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Reijers VC, van Rees F, van der Heide T, Oost AP, Ruessink G, Koffijberg K, Camphuysen KCJ, Penning E, Hijner N, Govers LL. Birds influence vegetation coverage and structure on sandy biogeomorphic islands in the Dutch Wadden Sea. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 950:175254. [PMID: 39111441 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175254] [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: 05/28/2024] [Revised: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Small uninhabited islands form important roosting and breeding habitats for many coastal birds. Previous studies have demonstrated that guano can promote ecosystem productivity and functionality on island ecosystems. Here, we assess the role of external nutrient input by coastal birds on the vegetation structure and coverage on sandy biogeomorphic islands, where island-forming processes depend on vegetation-sedimentation feedbacks. As a first step, we investigated whether breeding birds affect vegetation productivity on sandy back-barrier islands in the Wadden Sea. Using a combination of bird observations and plant stable isotope (δ15N) analyses, we demonstrate that (i) breeding birds transport large quantities of nutrients via their faecal outputs to these islands annually and that (ii) this external nitrogen source influences vegetation development on these sandy, nutrient-limited, islands. Based on these results we discuss how this avian nutrient pump could impact island development and habitat suitability for coastal birds and discuss future directions for research. In general, we conclude that avian subsidies have the potential to affect both the ecological and biogeomorphic functioning of coastal soft-sediment systems. However, the strength and scale of especially these biogeomorphic interactions are not fully understood. For the conservation of both threatened coastal birds and sandy back-barrier islands and the design of appropriate management strategies, we argue that three-way interactions between birds, vegetation and sandy island morphodynamics need to be further elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie C Reijers
- Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology & Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Floris van Rees
- Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Department Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Albert P Oost
- Staatsbosbeheer, P.O. Box 2, 3800 AA Amersfoort, the Netherlands
| | - Gerben Ruessink
- Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Kees Koffijberg
- Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, PO Box 6521, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Kees C J Camphuysen
- Department Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands
| | - Emma Penning
- Department Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands; BirdEyes, Centre for Global Ecological Change at the Faculties of Science & Engineering and Campus Fryslân, University of Groningen, Zaailand 110, 8911 BN Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
| | - Nadia Hijner
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Laura L Govers
- Department Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology & Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
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Monk JD, Donadio E, Gregorio PF, Schmitz OJ. Vicuña antipredator diel movement drives spatial nutrient subsidies in a high Andean ecosystem. Ecology 2024; 105:e4262. [PMID: 38351587 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Large animals could be important drivers of spatial nutrient subsidies when they ingest resources in some habitats and release them in others, even moving nutrients against elevational gradients. In high Andean deserts, vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) move daily between nutrient-rich wet meadows, where there is abundant water and forage but high risk of predation by pumas (Puma concolor), and nutrient-poor open plains with lower risk of predation. In all habitats, vicuñas defecate and urinate in communal latrines. We investigated how these latrines impacted soil and plant nutrient concentrations across three habitats in the Andean ecosystem (meadows, plains, and canyons) and used stable isotope analysis to explore the source of fecal nutrients in latrines. Latrine soils had higher concentrations of nitrogen, carbon, and other nutrients than did nonlatrine soils across all habitats. These inputs corresponded with an increase in plant quality (lower C:N) at latrine sites in plains and canyons, but not in meadows. Stable isotope mixing models suggest that ~7% of nutrients in plains latrines originated from vegetation in meadows, which is disproportionately higher than the relative proportion of meadow habitat (2.6%) in the study area. In contrast, ~68% of nutrients in meadow latrines appear to originate from plains and canyon vegetation, though these habitats made up nearly 98% of the study area. Vicuña diel movements thus appear to concentrate nutrients in latrines within habitats and to drive cross-habitat nutrient subsidies, with disproportionate transport from low-lying, nutrient-rich meadows to more elevated, nutrient-poor plains. When these results are scaled up to the landscape scale, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus subsidized in soil at plains latrines was of the same order of magnitude as estimates of annual atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorus deposition for this region (albeit far more localized and patchy). Thus, vicuña-mediated nutrient redistribution and deposition appears to be an important process impacting ecosystem functioning in arid Andean environments, on par with other major inputs of nutrients to the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia D Monk
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Fundación Rewilding Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Pablo F Gregorio
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre, INIBIOMA (Universidad Nacional del Comahue-CONICET), San Martín de los Andes, Argentina
| | - Oswald J Schmitz
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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3
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Eichenwald AJ, Fefferman NH, Reed JM. Potential extinction cascades in a desert ecosystem: Linking food web interactions to community viability. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e10930. [PMID: 38362165 PMCID: PMC10867880 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Desert communities are threatened with species loss due to climate change, and their resistance to such losses is unknown. We constructed a food web of the Mojave Desert terrestrial community (300 nodes, 4080 edges) to empirically examine the potential cascading effects of bird extinctions on this desert network, compared to losses of mammals and lizards. We focused on birds because they are already disappearing from the Mojave, and their relative thermal vulnerabilities are known. We quantified bottom-up secondary extinctions and evaluated the relative resistance of the community to losses of each vertebrate group. The impact of random bird species loss was relatively low compared to the consequences of mammal (causing the greatest number of cascading losses) or reptile loss, and birds were relatively less likely to be in trophic positions that could drive top-down effects in apparent competition and tri-tropic cascade motifs. An avian extinction cascade with year-long resident birds caused more secondary extinctions than the cascade involving all bird species for randomized ordered extinctions. Notably, we also found that relatively high interconnectivity among avian species has formed a subweb, enhancing network resistance to bird losses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nina H. Fefferman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTennesseeUSA
| | - J. Michael Reed
- Department of BiologyTufts UniversityMedfordMassachusettsUSA
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Nagasaki K, Nakamura H, Shinohara A, Abe K, Minami M, Tsukada H. A comparison of summer insectivory among four sympatric mesocarnivores on Izushima, a small island in northern Japan. MAMMALIA 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2021-0160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Limited resources intensify interspecific competition and constrain the survival and distribution of species. A restricted, spatially isolated, small island can also pronounce this effect, as predicted in the island biogeography. This study compared the summer diets of sympatric carnivores, red foxes, raccoon dogs, Japanese martens, and Japanese weasels on the small island Izushima and evaluated niche partitioning, especially focusing on their insectivory. The results showed that insects were the main summer food source for all four species, with a significant overlap in their diets. However, in-depth investigation on insectivory down to the level of species and genera revealed that the species differences were more pronounced. Raccoon dogs frequently fed on ground-dwelling beetles, and Japanese martens fed on several arboreal beetles, while red foxes were less dependent on insects and more biased toward larger prey such as mammals and birds, and Japanese weasels foraged more on smaller prey, thereby reflecting niche partitioning between these species owing to differences in foraging ecology under the constrains of their body sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaoru Nagasaki
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , Azabu University , 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku , Sagamihara , Kanagawa 252-5201 , Japan
| | - Haruka Nakamura
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , Azabu University , 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku , Sagamihara , Kanagawa 252-5201 , Japan
| | - Ayano Shinohara
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , Azabu University , 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku , Sagamihara , Kanagawa 252-5201 , Japan
| | - Kaede Abe
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , Azabu University , 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku , Sagamihara , Kanagawa 252-5201 , Japan
| | - Masato Minami
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , Azabu University , 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku , Sagamihara , Kanagawa 252-5201 , Japan
| | - Hideharu Tsukada
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , Azabu University , 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku , Sagamihara , Kanagawa 252-5201 , Japan
