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Thomas SM, Soka GE, Mulungu LS. Influence of vegetation structure, seasonality, and soil properties on rodent diversity and community assemblages in west Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9211. [PMID: 36188505 PMCID: PMC9484017 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Rodent diversity and community assemblages are affected by several biotic and abiotic factors such as vegetation structure and seasonality. Vegetation structure particularly ground cover influences rodent diversity and community assemblages through provision of food resources and protection from predators. Such information is important for understanding species–habitat relationships for management and conservation. This study was conducted to determine the influence of vegetation structure, seasonality, and soil properties on species richness, abundance, community assemblages, and habitat association of rodents in west Mt Kilimanjaro. Rodent trapping was conducted using removal and capture–mark–recapture (CMR) methods with medium‐sized Sherman's live traps, snap, and Havarhart traps. Rodents were trapped during wet and dry seasons for three consecutive nights at 4 weeks intervals from April 2020 to March 2021. Environmental variables including vegetation structure, soil physical properties, and disturbance levels were recorded for each habitat type. Fourteen species of rodents were trapped in 25,956 trap nights. Rhabdomys pumilio, Praomys delectorum, and Lophuromys verhageni were the most dominant species across all habitats and seasons. L.verhageni occurred in all habitats while R.pumilio was restricted from occurring in montane forests. Moreover, species richness and abundance were influenced by habitat types, seasonality, soil type, and ground cover. Generally, both species richness and abundance were higher in fallows and montane forests and significantly lower in plantation forest and agricultural fields. In addition, rodent diversity was highest in fallows, followed by montane forests, and lowest in agricultural fields. Furthermore, rodents were associated with habitat types and vegetation structure forming two major community assemblages that significantly differed between habitats. Our study conclude that, community assemblages of rodents on Mt. Kilimanjaro were affected by functional spatial heterogeneity of the habitats occupied. Therefore, use of different habitats by rodents may be indicative of the landscape integrity and ecosystem changes based on species assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzana M. Thomas
- The African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development Project Sokoine University of Agriculture Morogoro Tanzania
- Department of Wildlife Management Sokoine University of Agriculture Morogoro Tanzania
- Department of Biology University of Dodoma Dodoma Tanzania
| | - Geofrey E. Soka
- Department of Wildlife Management Sokoine University of Agriculture Morogoro Tanzania
| | - Loth S. Mulungu
- Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture Morogoro Tanzania
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2
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Miao BG, Peng YQ, Yang DR, Guénard B, Liu C. Diversity begets diversity: Low resource heterogeneity reduces the diversity of nut-nesting ants in rubber plantations. INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 29:932-941. [PMID: 34423564 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
One of the most general patterns in ecology is the positive relationship between environmental heterogeneity and local diversity. On the one hand, increased resource heterogeneity provides more resources for diverse consumers in the community. On the other hand, increased structural heterogeneity creates variation in the environment's physical structure, thus allowing the coexistence of diverse species with different environmental requirements. Here, we examined the relative importance of resource and structural heterogeneity in determining the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of nut-nesting ants in natural rainforest and rubber plantation. The species richness of nut-nesting ants was 70% higher in rainforest than in rubber plantation. The clustered functional and phylogenetic structure in rubber plantation suggested a strong effect of environmental filtering in shaping ant functional and phylogenetic structure. Nesting heterogeneity (nut diversity) was the major factor explaining variation in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, suggesting that resource heterogeneity plays a major role in shaping the biodiversity patterns of nut-nesting ants. Overall, these results indicate that decreased resource diversity following the conversion of rainforest to rubber plantation can drive biodiversity loss in nut-nesting ants, through its effect on reducing both ant species, functional, and phylogenetic diversity. The decline in species richness and functional and phylogenetic diversity in the local ant community might have major effects on ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bai-Ge Miao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan Province, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Yan-Qiong Peng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan Province, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Da-Rong Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Benoit Guénard
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Cong Liu
