1
|
Gutgesell M, McCann K, O'Connor R, Kc K, Fraser EDG, Moore JC, McMeans B, Donohue I, Bieg C, Ward C, Pauli B, Scott A, Gillam W, Gedalof Z, Hanner RH, Tunney T, Rooney N. The productivity-stability trade-off in global food systems. Nat Ecol Evol 2024:10.1038/s41559-024-02529-y. [PMID: 39227681 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02529-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Historically, humans have managed food systems to maximize productivity. This pursuit has drastically modified terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems globally by reducing species diversity and body size while creating very productive, yet homogenized, environments. Such changes alter the structure and function of ecosystems in ways that ultimately erode their stability. This productivity-stability trade-off has largely been ignored in discussions around global food security. Here, we synthesize empirical and theoretical literature to demonstrate the existence of the productivity-stability trade-off and argue the need for its explicit incorporation in the sustainable management of food systems. We first explore the history of human management of food systems, its impacts on average body size within and across species and food web stability. We then demonstrate how reductions in body size are symptomatic of a broader biotic homogenization and rewiring of food webs. We show how this biotic homogenization decompartmentalizes interactions among energy channels and increases energy flux within the food web in ways that threaten their stability. We end by synthesizing large-scale ecological studies to demonstrate the prevalence of the productivity-stability trade-off. We conclude that management strategies promoting landscape heterogeneity and maintenance of key food web structures are critical to sustainable food production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Krishna Kc
- University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - John C Moore
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Bailey McMeans
- University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Brett Pauli
- University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexa Scott
- University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Tyler Tunney
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Neil Rooney
- University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rallings T, Kempes CP, Yeakel JD. On the Dynamics of Mortality and the Ephemeral Nature of Mammalian Megafauna. Am Nat 2024; 204:274-288. [PMID: 39179233 DOI: 10.1086/731331] [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] [Indexed: 08/26/2024]
Abstract
AbstractEnergy flow through consumer-resource interactions is largely determined by body size. Allometric relationships govern the dynamics of populations by impacting rates of reproduction as well as alternative sources of mortality, which have differential impacts on smaller to larger organisms. Here we derive and investigate the timescales associated with four alternative sources of mortality for terrestrial mammals: mortality from starvation, mortality associated with aging, mortality from consumption by predators, and mortality introduced by anthropogenic subsidized harvest. The incorporation of these allometric relationships into a minimal consumer-resource model illuminates central constraints that may contribute to the structure of mammalian communities. Our framework reveals that while starvation largely impacts smaller-bodied species, the allometry of senescence is expected to be more difficult to observe. In contrast, external predation and subsidized harvest have greater impacts on the populations of larger-bodied species. Moreover, the inclusion of predation mortality reveals mass thresholds for mammalian herbivores, where dynamic instabilities may limit the feasibility of megafaunal populations. We show how these thresholds vary with alternative predator-prey mass relationships, which are not well understood within terrestrial systems. Finally, we use our framework to predict the harvest pressure required to induce mass-specific extinctions, which closely align with previous estimates of anthropogenic megafaunal exploitation in both paleontological and historical contexts. Together our results underscore the tenuous nature of megafaunal populations and how different sources of mortality may contribute to their ephemeral nature over evolutionary time.
Collapse
|
3
|
Cucchi T, Neaux D, Féral L, Goussard F, Adriensen H, Elleboudt F, Sansalone G, Schafberg R. How domestication, feralization and experience-dependent plasticity affect brain size variation in Sus scrofa. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240951. [PMID: 39295922 PMCID: PMC11407859 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/21/2024]
Abstract
Among domestic species, pigs experienced the greatest brain size reduction, but the extent and factors of this reduction remain unclear. Here, we used the brain endocast volume collected from 92 adult skulls of wild, captive, feral and domestic Sus scrofa to explore the effects of domestication, feralization and captivity over the brain size variation of this species. We found a constant brain volume increase over 24 months, while body growth slowed down from month 20. We observed an 18% brain size reduction between wild boars and pigs, disagreeing with the 30%-40% reduction previously mentioned. We did not find significant sexual differences in brain volume, refuting the theory of the attenuation of male secondary sexual characteristics through the selection for reduced male aggression. Feralization in Australia led to brain size reduction-probably as an adaptation to food scarcity and drought, refuting the reversal to wild ancestral brain size. Finally, free-born wild boars raised in captivity showed a slight increase in brain size, potentially due to a constant and high-quality food supply as well as new allospecific interactions. These results support the need to further explore the influence of diet, environment and experience on brain size evolution during animal domestication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T Cucchi
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle CNRS, Paris UMR 7209, France
| | - D Neaux
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle CNRS, Paris UMR 7209, France
| | - L Féral
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle CNRS, Paris UMR 7209, France
| | - F Goussard
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - H Adriensen
- PIXANIM, UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | - F Elleboudt
- PIXANIM, UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | - G Sansalone
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,, Modena, Via Campi 213D 41125, Italy
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - R Schafberg
- Central Natural Science Collections, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Thomassen EE, Sigsgaard EE, Jensen MR, Olsen K, Hansen MDD, Thomsen PF. Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals temporal dynamics but functional stability of arthropod communities in cattle dung. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:1003-1021. [PMID: 38864368 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14119] [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: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Terrestrial invertebrates are highly important for the decomposition of dung from large mammals. Mammal dung has been present in many of Earth's ecosystems for millions of years, enabling the evolution of a broad diversity of dung-associated invertebrates that process various components of the dung. Today, large herbivorous mammals are increasingly introduced to ecosystems with the aim of restoring the ecological functions formerly provided by their extinct counterparts. However, we still know little about the ecosystem functions and nutrient flows in these rewilded ecosystems, including the dynamics of dung decomposition. In fact, the succession of insect communities in dung is an area of limited research attention also outside a rewilding context. In this study, we use environmental DNA metabarcoding of dung from rewilded Galloway cattle in an experimental set-up to investigate invertebrate communities and functional dynamics over a time span of 53 days, starting from the time of deposition. We find a strong signal of successional change in community composition, including for the species that are directly dependent on dung as a resource. While several of these species were detected consistently across the sampling period, others appeared confined to either early or late successional stages. We believe that this is indicative of evolutionary adaptation to a highly dynamic resource, with species showing niche partitioning on a temporal scale. However, our results show consistently high species diversity within the functional groups that are directly dependent on dung. Our findings of such redundancy suggest functional stability of the dung-associated invertebrate community, with several species ready to fill vacant niches if other species disappear. Importantly, this might also buffer the ecosystem functions related to dung decomposition against environmental change. Interestingly, alpha diversity peaked after approximately 20-25 days in both meadow and pasture habitats, and did not decrease substantially during the experimental period, probably due to preservation of eDNA in the dung after the disappearance of visiting invertebrates, and from detection of tissue remains and cryptic life stages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mads Reinholdt Jensen
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University Denmark, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Kent Olsen
- Department of Research and Collections, Natural History Museum Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Morten D D Hansen
- Department of Research and Collections, Natural History Museum Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hauffe T, Cantalapiedra JL, Silvestro D. Trait-mediated speciation and human-driven extinctions in proboscideans revealed by unsupervised Bayesian neural networks. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadl2643. [PMID: 39047110 PMCID: PMC11268411 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl2643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Species life-history traits, paleoenvironment, and biotic interactions likely influence speciation and extinction rates, affecting species richness over time. Birth-death models inferring the impact of these factors typically assume monotonic relationships between single predictors and rates, limiting our ability to assess more complex effects and their relative importance and interaction. We introduce a Bayesian birth-death model using unsupervised neural networks to explore multifactorial and nonlinear effects on speciation and extinction rates using fossil data. It infers lineage- and time-specific rates and disentangles predictor effects and importance through explainable artificial intelligence techniques. Analysis of the proboscidean fossil record revealed speciation rates shaped by dietary flexibility and biogeographic events. The emergence of modern humans escalated extinction rates, causing recent diversity decline, while regional climate had a lesser impact. Our model paves the way for an improved understanding of the intricate dynamics shaping clade diversification.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Torsten Hauffe
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Juan L. Cantalapiedra
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28006 Madrid, Spain
- GloCEE Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniele Silvestro
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Fordham DA, Brown SC, Canteri E, Austin JJ, Lomolino MV, Haythorne S, Armstrong E, Bocherens H, Manica A, Rey-Iglesia A, Rahbek C, Nogués-Bravo D, Lorenzen ED. 52,000 years of woolly rhinoceros population dynamics reveal extinction mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316419121. [PMID: 38830089 PMCID: PMC11181021 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316419121] [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: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The extinction of the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) at the onset of the Holocene remains an enigma, with conflicting evidence regarding its cause and spatiotemporal dynamics. This partly reflects challenges in determining demographic responses of late Quaternary megafauna to climatic and anthropogenic causal drivers with available genetic and paleontological techniques. Here, we show that elucidating mechanisms of ancient extinctions can benefit from a detailed understanding of fine-scale metapopulation dynamics, operating over many millennia. Using an abundant fossil record, ancient DNA, and high-resolution simulation models, we untangle the ecological mechanisms and causal drivers that are likely to have been integral in the decline and later extinction of the woolly rhinoceros. Our 52,000-y reconstruction of distribution-wide metapopulation dynamics supports a pathway to extinction that began long before the Holocene, when the combination of cooling temperatures and low but sustained hunting by humans trapped woolly rhinoceroses in suboptimal habitats along the southern edge of their range. Modeling indicates that this ecological trap intensified after the end of the last ice age, preventing colonization of newly formed suitable habitats, weakening stabilizing metapopulation processes, triggering the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros in the early Holocene. Our findings suggest that fragmentation and resultant metapopulation dynamics should be explicitly considered in explanations of late Quaternary megafauna extinctions, sending a clarion call to the fragility of the remaining large-bodied grazers restricted to disjunct fragments of poor-quality habitat due to anthropogenic environmental change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Damien A. Fordham
- The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, AdelaideSA, 5005, Australia
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ø2100, Denmark
- Center for Global Mountain Biodiversity, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ø2100, Denmark
| | - Stuart C. Brown
- The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, AdelaideSA, 5005, Australia
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K1350, Denmark
| | - Elisabetta Canteri
- The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, AdelaideSA, 5005, Australia
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ø2100, Denmark
| | - Jeremy J. Austin
- The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, AdelaideSA, 5005, Australia
| | - Mark V. Lomolino
- Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, College of Environmental Science, Syracuse, NY13210
| | - Sean Haythorne
- The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, AdelaideSA, 5005, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis, School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC3010, Australia
| | - Edward Armstrong
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Tübingen72074, Germany
- Department of Geosciences, Biogeology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen72074, Germany
| | - Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, CB23EJCambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alba Rey-Iglesia
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K1350, Denmark
| | - Carsten Rahbek
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ø2100, Denmark
- Center for Global Mountain Biodiversity, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ø2100, Denmark
- Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
- Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M5230, Denmark
| | - David Nogués-Bravo
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ø2100, Denmark
| | - Eline D. Lorenzen
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K1350, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Martins LP, Garcia-Callejas D, Lai HR, Wootton KL, Tylianakis JM. The propagation of disturbances in ecological networks. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:558-570. [PMID: 38402007 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.01.009] [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: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Despite the development of network science, we lack clear heuristics for how far different disturbance types propagate within and across species interaction networks. We discuss the mechanisms of disturbance propagation in ecological networks, and propose that disturbances can be categorized into structural, functional, and transmission types according to their spread and effect on network structure and functioning. We describe the properties of species and their interaction networks and metanetworks that determine the indirect, spatial, and temporal extent of propagation. We argue that the sampling scale of ecological studies may have impeded predictions regarding the rate and extent that a disturbance spreads, and discuss directions to help ecologists to move towards a predictive understanding of the propagation of impacts across interacting communities and ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas P Martins
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand.