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Liang CT, Shiels AB, Haines WP, Sandor ME, Aslan CE. Invasive predators affect community-wide pollinator visitation. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2522. [PMID: 34918411 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Disruption of plant-pollinator interactions by invasive predators is poorly understood but may pose a critical threat for native ecosystems. In a multiyear field experiment in Hawai'i, we suppressed abundances of globally invasive predators and then observed insect visitation to flowers of six native plant species. Three plant species are federally endangered (Haplostachys haplostachya, Silene lanceolata, Tetramolopium arenarium) and three are common throughout their range (Bidens menziesii, Dubautia linearis, Sida fallax). Insect visitors were primarily generalist pollinators, including taxa that occur worldwide such as solitary bees (e.g., Lasioglossum impavidum), social bees (e.g., Apis mellifera), and syrphid flies (e.g., Allograpta exotica). We found that suppressing invasive rats (Rattus rattus), mice (Mus musculus), ants (Linepithema humile, Tapinoma melanocephalum), and yellowjacket wasps (Vespula pensylvanica) had positive effects on pollinator visitation to plants in 16 of 19 significant predator-pollinator-plant interactions. We found only positive effects of suppressing rats and ants, and both positive and negative effects of suppressing mice and yellowjacket wasps, on the frequency of interactions between pollinators and plants. Model results predicted that predator eradication could increase the frequency of insect visitation to flowering species, in some cases by more than 90%. Previous results from the system showed that these flowering species produced significantly more seed when flowers were allowed to outcross than when flowers were bagged to exclude pollinators, indicating limited autogamy. Our findings highlight the potential benefits of suppression or eradication of invasive rodents, ants, and yellowjackets to reverse pollination disruption, particularly in locations with high numbers of at-risk plant species or already imperiled pollinator populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina T Liang
- Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai'i, USA
- USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest Supervisors Office, Nevada City, California, USA
| | - Aaron B Shiels
- National Wildlife Research Center, USDA APHIS, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - William P Haines
- Center for Conservation Research and Training, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Manette E Sandor
- Landscape Conservation Initiative, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Clare E Aslan
- Landscape Conservation Initiative, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
- Conservation Science Partners, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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6
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Does Seabird Colony Size Determine The Physiochemical Properties Of Island Soils? EKOLÓGIA (BRATISLAVA) 2021. [DOI: 10.2478/eko-2021-0029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Many species of gulls have expanded their range worldwide and massively occupied coastal islands. These colonisations have not only affected the biotic interactions among seabird colonies, but also altered the soil chemistry through excrement accumulation. To test whether the seabird colony size determines nutrient levels of island soil, we carried out a field study during a breeding season on six Mediterranean islands in central North Algeria which harbour different population sizes of the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis). We sampled the soil and measured a suite of physical (area, floral richness, clay, fine silt, large silt, fine sand and large sand content) and chemical (pH, electric conductivity, limestone, organic matter, N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Na) properties and the colony size and density of the yellow-legged gull. Using principal component analysis, we found that the six islands showed some physicochemical similarities, but island area, colony size and soil N and P levels structured the islands into different groups. Although there was evidence of a positive relationship between colony size and N and P soil levels, this relationship was not linear. Our results suggest that historical rather than punctual data on the colony size of seabirds might give more robust predictions of soil physicochemistry of islands.
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Smyshlyaeva OI, Severova EE, Krylovich OA, Kuzmicheva EA, Savinetsky AB, Dixie W, Hatfield V. Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? Ecol Evol 2021; 11:14088-14100. [PMID: 34707842 PMCID: PMC8525163 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird-formed) ecosystems. For a more detailed investigation of avian influence, we reconstructed more than 10,000-year-old vegetation dynamics of the coast of Shemya Island (Near Islands) by pollen analysis. At the initial stages of vegetation development (10,000-4,600 cal year BP), sedge-heather tundra grew in the studied area. A seabird colony existed on Shemya from 4,600 to 2,400 cal year BP according to stable isotope analysis. During a period of at least 2,200 years, nitrogen enrichment led to the development of ornithogenic herb meadows with a high presence of Apiaceae. A long-term increase in δ15N above 9-10‰ led to radical shifts in vegetation. Noticeable reduction of seabird colonies due to human hunting led to grass-meadows spreading. After a prolonged decrease δ15N below 9-10‰ (2,400 cal year BP to present), there was a shift toward less productive sedge-tundra communities. However, the significant enrichment of guano affected only the coastal vegetation and did not alter the inland Shemya Island.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olesya Igorevna Smyshlyaeva
- Laboratory of Historical EcologySevertsov Institute of Ecology and EvolutionRussian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | - Elena Erastovna Severova
- Biology FacultyDepartment of Higher PlantsLomonosov Moscow State UniversityMoscowRussia
- Faculty of Biology and BiotechnologiesNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsMoscowRussia
| | - Olga Aleksandrovna Krylovich
- Laboratory of Historical EcologySevertsov Institute of Ecology and EvolutionRussian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | | | - Arkady Borisovich Savinetsky
- Laboratory of Historical EcologySevertsov Institute of Ecology and EvolutionRussian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | - West Dixie
- Biodiversity InstituteUniversity of KansasLawrenceKSUSA
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Siddiqui JA, Bamisile BS, Khan MM, Islam W, Hafeez M, Bodlah I, Xu Y. Impact of invasive ant species on native fauna across similar habitats under global environmental changes. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:54362-54382. [PMID: 34405331 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-15961-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Biotic invasions can predominantly alter the dynamics, composition, functions, and structure of natural ecosystems. Social insects, particularly ants, are among the most damaging invasive alien species. Invasive ant species are among the supreme threats to ecosystems. There are about 23 species of invasive ants recorded worldwide, according to the ant invasive databases. The ecological impacts of invasive ants comprise predation, hybridization, and competition with native species that changes the ecosystem processes with the biodiversity loss and upsurge of pests. The effects of invasion on native fauna in the same habitats might be catastrophic for the native community through various ecological mechanisms, e.g., habitat disturbance, resource competition, limiting the foraging activity of native species, and various other indirect mechanisms of invasive species. Invasive species may have harmful impacts on habitats and devastating effects on natural flora and fauna, and stopping these new species from being introduced is the most effective way to deter future invasions and maintain biodiversity. This paper reviews the literature to evaluate the effects of invasive ant species on the native species, including vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants sharing the same habitats as the non-native species under global environmental changes. We also highlighted the various management strategies that could be adopted in minimizing the adverse effects of these invasive ant species on the natural ecosystem. To this end, strategies that could regulate the mode and rate of invasion by these alien ant species are the most effective ways to deter future invasions and maintain biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junaid Ali Siddiqui
- Red Imported Fire Ant Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China
| | - Bamisope Steve Bamisile
- Red Imported Fire Ant Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
| | - Muhammad Musa Khan
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application, Engineering Research Centre of Biological Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Waqar Islam
- College of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China
| | - Muhammad Hafeez
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Imran Bodlah
- Insect Biodiversity and Conservation Group, Department of Entomology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
| | - Yijuan Xu
- Red Imported Fire Ant Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
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Insect-mediated apparent competition between mammals in a boreal food web. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2022892118. [PMID: 34282006 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022892118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
While the important role of animal-mediated interactions in the top-down restructuring of plant communities is well documented, less is known of their ensuing repercussions at higher trophic levels. We demonstrate how typically decoupled ecological interactions may become intertwined such that the impact of an insect pest on forest structure and composition alters predator-prey interactions among large mammals. Specifically, we show how irruptions in a common, cyclic insect pest of the boreal forest, the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana), modulated an indirect trophic interaction by initiating a flush in deciduous vegetation that benefited moose (Alces alces), in turn strengthening apparent competition between moose and threatened boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) via wolf (Canis lupus) predation. Critically, predation on caribou postoutbreak was exacerbated by human activity (salvage logging). We believe our observations of significant, large-scale reverberating consumer-producer-consumer interactions are likely to be common in nature.
