1
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Johnson TF, Beckerman AP, Childs DZ, Webb TJ, Evans KL, Griffiths CA, Capdevila P, Clements CF, Besson M, Gregory RD, Thomas GH, Delmas E, Freckleton RP. Revealing uncertainty in the status of biodiversity change. Nature 2024; 628:788-794. [PMID: 38538788 PMCID: PMC11041640 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07236-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Biodiversity faces unprecedented threats from rapid global change1. Signals of biodiversity change come from time-series abundance datasets for thousands of species over large geographic and temporal scales. Analyses of these biodiversity datasets have pointed to varied trends in abundance, including increases and decreases. However, these analyses have not fully accounted for spatial, temporal and phylogenetic structures in the data. Here, using a new statistical framework, we show across ten high-profile biodiversity datasets2-11 that increases and decreases under existing approaches vanish once spatial, temporal and phylogenetic structures are accounted for. This is a consequence of existing approaches severely underestimating trend uncertainty and sometimes misestimating the trend direction. Under our revised average abundance trends that appropriately recognize uncertainty, we failed to observe a single increasing or decreasing trend at 95% credible intervals in our ten datasets. This emphasizes how little is known about biodiversity change across vast spatial and taxonomic scales. Despite this uncertainty at vast scales, we reveal improved local-scale prediction accuracy by accounting for spatial, temporal and phylogenetic structures. Improved prediction offers hope of estimating biodiversity change at policy-relevant scales, guiding adaptive conservation responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Johnson
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
| | - A P Beckerman
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - D Z Childs
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - T J Webb
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - K L Evans
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - C A Griffiths
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Lysekil, Sweden
| | - P Capdevila
- School of Biological Sciences, Biosciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - C F Clements
- School of Biological Sciences, Biosciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - M Besson
- School of Biological Sciences, Biosciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - R D Gregory
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, The Lodge, Sandy, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - G H Thomas
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - E Delmas
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Habitat, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Institut des Sciences de la Forêt Tempérée, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Ripon, Quebec, Canada
| | - R P Freckleton
- School of Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Debrecen Biodiversity Centre, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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2
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Varah A, Ahodo K, Childs DZ, Comont D, Crook L, Freckleton RP, Goodsell R, Hicks HL, Hull R, Neve P, Norris K. Acting pre-emptively reduces the long-term costs of managing herbicide resistance. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6201. [PMID: 38485959 PMCID: PMC10940647 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56525-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Globally, pesticides improve crop yields but at great environmental cost, and their overuse has caused resistance. This incurs large financial and production losses but, despite this, very diversified farm management that might delay or prevent resistance is uncommon in intensive farming. We asked farmers to design more diversified cropping strategies aimed at controlling herbicide resistance, and estimated resulting weed densities, profits, and yields compared to prevailing practice. Where resistance is low, it is financially viable to diversify pre-emptively; however, once resistance is high, there are financial and production disincentives to adopting diverse rotations. It is therefore as important to manage resistance before it becomes widespread as it is to control it once present. The diverse rotations targeting high resistance used increased herbicide application frequency and volume, contributing to these rotations' lack of financial viability, and raising concerns about glyphosate resistance. Governments should encourage adoption of diverse rotations in areas without resistance. Where resistance is present, governments may wish to incentivise crop diversification despite the drop in wheat production as it is likely to bring environmental co-benefits. Our research suggests we need long-term, proactive, food security planning and more integrated policy-making across farming, environment, and health arenas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexa Varah
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK.