| | - David Garcia-Callejas
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Hao Ran Lai
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand; Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Kate L Wootton
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Jason M Tylianakis
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand; Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Nascimento JCS, Blanco F, Domingo MS, Cantalapiedra JL, Pires MM. The reorganization of predator-prey networks over 20 million years explains extinction patterns of mammalian carnivores. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14448. [PMID: 38814285 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14448] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Linking the species interactions occurring at the scale of local communities to their potential impact at evolutionary timescales is challenging. Here, we used the high-resolution fossil record of mammals from the Iberian Peninsula to reconstruct a timeseries of trophic networks spanning more than 20 million years and asked whether predator-prey interactions affected regional extinction patterns. We found that, despite small changes in species richness, trophic networks showed long-term trends, gradually losing interactions and becoming sparser towards the present. This restructuring of the ecological networks was driven by the loss of medium-sized herbivores, which reduced prey availability for predators. The decrease in prey availability was associated with predator longevity, such that predators with less available prey had greater extinction risk. These results not only reveal long-term trends in network structure but suggest that prey species richness in ecological communities may shape large scale patterns of extinction and persistence among predators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- João C S Nascimento
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fernando Blanco
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany
| | - M Soledad Domingo
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan L Cantalapiedra
- Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- GloCEE Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mathias M Pires
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Svenning JC, Buitenwerf R, Le Roux E. Trophic rewilding as a restoration approach under emerging novel biosphere conditions. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R435-R451. [PMID: 38714176 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Rewilding is a restoration approach that aims to promote self-regulating complex ecosystems by restoring non-human ecological processes while reducing human control and pressures. Rewilding is forward-looking in that it aims to enhance functionality for biodiversity, accepting and indeed promoting the dynamic nature of ecosystems, rather than fixating on static composition or structure. Rewilding is thus especially relevant in our epoch of increasingly novel biosphere conditions, driven by strong human-induced global change. Here, we explore this hypothesis in the context of trophic rewilding - the restoration of trophic complexity mediated by wild, large-bodied animals, known as 'megafauna'. This focus reflects the strong ecological impacts of large-bodied animals, their widespread loss during the last 50,000 years and their high diversity and ubiquity in the preceding 50 million years. Restoring abundant, diverse, wild-living megafauna is expected to promote vegetation heterogeneity, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling and biotic microhabitats. These are fundamental drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem function and are likely to gain importance for maintaining a biodiverse biosphere under increasingly novel ecological conditions. Non-native megafauna species may contribute to these effects as ecological surrogates of extinct species or by promoting ecological functionality within novel assemblages. Trophic rewilding has strong upscaling potential via population growth and expansion of wild fauna. It is likely to facilitate biotic adaptation to changing climatic conditions and resilience to ecosystem collapse, and to curb some negative impacts of globalization, notably the dominance of invasive alien plants. Finally, we discuss the complexities of realizing the biodiversity benefits that trophic rewilding offers under novel biosphere conditions in a heavily populated world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Robert Buitenwerf
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Elizabeth Le Roux
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Trepel J, le Roux E, Abraham AJ, Buitenwerf R, Kamp J, Kristensen JA, Tietje M, Lundgren EJ, Svenning JC. Meta-analysis shows that wild large herbivores shape ecosystem properties and promote spatial heterogeneity. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:705-716. [PMID: 38337048 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02327-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Megafauna (animals ≥45 kg) have probably shaped the Earth's terrestrial ecosystems for millions of years with pronounced impacts on biogeochemistry, vegetation, ecological communities and evolutionary processes. However, a quantitative global synthesis on the generality of megafauna effects on ecosystems is lacking. Here we conducted a meta-analysis of 297 studies and 5,990 individual observations across six continents to determine how wild herbivorous megafauna influence ecosystem structure, ecological processes and spatial heterogeneity, and whether these impacts depend on body size and environmental factors. Despite large variability in megafauna effects, we show that megafauna significantly alter soil nutrient availability, promote open vegetation structure and reduce the abundance of smaller animals. Other responses (14 out of 26), including, for example, soil carbon, were not significantly affected. Further, megafauna significantly increase ecosystem heterogeneity by affecting spatial heterogeneity in vegetation structure and the abundance and diversity of smaller animals. Given that spatial heterogeneity is considered an important driver of biodiversity across taxonomic groups and scales, these results support the hypothesis that megafauna may promote biodiversity at large scales. Megafauna declined precipitously in diversity and abundance since the late Pleistocene, and our results indicate that their restoration would substantially influence Earth's terrestrial ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Trepel
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Elizabeth le Roux
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Andrew J Abraham
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Robert Buitenwerf
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jeppe A Kristensen
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Melanie Tietje
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Erick J Lundgren
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Anderson TM, Hepler SA, Holdo RM, Donaldson JE, Erhardt RJ, Hopcraft JGC, Hutchinson MC, Huebner SE, Morrison TA, Muday J, Munuo IN, Palmer MS, Pansu J, Pringle RM, Sketch R, Packer C. Interplay of competition and facilitation in grazing succession by migrant Serengeti herbivores. Science 2024; 383:782-788. [PMID: 38359113 DOI: 10.1126/science.adg0744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Competition, facilitation, and predation offer alternative explanations for successional patterns of migratory herbivores. However, these interactions are difficult to measure, leaving uncertainty about the mechanisms underlying body-size-dependent grazing-and even whether succession occurs at all. We used data from an 8-year camera-trap survey, GPS-collared herbivores, and fecal DNA metabarcoding to analyze the timing, arrival order, and interactions among migratory grazers in Serengeti National Park. Temporal grazing succession is characterized by a "push-pull" dynamic: Competitive grazing nudges zebra ahead of co-migrating wildebeest, whereas grass consumption by these large-bodied migrants attracts trailing, small-bodied gazelle that benefit from facilitation. "Natural experiments" involving intense wildfires and rainfall respectively disrupted and strengthened these effects. Our results highlight a balance between facilitative and competitive forces in co-regulating large-scale ungulate migrations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T Michael Anderson
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Staci A Hepler
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Ricardo M Holdo
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jason E Donaldson
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Robert J Erhardt
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - J Grant C Hopcraft
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Matthew C Hutchinson
- Department of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Sarah E Huebner
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Thomas A Morrison
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Jeffry Muday
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Issack N Munuo
- Serengeti Wildlife Research Centre, 2113 Lemara, Arusha, TZ
| | - Meredith S Palmer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Johan Pansu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Robert M Pringle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Robert Sketch
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Olsen EM, Karlsen Ø, Skjæraasen JE. Large females connect Atlantic cod spawning sites. Science 2023; 382:1181-1184. [PMID: 38060630 DOI: 10.1126/science.adi1826] [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: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
The Earth's ecosystems are increasingly deprived of large animals. Global simulations suggest that this downsizing of nature has serious consequences for biosphere functioning. However, the historical loss of large animals means that it is now often impossible to secure empirical data revealing their true ecological importance. We tracked 465 mature Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) during their winter spawning season and show that large females (up to 114 centimeters in length), which are still found in mid-Norway, were characterized by more complex movement networks compared with smaller females. Large males were sparse but displayed similar movement patterns. Our finding implies that management programs promoting large fish will have positive impacts on population resilience by facilitating the continued use of a diversity of spawning habitats and the connectivity between them.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Esben Moland Olsen
- Institute of Marine Research; Flødevigen, Arendal 4817, Norway
- Centre for Coastal Research, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder; Kristiansand 4604, Norway
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Bergman J, Pedersen RØ, Lundgren EJ, Lemoine RT, Monsarrat S, Pearce EA, Schierup MH, Svenning JC. Worldwide Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene population declines in extant megafauna are associated with Homo sapiens expansion rather than climate change. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7679. [PMID: 37996436 PMCID: PMC10667484 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43426-5] [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: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The worldwide extinction of megafauna during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene is evident from the fossil record, with dominant theories suggesting a climate, human or combined impact cause. Consequently, two disparate scenarios are possible for the surviving megafauna during this time period - they could have declined due to similar pressures, or increased in population size due to reductions in competition or other biotic pressures. We therefore infer population histories of 139 extant megafauna species using genomic data which reveal population declines in 91% of species throughout the Quaternary period, with larger species experiencing the strongest decreases. Declines become ubiquitous 32-76 kya across all landmasses, a pattern better explained by worldwide Homo sapiens expansion than by changes in climate. We estimate that, in consequence, total megafauna abundance, biomass, and energy turnover decreased by 92-95% over the past 50,000 years, implying major human-driven ecosystem restructuring at a global scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juraj Bergman
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Rasmus Ø Pedersen
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Erick J Lundgren
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Rhys T Lemoine
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Sophie Monsarrat
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Rewilding Europe, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Elena A Pearce
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mikkel H Schierup