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10
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Seaduck engineers in the Arctic Archipelago: nesting eiders deliver marine nutrients and transform the chemistry of island soils, plants, and ponds. Oecologia 2021; 195:1041-1052. [PMID: 33675409 PMCID: PMC8052239 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04889-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Seabirds are thought to provide ecological services such as the movement of nutrients between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, which may be especially critical to productivity and diversity in nutrient-poor environments. Most Arctic ecosystems are unaffected by local human impacts and are naturally nutrient poor and especially sensitive to warming. Here, we assessed the effects of nesting common eider ducks (Somateria mollissima) on soil, vegetation, and pond sediments on island archipelagoes in Hudson Strait between Nunavut and Québec, Canada. Soil, moss, and pond sediments were significantly higher in nitrogen on islands with large numbers of nesting eiders compared to sites with no nesting birds. The highest concentrations of nitrogen in soils and moss occurred at the margins of ponds on eider islands, which correspond to the areas of highest eider use. δ15N and δ34S values in soils, moss, and sediments indicated substantial marine-derived organic matter inputs at the higher nutrient sites. We propose that by foraging on coastal marine benthic invertebrates and returning to islands to nest, eider ducks bio-transport and concentrate marine-derived nutrients to their colony islands, fertilizing Arctic island ecosystems in the process. As common eiders nest on thousands of low to mid-latitude islands throughout the circumpolar Arctic, these nutrient inputs likely dramatically affect biota and ecosystem functioning throughout the tundra biome.
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11
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De La Peña-Lastra S. Seabird droppings: Effects on a global and local level. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 754:142148. [PMID: 33254937 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Seabirds, with approximately 1 billion specimens, are the main exchangers of nutrients between Terrestial and Marine Systems and they have become an emerging interest group because of their effects on the planet's ecosystem. This review paper aims to highlight the impact of seabird droppings at different trophic levels, their occurrence, ecological risks and effects on soil, water, atmosphere and biota at global and local level to try to understand the ecological and climatic changes associated with the activities of these birds. Seabirds they have a very marked influence on the ecosystems where they form their colonies since, in addition to their function as predators, alongside with their depositions, they condition the primary producers and, consequently, the rest of the food chain. Their excrements contain large amounts of N, P and trace elements, most of which are bioavailable. In this study, besides bringing together the different works on nutrients and trace elements in excrements and differentiating some terms referring to these excrements, a brief historical overview of their importance for agriculture is made. In addition, the impacts produced by these birds on the ecosystem are also analysed according to two levels, at a global and local level. At each of these levels, a current state of the effects on the different compartments of the ecosystems is made, from the biota to the soils, the water or the atmosphere. This review supports the idea that more studies are needed both at the atmospheric level and in the terrestrial or marine environment for a better understanding of the changes these birds generate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saúl De La Peña-Lastra
- CRETUS Institute, Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. Spain.
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12
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Groff DV, Hamley KM, Lessard TJR, Greenawalt KE, Yasuhara M, Brickle P, Gill JL. Seabird establishment during regional cooling drove a terrestrial ecosystem shift 5000 years ago. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/43/eabb2788. [PMID: 33097535 PMCID: PMC7608832 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb2788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The coastal tussac (Poa flabellata) grasslands of the Falkland Islands are a critical seabird breeding habitat but have been drastically reduced by grazing and erosion. Meanwhile, the sensitivity of seabirds and tussac to climate change is unknown because of a lack of long-term records in the South Atlantic. Our 14,000-year multiproxy record reveals an ecosystem state shift following seabird establishment 5000 years ago, as marine-derived nutrients from guano facilitated tussac establishment, peat productivity, and increased fire. Seabird arrival coincided with regional cooling, suggesting that the Falkland Islands are a cold-climate refugium. Conservation efforts focusing on tussac restoration should include this terrestrial-marine linkage, although a warming Southern Ocean calls into question the long-term viability of the Falkland Islands as habitat for low-latitude seabirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dulcinea V Groff
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA.
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Kit M Hamley
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Trevor J R Lessard
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | | | - Moriaki Yasuhara
- School of Biological Sciences and Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Paul Brickle
- South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, Ross Road, Stanley FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands
- School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK
| | - Jacquelyn L Gill
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
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Hentati-Sundberg J, Raymond C, Sköld M, Svensson O, Gustafsson B, Bonaglia S. Fueling of a marine-terrestrial ecosystem by a major seabird colony. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15455. [PMID: 32963305 PMCID: PMC7508978 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72238-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Seabirds redistribute nutrients between different ecosystem compartments and over vast geographical areas. This nutrient transfer may impact both local ecosystems on seabird breeding islands and regional biogeochemical cycling, but these processes are seldom considered in local conservation plans or biogeochemical models. The island of Stora Karlsö in the Baltic Sea hosts the largest concentration of piscivorous seabirds in the region, and also hosts a large colony of insectivorous House martins Delichon urbicum adjacent to the breeding seabirds. We show that a previously reported unusually high insectivore abundance was explained by large amounts of chironomids—highly enriched in δ15N—that feed on seabird residues as larvae along rocky shores to eventually emerge as flying adults. Benthic ammonium and phosphate fluxes were up to 163% and 153% higher close to the colony (1,300 m distance) than further away (2,700 m) and the estimated nutrient release from the seabirds at were in the same order of magnitude as the loads from the largest waste-water treatment plants in the region. The trophic cascade impacting insectivorous passerines and the substantial redistribution of nutrients suggest that seabird nutrient transfer should be increasingly considered in local conservation plans and regional nutrient cycling models.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Hentati-Sundberg
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Turistgatan 5, 45330, Lysekil, Sweden.