| | - Kwadjo Ahodo
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK
| | - David Comont
- Department of Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Laura Crook
- Department of Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK
| | - Rob Goodsell
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK
- Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helen L Hicks
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK
- School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Brackenhurst Campus, Southwell, UK
| | - Richard Hull
- Department of Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Paul Neve
- Department of Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Hoejbakkegaard Alle, 2630, Taastrup, Denmark
| | - Ken Norris
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK
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3
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Sze JS, Childs DZ, Carrasco LR, Fernández-Llamazares Á, Garnett ST, Edwards DP. Indigenous Peoples' Lands are critical for safeguarding vertebrate diversity across the tropics. Glob Chang Biol 2024; 30:e16981. [PMID: 37888836 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Indigenous Peoples are long-term custodians of their lands, but only recently are their contributions to conservation starting to be recognized in biodiversity policy and practice. Tropical forest loss and degradation are lower in Indigenous lands than unprotected areas, yet the role of Indigenous Peoples' Lands (IPL) in biodiversity conservation has not been properly assessed from regional to global scales. Using species distribution ranges of 11,872 tropical forest-dependent vertebrates to create area of habitat maps, we identified the overlap of these species ranges with IPL and then compared values inside and outside of IPL for species richness, extinction vulnerability, and range-size rarity. Of assessed vertebrates, at least 76.8% had range overlaps with IPL, on average overlapping ~25% of their ranges; at least 120 species were found only within IPL. Species richness within IPL was highest in South America, while IPL in Southeast Asia had highest extinction vulnerability, and IPL in Dominica and New Caledonia were important for range-size rarity. Most countries in the Americas had higher species richness within IPL than outside, whereas most countries in Asia had lower extinction vulnerability scores inside IPL and more countries in Africa and Asia had slightly higher range-size rarity in IPL. Our findings suggest that IPL provide critical support for tropical forest-dependent vertebrates, highlighting the need for greater inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in conservation target-setting and program implementation, and stronger upholding of Indigenous Peoples' rights in conservation policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jocelyne S Sze
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - L Roman Carrasco
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares
- Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology (BABVE-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Stephen T Garnett
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - David P Edwards
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Sweeny AR, Lemon H, Ibrahim A, Watt KA, Wilson K, Childs DZ, Nussey DH, Free A, McNally L. A mixed-model approach for estimating drivers of microbiota community composition and differential taxonomic abundance. mSystems 2023; 8:e0004023. [PMID: 37489890 PMCID: PMC10469806 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00040-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and metabarcoding approaches are increasingly applied to wild animal populations, but there is a disconnect between the widely applied generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) approaches commonly used to study phenotypic variation and the statistical toolkit from community ecology typically applied to metabarcoding data. Here, we describe the suitability of a novel GLMM-based approach for analyzing the taxon-specific sequence read counts derived from standard metabarcoding data. This approach allows decomposition of the contribution of different drivers to variation in community composition (e.g., age, season, individual) via interaction terms in the model random-effects structure. We provide guidance to implementing this approach and show how these models can identify how responsible specific taxonomic groups are for the effects attributed to different drivers. We applied this approach to two cross-sectional data sets from the Soay sheep population of St. Kilda. GLMMs showed agreement with dissimilarity-based approaches highlighting the substantial contribution of age and minimal contribution of season to microbiota community compositions, and simultaneously estimated the contribution of other technical and biological factors. We further used model predictions to show that age effects were principally due to increases in taxa of the phylum Bacteroidetes and declines in taxa of the phylum Firmicutes. This approach offers a powerful means for understanding the influence of drivers of community structure derived from metabarcoding data. We discuss how our approach could be readily adapted to allow researchers to estimate contributions of additional factors such as host or microbe phylogeny to answer emerging questions surrounding the ecological and evolutionary roles of within-host communities. IMPORTANCE NGS and fecal metabarcoding methods have provided powerful opportunities to study the wild gut microbiome. A wealth of data is, therefore, amassing across wild systems, generating the need for analytical approaches that can appropriately investigate simultaneous factors at the host and environmental scale that determine the composition of these communities. Here, we describe a generalized linear mixed-effects model (GLMM) approach to analyze read count data from metabarcoding of the gut microbiota, allowing us to quantify the contributions of multiple host and environmental factors to within-host community structure. Our approach provides outputs that are familiar to a majority of field ecologists and can be run using any standard mixed-effects modeling packages. We illustrate this approach using two metabarcoding data sets from the Soay sheep population of St. Kilda investigating age and season effects as worked examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy R. Sweeny
