group hunters and ambushers have evolved different strategies to occupy a similar trophic niche that avoids competition with pursuit predators. Moreover, our concept suggests energetic optima of these hunting strategies along a body mass axis and thereby provides mechanistic explanations for why there are no small group hunters (referred to as "micro-lions") or mega-carnivores (referred to as "mega-cheetahs").Our results demonstrate that advancing the concept of prey ranges to prey spaces by adding the new dimension of speed will foster a new and mechanistic understanding of predator trophic niches and improve our predictions of predator-prey interactions, food web structure, and ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myriam R. Hirt
- EcoNetLabGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiodiversityFriedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
| | - Marlee Tucker
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK‐F)FrankfurtGermany
- Department of Biological SciencesGoethe‐UniversityFrankfurtGermany
- Department of Environmental ScienceInstitute for Wetland and Water ResearchRadboud UniversityNijmegenthe Netherlands
| | - Thomas Müller
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK‐F)FrankfurtGermany
- Department of Biological SciencesGoethe‐UniversityFrankfurtGermany
| | - Benjamin Rosenbaum
- EcoNetLabGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiodiversityFriedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
| | - Ulrich Brose
- EcoNetLabGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiodiversityFriedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
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37
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Thompson MSA, Pontalier H, Spence MA, Pinnegar JK, Greenstreet SPR, Moriarty M, Hélaouët P, Lynam CP. A feeding guild indicator to assess environmental change impacts on marine ecosystem structure and functioning. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Murray S. A. Thompson
- Lowestoft Laboratory Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Lowestoft Suffolk UK
| | - Hugo Pontalier
- Lowestoft Laboratory Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Lowestoft Suffolk UK
| | - Michael A. Spence
- Lowestoft Laboratory Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Lowestoft Suffolk UK
| | - John K. Pinnegar
- Lowestoft Laboratory Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Lowestoft Suffolk UK
| | | | - Meadhbh Moriarty
- Marine Scotland Science Aberdeen UK
- Environmental Sciences Research Institute Ulster University Coleraine UK
| | | | - Christopher P. Lynam
- Lowestoft Laboratory Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Lowestoft Suffolk UK
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38
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Pomeranz JPF, Wesner JS, Harding JS. Changes in stream food‐web structure across a gradient of acid mine drainage increase local community stability. Ecology 2020; 101:e03102. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin P. F. Pomeranz
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Private Bag 4800 Christchurch 8140 New Zealand
| | - Jeff S. Wesner
- Department of Biology University of South Dakota 414 E. Clark Street Vermillion South Dakota 57069 USA
| | - Jon S. Harding
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Private Bag 4800 Christchurch 8140 New Zealand
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39
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Martinez ND. Allometric Trophic Networks From Individuals to Socio-Ecosystems: Consumer–Resource Theory of the Ecological Elephant in the Room. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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40
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Jacquet C, Gounand I, Altermatt F. How pulse disturbances shape size-abundance pyramids. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1014-1023. [PMID: 32282125 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Ecological pyramids represent the distribution of abundance and biomass of living organisms across body-sizes. Our understanding of their expected shape relies on the assumption of invariant steady-state conditions. However, most of the world's ecosystems experience disturbances that keep them far from such a steady state. Here, using the allometric scaling between population growth rate and body-size, we predict the response of size-abundance pyramids within a trophic guild to any combination of disturbance frequency and intensity affecting all species in a similar way. We show that disturbances narrow the base of size-abundance pyramids, lower their height and decrease total community biomass in a nonlinear way. An experimental test using microbial communities demonstrates that the model captures well the effect of disturbances on empirical pyramids. Overall, we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally how disturbances that are not size-selective can nonetheless have disproportionate impacts on large species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Jacquet
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle Gounand
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, Dübendorf, Switzerland.,Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UPEC, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement, IEES,, Paris, France
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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41
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Downsizing of animal communities triggers stronger functional than structural decay in seed-dispersal networks. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1582. [PMID: 32221279 PMCID: PMC7101352 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15438-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Downsizing of animal communities due to defaunation is prevalent in many ecosystems. Yet, we know little about its consequences for ecosystem functions such as seed dispersal. Here, we use eight seed-dispersal networks sampled across the Andes and simulate how downsizing of avian frugivores impacts structural network robustness and seed dispersal. We use a trait-based modeling framework to quantify the consequences of downsizing-relative to random extinctions-for the number of interactions and secondary plant extinctions (as measures of structural robustness) and for long-distance seed dispersal (as a measure of ecosystem function). We find that downsizing leads to stronger functional than structural losses. For instance, 10% size-structured loss of bird species results in almost 40% decline of long-distance seed dispersal, but in less than 10% of structural loss. Our simulations reveal that measures of the structural robustness of ecological networks underestimate the consequences of animal extinction and downsizing for ecosystem functioning.