| | - C Raymond
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - M Sköld
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Turistgatan 5, 45330, Lysekil, Sweden
| | - O Svensson
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - B Gustafsson
- Baltic Nest Institute, Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, Hankko, Finland
| | - S Bonaglia
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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14
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Motta L, Barrios-Garcia MN, Ballari SA, Rodriguez-Cabal MA. Cross-ecosystem impacts of non-native ungulates on wetland communities. Biol Invasions 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-020-02323-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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15
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Léandri-Breton DJ, Bêty J. Vulnerability to predation may affect species distribution: plovers with broader arctic breeding range nest in safer habitat. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5032. [PMID: 32193488 PMCID: PMC7081343 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61956-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Lower vulnerability to predation should increase the capacity of prey populations to maintain positive population growth rate in regions characterized by high predation pressure. Some arctic-nesting shorebirds nest almost exclusively in areas where predation pressure is regularly released. The few species that can breed within the entire distribution range of the Arctic Fox, the main nest predator in the arctic tundra, are supposedly less sensitive to predation. However, empirical data supporting this hypothesis are scarce and mechanisms driving interspecific variation in vulnerability to nest predation are poorly documented. We monitored nest success of two arctic-nesting shorebirds with contrasting breeding distribution and nesting habitat. We found that (i) when co-existing at the same breeding site, the widely distributed Ringed Plovers nesting along stony shores showed a higher nest survival rate than the Golden Plovers nesting in mesic tundra, and (ii) such differences in nest survival were at least partly driven by the nesting habitat type per se, with lower predation risk in stony shores than in adjacent mesic tundra. We suggest that the use of safer nesting habitat by some shorebird species can contribute to maintaining viable breeding populations over a broader distribution range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Don-Jean Léandri-Breton
- Département de Biologie et Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L3A1, Canada.
| | - Joël Bêty
- Département de Biologie et Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L3A1, Canada
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16
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Obrist DS, Hanly PJ, Kennedy JC, Fitzpatrick OT, Wickham SB, Ernst CM, Nijland W, Reshitnyk LY, Darimont CT, Starzomski BM, Reynolds JD. Marine subsidies mediate patterns in avian island biogeography. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200108. [PMID: 32156206 PMCID: PMC7126081 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The classical theory of island biogeography, which predicts species richness using island area and isolation, has been expanded to include contributions from marine subsidies, i.e. subsidized island biogeography (SIB) theory. We tested the effects of marine subsidies on species diversity and population density on productive temperate islands, evaluating SIB predictions previously untested at comparable scales and subsidy levels. We found that the diversity of terrestrial breeding bird communities on 91 small islands (approx. 0.0001–3 km2) along the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada were correlated most strongly with island area, but also with marine subsidies. Species richness increased and population density decreased with island area, but isolation had no measurable influence. Species richness was negatively correlated with marine subsidy, measured as forest-edge soil δ15N. Density, however, was higher on islands with higher marine subsidy, and a negative interaction between area and subsidy indicates that this effect is stronger on smaller islands, offering some support for SIB. Our study emphasizes how subsidies from the sea can shape diversity patterns on islands and can even exceed the importance of isolation in determining species richness and densities of terrestrial biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora S Obrist
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.,Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0
| | - Patrick J Hanly
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.,Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0
| | - Jeremiah C Kennedy
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.,Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0
| | - Owen T Fitzpatrick
- Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0.,School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2
| | - Sara B Wickham
- Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0.,School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2
| | - Christopher M Ernst
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.,Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0
| | - Wiebe Nijland
- Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0.,School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2.,Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Luba Y Reshitnyk
- Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0
| | - Chris T Darimont
- Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0.,Department of Geography, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2.,Raincoast Conservation Foundation, PO Box 2429, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 3Y3
| | - Brian M Starzomski
- Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0.,School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2
| | - John D Reynolds
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.,Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada V0P 1H0
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17
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret A. Malone
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago 845 West Taylor Street (M/C 066) Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Field Museum of Natural History Chicago IL USA
| | - Abdel H. Halloway
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago 845 West Taylor Street (M/C 066) Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Dept of Botany and Plant Physiology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
| | - Joel S. Brown
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago 845 West Taylor Street (M/C 066) Chicago IL 60607 USA
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa FL USA
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18
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Van Moorleghem C, Huyghe K, Van Damme R. Chemosensory deficiency may render island-dwelling lizards more vulnerable to invasive predators. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz142] [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]
Abstract
AbstractNewly introduced predators constitute a major threat to prey populations worldwide. Insular prey animals in particular often do not succeed in overcoming their naivety towards alien predators, making them specifically vulnerable. Why this is the case remains incompletely understood. Here, we investigate how the ability to detect and respond to predator chemical cues varies among populations of the Dalmatian wall lizard, Podarcis melisellensis. Lizards were sampled from five locations in south-eastern Croatia (one mainland location and four islands) that varied in the composition of their predator community. We observed the lizards’ behaviour in response to chemical cues of native saurophagous snakes (the Balkan whip snake, Hierophis gemonensis, and eastern Montpellier snake, Malpolon insignitus) and an introduced mammalian predator (the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus – a species held responsible for the loss of numerous insular reptile populations worldwide). Mainland lizards showed elevated tongue-flick rates (indicative of scent detection) as well as behaviours associated with distress in response to scents of both native and introduced predators. In sharp contrast, island lizards did not alter their behaviour when confronted with any of the predator cues. Alarmingly, even lizards from islands with native predators (both snakes and mammals) and from an island on which mongooses were introduced during the 1920s were non-responsive. This suggests that insular populations are chemosensorily deprived. As failure at the predator-detection level is often seen as the most damaging form of naivety, these results provide further insight into the mechanisms that render insular-living animals vulnerable to invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katleen Huyghe
- Laboratory for Functional Morphology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Raoul Van Damme
- Laboratory for Functional Morphology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
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19
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Borker AL, Buxton RT, Jones IL, Major HL, Williams JC, Tershy BR, Croll DA. Do soundscape indices predict landscape‐scale restoration outcomes? A comparative study of restored seabird island soundscapes. Restor Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Abraham L. Borker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of California Santa Cruz, Center for Ocean Health, 115 McAllister Way Santa Cruz CA 95060 U.S.A
| | - Rachel T. Buxton
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation BiologyColorado State University Fort Collins CO 80523 U.S.A
| | - Ian L. Jones
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of Newfoundland St. John's NL A1B 3X9 Canada
| | - Heather L. Major
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of New Brunswick, PO Box 5050 Saint John NB E2L 4L5 Canada
| | | | - Bernie R. Tershy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of California Santa Cruz, Center for Ocean Health, 115 McAllister Way Santa Cruz CA 95060 U.S.A
| | - Donald A. Croll
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of California Santa Cruz, Center for Ocean Health, 115 McAllister Way Santa Cruz CA 95060 U.S.A
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20
