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Potticary AL, Belk MC, Creighton JC, Ito M, Kilner R, Komdeur J, Royle NJ, Rubenstein DR, Schrader M, Shen S, Sikes DS, Smiseth PT, Smith R, Steiger S, Trumbo ST, Moore AJ. Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae). Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70175. [PMID: 39170054 PMCID: PMC11336061 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species-specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity. Burying beetles have long fascinated scientists because of their well-developed parenting behavior, exhibiting extended post-hatching care of offspring that varies extensively within and across taxa. Despite the burgeoning success of burying beetles as a model system for the study of behavioral evolution, there has not been a review of their behavior, ecology, and evolution in over 25 years. To address this gap, we leverage a developing community of researchers who have contributed to a detailed knowledge of burying beetles to highlight the utility of Nicrophorus for investigating the causes and consequences of social and behavioral evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahva L. Potticary
- Department of BiologyNorthern Michigan UniversityMarquetteMichiganUSA
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGeorgiaUSA
| | - Mark C. Belk
- Department of BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvoUtahUSA
| | - J. Curtis Creighton
- Department of Biological SciencesPurdue University NorthwestHammondIndianaUSA
| | - Minobu Ito
- Department of Environmental ScienceToho UniversityFunabashiChibaJapan
| | | | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Nick J. Royle
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science & the EconomyUniversity of ExeterCornwallUK
| | - Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental BiologyColumbia UniversityNew York CityNew YorkUSA
| | - Matthew Schrader
- Department of BiologySewanee, The University of the SouthSewaneeTennesseeUSA
| | | | - Derek S. Sikes
- University of Alaska Museum and Department of Biology and WildlifeUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaskaUSA
| | - Per T. Smiseth
- Institute of Ecology and EvolutionThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Rosemary Smith
- Department of Biological SciencesIdaho State UniversityPocatelloIdahoUSA
- Rocky Mountain Biological LaboratoryCrested ButteColoradoUSA
| | - Sandra Steiger
- Department of Evolutionary Animal EcologyUniversity of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
| | - Stephen T. Trumbo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ConnecticutWaterburyConnecticutUSA
| | - Allen J. Moore
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGeorgiaUSA
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Zheng X, Babst F, Camarero JJ, Li X, Lu X, Gao S, Sigdel SR, Wang Y, Zhu H, Liang E. Density-dependent species interactions modulate alpine treeline shifts. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14403. [PMID: 38577961 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Species interactions such as facilitation and competition play a crucial role in driving species range shifts. However, density dependence as a key feature of these processes has received little attention in both empirical and modelling studies. Herein, we used a novel, individual-based treeline model informed by rich in situ observations to quantify the contribution of density-dependent species interactions to alpine treeline dynamics, an iconic biome boundary recognized as an indicator of global warming. We found that competition and facilitation dominate in dense versus sparse vegetation scenarios respectively. The optimal balance between these two effects was identified at an intermediate vegetation thickness where the treeline elevation was the highest. Furthermore, treeline shift rates decreased sharply with vegetation thickness and the associated transition from positive to negative species interactions. We thus postulate that vegetation density must be considered when modelling species range dynamics to avoid inadequate predictions of its responses to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyu Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Flurin Babst
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Xiaoxia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shalik Ram Sigdel
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yafeng Wang
- College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Haifeng Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Eryuan Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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3
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Chan SF, Rubenstein DR, Chen IC, Fan YM, Tsai HY, Zheng YW, Shen SF. Higher temperature variability in deforested mountain regions impacts the competitive advantage of nocturnal species. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230529. [PMID: 37221845 PMCID: PMC10206452 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0529] [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: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Deforestation is a major contributor to biodiversity loss, yet the impact of forest loss on daily microclimate variability and its implications for species with different daily activity patterns remain poorly understood. Using a recently developed microclimate model, we investigated the effects of deforestation on the daily temperature range (DTR) in low-elevation tropical regions and high-elevation temperate regions. Our results show that deforestation substantially increases DTR in these areas, suggesting a potential impact on species interactions. To test this hypothesis, we studied the competitive interactions between nocturnal burying beetles and all-day-active blowfly maggots in forested and deforested habitats in Taiwan. We show that deforestation leads to increased DTR at higher elevations, which enhances the competitiveness of blowfly maggots during the day and leads to a higher failure rate of carcass burial by the beetles at night. Thus, deforestation-induced temperature variability not only modulates exploitative competition between species with different daily activity patterns, but also likely exacerbates the negative impacts of climate change on nocturnal organisms. In order to limit potential adverse effects on species interactions and their ecological functions, our study highlights the need to protect forests, especially in areas where deforestation can greatly alter temperature variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shih-Fan Chan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 11677 Taiwan
- Biodiversity Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - I-Ching Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Meng Fan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Hsiang-Yu Tsai
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Yuan-Wen Zheng
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Feng Shen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 11677 Taiwan
- Biodiversity Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
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4