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42
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van Treeck R, Van Wichelen J, Wolter C. Fish species sensitivity classification for environmental impact assessment, conservation and restoration planning. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 708:135173. [PMID: 31796278 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Species conservation, river rehabilitation, stock enhancement, environmental impact assessment and related planning tools require indicators to identify significant impacts but also mitigation success. Since river systems are shaped by disturbances from floods and droughts, typical riverine fish species should have evolved life history traits providing resilience against such disturbances. This study compiled and analyzed resilience traits of European lampreys and fish species to derive a novel sensitivity classification of species to mortality. We assembled life history traits like maximum length, migration type, mortality, fecundity, age at maturity, and generation time of 168 species and created a novel method to weigh and integrate all traits to generate a final sensitivity score from one (low sensitivity) to three (high sensitivity) for each species. Large-bodied, diadromous, rheophilic and lithophilic species such as sturgeons, sea trout, and Atlantic salmon usually appeared to have high sensitivity to additional adult fish mortality, whereas small-bodied, limnophilic and phytophilic species with fast generation cycles were of low sensitivity. The final scoring and classification of 168 European lampreys and fish species according to their sensitivity can be easily regionalized by selecting the most sensitive candidates according to the local species pool. This sensitivity classification has major implications for advancing impact assessment, allowing better targeting of species for conservation measures, benchmarking progress during rehabilitation and enhancing the objective evaluation of the success of restoration projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben van Treeck
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Jeroen Van Wichelen
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Herman Teirlinckgebouw, Havenlaan 88 bus 73, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Christian Wolter
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany.
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43
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Potapov AM, Dupérré N, Jochum M, Dreczko K, Klarner B, Barnes AD, Krashevska V, Rembold K, Kreft H, Brose U, Widyastuti R, Harms D, Scheu S. Functional losses in ground spider communities due to habitat structure degradation under tropical land-use change. Ecology 2020; 101:e02957. [PMID: 31840252 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2019] [Revised: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Deforestation and land-use change in tropical regions result in habitat loss and extinction of species that are unable to adapt to the conditions in agricultural landscapes. If the associated loss of functional diversity is not compensated by species colonizing the converted habitats, extinctions might be followed by a reduction or loss of ecosystem functions including biological control. To date, little is known about how land-use change in the tropics alters the functional diversity of invertebrate predators and which key environmental factors may mitigate the decline in functional diversity and predation in litter and soil communities. We applied litter sieving and heat extraction to study ground spider communities and assessed structural characteristics of vegetation and parameters of litter in rainforest and agricultural land-use systems (jungle rubber, rubber, and oil palm monocultures) in a Southeast Asian hotspot of rainforest conversion: Sumatra, Indonesia. We found that (1) spider density, species richness, functional diversity, and community predation (energy flux to spiders) were reduced by 57-98% from rainforest to oil palm monoculture; (2) jungle rubber and rubber monoculture sustained relatively high diversity and predation in ground spiders, but small cryptic spider species strongly declined; (3) high species turnover compensated losses of some functional trait combinations, but did not compensate for the overall loss of functional diversity and predation per unit area; (4) spider diversity was related to habitat structure such as amount of litter, understory density, and understory height, while spider predation was better explained by plant diversity. Management practices that increase habitat-structural complexity and plant diversity such as mulching, reduced weeding, and intercropping monocultures with other plants may contribute to maintaining functional diversity of and predation services provided by ground invertebrate communities in plantations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton M Potapov
- J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.,A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Nadine Dupérré
- Center of Natural History, Zoological Museum, Universität Hamburg, Bundesstraße 52, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Malte Jochum