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Benkwitt CE, Wilson SK, Graham NAJ. Seabird nutrient subsidies alter patterns of algal abundance and fish biomass on coral reefs following a bleaching event. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:2619-2632. [PMID: 31157944 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies play a key role in the structure and dynamics of recipient communities, but human activities are disrupting these links. Because nutrient subsidies may also enhance community stability, the effects of losing these inputs may be exacerbated in the face of increasing climate-related disturbances. Nutrients from seabirds nesting on oceanic islands enhance the productivity and functioning of adjacent coral reefs, but it is unknown whether these subsidies affect the response of coral reefs to mass bleaching events or whether the benefits of these nutrients persist following bleaching. To answer these questions, we surveyed benthic organisms and fishes around islands with seabirds and nearby islands without seabirds due to the presence of invasive rats. Surveys were conducted in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean, immediately before the 2015-2016 mass bleaching event and, in 2018, two years following the bleaching event. Regardless of the presence of seabirds, relative coral cover declined by 32%. However, there was a post-bleaching shift in benthic community structure around islands with seabirds, which did not occur around islands with invasive rats, characterized by increases in two types of calcareous algae (crustose coralline algae [CCA] and Halimeda spp.). All feeding groups of fishes were positively affected by seabirds, but only herbivores and piscivores were unaffected by the bleaching event and sustained the greatest difference in biomass between islands with seabirds versus those with invasive rats. By contrast, corallivores and planktivores, both of which are coral-dependent, experienced the greatest losses following bleaching. Even though seabird nutrients did not enhance community-wide resistance to bleaching, they may still promote recovery of these reefs through their positive influence on CCA and herbivorous fishes. More broadly, the maintenance of nutrient subsidies, via strategies including eradication of invasive predators, may be important in shaping the response of ecological communities to global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Shaun K Wilson
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
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21
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Sousa R, Nogueira JG, Ferreira A, Carvalho F, Lopes-Lima M, Varandas S, Teixeira A. A tale of shells and claws: The signal crayfish as a threat to the pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera in Europe. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 665:329-337. [PMID: 30772562 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera is a highly threatened species in Europe. Several mechanisms may be responsible for the decline in distribution and abundance of European pearl mussel populations, but almost no quantitative data exists about the possible negative impacts of invasive alien species (IAS). In this study, we clearly demonstrate that the invasive signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus predates pearl mussels, using a laboratorial experiment followed by in situ validation in four rivers in the North of Portugal (Mente, Rabaçal, Tuela and Baceiro Rivers; Douro Basin). In the laboratory, the crayfish had a clear preference for small-sized pearl mussels but no differences in predation were found in mesocosms with and without sediment. In addition, we clearly demonstrated that the signal crayfish predates pearl mussels in natural conditions and detected a significant density dependent effect (i.e., sites with more crayfish presented higher number of pearl mussel shells with marks of predation). Given the recent introduction of the signal crayfish and the potential negative impacts on pearl mussel populations we also investigated its autoecology (distribution, abundance, size structure and sex-ratio) in the four studied rivers. Significant differences in average abundance and size of the crayfish were detected between sites and the sex-ratio was highly skewed to females. In view of the widespread distribution of signal crayfish (and other invasive crayfish species) in Europe, future management actions devoted to the conservation of pearl mussels should take in consideration the possible negative effects of these predators, especially on juveniles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronaldo Sousa
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
| | - Joana Garrido Nogueira
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - André Ferreira
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Francisco Carvalho
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; IB-S - Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Manuel Lopes-Lima
- CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Simone Varandas
- CITAB-UTAD - Centre for Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Forestry Department, Vila Real, Portugal
| | - Amílcar Teixeira
- Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
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22
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Richardson KM, Iverson JB, Kurle CM. Marine subsidies likely cause gigantism of iguanas in the Bahamas. Oecologia 2019; 189:1005-1015. [PMID: 30850885 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04366-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We utilized natural experiment opportunities presented by differential conditions (presence/absence of seabirds and invasive species) on cays in the Bahamas to study whether interisland variations in food resources contributed to gigantism in Allen Cays Rock Iguanas (Cyclura cychlura inornata). We analyzed the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values from iguana tissues and resources from each island food web to test the predictions that (1) food webs on islands with seabirds exhibit the influence of marine subsidies from seabird guano, whereas those from non-seabird islands do not, and (2) size differences in iguanas among cays were due to either (a) supplemental food availability from mice and/or seabird carcasses killed by barn owls (Tyto alba) and/or (b) access to more nutrient-rich vegetation fertilized by seabird guano. Food web components from the seabird island (Allen Cay) had 5-9‰ higher δ15N values than those on the other cays and Allen Cay plants contained nearly two times more nitrogen. Bayesian stable isotope mixing models indicated that C3 plants dominated iguana diets on all islands and showed no evidence for consumption of mice or shearwaters. The iguanas on Allen Cay were ~ 2 times longer (48.3 ± 11.6 cm) and ~ 6 times heavier (5499 ± 2847 g) than iguanas on other cays and this was likely from marine-derived subsidies from seabird guano which caused an increase in nitrogen concentration in the plants and a resultant increase in the δ15N values across the entire food web relative to non-seabird islands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen M Richardson
- Division of Biological Sciences, Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution Section, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA
| | - John B Iverson
- Department of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, 47374, USA
| | - Carolyn M Kurle
- Division of Biological Sciences, Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution Section, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA.
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23
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Zuercher R, Galloway AWE. Coastal marine ecosystem connectivity: pelagic ocean to kelp forest subsidies. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Zuercher
- University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California 95060 USA
| | - Aaron W. E. Galloway
- Oregon Institute of Marine Biology University of Oregon Charleston Oregon 97420 USA
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24
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Wilson Rankin EE, Knowlton JL, Gruner DS, Flaspohler DJ, Giardina CP, Leopold DR, Buckardt A, Pitt WC, Fukami T. Vertical foraging shifts in Hawaiian forest birds in response to invasive rat removal. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202869. [PMID: 30248110 PMCID: PMC6152863 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Worldwide, native species increasingly contend with the interacting stressors of habitat fragmentation and invasive species, yet their combined effects have rarely been examined. Direct negative effects of invasive omnivores are well documented, but the indirect effects of resource competition or those caused by predator avoidance are unknown. Here we isolated and examined the independent and interactive effects of invasive omnivorous Black rats (Rattus rattus) and forest fragment size on the interactions between avian predators and their arthropod prey. Our study examines whether invasive omnivores and ecosystem fragment size impact: 1) the vertical distribution of arthropod species composition and abundance, and 2) the vertical profile of foraging behaviors of five native and two non-native bird species found in our study system. We predicted that the reduced edge effects and greater structural complexity and canopy height of larger fragments would limit the total and proportional habitat space frequented by rats and thus limit their impact on both arthropod biomass and birds' foraging behavior. We experimentally removed invasive omnivorous Black rats across a 100-fold (0.1 to 12 ha) size gradient of forest fragments on Hawai'i Island, and paired foraging observations of forest passerines with arthropod sampling in the 16 rat-removed and 18 control fragments. Rat removal was associated with shifts in the vertical distribution of arthropod biomass, irrespective of fragment size. Bird foraging behavior mirrored this shift, and the impact of rat removal was greater for birds that primarily eat fruit and insects compared with those that consume nectar. Evidence from this model study system indicates that invasive rats indirectly alter the feeding behavior of native birds, and consequently impact multiple trophic levels. This study suggests that native species can modify their foraging behavior in response to invasive species removal and presumably arrival through behavioral plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. Wilson Rankin
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jessie L. Knowlton
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Daniel S. Gruner
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - David J. Flaspohler
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Christian P. Giardina
- Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‛i, United States of America
| | - Devin R. Leopold
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Anna Buckardt
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - William C. Pitt
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Tadashi Fukami
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
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25
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Rechsteiner EU, Wickham SB, Watson JC. Predator effects link ecological communities: kelp created by sea otters provides an unexpected subsidy to bald eagles. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Erin U. Rechsteiner
- Hakai Institute P.O. Box 309 Heriot Bay British Columbia V0P 1H0 Canada
- Applied Conservation Science Lab University of Victoria P.O. Box 3060 STN CSC Victoria British Columbia V8W 3R4 Canada
| | - Sara B. Wickham
- Hakai Institute P.O. Box 309 Heriot Bay British Columbia V0P 1H0 Canada
- School of Environmental Studies University of Victoria P.O. Box 1700 STN CSC Victoria British Columbia V8W 2Y2 Canada
| | - Jane C. Watson
- Biology Department Vancouver Island University 900 Fifth Street Nanaimo British Columbia V9R 5S5 Canada
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26