- Department of Organismic and Evolutional Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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Stevens RD. Broad-scale gradients of resource utilization by phyllostomid bats in Atlantic Forest: patterns of dietary overlap, turnover and the efficacy of ecomorphological approaches. Oecologia 2022; 198:785-799. [PMID: 35258697 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05137-4] [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: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Identifying mechanisms that promote coexistence at the local level is enigmatic for many organisms. Numerous studies have indirectly demonstrated that biotic interactions may not cause deterministic patterns reflective of the coexistence of interacting bat species. Nonetheless, demonstration of the partitioning of resources by phyllostomid bats by directly examining diet matrices may illuminate a mechanism of coexistence. I examined the dietary overlap of phyllostomid bats across 23 sites in the Atlantic Forest of South America. I also examined components of beta diversity (turnover and nestedness) of resources among species as well as the degree to which morphology can act as a surrogate for dietary similarity in each community. Bats exhibited high overlap. Nonetheless, dietary beta diversity was more related to turnover than nestedness of items suggesting substantive species-specific affinities. Niche breath and dietary overlap were positively related to the number of species and the number of resources consumed in communities. Accordingly, changes in richness across Atlantic Forest may be facilitated by increases in resources available at the community level. There were positive, yet weak relationships between morphological and dietary distance. The relationship between morphology and diet was invariant relative to geography, species richness, number of dietary resources, average diet breadth and average dietary overlap indicating that in the Atlantic Forest morphology is a consistent surrogate of dietary relationships of species. Atlantic Forest is one of the most anthropogenically modified tropical forests in the world. This in combination with distinct climatic seasonality likely causes higher dietary overlap, weaker ecomorphological relationships and persistence of only the most general bat species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Stevens
- Department of Natural Resources Management and Natural Science Research Laboratory of the Museum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
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4
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Martínez Colín P, Lücking R, Herrera‐Campos MDLÁ. Diversity begets diversity: Phorophyte and microsite relations of foliicolous lichens in the lowland rain forest at Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Veracruz, Mexico). Ecol Res 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paola Martínez Colín
- Facultad de Ciencias UNAM Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria Ciudad de México Mexico
| | - Robert Lücking
- Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Germany
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Davis N, Polhill JG, Aitkenhead M. Measuring heterogeneity in soil networks: a network analysis and simulation-based approach. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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6
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García-Navas V. Phylogenetic and functional diversity of African muroid rodents at different spatial scales. ORG DIVERS EVOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-019-00411-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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7
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He T, Lamont BB, Pausas JG. Fire as a key driver of Earth's biodiversity. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1983-2010. [PMID: 31298472 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Many terrestrial ecosystems are fire prone, such that their composition and structure are largely due to their fire regime. Regions subject to regular fire have exceptionally high levels of species richness and endemism, and fire has been proposed as a major driver of their diversity, within the context of climate, resource availability and environmental heterogeneity. However, current fire-management practices rarely take into account the ecological and evolutionary roles of fire in maintaining biodiversity. Here, we focus on the mechanisms that enable fire to act as a major ecological and evolutionary force that promotes and maintains biodiversity over numerous spatiotemporal scales. From an ecological perspective, the vegetation, topography and local weather conditions during a fire generate a landscape with spatial and temporal variation in fire-related patches (pyrodiversity), and these produce the biotic and environmental heterogeneity that drives biodiversity across local and regional scales. There have been few empirical tests of the proposition that 'pyrodiversity begets biodiversity' but we show that biodiversity should peak at moderately high levels of pyrodiversity. Overall species richness is greatest immediately after fire and declines monotonically over time, with postfire successional pathways dictated by animal habitat preferences and varying lifespans among resident plants. Theory and data support the 'intermediate disturbance hypothesis' when mean patch species diversity is correlated with mean fire intervals. Postfire persistence, recruitment and immigration allow species with different life histories to coexist. From an evolutionary perspective, fire drives population turnover and diversification by promoting a wide range of adaptive responses to particular fire regimes. Among 39 comparisons, the number of species in 26 fire-prone lineages is much higher than that in their non-fire-prone sister lineages. Fire and its byproducts may have direct mutagenic effects, producing novel genotypes that can lead to trait innovation and even speciation. A paradigm shift aimed at restoring biodiversity-maintaining fire regimes across broad landscapes is required among the fire research and management communities. This will require ecologists and other professionals to spread the burgeoning fire-science knowledge beyond scientific publications to the broader public, politicians and media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianhua He