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Pl. 5E, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kerstin Dreczko
- Center of Natural History, Zoological Museum, Universität Hamburg, Bundesstraße 52, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bernhard Klarner
- J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andrew D Barnes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Pl. 5E, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,School of Science, the University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, 3240, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Valentyna Krashevska
- J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Katja Rembold
- Botanical Garden of the University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland.,Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Holger Kreft
- Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.,Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Von-Siebold-Strasse 8, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ulrich Brose
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Pl. 5E, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University, Dornburger Strasse 159, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Rahayu Widyastuti
- Department of Soil Sciences and Land Resources, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Jln. Meranti Kampus IPB Darmaga, 16680, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Danilo Harms
- Center of Natural History, Zoological Museum, Universität Hamburg, Bundesstraße 52, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Scheu
- J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.,Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Von-Siebold-Strasse 8, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
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44
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Ecological changes with minor effect initiate evolution to delayed regime shifts. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:412-418. [PMID: 32042123 PMCID: PMC7058421 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1110-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Regime shifts have been documented in a variety of natural and social systems. These abrupt transitions produce dramatic shifts in the composition and functioning of socioecological systems. Existing theory on ecosystem resilience has only considered regime shifts to be caused by changes in external conditions beyond a tipping point and therefore lacks an evolutionary perspective. In this study, we show how a change in external conditions has little ecological effect and does not push the system beyond a tipping point. The change therefore does not cause an immediate regime shift but instead triggers an evolutionary process that drives a phenotypic trait beyond a tipping point, thereby resulting (after a substantial delay) in a selection-induced regime shift. Our finding draws attention to the fact that regime shifts observed in the present may result from changes in the distant past, and highlights the need for integrating evolutionary dynamics into the theoretical foundation for ecosystem resilience.
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45
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Ehnes RB. Land-use change affects size spectra, energy flux and ecosystem functions in litter and soil invertebrates. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1828-1831. [PMID: 31815298 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13144] [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: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In Focus: Potapov, A. M., Klarner, B., Sandmann, D., Widyastuti, R. and Scheu, S. (2019). Linking size spectrum, energy flux and trophic multifunctionality in soil food webs of tropical land-use systems. Journal of Animal Ecology, 88, 1845-1859. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13027 Potapov et al. (2019) advance our understanding of the various levels of the consequences of human impact on ecosystems. They examine the communities of litter and soil invertebrates in four different forests (from rainforest to oil palm plantations). Data on abundance, body masses and trophic guild in litter and soil invertebrates are expanded to a study towards biodiversity, biomass, energy flux and ecosystem functions. Their results show that size spectra are affected differently for decomposers, herbivores, omnivores and predators. Most of these groups decrease in abundance with increasing land use, and only large decomposers increase strongly. Moreover, creating trophic-group food webs for litter and soil invertebrates of each forest demonstrates the changes in energy flux and ecosystem functions. With their study, Potapov et al. (2019) present new insights into ecosystem functions and the sensitivity of communities to changes in land use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roswitha B Ehnes
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
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46