- Bioinformatics Research Centre, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Pearce EA, Mazier F, Normand S, Fyfe R, Andrieu V, Bakels C, Balwierz Z, Bińka K, Boreham S, Borisova OK, Brostrom A, de Beaulieu JL, Gao C, González-Sampériz P, Granoszewski W, Hrynowiecka A, Kołaczek P, Kuneš P, Magri D, Malkiewicz M, Mighall T, Milner AM, Möller P, Nita M, Noryśkiewicz B, Pidek IA, Reille M, Robertsson AM, Salonen JS, Schläfli P, Schokker J, Scussolini P, Šeirienė V, Strahl J, Urban B, Winter H, Svenning JC. Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi9135. [PMID: 37948521 PMCID: PMC10637746 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi9135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000-116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens-linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elena A. Pearce
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Florence Mazier
- Department of Environmental Geography, CNRS UMR GEODE 5602, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
| | - Signe Normand
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Landscape Research in Sustainable Agricultural Futures, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Ralph Fyfe
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Valérie Andrieu
- CEREGE, CNRS, IRD, Europôle de l'Arbois, BP 80, F-13545 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Corrie Bakels
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Zofia Balwierz
- Department of Geology and Geomorphology, University of Łódź, Narutowicza 88, 90-139 Łódź, Poland
| | | | - Steve Boreham
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Olga K. Borisova
- Independent researcher, Soloviny str. 4-1-224, 117593, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anna Brostrom
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
- Gymnasieskolan Knut Hahn, Blasius Königsgatan 27, 37232 Ronneby, Sweden
| | - Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu
- Mediterranean Institute of Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Cunhai Gao
- Ontario Geological Survey, 933 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 6B5, Canada
| | | | - Wojciech Granoszewski
- Polish Geological Institute, National Research Institute, Carpathian Branch, Skrzatów 1, 31-560 Kraków, Poland
| | - Anna Hrynowiecka
- Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute, Marine Geology Branch, ul. Kościerska 5, 80-328 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Piotr Kołaczek
- Climate Change Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań, Bogumiła Krygowskiego 10, Poznań 61-680, Poland
| | - Petr Kuneš
- Department of Botany, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Donatella Magri
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy
| | - Małgorzata Malkiewicz
- Laboratory of Paleobotany, Department of Stratigraphical Geology, Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, Cybulskiego 34, 50-205 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Tim Mighall
- Department of Geography and Environment, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
| | - Alice M. Milner
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Per Möller
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Małgorzata Nita
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Bożena Noryśkiewicz
- Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
| | - Irena Agnieszka Pidek
- Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al. Krasnicka 2 d, 20-718 Lublin, Poland
| | - Maurice Reille
- Mediterranean Institute of Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Ann-Marie Robertsson
- Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - J. Sakari Salonen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Patrick Schläfli
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oechger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jeroen Schokker
- TNO, Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Postbus 80015, 3508 TA, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Faculty of Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Paolo Scussolini
- Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Vaida Šeirienė
- Nature Research Centre, Institute of Geology and Geography, Akademijos 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Jaqueline Strahl
- Landesamt für Bergbau, Geologie und Rohstoffe, Inselstraße 26, 03046 Cottbus, Germany
| | - Brigitte Urban
- Leuphana University Lüneburg, Institute of Ecology, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Hanna Winter
- Polish Geological Institute, 00-975 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) and Center for Biodiversity Dynamics (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Wölke FJR, Cabral A, Lim JY, Kissling WD, Onstein RE. Africa as an evolutionary arena for large fruits. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:1574-1586. [PMID: 37334569 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19061] [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: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Strong paleoclimatic change and few Late Quaternary megafauna extinctions make mainland Africa unique among continents. Here, we hypothesize that, compared with elsewhere, these conditions created the ecological opportunity for the macroevolution and geographic distribution of large fruits. We assembled global phylogenetic, distribution and fruit size data for palms (Arecaceae), a pantropical, vertebrate-dispersed family with > 2600 species, and integrated these with data on extinction-driven body size reduction in mammalian frugivore assemblages since the Late Quaternary. We applied evolutionary trait, linear and null models to identify the selective pressures that have shaped fruit sizes. We show that African palm lineages have evolved towards larger fruit sizes and exhibited faster trait evolutionary rates than lineages elsewhere. Furthermore, the global distribution of the largest palm fruits across species assemblages was explained by occurrence in Africa, especially under low canopies, and extant megafauna, but not by mammalian downsizing. These patterns strongly deviated from expectations under a null model of stochastic (Brownian motion) evolution. Our results suggest that Africa provided a distinct evolutionary arena for palm fruit size evolution. We argue that megafaunal abundance and the expansion of savanna habitat since the Miocene provided selective advantages for the persistence of African plants with large fruits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Friederike J R Wölke
- Evolution and Adaptation, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Andressa Cabral
- Evolution and Adaptation, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Jun Ying Lim
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Block S16, 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore City, 117546, Singapore
| | - W Daniel Kissling
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Sciencepark 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Renske E Onstein
- Evolution and Adaptation, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333CR, Leiden, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Poulsen JR, Maicher V, Malinowski H, DeSisto C. Situating defaunation in an operational framework to advance biodiversity conservation. Bioscience 2023; 73:721-727. [PMID: 37854893 PMCID: PMC10580966 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biad079] [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] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic pressures are causing the widespread loss of wildlife species and populations, with adverse consequences for ecosystem functioning. This phenomenon has been widely but inconsistently referred to as defaunation. A cohesive, quantitative framework for defining and evaluating defaunation is necessary for advancing biodiversity conservation. Likening defaunation to deforestation, we propose an operational framework for defaunation that defines it and related terms, situates defaunation relative to intact communities and faunal degradation, and encourages quantitative, ecologically reasonable, and equitable measurements. We distinguish between defaunation, the conversion of an ecosystem from having wild animals to not having wild animals, and faunal degradation, the process of losing animals or species from an animal community. The quantification of context-relevant defaunation boundaries or baselines is necessary to compare faunal communities over space and time. Situating a faunal community on the degradation curve can promote Global Biodiversity Framework targets, advancing the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John R Poulsen
- The Nature Conservancy, Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States
| | - Vincent Maicher
- CAFI Forest Research and Monitoring for The Nature Conservancy, Gabon
| | | | - Camille DeSisto
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, United States
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Voysey MD, de Bruyn PJN, Davies AB. Are hippos Africa's most influential megaherbivore? A review of ecosystem engineering by the semi-aquatic common hippopotamus. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1509-1529. [PMID: 37095627 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Megaherbivores perform vital ecosystem engineering roles, and have their last remaining stronghold in Africa. Of Africa's remaining megaherbivores, the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) has received the least scientific and conservation attention, despite how influential their ecosystem engineering activities appear to be. Given the potentially crucial ecosystem engineering influence of hippos, as well as mounting conservation concerns threatening their long-term persistence, a review of the evidence for hippos being ecosystem engineers, and the effects of their engineering, is both timely and necessary. In this review, we assess, (i) aspects of hippo biology that underlie their unique ecosystem engineering potential; (ii) evaluate hippo ecological impacts in terrestrial and aquatic environments; (iii) compare the ecosystem engineering influence of hippos to other extant African megaherbivores; (iv) evaluate factors most critical to hippo conservation and ecosystem engineering; and (v) highlight future research directions and challenges that may yield new insights into the ecological role of hippos, and of megaherbivores more broadly. We find that a variety of key life-history traits determine the hippo's unique influence, including their semi-aquatic lifestyle, large body size, specialised gut anatomy, muzzle structure, small and partially webbed feet, and highly gregarious nature. On land, hippos create grazing lawns that contain distinct plant communities and alter fire spatial extent, which shapes woody plant demographics and might assist in maintaining fire-sensitive riverine vegetation. In water, hippos deposit nutrient-rich dung, stimulating aquatic food chains and altering water chemistry and quality, impacting a host of different organisms. Hippo trampling and wallowing alters geomorphological processes, widening riverbanks, creating new river channels, and forming gullies along well-utilised hippo paths. Taken together, we propose that these myriad impacts combine to make hippos Africa's most influential megaherbivore, specifically because of the high diversity and intensity of their ecological impacts compared with other megaherbivores, and because of their unique capacity to transfer nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, enriching both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Nonetheless, water pollution and extraction for agriculture and industry, erratic rainfall patterns and human-hippo conflict, threaten hippo ecosystem engineering and persistence. Therefore, we encourage greater consideration of the unique role of hippos as ecosystem engineers when considering the functional importance of megafauna in African ecosystems, and increased attention to declining hippo habitat and populations, which if unchecked could change the way in which many African ecosystems function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Voysey
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - P J Nico de Bruyn
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Williams JW, Spanbauer TL, Heintzman PD, Blois J, Capo E, Goring SJ, Monchamp ME, Parducci L, Von Eggers JM. Strengthening global-change science by integrating aeDNA with paleoecoinformatics. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:946-960. [PMID: 37230884 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.04.016] [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: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA) data are close to enabling insights into past global-scale biodiversity dynamics at unprecedented taxonomic extent and resolution. However, achieving this potential requires solutions that bridge bioinformatics and paleoecoinformatics. Essential needs include support for dynamic taxonomic inferences, dynamic age inferences, and precise stratigraphic depth. Moreover, aeDNA data are complex and heterogeneous, generated by dispersed researcher networks, with methods advancing rapidly. Hence, expert community governance and curation are essential to building high-value data resources. Immediate recommendations include uploading metabarcoding-based taxonomic inventories into paleoecoinformatic resources, building linkages among open bioinformatic and paleoecoinformatic data resources, harmonizing aeDNA processing workflows, and expanding community data governance. These advances will enable transformative insights into global-scale biodiversity dynamics during large environmental and anthropogenic changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John W Williams
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53704, USA.