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Lyu S, Alexander JM. Competition contributes to both warm and cool range edges. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2502. [PMID: 35523780 PMCID: PMC9076896 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30013-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition plays an important role in shaping species’ spatial distributions. However, it remains unclear where and how competition regulates species’ range limits. In a field experiment with plants originating from low and high elevations and conducted across an elevation gradient in the Swiss Alps, we find that both lowland and highland species can better persist in the presence of competition within, rather than beyond, their elevation ranges. These findings suggest that competition helps set both lower and upper elevation range limits of these species. Furthermore, the reduced ability of pairs of lowland or highland species to coexist beyond their range edges is mainly driven by diminishing niche differences; changes in both niche differences and relative fitness differences drive weakening competitive dominance of lowland over highland species with increasing elevation. These results highlight the need to account for competitive interactions and investigate underlying coexistence mechanisms to understand current and future species distributions. Using a field experiment, this study shows that both lowland and alpine plant species experience greater competitive effects and a reduced ability to coexist towards their elevation range edges due to increased niche overlap and competitive inequality. These findings suggest competition helps set both lower and upper elevation range limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengman Lyu
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Jake M Alexander
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
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Ma L, Versteegh MA, Hammers M, Komdeur J. Sex-specific influence of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness in a burying beetle. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211179. [PMID: 35223054 PMCID: PMC8847889 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Communal breeding, wherein multiple conspecifics live and reproduce together, may generate short-term benefits in terms of defence and reproduction. However, its carry-over effects remain unclear. We experimentally tested the effects of communal breeding on parental care and reproduction in burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides), which use carcasses as breeding resources and provide parental care to offspring. We subjected individuals to communal or non-communal breeding (i.e. pair breeding) during their first breeding event and to non-communal breeding during their second breeding event. We measured the parental care of individuals and of groups and the reproductive success of groups during both breeding events. In communal groups, large individuals became dominant and largely monopolized the carcass, whereas small individuals (i.e. subordinates) had restricted access to the carcass. At the first breeding event, large males in communal groups spent more time providing care than large males in non-communal groups, whereas such an effect was not observed for large females and small individuals. Reproductive successes were similar in communal and non-communal groups, indicating no short-term benefits of communal breeding in terms of reproduction. Compared with males from non-communal groups, males originating from communal groups produced a larger size of brood during their second breeding event, whereas such an effect was not observed for females. Our results demonstrate the sex-specific effects of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Ma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Maaike A. Versteegh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
- Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Arboretum West 98, 1325 WB Almere, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
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The Discontinuous Elevational Distribution of an Ungulate at the Regional Scale: Implications for Speciation and Conservation. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11123565. [PMID: 34944340 PMCID: PMC8697900 DOI: 10.3390/ani11123565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The Himalaya blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) in Baima Snow Mountain is found to exhibit a distinctive bimodal distribution along elevation gradient contrasting the unimodal distributions of most species. The first distributional peak of Himalaya blue sheep was in scree habitat around 4100 m a.s.l., while the second peak was in the dry-hot valley around 2600 m. Geographic separation from the original population along elevation suggested that population at lower elevation could be a separate species ecologically, or a taxa ongoing differentiation. Invasive species Opuntia ficus-indica, which colonized the region six hundred years ago, may have formed new foraging niche to support population at lower elevation. Our results suggested conservation measures should pay attention to taxa ongoing differentiation, and consider the possible active effect of biological invasion. Abstract The elevational range where montane species live is a key factor of spatial niche partitioning, because the limits of such ranges are influenced by interspecies interaction, abiotic stress, and dispersal barriers. At the regional scale, unimodal distributions of single species along the elevation gradient have often been reported, while discontinuous patterns, such as bimodal distributions, and potential ecological implications have been rarely discussed. Here, we used extensive camera trap records to reveal the elevation distribution of Himalaya blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and its co-existence with other ground animal communities along a slope of Baima Snow Mountain, southwest China. The results show that Himalaya blue sheep exhibited a distinctive bimodal distribution along the elevation gradient contrasting the unimodal distributions found for the other ungulates in Baima snow mountain. A first distributional peak was represented by a population habituating in scree habitat around 4100 m, and a second peak was found in the dry-hot valley around 2600 m. The two distinct populations co-existed with disparate animal communities and these assemblages were similar both in the dry and rainy seasons. The extremely low abundance of blue sheep observed in the densely forested belt at mid-elevation indicates that vegetation rather than temperature is responsible for such segregation. The low-elevation population relied highly on Opuntia ficus-indica, an invasive cactus species that colonized the region six hundred years ago, as food resource. Being the only animal that developed a strategy to feed on this spiky plant, we suggest invasive species may have formed new foraging niche to support blue sheep population in lower elevation hot-dry river valleys, resulting in the geographic separation from the original population and a potential morphological differentiation, as recorded. These findings emphasize the important conservation values of role of ecological functions to identify different taxa, and conservation values of apparent similar species of different ecological functions.