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Potapov AM, Brose U, Scheu S, Tiunov AV. Trophic Position of Consumers and Size Structure of Food Webs across Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems. Am Nat 2019; 194:823-839. [DOI: 10.1086/705811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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47
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Hillaert J, Vandegehuchte ML, Hovestadt T, Bonte D. Habitat loss and fragmentation increase realized predator–prey body size ratios. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jasmijn Hillaert
- Department of Biology Terrestrial Ecology Unit Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | | | - Thomas Hovestadt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biocenter University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Dries Bonte
- Department of Biology Terrestrial Ecology Unit Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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48
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He F, Zarfl C, Bremerich V, David JNW, Hogan Z, Kalinkat G, Tockner K, Jähnig SC. The global decline of freshwater megafauna. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:3883-3892. [PMID: 31393076 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems are among the most diverse and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. At the same time, they are among the most threatened ecosystems but remain underrepresented in biodiversity research and conservation efforts. The rate of decline of vertebrate populations is much higher in freshwaters than in terrestrial or marine realms. Freshwater megafauna (i.e., freshwater animals that can reach a body mass ≥30 kg) are intrinsically prone to extinction due to their large body size, complex habitat requirements and slow life-history strategies such as long life span and late maturity. However, population trends and distribution changes of freshwater megafauna, at continental or global scales, remain unclear. In the present study, we compiled population data of 126 freshwater megafauna species globally from the Living Planet Database and available literature, and distribution data of 44 species inhabiting Europe and the United States from literature and databases of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and NatureServe. We quantified changes in population abundance and distribution range of freshwater megafauna species. Globally, freshwater megafauna populations declined by 88% from 1970 to 2012, with the highest declines in the Indomalaya and Palearctic realms (-99% and -97%, respectively). Among taxonomic groups, mega-fishes exhibited the greatest global decline (-94%). In addition, freshwater megafauna experienced major range contractions. For example, distribution ranges of 42% of all freshwater megafauna species in Europe contracted by more than 40% of historical areas. We highlight the various sources of uncertainty in tracking changes in populations and distributions of freshwater megafauna, such as the lack of monitoring data and taxonomic and spatial biases. The detected trends emphasize the critical plight of freshwater megafauna globally and highlight the broader need for concerted, targeted and timely conservation of freshwater biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengzhi He
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Christiane Zarfl
- Center for Applied Geosciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Bremerich
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonathan N W David
- School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Zeb Hogan
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Gregor Kalinkat
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klement Tockner
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Vienna, Austria
| | - Sonja C Jähnig
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
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49
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Brechtel A, Gross T, Drossel B. Far-ranging generalist top predators enhance the stability of meta-foodwebs. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12268. [PMID: 31439912 PMCID: PMC6706381 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48731-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying stabilizing factors in foodwebs is a long standing challenge with wide implications for community ecology and conservation. Here, we investigate the stability of spatially resolved meta-foodwebs with far-ranging super-predators for whom the whole meta-foodwebs appears to be a single habitat. By using a combination of generalized modeling with a master stability function approach, we are able to efficiently explore the asymptotic stability of large classes of realistic many-patch meta-foodwebs. We show that meta-foodwebs with far-ranging top predators are more stable than those with localized top predators. Moreover, adding far-ranging generalist top predators to a system can have a net stabilizing effect. These results highlight the importance of top predator conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Brechtel
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, Institute for condensed matter physics, Hochschulstr. 6, Darmstadt, 64289, Germany.