| | - Trisha L Spanbauer
- Department of Environmental Science and Lake Erie Center, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
| | - Peter D Heintzman
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Centre for Palaeogenetics, Svante Arrhenius väg 20C, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jessica Blois
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California -Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Eric Capo
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Linnaeus väg 4-6, 907 36 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Simon J Goring
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53704, USA
| | | | - Laura Parducci
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy; Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jordan M Von Eggers
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Martins IS, Schrodt F, Blowes SA, Bates AE, Bjorkman AD, Brambilla V, Carvajal-Quintero J, Chow CFY, Daskalova GN, Edwards K, Eisenhauer N, Field R, Fontrodona-Eslava A, Henn JJ, van Klink R, Madin JS, Magurran AE, McWilliam M, Moyes F, Pugh B, Sagouis A, Trindade-Santos I, McGill BJ, Chase JM, Dornelas M. Widespread shifts in body size within populations and assemblages. Science 2023; 381:1067-1071. [PMID: 37676959 DOI: 10.1126/science.adg6006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Biotic responses to global change include directional shifts in organismal traits. Body size, an integrative trait that determines demographic rates and ecosystem functions, is thought to be shrinking in the Anthropocene. Here, we assessed the prevalence of body size change in six taxon groups across 5025 assemblage time series spanning 1960 to 2020. Using the Price equation to partition this change into within-species body size versus compositional changes, we detected prevailing decreases in body size through time driven primarily by fish, with more variable patterns in other taxa. We found that change in assemblage composition contributes more to body size changes than within-species trends, but both components show substantial variation in magnitude and direction. The biomass of assemblages remains quite stable as decreases in body size trade off with increases in abundance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Inês S Martins
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Franziska Schrodt
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
| | - Shane A Blowes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 06099, Germany
| | - Amanda E Bates
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Anne D Bjorkman
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg 40530, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg 41319, Sweden
| | - Viviana Brambilla
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
- MARE, Guia Marine Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Cascais 2750-374, Portugal
| | - Juan Carvajal-Quintero
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Cher F Y Chow
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
| | - Gergana N Daskalova
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg 2361, Austria
| | - Kyle Edwards
- Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai''i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Richard Field
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
| | - Ada Fontrodona-Eslava
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
| | - Jonathan J Henn
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - Roel van Klink
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 06099, Germany
| | - Joshua S Madin
- Hawai''i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai''i at Manoa, Kāne'ohe, Hawai''i 96744, USA
| | - Anne E Magurran
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
| | - Michael McWilliam
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
| | - Faye Moyes
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
| | - Brittany Pugh
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
- University College London, School of Geography, Gower Street, London WC1E 6AE, UK
| | - Alban Sagouis
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 06099, Germany
| | - Isaac Trindade-Santos
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
- Macroevolution Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1, Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun 904-0495, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Brian J McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology and Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Jonathan M Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 06099, Germany
| | - Maria Dornelas
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, Scotland
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
- MARE, Guia Marine Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Cascais 2750-374, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Monarrez PM, Heim NA, Payne JL. Reduced strength and increased variability of extinction selectivity during mass extinctions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230795. [PMID: 37771968 PMCID: PMC10523066 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230795] [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: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Two of the traits most often observed to correlate with extinction risk in marine animals are geographical range and body size. However, the relative effects of these two traits on extinction risk have not been investigated systematically for either background times or during mass extinctions. To close this knowledge gap, we measure and compare extinction selectivity of geographical range and body size of genera within five classes of benthic marine animals across the Phanerozoic using capture-mark-recapture models. During background intervals, narrow geographical range is strongly associated with greater extinction probability, whereas smaller body size is more weakly associated with greater extinction probability. During mass extinctions, the association between geographical range and extinction probability is reduced in every class and fully eliminated in some, whereas the association between body size and extinction probability varies in strength and direction across classes. While geographical range is universally the stronger predictor of survival during background intervals, variation among classes during mass extinction suggests a fundamental shift in extinction processes during these global catastrophes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M. Monarrez
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Noel A. Heim
- Department of Earth and Climate Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Jonathan L. Payne
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
O'Keefe FR, Dunn RE, Weitzel EM, Waters MR, Martinez LN, Binder WJ, Southon JR, Cohen JE, Meachen JA, DeSantis LRG, Kirby ME, Ghezzo E, Coltrain JB, Fuller BT, Farrell AB, Takeuchi GT, MacDonald G, Davis EB, Lindsey EL. Pre-Younger Dryas megafaunal extirpation at Rancho La Brea linked to fire-driven state shift. Science 2023; 381:eabo3594. [PMID: 37590347 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo3594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
The cause, or causes, of the Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions have been difficult to establish, in part because poor spatiotemporal resolution in the fossil record hinders alignment of species disappearances with archeological and environmental data. We obtained 172 new radiocarbon dates on megafauna from Rancho La Brea in California spanning 15.6 to 10.0 thousand calendar years before present (ka). Seven species of extinct megafauna disappeared by 12.9 ka, before the onset of the Younger Dryas. Comparison with high-resolution regional datasets revealed that these disappearances coincided with an ecological state shift that followed aridification and vegetation changes during the Bølling-Allerød (14.69 to 12.89 ka). Time-series modeling implicates large-scale fires as the primary cause of the extirpations, and the catalyst of this state shift may have been mounting human impacts in a drying, warming, and increasingly fire-prone ecosystem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F Robin O'Keefe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Regan E Dunn
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Elic M Weitzel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Michael R Waters
- Center for the Study of the First Americans, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Lisa N Martinez
- Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Wendy J Binder
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - John R Southon
- Department of Earth System Science, University California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Joshua E Cohen
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Pace University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julie A Meachen
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA, USA
| | - Larisa R G DeSantis
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Matthew E Kirby
- Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, USA
| | - Elena Ghezzo
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Venice, Italy
- Department of Earth Sciences, University Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Joan B Coltrain
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Benjamin T Fuller
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, UMR 5563, CNRS, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
| | - Aisling B Farrell
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Gary T Takeuchi
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Glen MacDonald
- Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Edward B Davis
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Venice, Italy
- Department of Earth Sciences, University Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Emily L Lindsey
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Glazier DS. The Relevance of Time in Biological Scaling. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1084. [PMID: 37626969 PMCID: PMC10452035 DOI: 10.3390/biology12081084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Various phenotypic traits relate to the size of a living system in regular but often disproportionate (allometric) ways. These "biological scaling" relationships have been studied by biologists for over a century, but their causes remain hotly debated. Here, I focus on the patterns and possible causes of the body-mass scaling of the rates/durations of various biological processes and life-history events, i.e., the "pace of life". Many biologists have regarded the rate of metabolism or energy use as the master driver of the "pace of life" and its scaling with body size. Although this "energy perspective" has provided valuable insight, here I argue that a "time perspective" may be equally or even more important. I evaluate various major ways that time may be relevant in biological scaling, including as (1) an independent "fourth dimension" in biological dimensional analyses, (2) a universal "biological clock" that synchronizes various biological rates/durations, (3) a scaling method that uses various biological time periods (allochrony) as scaling metrics, rather than various measures of physical size (allometry), as traditionally performed, (4) an ultimate body-size-related constraint on the rates/timing of biological processes/events that is set by the inevitability of death, and (5) a geological "deep time" approach for viewing the evolution of biological scaling patterns. Although previously proposed universal four-dimensional space-time and "biological clock" views of biological scaling are problematic, novel approaches using allochronic analyses and time perspectives based on size-related rates of individual mortality and species origination/extinction may provide new valuable insights.