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Buckner EV, Hernández DL, Samhouri JF. Conserving connectivity: Human influence on subsidy transfer and relevant restoration efforts. AMBIO 2018; 47:493-503. [PMID: 29127669 PMCID: PMC5884764 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-017-0989-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Conservation efforts tend to focus on the direct impacts humans have on their surrounding environment; however there are also many ways in which people indirectly affect ecosystems. Recent research on ecological subsidies-the transfer of energy and nutrients from one ecosystem to another-has highlighted the importance of nutrient exchange for maintaining productivity and diversity at a landscape scale, while also pointing toward the fragility of ecotones and vulnerability of subsidies to human activities. We review the recent literature on landscape connectivity and ecosystem subsidies from aquatic systems to terrestrial systems. Based on this review, we propose a conceptual model of how human activities may alter or eliminate the flow of energy and nutrients between ecosystems by influencing the delivery of subsidies along the pathway of transfer. To demonstrate the utility of this conceptual model, we discuss it in the context of case studies of subsidies derived from salmon, marine mammals, sea turtles, sea birds, and shoreline debris. Subsidy restoration may require a different set of actions from simply reversing the pathway of degradation. We suggest that effective restoration and conservation efforts will require a multifaceted approach, targeting many steps along the subsidy transfer pathway, to address these issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily V. Buckner
- Department of Biology, Carleton College, 1 North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057 USA
- Present Address: 3324 E Laurelhurst DR NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | - Daniel L. Hernández
- Department of Biology, Carleton College, 1 North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057 USA
| | - Jameal F. Samhouri
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, WA 98112 USA
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McCauley DJ, Gellner G, Martinez ND, Williams RJ, Sandin SA, Micheli F, Mumby PJ, McCann KS. On the prevalence and dynamics of inverted trophic pyramids and otherwise top-heavy communities. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:439-454. [PMID: 29316114 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2017] [Revised: 08/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Classically, biomass partitioning across trophic levels was thought to add up to a pyramidal distribution. Numerous exceptions have, however, been noted including complete pyramidal inversions. Elevated levels of biomass top-heaviness (i.e. high consumer/resource biomass ratios) have been reported from Arctic tundra communities to Brazilian phytotelmata, and in species assemblages as diverse as those dominated by sharks and ants. We highlight two major pathways for creating top-heaviness, via: (1) endogenous channels that enhance energy transfer across trophic boundaries within a community and (2) exogenous pathways that transfer energy into communities from across spatial and temporal boundaries. Consumer-resource models and allometric trophic network models combined with niche models reveal the nature of core mechanisms for promoting top-heaviness. Outputs from these models suggest that top-heavy communities can be stable, but they also reveal sources of instability. Humans are both increasing and decreasing top-heaviness in nature with ecological consequences. Current and future research on the drivers of top-heaviness can help elucidate fundamental mechanisms that shape the architecture of ecological communities and govern energy flux within and between communities. Questions emerging from the study of top-heaviness also usefully draw attention to the incompleteness and inconsistency by which ecologists often establish definitional boundaries for communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas J McCauley
- University of California Santa Barbara, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology & Marine Science Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Gabriel Gellner
- Colorado State University, Biology, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Neo D Martinez
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | | | - Stuart A Sandin
- Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 8750 Biological Grade, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Fiorenza Micheli
- Hopkins Marine Station and Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950, USA
| | - Peter J Mumby
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, Goddard Bldg, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Kevin S McCann
- University of Guelph, Integrative Biology, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
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Gounand I, Harvey E, Little CJ, Altermatt F. Meta-Ecosystems 2.0: Rooting the Theory into the Field. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:36-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Plentovich S, Russell T, Fejeran CC. Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) reduce numbers and impede development of a burrow-nesting seabird. Biol Invasions 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-017-1516-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Buij R, Melman TCP, Loonen MJJE, Fox AD. Balancing ecosystem function, services and disservices resulting from expanding goose populations. AMBIO 2017; 46:301-318. [PMID: 28215006 PMCID: PMC5316333 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-017-0902-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
As goose populations increase in abundance, their influence on ecological processes is increasing. We review the evidence for key ecological functions of wild goose populations in Eurasia and North America, including aquatic invertebrate and plant propagule transport, nutrient deposition in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the influence of goose populations on vegetation biomass, carbon storage and methane emission, species diversity and disease transmission. To estimate the implications of their growing abundance for humans, we explore how these functions contribute to the provision of ecosystem services and disservices. We assess the weight, extent and trends among such impacts, as well as the balance of their value to society. We examine key unresolved issues to enable a more balanced assessment of the economic costs or benefits of migratory geese along their flyways, including the spatial and temporal variation in services and their contrasting value to different user groups. Many ecological functions of geese are concluded to provide neither services nor disservices and, ecosystem disservices currently appear to outweigh services, although this varies between regions. We consider an improved quantification of ecosystem services and disservices, and how these vary along population flyways with respect to variation in valuing certain cultural services, and under different management scenarios aimed at reducing their disservices, essential for a more balanced management of goose populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Buij
- Team Animal Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Anthony D. Fox
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark
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31
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Mollot G, Pantel J, Romanuk T. The Effects of Invasive Species on the Decline in Species Richness. ADV ECOL RES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Young HS, McCauley DJ, Galetti M, Dirzo R. Patterns, Causes, and Consequences of Anthropocene Defaunation. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2016. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 233] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Anthropocene defaunation, the global extinction of faunal species and populations and the decline in abundance of individuals within populations, has been predominantly documented in terrestrial ecosystems, but indicators suggest defaunation has been more severe in freshwater ecosystems. Marine defaunation is in a more incipient stage, yet pronounced effects are already apparent and its rapid acceleration seems likely. Defaunation now impacts the planet's wildlife with profound cascading consequences, ranging from local to global coextinctions of interacting species to the loss of ecological services critical for humanity. Slowing defaunation will require aggressively reducing animal overexploitation and habitat destruction; mitigating climate disruption; and stabilizing the impacts of human population growth and uneven resource consumption. Given its omnipresence, defaunation should receive status of major global environmental change and should be addressed with the same urgency as deforestation, pollution, and climatic change. Global action is needed to prevent defaunation's current trajectory from catalyzing the planet's sixth major extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary S. Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Douglas J. McCauley
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Mauro Galetti
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 13506–900 Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rodolfo Dirzo
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
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33
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O'Gorman EJ. It's only a matter of time: the altered role of subsidies in a warming world. J Anim Ecol 2016; 85:1133-5. [PMID: 27511321 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Clockwise from left: an experimental stream reach from the study, highlighting the fences used to contain fish as the apex predator; a cutthroat trout from the experiment, the only fish species in the study streams; stomach contents from a fish, highlighting the major role of the terrestrial subsidy (mealworms) in the diet. In Focus: Sato, T., El-Sabaawi, R.W., Campbell, K., Ohta, T. & Richardson, J.S. (2016) A test of the effects of timing of a pulsed resource subsidy on stream ecosystems. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85, 1136-1146. Cross-ecosystem subsidies play a critical role in maintaining the structure and functioning of natural communities, especially if they are asynchronous with resource production in the recipient ecosystem. Sato et al. () use a large-scale field experiment to show that changes in the timing of a pulsed terrestrial subsidy can alter stream dynamics from the individual to the ecosystem level. With increasing evidence that global warming will alter the timing, magnitude and frequency of allochthonous inputs, these findings make an important contribution to our understanding of how such changes will reverberate throughout ecosystems that depend on subsidies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eoin J O'Gorman
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
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34
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Digging Further into Wolf-Deer Interactions: Food Web Effects on Soil Nitrogen Availability in a Great Lakes Forest. AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 2016. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-176.1.147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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35