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Tsai HY, Rubenstein DR, Chen BF, Liu M, Chan SF, Chen DP, Sun SJ, Yuan TN, Shen SF. Antagonistic effects of intraspecific cooperation and interspecific competition on thermal performance. eLife 2020; 9:57022. [PMID: 32807299 PMCID: PMC7442485 DOI: 10.7554/elife.57022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how climate-mediated biotic interactions shape thermal niche width is critical in an era of global change. Yet, most previous work on thermal niches has ignored detailed mechanistic information about the relationship between temperature and organismal performance, which can be described by a thermal performance curve. Here, we develop a model that predicts the width of thermal performance curves will be narrower in the presence of interspecific competitors, causing a species' optimal breeding temperature to diverge from that of its competitor. We test this prediction in the Asian burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis, confirming that the divergence in actual and optimal breeding temperatures is the result of competition with their primary competitor, blowflies. However, we further show that intraspecific cooperation enables beetles to outcompete blowflies by recovering their optimal breeding temperature. Ultimately, linking abiotic factors and biotic interactions on niche width will be critical for understanding species-specific responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiang-Yu Tsai
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Dustin R Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Bo-Fei Chen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Mark Liu
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Fan Chan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - De-Pei Chen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Syuan-Jyun Sun
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Neng Yuan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Feng Shen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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8
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Liu 劉彥廷 M, Chan 詹仕凡 SF, Rubenstein DR, Sun 孫烜駿 SJ, Chen 陳伯飛 BF, Shen 沈聖峰 SF. Ecological Transitions in Grouping Benefits Explain the Paradox of Environmental Quality and Sociality. Am Nat 2020; 195:818-832. [PMID: 32364780 DOI: 10.1086/708185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Both benign and harsh environments promote the evolution of sociality. This paradox-societies occur in environments of such contrasting quality-may be explained by the different types of benefits that individuals receive from grouping: resource defense benefits that derive from group-defended critical resources versus collective action benefits that result from social cooperation among group members. Here, we investigate cooperative behavior in the burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis along an elevational gradient where environmental quality (climate and competition) varies with altitude. We show that climate (temperature) and competition (both intra- and interspecific) independently and synergistically influence sociality via different grouping benefits that vary along the gradient. At low elevations where interspecific competition for resources is intense, groups gain from the collective action benefit of increased interspecific competitive ability. In contrast, pairs have higher fitness at intermediate elevations where intraspecific competition for resources is greatest because resource defense is the key grouping benefit. However, groups and pairs have similar fitness at high elevations, suggesting that there is no grouping benefit in such physiologically challenging environments. Our results demonstrate that sociality is favored for different reasons under a range of environmental conditions, perhaps explaining why animal societies occur in environments of such contrasting quality.