Collapse
|
24
|
Lauer DA, Lawing AM, Short RA, Manthi FK, Müller J, Head JJ, McGuire JL. Disruption of trait-environment relationships in African megafauna occurred in the middle Pleistocene. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4016. [PMID: 37463920 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39480-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian megafauna have been critical to the functioning of Earth's biosphere for millions of years. However, since the Plio-Pleistocene, their biodiversity has declined concurrently with dramatic environmental change and hominin evolution. While these biodiversity declines are well-documented, their implications for the ecological function of megafaunal communities remain uncertain. Here, we adapt ecometric methods to evaluate whether the functional link between communities of herbivorous, eastern African megafauna and their environments (i.e., functional trait-environment relationships) was disrupted as biodiversity losses occurred over the past 7.4 Ma. Herbivore taxonomic and functional diversity began to decline during the Pliocene as open grassland habitats emerged, persisted, and expanded. In the mid-Pleistocene, grassland expansion intensified, and climates became more variable and arid. It was then that phylogenetic diversity declined, and the trait-environment relationships of herbivore communities shifted significantly. Our results divulge the varying implications of different losses in megafaunal biodiversity. Only the losses that occurred since the mid-Pleistocene were coincident with a disturbance to community ecological function. Prior diversity losses, conversely, occurred as the megafaunal species and trait pool narrowed towards those adapted to grassland environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Lauer
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
| | - A Michelle Lawing
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Rachel A Short
- Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Rapid City, SD, 57703, USA
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Johannes Müller
- Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason J Head
- Department of Zoology and University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Jenny L McGuire
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Pringle RM, Abraham JO, Anderson TM, Coverdale TC, Davies AB, Dutton CL, Gaylard A, Goheen JR, Holdo RM, Hutchinson MC, Kimuyu DM, Long RA, Subalusky AL, Veldhuis MP. Impacts of large herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R584-R610. [PMID: 37279691 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Large herbivores play unique ecological roles and are disproportionately imperiled by human activity. As many wild populations dwindle towards extinction, and as interest grows in restoring lost biodiversity, research on large herbivores and their ecological impacts has intensified. Yet, results are often conflicting or contingent on local conditions, and new findings have challenged conventional wisdom, making it hard to discern general principles. Here, we review what is known about the ecosystem impacts of large herbivores globally, identify key uncertainties, and suggest priorities to guide research. Many findings are generalizable across ecosystems: large herbivores consistently exert top-down control of plant demography, species composition, and biomass, thereby suppressing fires and the abundance of smaller animals. Other general patterns do not have clearly defined impacts: large herbivores respond to predation risk but the strength of trophic cascades is variable; large herbivores move vast quantities of seeds and nutrients but with poorly understood effects on vegetation and biogeochemistry. Questions of the greatest relevance for conservation and management are among the least certain, including effects on carbon storage and other ecosystem functions and the ability to predict outcomes of extinctions and reintroductions. A unifying theme is the role of body size in regulating ecological impact. Small herbivores cannot fully substitute for large ones, and large-herbivore species are not functionally redundant - losing any, especially the largest, will alter net impact, helping to explain why livestock are poor surrogates for wild species. We advocate leveraging a broad spectrum of techniques to mechanistically explain how large-herbivore traits and environmental context interactively govern the ecological impacts of these animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Pringle
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Joel O Abraham
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - T Michael Anderson
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Tyler C Coverdale
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | | | | | - Jacob R Goheen
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82072, USA
| | - Ricardo M Holdo
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Matthew C Hutchinson
- Department of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Duncan M Kimuyu
- Department of Natural Resources, Karatina University, Karatina, Kenya
| | - Ryan A Long
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA
| | - Amanda L Subalusky
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Michiel P Veldhuis
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Farina BM, Godoy PL, Benson RBJ, Langer MC, Ferreira GS. Turtle body size evolution is determined by lineage-specific specializations rather than global trends. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10201. [PMID: 37384241 PMCID: PMC10293707 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10201] [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: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Organisms display a considerable variety of body sizes and shapes, and macroevolutionary investigations help to understand the evolutionary dynamics behind such variations. Turtles (Testudinata) show great body size disparity, especially when their rich fossil record is accounted for. We explored body size evolution in turtles, testing which factors might influence the observed patterns and evaluating the existence of long-term directional trends. We constructed the most comprehensive body size dataset for the group to date, tested for correlation with paleotemperature, estimated ancestral body sizes, and performed macroevolutionary model-fitting analyses. We found no evidence for directional body size evolution, even when using very flexible models, thereby rejecting the occurrence of Cope's rule. We also found no significant effect of paleotemperature on overall through-time body size patterns. In contrast, we found a significant influence of habitat preference on turtle body size. Freshwater turtles display a rather homogeneous body size distribution through time. In contrast, terrestrial and marine turtles show more pronounced variation, with terrestrial forms being restricted to larger body sizes, up to the origin of testudinids in the Cenozoic, and marine turtles undergoing a reduction in body size disparity after the extinctions of many groups in the mid-Cenozoic. Our results, therefore, suggest that long-term, generalized patterns are probably explained by factors specific to certain groups and related at least partly to habitat use.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruna M. Farina
- Department of BiologyUniversity of FribourgFribourgSwitzerland
- Swiss Institute of BioinformaticsFribourgSwitzerland
- Laboratório de Paleontologia de Ribeirão PretoUniversidade de São PauloRibeirão PretoBrazil
| | - Pedro L. Godoy
- Laboratório de Paleontologia de Ribeirão PretoUniversidade de São PauloRibeirão PretoBrazil
- Department of Anatomical SciencesStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
| | - Roger B. J. Benson
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Max C. Langer
- Laboratório de Paleontologia de Ribeirão PretoUniversidade de São PauloRibeirão PretoBrazil
| | - Gabriel S. Ferreira
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP)Eberhard Karls Universität TübingenTübingenGermany
- Fachbereich GeowissenschaftenEberhard Karls Universität TübingenTübingenGermany
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Wang Z, Othman SN, Qiu Z, Lu Y, Prasad VK, Dong Y, Lu CH, Borzée A. An Isolated and Deeply Divergent Hynobius Species from Fujian, China. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13101661. [PMID: 37238092 DOI: 10.3390/ani13101661] [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: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
It is important to describe lineages before they go extinct, as we can only protect what we know. This is especially important in the case of microendemic species likely to be relict populations, such as Hynobius salamanders in southern China. Here, we unexpectedly sampled Hynobius individuals in Fujian province, China, and then worked on determining their taxonomic status. We describe Hynobius bambusicolus sp. nov. based on molecular and morphological data. The lineage is deeply divergent and clusters with the other southern Chinese Hynobius species based on the concatenated mtDNA gene fragments (>1500 bp), being the sister group to H. amjiensis based on the COI gene fragment, despite their geographic distance. In terms of morphology, the species can be identified through discrete characters enabling identification in the field by eye, an unusual convenience in Hynobius species. In addition, we noted some interesting life history traits in the species, such as vocalization and cannibalism. The species is likely to be incredibly rare, over a massively restricted distribution, fitting the definition of Critically Endangered following several lines of criteria and categories of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhenqi Wang
- The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Siti N Othman
- Laboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Zhixin Qiu
- The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Yiqiu Lu
- The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Vishal Kumar Prasad
- Laboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Yuran Dong
- The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Chang-Hu Lu
- The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Amaël Borzée
- Laboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
- Jiangsu Agricultural Biodiversity Cultivation and Utilization Research Center, Nanjing 210014, China
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Sanisidro O, Mihlbachler MC, Cantalapiedra JL. A macroevolutionary pathway to megaherbivory. Science 2023; 380:616-618. [PMID: 37167399 DOI: 10.1126/science.ade1833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Several scenarios have been proposed to explain rapid net size increases in some early Cenozoic mammalian lineages: sustained and gradual directional change, successive occupation of adaptive zones associated with progressively larger body sizes, and nondirectional evolution associated with branching events in combination with higher diversification potential of the larger lineages. We test these hypotheses in brontotheres, which are among the first radiations of mammals that consistently evolved multitonne sizes. Body-mass evolution in brontotheres mainly occurred during speciation and had no preferential direction. Long-term directional change stemmed from the higher survival of larger lineages in less-saturated herbivore guilds. Our study emphasizes the role of differential species proliferation in explaining the long-term phenotypic trends observed in the fossil record, which are more than an accumulation of steady microevolutionary changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Sanisidro
- Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group (GloCEE), Department of Life Sciences, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Matthew C Mihlbachler
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Juan L Cantalapiedra
- Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group (GloCEE), Department of Life Sciences, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Thomassen EE, Sigsgaard EE, Jensen MR, Olsen K, Hansen MDD, Svenning JC, Thomsen PF. Contrasting seasonal patterns in diet and dung-associated invertebrates of feral cattle and horses in a rewilding area. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:2071-2091. [PMID: 36744391 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Trophic rewilding is increasingly applied in restoration efforts, with the aim of reintroducing the ecological functions provided by large-bodied mammals and thereby promote self-regulating, biodiverse ecosystems. However, empirical evidence for the effects of megafauna introductions on the abundance and richness of other organisms such as plants and invertebrates, and the mechanisms involved still need strengthening. In this study, we use environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of dung from co-existing feral cattle and horses to assess the seasonal variation in plant diet and dung-associated arthropods and nematodes. We found consistently high diet richness of horses, with low seasonal variability, while the generally lower dietary diversity of cattle increased substantially during summer. Intriguingly, season-specific diets differed, with a greater proportion of trees in the horses' diet during winter, where cattle relied more on shrubs. Graminoids were predominantly found in the diet of horses, but were generally underrepresented compared to previous studies, possibly due to the high prevalence of forbs in the study area. Dung-associated arthropod richness was higher for cattle, largely due to a high richness of flies during summer. Several species of dung-associated arthropods were found primarily in dung from one of the two herbivores, and our data confirmed known patterns of seasonal activity. Nematode richness was constantly higher for horses, and nematode communities were markedly different between the two species. Our results demonstrate complementary effects of cattle and horses through diet differences and dung-associated invertebrate communities, enhancing our understanding of large herbivore effects on vegetation and associated biodiversity. These results are directly applicable for decision-making in rewilding projects, suggesting biodiversity-benefits by inclusion of functionally different herbivores.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Kent Olsen
- Department of Research and Collections, Natural History Museum Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Morten D D Hansen
- Department of Research and Collections, Natural History Museum Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) & Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Shilovsky GA, Putyatina TS, Markov AV. Evolution of Longevity as a Species-Specific Trait in Mammals. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2022; 87:1579-1599. [PMID: 36717448 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297922120148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