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Sobral FL, Lees AC, Cianciaruso MV. Introductions do not compensate for functional and phylogenetic losses following extinctions in insular bird assemblages. Ecol Lett 2016; 19:1091-100. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fernando L. Sobral
- Departamento de Ecologia; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade Federal de Goiás; Goiânia Goiás CP 131 74001-970 Brazil
| | - Alexander C. Lees
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Cornell University; 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd Ithaca NY 14850 USA
| | - Marcus V. Cianciaruso
- Departamento de Ecologia; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade Federal de Goiás; Goiânia Goiás CP 131 74001-970 Brazil
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36
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Worm B, Paine RT. Humans as a Hyperkeystone Species. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:600-607. [PMID: 27312777 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Revised: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Ecologists have identified numerous keystone species, defined as organisms that have outsized ecological impacts relative to their biomass. Here we identify human beings as a higher-order or 'hyperkeystone' species that drives complex interaction chains by affecting other keystone actors across different habitats. Strong indirect effects and a global reach further characterize these interactions and amplify the impacts of human activities on diverse ecosystems, from oceans to forests. We require better understanding of hyperkeystone interaction chains most urgently, especially for marine species and terrestrial large carnivores, which experience relatively higher exploitation rates than other species. This requires innovative approaches that integrate the study of human behavior with food-web theory, and which might provide surprising new insights into the complex ecology of our own species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Worm
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H4R2, Canada.
| | - Robert T Paine
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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37
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Gharajehdaghipour T, Roth JD, Fafard PM, Markham JH. Arctic foxes as ecosystem engineers: increased soil nutrients lead to increased plant productivity on fox dens. Sci Rep 2016; 6:24020. [PMID: 27045973 PMCID: PMC4820751 DOI: 10.1038/srep24020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Top predators can provide fundamental ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, and their impact can be even greater in environments with low nutrients and productivity, such as Arctic tundra. We estimated the effects of Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) denning on soil nutrient dynamics and vegetation production near Churchill, Manitoba in June and August 2014. Soils from fox dens contained higher nutrient levels in June (71% more inorganic nitrogen, 1195% more extractable phosphorous) and in August (242% more inorganic nitrogen, 191% more extractable phosphorous) than adjacent control sites. Inorganic nitrogen levels decreased from June to August on both dens and controls, whereas extractable phosphorous increased. Pup production the previous year, which should enhance nutrient deposition (from urine, feces, and decomposing prey), did not affect soil nutrient concentrations, suggesting the impact of Arctic foxes persists >1 year. Dens supported 2.8 times greater vegetation biomass in August, but δ(15)N values in sea lyme grass (Leymus mollis) were unaffected by denning. By concentrating nutrients on dens Arctic foxes enhance nutrient cycling as an ecosystem service and thus engineer Arctic ecosystems on local scales. The enhanced productivity in patches on the landscape could subsequently affect plant diversity and the dispersion of herbivores on the tundra.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tazarve Gharajehdaghipour
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - James D. Roth
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Paul M. Fafard
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - John H. Markham
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
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38
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Ricca MA, Miles AK, Van Vuren DH, Eviner VT. Impacts of introduced
Rangifer
on ecosystem processes of maritime tundra on subarctic islands. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Ricca
- U.S. Geological SurveyWestern Ecological Research CenterUniversity of California One Shields Avenue Davis California 95616 USA
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation BiologyUniversity of California Davis California 95616 USA
| | - A. Keith Miles
- U.S. Geological SurveyWestern Ecological Research CenterUniversity of California One Shields Avenue Davis California 95616 USA
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation BiologyUniversity of California Davis California 95616 USA
| | - Dirk H. Van Vuren
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation BiologyUniversity of California Davis California 95616 USA
| | - Valerie T. Eviner
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of California Davis California 95616 USA
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39
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40
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Novais A, Souza AT, Ilarri M, Pascoal C, Sousa R. From water to land: How an invasive clam may function as a resource pulse to terrestrial invertebrates. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2015; 538:664-671. [PMID: 26327634 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 08/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Resource pulses are episodes of low frequency, large magnitude and short duration that result in increased resource availability in space and time, with consequences for food web dynamics. Studies assessing the importance of resource pulses by invasive alien species in the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are rare, especially those in the direction from water to land. This study assessed the importance of massive die-offs of the Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) as a resource pulse to the terrestrial invertebrate community after an extreme climatic event using a manipulative experiment. We used 5 levels of C. fluminea density (0, 100, 500, 1000 and 2000ind·m(-2)), with terrestrial invertebrates being censused 7, 30 and 90days after C. fluminea addition. We also assessed the possible effect of plots position, where plots that delimited the experiment were assigned as edge plots and the remaining as core plots. Clear differences were detected in abundance, biomass, richness and diversity of terrestrial invertebrates depending on the C. fluminea density, time and position. Interestingly, the highest abundance of adult Diptera was observed 7days after C. fluminea addition, whereas that of the other terrestrial invertebrates was on day 30, both with C. fluminea densities higher than 500ind·m(-2) located on the edge of the experimental design. This study highlights the importance of major resource pulses after massive die-offs of invasive bivalves, contributing with remarkable amounts of carrion for adjacent terrestrial systems. Part of this carrion can be consumed directly by a great number of invertebrate species while the remainder can enter the detrital food web. Given the high density and biomass attained by several invasive bivalves worldwide and the predicted increase in the number, intensity and magnitude of extreme climatic events, the ecological importance of this phenomenon should be further investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Novais
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campos de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; CIIMAR/CIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, P 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Allan T Souza
- CIIMAR/CIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, P 4050-123 Porto, Portugal
| | - Martina Ilarri
- CIIMAR/CIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, P 4050-123 Porto, Portugal; ICBAS-UP - Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal
| | - Cláudia Pascoal
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campos de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Ronaldo Sousa
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campos de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; CIIMAR/CIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, P 4050-123 Porto, Portugal
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41
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Otero XL, Tejada O, Martín-Pastor M, De La Peña S, Ferreira TO, Pérez-Alberti A. Phosphorus in seagull colonies and the effect on the habitats. The case of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) in the Atlantic Islands National Park (Galicia-NW Spain). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2015; 532:383-397. [PMID: 26081740 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2015] [Revised: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
During the period 1980-2000, the yellow-legged gull population underwent exponential growth due to an increase in the availability of anthropogenic food resources. The aim of this study was to highlight the effect of the gull colonies on the P soil cycle and the associated effects on coastal ecosystems. Samples of soil, water and faecal material were collected in a colony of yellow-legged gulls (Cíes Islands) and in a control area. Four sampling plots were installed in the study areas, and samples were collected in summer and winter in 1997 and 2011. Sample analysis included soil characterization and determination of the total P content (TP), bioavailable-P and fractionated-P forms in the soils and faecal material. The (31)P NMR technique was also used to determine organic P forms. Clear differences between the gull colony soils and the control soil were observed. The TP was 3 times higher in the gull colony soil, and the bioavailable P was 30 times higher than in the control soil. The P forms present at highest concentrations in the faecal material (P-apatite, P-residual and P-humic acid) were also present at high concentrations in the colony soil. The absence of any seasonal or annual differences in P concentration indicates that the P has remained stable in the soil over time, regardless of the changes in the gull population density. The degree of P saturation indicated that soils are saturated with P due to the low concentration of Fe/Al-hydroxides, which is consistent with a high P concentration in the run-off from the colonies. The P output from the colony soils to coastal waters may cause eutrophication of a nearby lagoon and the disappearance of a Zostera marina seagrass meadow. Similarly, the enrichment of P concentration in dune system of Muxieiro may induce irreversible changes in the plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- X L Otero
- Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Departamento de Tecnología de Ciencia de los Alimentos y Biotecnología. Universidad Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador.
