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Miranda A, Syphard AD, Berdugo M, Carrasco J, Gómez-González S, Ovalle JF, Delpiano CA, Vargas S, Squeo FA, Miranda MD, Dobbs C, Mentler R, Lara A, Garreaud R. Widespread synchronous decline of Mediterranean-type forest driven by accelerated aridity. NATURE PLANTS 2023; 9:1810-1817. [PMID: 37845335 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01541-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Large-scale, abrupt ecosystem change in direct response to climate extremes is a critical but poorly documented phenomenon1. Yet, recent increases in climate-induced tree mortality raise concern that some forest ecosystems are on the brink of collapse across wide environmental gradients2,3. Here we assessed climatic and productivity trends across the world's five Mediterranean forest ecosystems from 2000 to 2021 and detected a large-scale, abrupt forest browning and productivity decline in Chile (>90% of the forest in <100 days), responding to a sustained, acute drought. The extreme dry and warm conditions in Chile, unprecedented in the recent history of all Mediterranean-type ecosystems, are akin to those projected to arise in the second half of the century4. Long-term recovery of this forest is uncertain given an ongoing decline in regional water balance. This dramatic plummet of forest productivity may be a spyglass to the future for other Mediterranean ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Miranda
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Conservación, Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile.
| | - Alexandra D Syphard
- Department of Geography, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
- Conservation Biology Institute, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environment Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Jaime Carrasco
- Departamento de Industria, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Santiago, Chile
| | - Susana Gómez-González
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Biología-IVAGRO, Universidad de Cádiz, Puerto Real, Spain
- Center for Fire and Socioecological Systems (FireSES), Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Juan F Ovalle
- Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y de La Conservación de la Naturaleza, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Santiago, Chile
| | - Cristian A Delpiano
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile
| | - Solange Vargas
- Departamento de Química y Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó, Chile
| | - Francisco A Squeo
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile
| | - Marcelo D Miranda
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cynnamon Dobbs
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, Mansfield, CT, USA
| | - Rayen Mentler
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile
| | - Antonio Lara
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile
- Instituto de Conservación, Biodiversidad y Territorio, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Fundación Centro de los Bosques Nativos FORECOS, Valdivia, Chile
| | - René Garreaud
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Geofísica, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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2
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Cuartas‐Domínguez M, Robles V, Arroyo MTK. Large flowers can be short‐lived: Insights from a high Andean cactus. Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Valeria Robles
- Centro Internacional Cabo de Hornos (CHIC) Universidad de Magallanes Puerto Williams Chile
| | - Mary T. K. Arroyo
- Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Chile Santiago Chile
- Centro Internacional Cabo de Hornos (CHIC) Universidad de Magallanes Puerto Williams Chile
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB) Barrio Universitario Concepción Chile
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3
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Local Actions to Tackle a Global Problem: A Multidimensional Assessment of the Pollination Crisis in Chile. DIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/d13110571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In the last decades, pollinators have drastically declined as a consequence of anthropogenic activities that have local and global impacts. The food industry has been expanding intensive agriculture crops, many of them dependent on animal pollination, but simultaneously reducing native pollinator habitats. Chile is a good example of this situation. Chile is becoming an agro-alimentary powerhouse in Latin America, where intensive agriculture expansion is performed at the expense of natural lands, posing a major threat to biodiversity. Here, we discussed the drivers responsible for the decline of pollinators (including habitat loss, pesticides, invasive species, and climate change) and its synergistic effects. This is particularly critical considering that Chile is a hotspot of endemic bee species locally adapted to specific habitats (e.g., Mediterranean-type ecosystems). However, there is a lack of data and monitoring programs that can provide evidence of their conservation status and contribution to crop yields. Based on our analysis, we identified information gaps to be filled and key threats to be addressed to reconcile crop production and biodiversity conservation. Addressing the local context is fundamental to undertake management and conservation actions with global impact.