From the evolutionary point of view, the priority problem for an individual is not longevity, but adaptation to the environment associated with the need for survival, food supply, and reproduction. We see two main vectors in the evolution of mammals. One is a short lifespan and numerous offspring ensuring reproductive success (r-strategy). The other one is development of valuable skills in order compete successfully (K-strategy). Species with the K-strategy should develop and enhance specific systems (anti-aging programs) aimed at increasing the reliability and adaptability, including lifespan. These systems are signaling cascades that provide cell repair and antioxidant defense. Hence, any arbitrarily selected long-living species should be characterized by manifestation to a different extent of the longevity-favoring traits (e.g., body size, brain development, sociality, activity of body repair and antioxidant defense systems, resistance to xenobiotics and tumor formation, presence of neotenic traits). Hereafter, we will call a set of such traits as the gerontological success of a species. Longevity is not equivalent to the evolutionary or reproductive success. This difference between these phenomena reaches its peak in mammals due to the development of endothermy and cephalization associated with the cerebral cortex expansion, which leads to the upregulated production of oxidative radicals by the mitochondria (and, consequently, accelerated aging), increase in the number of non-dividing differentiated cells, accumulation of the age-related damage in these cells, and development of neurodegenerative diseases. The article presents mathematical indicators used to assess the predisposition to longevity in different species (including the standard mortality rate and basal metabolic rate, as well as their derivatives). The properties of the evolution of mammals (including the differences between modern mammals and their ancestral forms) are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A Shilovsky
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia. .,Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 127051, Russia
| | - Tatyana S Putyatina
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia
| | - Alexander V Markov
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Raimundo RLG. How cougars and feral donkeys change desert wetlands: Novel interactions between native predators and non-native megaherbivores shape trophic cascades in the Anthropocene. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2342-2347. [PMID: 36479678 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13811] [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: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Research Highlight: Lundgren, E. J., Ramp, D., Middleton, O. S., Wooster, E. I. F., Kusch, E., Balisi, M., Ripple, W. J., Hasselerharm, C. D., Sanchez, J. N., Mills, M. & Wallach, A. D. (2022) A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands. Journal of Animal Ecology, (91, 2010-2022). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13766. Despite being absent from most regions of the contemporary world, megafauna species dominated the dynamics of ecological communities until the late Pleistocene. Trophic rewilding is a promising approach to restoring megafauna interactions, their functional roles and the consequent trophic cascades. Unintentional rewilding with large non-native herbivores, such as equids, offers outstanding opportunities for ecologists to understand the outcomes of using replacement species to restore the ecological functions of extinct native megafauna. In this context, it is relevant to understand the extent to which extant native predators can impose top-down control on non-native megaherbivores and how trophic cascades arising from novel predator-prey interactions influences biodiversity and ecosystem functions. In Death Valley National Park (United States), Lundgren et al. depict a natural experiment showing compelling evidence of native cougars overcoming ecological naïveté-that is, the mismatches between predator and prey species that do not share a common evolutionary history-and are now successfully preying on younger individuals of feral donkeys. These non-native donkeys, whose growing wild populations threaten the native biota, became cougars' most frequent dietary item in that region. In areas with cougars, donkeys changed their spatiotemporal foraging patterns, becoming diurnal and less active. On the other hand, donkeys remain more active and forage throughout the day and night in areas without cougars. The cougar-donkey interaction triggered a behaviourally mediated trophic cascade emerging from a 'landscape of fear', that is, from the perception of spatial heterogeneity in predation risk by donkeys. Areas with cougars have less trampled ground, fewer donkey trails, and much more canopy cover and vegetation around water. Donkeys concentrate their activity mostly in topologically plain terrains lacking proper sites for the ambush behaviour of cougars and with more intense human presence, likely acting as a shield against the predators. Lundgren et al. present a promising model system for studying the effects of fearful grazers on community structure in the context of novel ecological interactions being established in the Anthropocene. Whether the emerging cascade is transient or persistent, the relative roles of consumptive and non-consumptive effects as underlying mechanisms, and their consequences for food web structure, functioning and stability, are questions of general interest. Addressing them can help us to elucidate the costs and benefits of using non-native megaherbivores in the functional restoration of permanently invaded ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael L G Raimundo
- Department of Engineering and Environment and Graduate Program in Ecology and Environmental Monitoring, Centre for Applied Sciences and Education, Federal University of Paraíba - Campus IV, Rio Tinto, PB, Brazil.,Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, Centre for Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Paraíba - Campus I, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Lundgren EJ, Ramp D, Middleton OS, Wooster EIF, Kusch E, Balisi M, Ripple WJ, Hasselerharm CD, Sanchez JN, Mills M, Wallach AD. A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2348-2357. [PMID: 35871769 PMCID: PMC10087508 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Introduced large herbivores have partly filled ecological gaps formed in the late Pleistocene, when many of the Earth's megafauna were driven extinct. However, extant predators are generally considered incapable of exerting top-down influences on introduced megafauna, leading to unusually strong disturbance and herbivory relative to native herbivores. We report on the first documented predation of juvenile feral donkeys Equus africanus asinus by cougars Puma concolor in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of North America. We then investigated how cougar predation corresponds with differences in feral donkey behaviour and associated effects on desert wetlands. Focusing on a feral donkey population in the Death Valley National Park, we used camera traps and vegetation surveys to compare donkey activity patterns and impacts between wetlands with and without cougar predation. Donkeys were primarily diurnal at wetlands with cougar predation, thereby avoiding cougars. However, donkeys were active throughout the day and night at sites without predation. Donkeys were ~87% less active (measured as hours of activity a day) at wetlands with predation (p < 0.0001). Sites with predation had reduced donkey disturbance and herbivory, including ~46% fewer access trails, 43% less trampled bare ground and 192% more canopy cover (PERMANOVA, R2 = 0.22, p = 0.0003). Our study is the first to reveal a trophic cascade involving cougars, feral equids and vegetation. Cougar predation appears to rewire an ancient food web, with diverse implications for modern ecosystems. Our results suggest that protecting apex predators could have important implications for the ecological effects of introduced megafauna.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Lundgren
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Daniel Ramp
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | | | - Eamonn I F Wooster
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Erik Kusch
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mairin Balisi
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - William J Ripple
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Chris D Hasselerharm
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jessica N Sanchez
- One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Mystyn Mills
- Department of Botany & Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Arian D Wallach
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Joos J, Pimiento C, Miles DB, Müller J. Quaternary megafauna extinctions altered body size distribution in tortoises. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221947. [PMID: 36382514 PMCID: PMC9667361 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The late Quaternary is characterized by the extinction of many terrestrial megafauna, which included tortoises (Family: Testudinidae). However, limited information is available on how extinction shaped the phenotype of surviving taxa. Here, based on a global dataset of straight carapace length, we investigate the temporal variation, spatial distribution and evolution of tortoise body size over the past 23 million years, thereby capturing the effects of Quaternary extinctions in this clade. We found a significant change in body size distribution characterized by a reduction of both mean body size and maximum body size of extant tortoises relative to fossil taxa. This reduction of body size occurred earlier in mainland (Early Pleistocene 2.588-0.781 Ma) than in island tortoises (Late Pleistocene/Holocene 0.126-0 Ma). Despite contrasting body size patterns between fossil and extant taxa on a spatial scale, tortoise body size showed limited variation over time until this decline. Body size is a fundamental functional trait determining many aspects of species ecologies, with large tortoises playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. As such, the transition from larger sized to smaller sized classes indicated by our findings likely resulted in the homogenization of tortoises' ecological functions and diminished the role of tortoises in structuring the vegetation community.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Joos
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43 Berlin D-10115, Germany
| | - Catalina Pimiento
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Wallace Building, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 2072, Balboa, Panama
| | - Donald B. Miles
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Johannes Müller
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43 Berlin D-10115, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Kleppel GS, Frank DA. Structure and functioning of wild and agricultural grazing ecosystems: A comparative review. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.945514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
For more than 10 million years, large, herd forming ruminants have thrived as parts of sustainable grazing ecosystems. Conversely, since their domestication 8,000–11,000 years ago, cattle, sheep, and goats have often exhibited dysfunctional relationships with the ecosystems they inhabit. A considerable literature, developed over decades, documents the negative impacts of animal agriculture and associated activities (e.g., feed production) on grassland ecosystems. Coincident with the accumulating data documenting the impacts of “conventional” animal agriculture, has been a growing interest in restoring functionality to agricultural grazing ecosystems. These “regenerative” protocols often seek to mimic the structure and functions of wild grazing ecosystems. The objectives of this paper were two-fold: First to review the literature describing the structure and some key functional attributes of wild and agricultural grazing ecosystems; and second, to examine these attributes in conventionally and regeneratively managed grazing ecosystems and, assuming the wild condition to be the standard for sustainable grazer-environment relationships, to ascertain whether similar relationships exist in conventionally or regeneratively managed agricultural grazing ecosystems. Not unexpectedly our review revealed the complexity of both wild and agricultural grazing ecosystems and the interconnectedness of biological, chemical, and physical factors and processes within these systems. Grazers may increase or decrease system functionality, depending upon environmental conditions (e.g., moisture levels). Our review revealed that biodiversity, nitrogen cycling, and carbon storage in regenerative grazing systems more closely resemble wild grazing ecosystems than do conventional grazing systems. We also found multiple points of disagreement in the literature, particularly with respect to aboveground primary production (ANPP). Finally, we acknowledge that, while much has been accomplished in understanding grazing ecosystems, much remains to be done. In particular, some of the variability in the results of studies, especially of meta-analyses, might be reduced if datasets included greater detail on grazing protocols, and a common definition of the term, “grazing intensity.”
Collapse
|
35
|
Late Pleistocene megafauna extinction leads to missing pieces of ecological space in a North American mammal community. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2115015119. [PMID: 36122233 PMCID: PMC9522422 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115015119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The conservation status of large-bodied mammals is dire. Their decline has serious consequences because they have unique ecological roles not replicated by smaller-bodied animals. Here, we use the fossil record of the megafauna extinction at the terminal Pleistocene to explore the consequences of past biodiversity loss. We characterize the isotopic and body-size niche of a mammal community in Texas before and after the event to assess the influence on the ecology and ecological interactions of surviving species (>1 kg). Preextinction, a variety of C4 grazers, C3 browsers, and mixed feeders existed, similar to modern African savannas, with likely specialization among the two sabertooth species for juvenile grazers. Postextinction, body size and isotopic niche space were lost, and the δ13C and δ15N values of some survivors shifted. We see mesocarnivore release within the Felidae: the jaguar, now an apex carnivore, moved into the specialized isotopic niche previously occupied by extinct cats. Puma, previously absent, became common and lynx shifted toward consuming more C4-based resources. Lagomorphs were the only herbivores to shift toward C4 resources. Body size changes from the Pleistocene to Holocene were species-specific, with some animals (deer, hare) becoming significantly larger and others smaller (bison, rabbits) or exhibiting no change to climate shifts or biodiversity loss. Overall, the Holocene body-size-isotopic niche was drastically reduced and considerable ecological complexity lost. We conclude biodiversity loss led to reorganization of survivors and many "missing pieces" within our community; without intervention, the loss of Earth's remaining ecosystems that support megafauna will likely suffer the same fate.