| | - O Tejada
- Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - M Martín-Pastor
- Rede de Infraestruturas de Apoio á Investigación e ao Desenvolvemento Tecnolóxico (RIAIDT), Edificio Cactus, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - S De La Peña
- Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - T O Ferreira
- Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Universidade de São Paulo, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - A Pérez-Alberti
- Departamento de Xeografía, Facultade de Xeografía e Historia, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
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Abstract
Spiders can cause trophic cascades affecting litter decomposition rates. However, it remains unclear how spiders with different foraging strategies influence faunal communities, or present cascading effects on decomposition. Furthermore, increased dry periods predicted in future climates will likely have important consequences for trophic interactions in detritus-based food webs. We investigated independent and interactive effects of spider predation and drought on litter decomposition in a tropical forest floor. We manipulated densities of dominant spiders with actively hunting or sit-and-wait foraging strategies in microcosms which mimicked the tropical-forest floor. We found a positive trophic cascade on litter decomposition was triggered by actively hunting spiders under ambient rainfall, but sit-and-wait spiders did not cause this. The drought treatment reversed the effect of actively hunting spiders on litter decomposition. Under drought conditions, we observed negative trophic cascade effects on litter decomposition in all three spider treatments. Thus, reduced rainfall can alter predator-induced indirect effects on lower trophic levels and ecosystem processes, and is an example of how such changes may alter trophic cascades in detritus-based webs of tropical forests.
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43
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Wojciechowska A, Zwolicki A, Barcikowski A, Stempniewicz L. The structure of Cochlearia groenlandica population along the bird colony influence gradient (Hornsund, Spitsbergen). Polar Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-015-1755-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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44
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Sitters J, Atkinson CL, Guelzow N, Kelly P, Sullivan LL. Spatial stoichiometry: cross-ecosystem material flows and their impact on recipient ecosystems and organisms. OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.02392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Judith Sitters
- Dept of Ecology and Environmental Science; Umeå Univ.; SE-901 87 Umeå Sweden
| | - Carla L. Atkinson
- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Cornell Univ.; Ithaca NY 14853 USA
| | - Nils Guelzow
- Dept of Geography and Environment; Mount Allison Univ.; Sackville, New Brunswick NB E4L 1E2 Canada
| | - Patrick Kelly
- Dept of Biological Sciences; Univ. of Notre Dame; Notre Dame IN 46556 USA
| | - Lauren L. Sullivan
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology; Iowa State Univ.; Ames IA 50011-1020 USA
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45
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Menge BA, Gouhier TC, Hacker SD, Chan F, Nielsen KJ. Are meta-ecosystems organized hierarchically? A model and test in rocky intertidal habitats. ECOL MONOGR 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/14-0113.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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46
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Treasure AM, Ruzicka JJ, Moloney CL, Gurney LJ, Ansorge IJ. Land–Sea Interactions and Consequences for Sub-Antarctic Marine Food Webs. Ecosystems 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9860-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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47
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Cryptic function loss in animal populations. Trends Ecol Evol 2015; 30:182-9. [PMID: 25678379 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Revised: 01/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The essential functional roles performed by animal species are lost when they become locally extinct, and ecosystems are critically threatened by this decline in functional diversity. Theory that links function, diversity, and ecosystem stability exists but fails to assess function loss that occurs in species with persistent populations. The entire functional role of a species, or a critical component of it, can be lost following large population declines (functional extinction), following population increase, or after behavioural adaptations to changes in the population, community, habitat, or climate. Here, we provide a framework that identifies the scenarios under which 'cryptic' function loss can occur in persistent populations. Cryptic function loss is potentially widespread and critically threatens ecosystem stability across the globe.
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48
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Gounand I, Mouquet N, Canard E, Guichard F, Hauzy C, Gravel D. The Paradox of Enrichment in Metaecosystems. Am Nat 2014; 184:752-63. [DOI: 10.1086/678406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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49
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VanderWerf EA, Young LC, Crow SE, Opie E, Yamazaki H, Miller CJ, Anderson DG, Brown LS, Smith DG, Eijzenga J. Increase in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Changes in Soil Nutrients following Removal of Alien Mammalian Predators and Nitrogen-fixing Plants at Kaena Point, Hawaii. Restor Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.12126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Susan E. Crow
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management; University of Hawaii; Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - Eryn Opie
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management; University of Hawaii; Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - Hironao Yamazaki
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management; University of Hawaii; Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - Christopher J. Miller
- Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; Natural Area Reserve System; Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - David G. Anderson
- Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; Natural Area Reserve System; Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - Leland S. Brown
- Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; Natural Area Reserve System; Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - David G. Smith
- Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; Division of Forestry and Wildlife; 2135 Makiki Heights Drive Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
| | - Jakob Eijzenga
- Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; Division of Forestry and Wildlife; 2135 Makiki Heights Drive Honolulu HI 96822 U.S.A
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Ricciardi A, Hoopes MF, Marchetti MP, Lockwood JL. Progress toward understanding the ecological impacts of nonnative species. ECOL MONOGR 2013. [DOI: 10.1890/13-0183.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 451] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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