| | - Thilo Gross
- UC Davis, Department of Computer Science, 1 Shields Av, Davis, Ca, 95616, USA
| | - Barbara Drossel
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, Institute for condensed matter physics, Hochschulstr. 6, Darmstadt, 64289, Germany
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Eisenhauer N, Schielzeth H, Barnes AD, Barry K, Bonn A, Brose U, Bruelheide H, Buchmann N, Buscot F, Ebeling A, Ferlian O, Freschet GT, Giling DP, Hättenschwiler S, Hillebrand H, Hines J, Isbell F, Koller-France E, König-Ries B, de Kroon H, Meyer ST, Milcu A, Müller J, Nock CA, Petermann JS, Roscher C, Scherber C, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Schmid B, Schnitzer SA, Schuldt A, Tscharntke T, Türke M, van Dam NM, van der Plas F, Vogel A, Wagg C, Wardle DA, Weigelt A, Weisser WW, Wirth C, Jochum M. A multitrophic perspective on biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research. ADV ECOL RES 2019; 61:1-54. [PMID: 31908360 PMCID: PMC6944504 DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2019.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Concern about the functional consequences of unprecedented loss in biodiversity has prompted biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research to become one of the most active fields of ecological research in the past 25 years. Hundreds of experiments have manipulated biodiversity as an independent variable and found compelling support that the functioning of ecosystems increases with the diversity of their ecological communities. This research has also identified some of the mechanisms underlying BEF relationships, some context-dependencies of the strength of relationships, as well as implications for various ecosystem services that mankind depends upon. In this paper, we argue that a multitrophic perspective of biotic interactions in random and non-random biodiversity change scenarios is key to advance future BEF research and to address some of its most important remaining challenges. We discuss that the study and the quantification of multitrophic interactions in space and time facilitates scaling up from small-scale biodiversity manipulations and ecosystem function assessments to management-relevant spatial scales across ecosystem boundaries. We specifically consider multitrophic conceptual frameworks to understand and predict the context-dependency of BEF relationships. Moreover, we highlight the importance of the eco-evolutionary underpinnings of multitrophic BEF relationships. We outline that FAIR data (meeting the standards of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) and reproducible processing will be key to advance this field of research by making it more integrative. Finally, we show how these BEF insights may be implemented for ecosystem management, society, and policy. Given that human well-being critically depends on the multiple services provided by diverse, multitrophic communities, integrating the approaches of evolutionary ecology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology in future BEF research will be key to refine conservation targets and develop sustainable management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Holger Schielzeth
- Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Andrew D Barnes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kathryn Barry
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Aletta Bonn
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ulrich Brose
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- EcoNetLab, Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger-Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Helge Bruelheide
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology / Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Nina Buchmann
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, Universitätstr. 2, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - François Buscot
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Soil Ecology Department, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120 Halle Saale, Germany
| | - Anne Ebeling
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Olga Ferlian
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Grégoire T Freschet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175 (CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE), 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier 34293, France
| | - Darren P Giling
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Stephan Hättenschwiler
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175 (CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE), 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier 34293, France
| | - Helmut Hillebrand
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of Marine Environments [ICBM], Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Jes Hines
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Eva Koller-France
- Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie, Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Birgitta König-Ries
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Computer Science, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Hans de Kroon
- Radboud University, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Animal Ecology and Physiology & Experimental Plant Ecology, PO Box 9100, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian T Meyer
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technical University of Munich, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Alexandru Milcu
- Ecotron Européen de Montpellier, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Propre de Service 3248, Campus Baillarguet, Montferrier-sur-Lez, France
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175 (CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE), 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier 34293, France
| | - Jörg Müller
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstraße 5, 96181 Rauhenebrach, Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2, 94481 Grafenau, Germany
| | - Charles A Nock
- Geobotany, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schaenzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 751 General Services Building, Edmonton, Canada, T6G 2H1
| | - Jana S Petermann
- Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Christiane Roscher
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department Physiological Diversity, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
- Geobotany, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schaenzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Department of Geography, University of Zürich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Andreas Schuldt
- Forest Nature Conservation, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Buesgenweg 3, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Göttingen, Germany
| | - Manfred Türke
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI), Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU) - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Nicole M van Dam
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger-Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Fons van der Plas
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anja Vogel
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Cameron Wagg
- Fredericton Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Road, E3B 8B7, Fredericton, Canada
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - David A Wardle
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798
| | - Alexandra Weigelt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technical University of Munich, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Christian Wirth
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Malte Jochum
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
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