Collapse
|
36
|
Fricke EC, Hsieh C, Middleton O, Gorczynski D, Cappello CD, Sanisidro O, Rowan J, Svenning JC, Beaudrot L. Collapse of terrestrial mammal food webs since the Late Pleistocene. Science 2022; 377:1008-1011. [PMID: 36007038 DOI: 10.1126/science.abn4012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Food webs influence ecosystem diversity and functioning. Contemporary defaunation has reduced food web complexity, but simplification caused by past defaunation is difficult to reconstruct given the sparse paleorecord of predator-prey interactions. We identified changes to terrestrial mammal food webs globally over the past ~130,000 years using extinct and extant mammal traits, geographic ranges, observed predator-prey interactions, and deep learning models. Food webs underwent steep regional declines in complexity through loss of food web links after the arrival and expansion of human populations. We estimate that defaunation has caused a 53% decline in food web links globally. Although extinctions explain much of this effect, range losses for extant species degraded food webs to a similar extent, highlighting the potential for food web restoration via extant species recovery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evan C Fricke
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.,Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Chia Hsieh
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Owen Middleton
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | | | | | - Oscar Sanisidro
- Departamento Ciencia de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - John Rowan
- Department of Anthropology, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Lydia Beaudrot
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Viteri MC, Hadly EA. Spatiotemporal impacts of the Anthropocene on small mammal communities, and the role of small biological preserves in maintaining biodiversity. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.916239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The multi-faceted impacts of the Anthropocene are increasingly modifying natural ecosystems and threatening biodiversity. Can small protected spaces conserve small mammal diversity across spatial and temporal scales of human impact? We identified small mammal remains from modern raptor pellets and Holocene archeological sites along a human modification gradient in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA and evaluated alpha and beta diversity across sites and time periods. We found that Shannon diversity, standardized species richness, and evenness decrease across modern sites based on level of human modification, with no corresponding change between Holocene sites. Additionally, the alpha diversity of modern sites with moderate and high levels of human modification was significantly lower than the diversity of modern sites with low levels of human modification as well as all Holocene sites. On the other hand, the small mammal communities from Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, a small protected area, retain Holocene levels of alpha diversity. Jasper Ridge has also changed less over time in terms of overall community composition (beta diversity) than more modified sites. Despite this, Holocene and Anthropocene communities are distinct regardless of study area. Our results suggest that small mammal communities today are fundamentally different from even a few centuries ago, but that even relatively small protected spaces can partially conserve native faunal communities, highlighting their important role in urban conservation.
Collapse
|
38
|
Vyshedskiy A. Language evolution is not limited to speech acquisition: a large study of language development in children with language deficits highlights the importance of the voluntary imagination component of language. RESEARCH IDEAS AND OUTCOMES 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e86401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Did the boy bite the cat or was it the other way around? When processing a sentence with several objects, one has to establish ‘who did what to whom’. When a sentence cannot be interpreted by recalling an image from memory, we rely on the special type of voluntary constructive imagination called Prefrontal synthesis (PFS). PFS is defined as the ability to juxtapose mental visuospatial objects at will. We hypothesised that PFS has fundamental importance for language acquisition. To test this hypothesis, we designed a PFS-targeting intervention and administered it to 6,454 children with language deficiencies (age 2 to 12 years). The results from the three-year-long study demonstrated that children who engaged with the PFS intervention showed 2.2-fold improvement in combinatorial language comprehension compared to children with similar initial evaluations. These findings suggest that language can be improved by training the PFS and exposes the importance of the visuospatial component of language. This manuscript reflects on the experimental findings from the point of view of human language evolution. When used as a proxy for evolutionary language acquisition, the study results suggest a dichotomy of language evolution, with its speech component and its visuospatial component developing in parallel. The study highlights the radical idea that evolutionary acquisition of language was driven primarily by improvements of voluntary imagination rather than by improvements in the speech apparatus.
Collapse
|
39
|
Late quaternary biotic homogenization of North American mammalian faunas. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3940. [PMID: 35803946 PMCID: PMC9270452 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31595-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Biotic homogenization—increasing similarity of species composition among ecological communities—has been linked to anthropogenic processes operating over the last century. Fossil evidence, however, suggests that humans have had impacts on ecosystems for millennia. We quantify biotic homogenization of North American mammalian assemblages during the late Pleistocene through Holocene (~30,000 ybp to recent), a timespan encompassing increased evidence of humans on the landscape (~20,000–14,000 ybp). From ~10,000 ybp to recent, assemblages became significantly more homogenous (>100% increase in Jaccard similarity), a pattern that cannot be explained by changes in fossil record sampling. Homogenization was most pronounced among mammals larger than 1 kg and occurred in two phases. The first followed the megafaunal extinction at ~10,000 ybp. The second, more rapid phase began during human population growth and early agricultural intensification (~2,000–1,000 ybp). We show that North American ecosystems were homogenizing for millennia, extending human impacts back ~10,000 years. Biotic homogenization, which is increased similarity in the composition of species among communities, is rising due to human activities. Using North American mammal fossil records from the past 30,000 years, this study shows that this phenomenon is ancient, beginning between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago with the extinction of the mammal megafauna.
Collapse
|
40
|
Beckman AK, Richey BMS, Rosenthal GG. Behavioral responses of wild animals to anthropogenic change: insights from domestication. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03205-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
|
41
|
Munstermann MJ, Heim NA, McCauley DJ, Payne JL, Upham NS, Wang SC, Knope ML. A global ecological signal of extinction risk in terrestrial vertebrates. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13852. [PMID: 34668599 PMCID: PMC9299904 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
To determine the distribution and causes of extinction threat across functional groups of terrestrial vertebrates, we assembled an ecological trait data set for 18,016 species of terrestrial vertebrates and utilized phylogenetic comparative methods to test which categories of habitat association, mode of locomotion, and feeding mode best predicted extinction risk. We also examined the individual categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List extinction drivers (e.g., agriculture and logging) threatening each species and determined the greatest threats for each of the four terrestrial vertebrate groups. We then quantified the sum of extinction drivers threatening each species to provide a multistressor perspective on threat. Cave dwelling amphibians (p < 0.01), arboreal quadrupedal mammals (all of which are primates) (p < 0.01), aerial and scavenging birds (p < 0.01), and pedal (i.e., walking) squamates (p < 0.01) were all disproportionately threatened with extinction in comparison with the other assessed ecological traits. Across all threatened vertebrate species in the study, the most common risk factors were agriculture, threatening 4491 species, followed by logging, threatening 3187 species, and then invasive species and disease, threatening 2053 species. Species at higher risk of extinction were simultaneously at risk from a greater number of threat types. If left unabated, the disproportionate loss of species with certain functional traits and increasing anthropogenic pressures are likely to disrupt ecosystem functions globally. A shift in focus from species- to trait-centric conservation practices will allow for protection of at-risk functional diversity from regional to global scales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maya J. Munstermann
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Hawaii at HiloHiloHawaiiUSA
- Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate ProgramUniversity of Hawaii at HiloHiloHawaiiUSA
| | - Noel A. Heim
- Department of Earth & Ocean SciencesTufts UniversityMedfordMassachusettsUSA
| | - Douglas J. McCauley
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology and Marine Science InstituteUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jonathan L. Payne
- Department of Geological SciencesStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Nathan S. Upham
- School of Life SciencesArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Steve C. Wang
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmorePennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Matthew L. Knope
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Hawaii at HiloHiloHawaiiUSA
- Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate ProgramUniversity of Hawaii at HiloHiloHawaiiUSA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Cooke R, Gearty W, Chapman ASA, Dunic J, Edgar GJ, Lefcheck JS, Rilov G, McClain CR, Stuart-Smith RD, Kathleen Lyons S, Bates AE. Anthropogenic disruptions to longstanding patterns of trophic-size structure in vertebrates. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:684-692. [PMID: 35449460 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01726-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Diet and body mass are inextricably linked in vertebrates: while herbivores and carnivores have converged on much larger sizes, invertivores and omnivores are, on average, much smaller, leading to a roughly U-shaped relationship between body size and trophic guild. Although this U-shaped trophic-size structure is well documented in extant terrestrial mammals, whether this pattern manifests across diverse vertebrate clades and biomes is unknown. Moreover, emergence of the U-shape over geological time and future persistence are unknown. Here we compiled a comprehensive dataset of diet and body size spanning several vertebrate classes and show that the U-shaped pattern is taxonomically and biogeographically universal in modern vertebrate groups, except for marine mammals and seabirds. We further found that, for terrestrial mammals, this U-shape emerged by the Palaeocene and has thus persisted for at least 66 million years. Yet disruption of this fundamental trophic-size structure in mammals appears likely in the next century, based on projected extinctions. Actions to prevent declines in the largest animals will sustain the functioning of Earth's wild ecosystems and biomass energy distributions that have persisted through deep time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rob Cooke
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, UK. .,Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. .,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - William Gearty
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
| | - Abbie S A Chapman
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jillian Dunic
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Graham J Edgar
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Jonathan S Lefcheck
- Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and MarineGEO Program, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - Gil Rilov
- National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Limnological and Oceanographic Research, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Rick D Stuart-Smith
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - S Kathleen Lyons
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Amanda E Bates
- Biology Department, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Hugot JP, Feliu C, Ribas A. Human parasites as tracers of the evolution of their hosts. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2022; 100:105262. [PMID: 35245684 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105262] [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: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Because parasite data reveal essential information about the behavior and history of their hosts, it is possible to use them as tracers of host evolution. A table built from the analysis of the data contained in the book by Ashford and Crewe "The Parasites of Homo sapiens" allows counting and cross comparing the parasites according to the main descriptors used by the authors: Taxonomic groups, for each group number of parasites species identified in humans; Status, numbers of reported human cases and their dispersion; Geographic distribution, parasite specific richness recorded in biogeographic regions; Habitat, parasite location in or on the human body; Transmission, contamination pathways to man; Hosts, non-human hosts, which have a role in the maintenance of a parasite; Host-specificity status, relative role of man or other hosts in the maintenance of parasite populations. A strong positive correlation is observed between the number of parasites species recorded in humans and the global parasite species richness for each taxonomic group. About 74% of the parasites recorded in humans are rare, sporadic or nowhere common; 10% only are common or abundant worldwide. The Palearctic exhibits the highest parasite species diversity; the Oriental, Nearctic, Neotropical and Aethiopian regions have roughly similar richness values; the Australian Region is the poorest. Earliest domesticated animals, such as dog, cat, cattle or pig, share more parasite species with Humans than tardily domesticated as horse, rabbit or camel. More than one third of our parasites have elected our alimentary canal as a home and about two third are using the digestive tract path for contamination. Time of occupancy of new territories, diversity in feeding habits and commensalism with other animals, widely explain Human particular parasite richness. As suggested by the authors: "There must be few parasitic species which have never had the opportunity to infect a human".