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.,College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia
| | - Byron B Lamont
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
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O’Connell MA, Hallett JG. Community ecology of mammals: deserts, islands, and anthropogenic impacts. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - James G Hallett
- Department of Biology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, USA
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Atkins JW, Bohrer G, Fahey RT, Hardiman BS, Morin TH, Stovall AEL, Zimmerman N, Gough CM. Quantifying vegetation and canopy structural complexity from terrestrial Li
DAR
data using the
forestr r
package. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeff W. Atkins
- Department of Biology Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Virginia
| | - Gil Bohrer
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| | - Robert T. Fahey
- Department of Natural Resources University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut
| | - Brady S. Hardiman
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut
| | - Timothy H. Morin
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
- Department of Environmental Resources Engineering College of Environmental Science and Forestry State University of New York Syracuse New York
| | - Atticus E. L. Stovall
- Department of Environmental and Ecological Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
- Department of Environmental Sciences University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia
| | - Naupaka Zimmerman
- Francisco Department of Biology University of San Francisco San Francisco California
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10
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Alhajeri BH, Steppan SJ. Community structure in ecological assemblages of desert rodents. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bader H Alhajeri
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait
| | - Scott J Steppan
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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11
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Du Y, Wen Z, Zhang J, Lv X, Cheng J, Ge D, Xia L, Yang Q. The roles of environment, space, and phylogeny in determining functional dispersion of rodents (Rodentia) in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:10941-10951. [PMID: 29299271 PMCID: PMC5743695 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The recently described trait-based approach is becoming widely popular for a mechanistic understanding of species coexistence. However, the greatest challenge in functional analyses is decomposing the contributions of different ecological and evolutionary processes (e.g., niche-based process, neutral process, and evolutionary process) in determining trait structure. Taking rodents (Rodentia) in the Hengduan Mountains as our study model, we aim to (1) quantify the vertical patterns of functional structure for head-body length (HL), tail/body ratio (TR), animal component in diet (ACD), and all traits; (2) disentangle the relative importance of different assembly processes (environment, space, and phylogeny) in structuring trait dispersion; and (3) assess the feasibility of Bergmann's rule and Allen's rule along elevational gradient. Our results have suggested that the vertical functional structure pattern varied across these three traits, indicating distinct functional roles in the community assembly process. These nonrandom vertical patterns of HL, TR, and terminal ACD have demonstrated these traits were dominated by different ecological process along environmental gradient. In variance partitioning, high proportion of the spatial variations in trait dispersion was explained by environmental and spatial models, which have provided supporting strong evidence for niche-based and neutral processes in leading species coexistence. Although the three traits all exhibited apparent phylogenetic signals, phylogenetic relationship within community failed to predict the spatial variations of functional dispersion, confirming the enormous inference of phylogenetic signals in predicting trait structure. By assessing the vertical patterns of HL and TR at order and family levels, we argued that functional adaptation along an environmental gradient is a surrogate of series of complex processes (e.g., environmental filtering, interspecific interaction, and neutral dispersal) acting on multiple functional axes, which results in inconsistence with the empirical rules along elevational gradient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanbao Du
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Zhixin Wen
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Jinlong Zhang
- Flora Conservation Department Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Hong Kong SAR China
| | - Xue Lv
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Jilong Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Deyan Ge