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Endres KL, Morozumi CN, Loy X, Briggs HM, CaraDonna PJ, Iler AM, Picklum DA, Barr WA, Brosi BJ. Plant-pollinator interaction niche broadens in response to severe drought perturbations. Oecologia 2021; 197:577-588. [PMID: 34546496 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05036-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The composition of plant-pollinator interactions-i.e., who interacts with whom in diverse communities-is highly dynamic, and we have a very limited understanding of how interaction identities change in response to perturbations in nature. One prediction from niche and diet theory is that resource niches will broaden to compensate for resource reductions driven by perturbations, yet this has not been empirically tested in plant-pollinator systems in response to real-world perturbations in the field. Here, we use a long-term dataset of floral visitation to Ipomopsis aggregata, a montane perennial herb, to test whether the breadth of its floral visitation niche (i.e., flower visitor richness) changed in response to naturally occurring drought perturbations. Fewer floral resources are available in drought years, which could drive pollinators to expand their foraging niches, thereby expanding plants' floral visitation niches. We compared two drought years to three non-drought years to analyze changes in niche breadth and community composition of floral visitors to I. aggregata, predicting broadened niche breadth and distinct visitor community composition in drought years compared to non-drought years. We found statistically significant increases in niche breadth in drought years as compared to non-drought conditions, but no statistically distinguishable changes in community composition of flower visitors. Our findings suggest that plants' floral visitation niches may exhibit considerable plasticity in response to disturbance. This may have widespread consequences for community-level stability as well as functional consequences if increased niche overlap affects pollination services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly L Endres
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Connor N Morozumi
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA.
| | - Xingwen Loy
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA
| | | | - Paul J CaraDonna
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA
- Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Chicago Botanic Garden, The Negaunee Institute of Plant Conservation Science and Action, Glencoe, IL, USA
| | - Amy M Iler
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA
- Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Chicago Botanic Garden, The Negaunee Institute of Plant Conservation Science and Action, Glencoe, IL, USA
| | - Devon A Picklum
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
| | - William A Barr
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA
| | - Berry J Brosi
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Redonda-Martínez R, Pliscoff P, Moreira-Muñoz A, Martínez Salas EM, Samain MS. Towards Conservation of the Remarkably High Number of Daisy Trees (Asteraceae) in Mexico. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10030534. [PMID: 33809003 PMCID: PMC8000269 DOI: 10.3390/plants10030534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Mexico is floristically the fourth most species-rich country in the world, and Asteraceae is the most diverse vascular plant family in this country. The species exhibits a wide range of growth forms, but the tree-like habit, appropriately named daisy trees, is heavily underestimated, even though slightly different tree definitions are handled. Very little is known about their precise species number or conservation status in Mexico, so we update here the list of known Mexican daisy tree species, summarize their very diverse uses, present a general panorama of their present and future distribution, and discuss their conservation status. A bibliographic review and herbarium study were carried out, carefully curated taxonomical ocurrence maps were prepared for each species, and a climatic suitability modelling approach was used to characterise the spatial patterns of Mexican Asteraceae trees. With 149 daisy tree species, the country ranks second at a global level; within the country, their greatest diversity is found in central and western Mexico. A decrease in diversity is estimated in areas that currently host the highest species richness, whereas the hotspot regions are estimated to show an increase in species diversity, so climate change is not a threat to all Mexican daisy tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Redonda-Martínez
- Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red de Diversidad Biológica del Occidente Mexicano, Pátzcuaro 61600, Michoacán, Mexico;
- Correspondence:
| | - Patricio Pliscoff
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago 8331150, Chile;
- Instituto de Geografía, Facultad de Historia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Geografía y Ciencia Política, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820436, Chile
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Andrés Moreira-Muñoz
- Instituto de Geografía, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Avenida Brasil 2241, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile;
| | - Esteban Manuel Martínez Salas
- Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Herbario Nacional de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - Marie-Stéphanie Samain
- Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red de Diversidad Biológica del Occidente Mexicano, Pátzcuaro 61600, Michoacán, Mexico;
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Arroyo MTK, Tamburrino Í, Pliscoff P, Robles V, Colldecarrera M, Guerrero PC. Flowering Phenology Adjustment and Flower Longevity in a South American Alpine Species. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:plants10030461. [PMID: 33671053 PMCID: PMC7997458 DOI: 10.3390/plants10030461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Delayed flowering due to later snowmelt and colder temperatures at higher elevations in the alpine are expected to lead to flowering phenological adjustment to prevent decoupling of peak flowering from the warmest time of the year, thereby favoring pollination. However, even if flowering is brought forward in the season at higher elevations, an elevational temperature gap is likely to remain between the high- and low-elevation populations of a species at the time these reach peak flowering on account of the atmospheric reduction in temperature with increasing elevation. The negative effect of this temperature gap on pollination could be compensated by plastically-prolonged flower life spans at higher elevations, increasing the probability of pollination. In a tightly temperature-controlled study, the flowering phenology adjustment and flower longevity compensation hypotheses were investigated in an alpine species in the Andes of central Chile. The snow free period varied from 7 to 8.2 months over 810 m elevation. Temperatures were suitable for growth on 82-98% of the snow free days. Flowering onset was temporally displaced at the rate of 4.6 d per 100 m increase in elevation and flowering was more synchronous at higher elevations. Flowering phenology was adjusted over elevation. The latter was manifest in thermal sums tending to decrease with elevation for population flowering onset, 50% flowering, and peak flowering when the lower thermal limit for growth (TBASE) was held constant over elevation. For TBASE graded over elevation so as to reflect the growing season temperature decline, thermal sums did not vary with elevation, opening the door to a possible elevational decline in the thermal temperature threshold for growth. Potential flower longevity was reduced by passive warming and was more prolonged in natural populations when temperatures were lower, indicating a plastic trait. Pollination rates, as evaluated with the Relative Pollination Rate index (RPR), when weighted for differences in floral abundance over the flowering season, declined with elevation as did fruit set. Contrary to expectation, the life-spans of flowers at higher elevations were not more prolonged and failed to compensate for the elevational decrease in pollination rates. Although strong evidence for phenological adjustment was forthcoming, flower longevity compensation did not occur over Oxalis squamata´s elevational range. Thus, flower longevity compensation is not applicable in all alpine species. Comparison with work conducted several decades ago on the same species in the same area provides valuable clues regarding the effects of climate change on flowering phenology and fitness in the central Chilean alpine where temperatures have been increasing and winter snow accumulation has been declining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary T. K. Arroyo
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile; (Í.T.); (V.R.)
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile;
| | - Ítalo Tamburrino
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile; (Í.T.); (V.R.)
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile;
| | - Patricio Pliscoff
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Ponticia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago 8331150, Chile;
- Instituto de Geografía, Facultad de Historia, Geografía y Ciencia Política, Ponticia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7820436, Chile
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Valeria Robles
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile; (Í.T.); (V.R.)
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile;
| | - Maria Colldecarrera
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile;
| | - Pablo C. Guerrero
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales & Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160C, Concepción 4030000, Chile;
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Hung KLJ, Sandoval SS, Ascher JS, Holway DA. Joint Impacts of Drought and Habitat Fragmentation on Native Bee Assemblages in a California Biodiversity Hotspot. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12020135. [PMID: 33562453 PMCID: PMC7914906 DOI: 10.3390/insects12020135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Global climate change is causing more frequent and severe droughts, which can have serious impacts on our environment. To examine how a severe drought in 2014 impacted wild bees in scrub habitats of San Diego, California, we compared bee samples collected before and after the drought. We also investigated whether habitat loss and fragmentation worsened the impacts of drought on wild bees by comparing samples collected from large natural reserves to those from small fragments of scrub habitat embedded in urban areas. Samples collected after the drought contained fewer bee species and fewer individual bees of most species, indicating that bee populations suffered losses during the drought. However, after-drought samples contained large numbers of Dialictus sweat bees, indicating that some bee species benefitted from environmental conditions present during the drought. The impact of drought on the composition of bee samples was three fold higher than the impact of habitat fragmentation, and habitat fragmentation did not appear to have exacerbated the impacts of drought. Our findings highlight the importance of studying how impacts of climate change compare with impacts of habitat loss and other threats to biodiversity conservation. Abstract Global climate change is causing more frequent and severe droughts, which could have serious repercussions for the maintenance of biodiversity. Here, we compare native bee assemblages collected via bowl traps before and after a severe drought event in 2014 in San Diego, California, and examine the relative magnitude of impacts from drought in fragmented habitat patches versus unfragmented natural reserves. Bee richness and diversity were higher in assemblages surveyed before the drought compared to those surveyed after the drought. However, bees belonging to the Lasioglossum subgenus Dialictus increased in abundance after the drought, driving increased representation by small-bodied, primitively eusocial, and generalist bees in post-drought assemblages. Conversely, among non-Dialictus bees, post-drought years were associated with decreased abundance and reduced representation by eusocial species. Drought effects were consistently greater in reserves, which supported more bee species, than in fragments, suggesting that fragmentation either had redundant impacts with drought, or ameliorated effects of drought by enhancing bees’ access to floral resources in irrigated urban environments. Shifts in assemblage composition associated with drought were three times greater compared to those associated with habitat fragmentation, highlighting the importance of understanding the impacts of large-scale climatic events relative to those associated with land use change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keng-Lou James Hung
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California—San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; (S.S.S.); (D.A.H.)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
- Correspondence:
| | - Sara S. Sandoval
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California—San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; (S.S.S.); (D.A.H.)
| | - John S. Ascher
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore;
| | - David A. Holway
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California—San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; (S.S.S.); (D.A.H.)
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