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9
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Tsai HY, Rubenstein DR, Fan YM, Yuan TN, Chen BF, Tang Y, Chen IC, Shen SF. Locally-adapted reproductive photoperiodism determines population vulnerability to climate change in burying beetles. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1398. [PMID: 32170152 PMCID: PMC7069978 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15208-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how phenotypic traits vary among populations inhabiting different environments is critical for predicting a species' vulnerability to climate change. Yet, little is known about the key functional traits that determine the distribution of populations and the main mechanisms-phenotypic plasticity vs. local adaptation-underlying intraspecific functional trait variation. Using the Asian burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis, we demonstrate that mountain ranges differing in elevation and latitude offer unique thermal environments in which two functional traits-thermal tolerance and reproductive photoperiodism-interact to shape breeding phenology. We show that populations on different mountain ranges maintain similar thermal tolerances, but differ in reproductive photoperiodism. Through common garden and reciprocal transplant experiments, we confirm that reproductive photoperiodism is locally adapted and not phenotypically plastic. Accordingly, year-round breeding populations on mountains of intermediate elevation are likely to be most susceptible to future warming because maladaptation occurs when beetles try to breed at warmer temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiang-Yu Tsai
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
- Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Dustin R Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology and Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Yu-Meng Fan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
- Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Neng Yuan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Bo-Fei Chen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Yezhong Tang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 61004, People's Republic of China
| | - I-Ching Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan.
| | - Sheng-Feng Shen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
- Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
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10
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Classen A, Eardley CD, Hemp A, Peters MK, Peters RS, Ssymank A, Steffan‐Dewenter I. Specialization of plant-pollinator interactions increases with temperature at Mt. Kilimanjaro. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:2182-2195. [PMID: 32128148 PMCID: PMC7042760 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM Species differ in their degree of specialization when interacting with other species, with significant consequences for the function and robustness of ecosystems. In order to better estimate such consequences, we need to improve our understanding of the spatial patterns and drivers of specialization in interaction networks. METHODS Here, we used the extensive environmental gradient of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, East Africa) to study patterns and drivers of specialization, and robustness of plant-pollinator interactions against simulated species extinction with standardized sampling methods. We studied specialization, network robustness and other network indices of 67 quantitative plant-pollinator networks consisting of 268 observational hours and 4,380 plant-pollinator interactions along a 3.4 km elevational gradient. Using path analysis, we tested whether resource availability, pollinator richness, visitation rates, temperature, and/or area explain average specialization in pollinator communities. We further linked pollinator specialization to different pollinator taxa, and species traits, that is, proboscis length, body size, and species elevational ranges. RESULTS We found that specialization decreased with increasing elevation at different levels of biological organization. Among all variables, mean annual temperature was the best predictor of average specialization in pollinator communities. Specialization differed between pollinator taxa, but was not related to pollinator traits. Network robustness against simulated species extinctions of both plants and pollinators was lowest in the most specialized interaction networks, that is, in the lowlands. CONCLUSIONS Our study uncovers patterns in plant-pollinator specialization along elevational gradients. Mean annual temperature was closely linked to pollinator specialization. Energetic constraints, caused by short activity timeframes in cold highlands, may force ectothermic species to broaden their dietary spectrum. Alternatively or in addition, accelerated evolutionary rates might facilitate the establishment of specialization under warm climates. Despite the mechanisms behind the patterns have yet to be fully resolved, our data suggest that temperature shifts in the course of climate change may destabilize pollination networks by affecting network architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Classen
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Connal D. Eardley
- Unit of Environmental Sciences and ManagementNorth West UniversityPotchefstroomSouth Africa
| | - Andreas Hemp
- Department of Plant SystematicsUniversity of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
| | - Marcell K. Peters
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Ralph S. Peters
- Department ArthropodaZoological Research Museum Alexander KoenigBonnGermany
| | | | - Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
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11
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Chen B, Liu M, Rubenstein DR, Sun S, Liu J, Lin Y, Shen S. A chemically triggered transition from conflict to cooperation in burying beetles. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:467-475. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bo‐Fei Chen
- Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica Taipei 11529 Taiwan
| | - Mark Liu
- Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica Taipei 11529 Taiwan
| | - Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University 1200 Amsterdam Avenue New York NY 10027 USA
| | - Syuan‐Jyun Sun
- Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica Taipei 11529 Taiwan
| | - Jian‐Nan Liu
- Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica Taipei 11529 Taiwan
| | - Yu‐Heng Lin
- Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica Taipei 11529 Taiwan
| | - Sheng‐Feng Shen
- Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica Taipei 11529 Taiwan
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