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Lin Xia
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Qisen Yang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
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12
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Livne-Luzon S, Ovadia O, Weber G, Avidan Y, Migael H, Glassman SI, Bruns TD, Shemesh H. Small-scale spatial variability in the distribution of ectomycorrhizal fungi affects plant performance and fungal diversity. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:1192-1202. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/30/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stav Livne-Luzon
- Department of Life Sciences; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; POB 653 Beer Sheva Israel
| | - Ofer Ovadia
- Department of Life Sciences; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; POB 653 Beer Sheva Israel
| | - Gil Weber
- Department of Environmental Sciences; Tel-Hai College; Kiryat Shmona 1220800 Israel
| | - Yael Avidan
- Department of Environmental Sciences; Tel-Hai College; Kiryat Shmona 1220800 Israel
| | - Hen Migael
- Department of Environmental Sciences; Tel-Hai College; Kiryat Shmona 1220800 Israel
| | - Sydney I. Glassman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; UC Irvine; Irvine CA 92697 USA
| | - Thomas D. Bruns
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology; UC Berkeley; Berkeley CA 94720-3102 USA
| | - Hagai Shemesh
- Department of Environmental Sciences; Tel-Hai College; Kiryat Shmona 1220800 Israel
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13
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Berry LE, Lindenmayer DB, Driscoll DA. Large unburnt areas, not small unburnt patches, are needed to conserve avian diversity in fire-prone landscapes. J Appl Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laurence E. Berry
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; the NERP Environmental Decisions Hub; Fenner School of Environment and Society; The Australian National University; Frank Fenner Building, Linnaeus Way Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
| | - David B. Lindenmayer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; the NERP Environmental Decisions Hub; Fenner School of Environment and Society; The Australian National University; Frank Fenner Building, Linnaeus Way Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
| | - Don A. Driscoll
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; the NERP Environmental Decisions Hub; Fenner School of Environment and Society; The Australian National University; Frank Fenner Building, Linnaeus Way Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
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15
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Poindexter CJ, Schnell GD, Sánchez-Hernández C, Romero-Almaraz MDL, Kennedy ML, Best TL, Wooten MC, Owen RD. Variation in habitat use of coexisting rodent species in a tropical dry deciduous forest. Mamm Biol 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2012.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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16
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Stevens RD, Gavilanez MM, Tello JS, Ray DA. Phylogenetic structure illuminates the mechanistic role of environmental heterogeneity in community organization. J Anim Ecol 2011; 81:455-62. [PMID: 21895648 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01900.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
1. Diversity begets diversity. Numerous published positive correlations between environmental heterogeneity and species diversity indicate ubiquity of this phenomenon. Nonetheless, most assessments of this relationship are phenomenological and provide little insight into the mechanism whereby such positive association results. 2. Two unresolved issues could better illuminate the mechanistic basis to diversity begets diversity. First, as environmental heterogeneity increases, both productivity and the species richness that contributes to that productivity often increase in a correlated fashion thus obscuring the primary driver. Second, it is unclear how species are added to communities as diversity increases and whether additions are trait based. 3. We examined these issues based on 31 rodent communities in the central Mojave Desert. At each site, we estimated rodent species richness and characterized environmental heterogeneity from the perspectives of standing primary productivity and number of seed resources. We further examined the phylogenetic structure of communities by estimating the mean phylogenetic distance (MPD) among species and by comparing empirical phylogenetic distances to those based on random assembly from a regional species pool. 4. The relationship between rodent species diversity and environmental heterogeneity was positive and significant. Moreover, diversity of resources accounted for more unique variation than did total productivity, suggesting that variety and not total amount of resource was the driver of increased rodent diversity. Relationships between environmental heterogeneity and phylogenetic distance were negative and significant; species were significantly phylogenetically over-dispersed in communities of low environmental heterogeneity and became more clumped as environmental heterogeneity increased. 5. Results suggest that species diversity increases with environmental heterogeneity because a wider variety of resources allow greater species packing within communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Stevens
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
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