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Pierre Hugot
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, ISYEB, MNHN, CNRS (UMR 7205), UPMC, EPHE, UA, 55, rue Buffon, F-75231 Paris, France.
| | - Carlos Feliu
- IRBio (Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, Universitat de Barcelona), Avda. Diagonal, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Alexis Ribas
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, IRBio (Research Institute of Biodiversity), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
|
45
|
Abstract
Archaeological and paleontological records offer tremendous yet often untapped potential for examining long-term biodiversity trends and the impact of climate change and human activity on ecosystems. Yet, zooarchaeological and fossil remains suffer various limitations, including that they are often highly fragmented and morphologically unidentifiable, preventing them from being optimally leveraged for addressing fundamental research questions in archaeology, paleontology, and conservation paleobiology. Here, we explore the potential of palaeoproteomics—the study of ancient proteins—to serve as a critical tool for creating richer, more informative datasets about biodiversity change that can be leveraged to generate more realistic, constructive, and effective conservation and restoration strategies into the future.
Collapse
|
46
|
Cowie RH, Bouchet P, Fontaine B. The Sixth Mass Extinction: fact, fiction or speculation? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:640-663. [PMID: 35014169 PMCID: PMC9786292 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
There have been five Mass Extinction events in the history of Earth's biodiversity, all caused by dramatic but natural phenomena. It has been claimed that the Sixth Mass Extinction may be underway, this time caused entirely by humans. Although considerable evidence indicates that there is a biodiversity crisis of increasing extinctions and plummeting abundances, some do not accept that this amounts to a Sixth Mass Extinction. Often, they use the IUCN Red List to support their stance, arguing that the rate of species loss does not differ from the background rate. However, the Red List is heavily biased: almost all birds and mammals but only a minute fraction of invertebrates have been evaluated against conservation criteria. Incorporating estimates of the true number of invertebrate extinctions leads to the conclusion that the rate vastly exceeds the background rate and that we may indeed be witnessing the start of the Sixth Mass Extinction. As an example, we focus on molluscs, the second largest phylum in numbers of known species, and, extrapolating boldly, estimate that, since around AD 1500, possibly as many as 7.5-13% (150,000-260,000) of all ~2 million known species have already gone extinct, orders of magnitude greater than the 882 (0.04%) on the Red List. We review differences in extinction rates according to realms: marine species face significant threats but, although previous mass extinctions were largely defined by marine invertebrates, there is no evidence that the marine biota has reached the same crisis as the non-marine biota. Island species have suffered far greater rates than continental ones. Plants face similar conservation biases as do invertebrates, although there are hints they may have suffered lower extinction rates. There are also those who do not deny an extinction crisis but accept it as a new trajectory of evolution, because humans are part of the natural world; some even embrace it, with a desire to manipulate it for human benefit. We take issue with these stances. Humans are the only species able to manipulate the Earth on a grand scale, and they have allowed the current crisis to happen. Despite multiple conservation initiatives at various levels, most are not species oriented (certain charismatic vertebrates excepted) and specific actions to protect every living species individually are simply unfeasible because of the tyranny of numbers. As systematic biologists, we encourage the nurturing of the innate human appreciation of biodiversity, but we reaffirm the message that the biodiversity that makes our world so fascinating, beautiful and functional is vanishing unnoticed at an unprecedented rate. In the face of a mounting crisis, scientists must adopt the practices of preventive archaeology, and collect and document as many species as possible before they disappear. All this depends on reviving the venerable study of natural history and taxonomy. Denying the crisis, simply accepting it and doing nothing, or even embracing it for the ostensible benefit of humanity, are not appropriate options and pave the way for the Earth to continue on its sad trajectory towards a Sixth Mass Extinction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert H. Cowie
- Pacific Biosciences Research CenterUniversity of HawaiiHonoluluHawaii96822U.S.A.
| | - Philippe Bouchet
- Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHEUniversité des Antilles57 rue Cuvier CP 5175005 ParisFrance
| | - Benoît Fontaine
- UMS 2006 Patrinat (OFB, CNRS, MNHN), Centre d'Écologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (UMR 7204), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle43 rue Buffon CP 13575005 ParisFrance
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Terry JCD, O'Sullivan JD, Rossberg AG. No pervasive relationship between species size and local abundance trends. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:140-144. [PMID: 34969990 PMCID: PMC8825279 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01624-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Although there is some evidence that larger species could be more prone to population declines, the potential role of size traits in determining changes in community composition has been underexplored in global-scale analyses. Here, we combine a large cross-taxon assemblage time series database (BioTIME) with multiple trait databases to show that there is no clear correlation within communities between size traits and changes in abundance over time, suggesting that there is no consistent tendency for larger species to be doing proportionally better or worse than smaller species at local scales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Christopher D Terry
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
| | - Jacob D O'Sullivan
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Axel G Rossberg
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Murchie TJ, Monteath AJ, Mahony ME, Long GS, Cocker S, Sadoway T, Karpinski E, Zazula G, MacPhee RDE, Froese D, Poinar HN. Collapse of the mammoth-steppe in central Yukon as revealed by ancient environmental DNA. Nat Commun 2021; 12:7120. [PMID: 34880234 PMCID: PMC8654998 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27439-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The temporal and spatial coarseness of megafaunal fossil records complicates attempts to to disentangle the relative impacts of climate change, ecosystem restructuring, and human activities associated with the Late Quaternary extinctions. Advances in the extraction and identification of ancient DNA that was shed into the environment and preserved for millennia in sediment now provides a way to augment discontinuous palaeontological assemblages. Here, we present a 30,000-year sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) record derived from loessal permafrost silts in the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada. We observe a substantial turnover in ecosystem composition between 13,500 and 10,000 calendar years ago with the rise of woody shrubs and the disappearance of the mammoth-steppe (steppe-tundra) ecosystem. We also identify a lingering signal of Equus sp. (North American horse) and Mammuthus primigenius (woolly mammoth) at multiple sites persisting thousands of years after their supposed extinction from the fossil record.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J Murchie
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. .,Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
| | - Alistair J Monteath
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.,School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew E Mahony
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - George S Long
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.,Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Scott Cocker
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Tara Sadoway
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.,The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Emil Karpinski
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.,Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Grant Zazula
- Yukon Government, Palaeontology Program, Department of Tourism and Culture, Whitehorse, Canada.,Collections and Research, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Ross D E MacPhee
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology/Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States
| | - Duane Froese
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
| | - Hendrik N Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. .,Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. .,Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. .,Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. .,CIFAR Humans and the Microbiome Program, Toronto, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Sayol F, Cooke RSC, Pigot AL, Blackburn TM, Tobias JA, Steinbauer MJ, Antonelli A, Faurby S. Loss of functional diversity through anthropogenic extinctions of island birds is not offset by biotic invasions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabj5790. [PMID: 34757780 PMCID: PMC8580305 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj5790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Human impacts reshape ecological communities through the extinction and introduction of species. The combined impact of these factors depends on whether non-native species fill the functional roles of extinct species, thus buffering the loss of functional diversity. This question has been difficult to address, because comprehensive information about past extinctions and their traits is generally lacking. We combine detailed information about extinct, extant, and established alien birds to quantify historical changes in functional diversity across nine oceanic archipelagos. We found that alien species often equal or exceed the number of anthropogenic extinctions yet apparently perform a narrower set of functional roles as current island assemblages have undergone a substantial and ubiquitous net loss in functional diversity and increased functional similarity among assemblages. Our results reveal that the introduction of alien species has not prevented anthropogenic extinctions from reducing and homogenizing the functional diversity of native bird assemblages on oceanic archipelagos.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ferran Sayol
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Robert S. C. Cooke
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Alex L. Pigot
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tim M. Blackburn
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, UK
| | - Joseph A. Tobias
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park, Ascot, UK
| | - Manuel J. Steinbauer
- University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research and Sport Ecology, Department of Sport Science, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Alexandre Antonelli
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Søren Faurby
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Monarrez PM, Heim NA, Payne JL. Mass extinctions alter extinction and origination dynamics with respect to body size. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211681. [PMID: 34610766 PMCID: PMC8493190 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1681] [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: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether mass extinctions and their associated recoveries represent an intensification of background extinction and origination dynamics versus a separate macroevolutionary regime remains a central debate in evolutionary biology. The previous focus has been on extinction, but origination dynamics may be equally or more important for long-term evolutionary outcomes. The evolution of animal body size is an ideal process to test for differences in macroevolutionary regimes, as body size is easily determined, comparable across distantly related taxa and scales with organismal traits. Here, we test for shifts in selectivity between background intervals and the 'Big Five' mass extinction events using capture-mark-recapture models. Our body-size data cover 10 203 fossil marine animal genera spanning 10 Linnaean classes with occurrences ranging from Early Ordovician to Late Pleistocene (485-1 Ma). Most classes exhibit differences in both origination and extinction selectivity between background intervals and mass extinctions, with the direction of selectivity varying among classes and overall exhibiting stronger selectivity during origination after mass extinction than extinction during the mass extinction. Thus, not only do mass extinction events shift the marine biosphere into a new macroevolutionary regime, the dynamics of recovery from mass extinction also appear to play an underappreciated role in shaping the biosphere in their aftermath.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M. Monarrez
- Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Noel A. Heim
- Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Jonathan L. Payne
- Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| |
Collapse
|