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Lemon
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Anan Ibrahim
- Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Kathryn A. Watt
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Kenneth Wilson
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel H. Nussey
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Free
- Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Luke McNally
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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5
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Durant E, Hoysted GA, Howard N, Sait SM, Childs DZ, Johnson D, Field KJ. Herbivore-driven disruption of arbuscular mycorrhizal carbon-for-nutrient exchange is ameliorated by neighboring plants. Curr Biol 2023:S0960-9822(23)00663-2. [PMID: 37290441 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonize the roots of most plants, forming a near-ubiquitous symbiosis1 that is typically characterized by the bi-directional exchange of fungal-acquired nutrients for plant-fixed carbon.2 Mycorrhizal fungi can form below-ground networks3,4,5,6 with potential to facilitate the movement of carbon, nutrients, and defense signals across plant communities.7,8,9 The importance of neighbors in mediating carbon-for-nutrient exchange between mycorrhizal fungi and their plant hosts remains equivocal, particularly when other competing pressures for plant resources are present. We manipulated carbon source and sink strengths of neighboring pairs of host plants through exposure to aphids and tracked the movement of carbon and nutrients through mycorrhizal fungal networks with isotope tracers. When carbon sink strengths of both neighboring plants were increased by aphid herbivory, plant carbon supply to extraradical mycorrhizal fungal hyphae was reduced, but mycorrhizal phosphorus supply to both plants was maintained, albeit variably, across treatments. However, when the sink strength of only one plant in a pair was increased, carbon supply to mycorrhizal fungi was restored. Our results show that loss of carbon inputs into mycorrhizal fungal hyphae from one plant may be ameliorated through inputs of a neighbor, demonstrating the responsiveness and resilience of mycorrhizal plant communities to biological stressors. Furthermore, our results indicate that mycorrhizal nutrient exchange dynamics are better understood as community-wide interactions between multiple players rather than as strict exchanges between individual plants and their symbionts, suggesting that mycorrhizal C-for-nutrient exchange is likely based more on unequal terms of trade than the "fair trade" model for symbiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Durant
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2TN, UK
| | - Grace A Hoysted
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2TN, UK; School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, County Dublin D4, Ireland
| | - Nathan Howard
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2TN, UK
| | - Steven M Sait
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2TN, UK
| | - David Johnson
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, Greater Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Katie J Field
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2TN, UK.
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6
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Cerini F, Childs DZ, Clements CF. A predictive timeline of wildlife population collapse. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:320-331. [PMID: 36702859 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-01985-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary rates of biodiversity decline emphasize the need for reliable ecological forecasting, but current methods vary in their ability to predict the declines of real-world populations. Acknowledging that stressor effects start at the individual level, and that it is the sum of these individual-level effects that drives populations to collapse, shifts the focus of predictive ecology away from using predominantly abundance data. Doing so opens new opportunities to develop predictive frameworks that utilize increasingly available multi-dimensional data, which have previously been overlooked for ecological forecasting. Here, we propose that stressed populations will exhibit a predictable sequence of observable changes through time: changes in individuals' behaviour will occur as the first sign of increasing stress, followed by changes in fitness-related morphological traits, shifts in the dynamics (for example, birth rates) of populations and finally abundance declines. We discuss how monitoring the sequential appearance of these signals may allow us to discern whether a population is increasingly at risk of collapse, or is adapting in the face of environmental change, providing a conceptual framework to develop new forecasting methods that combine multi-dimensional (for example, behaviour, morphology, life history and abundance) data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Cerini
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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7
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Sze JS, Childs DZ, Carrasco LR, Edwards DP. Indigenous lands in protected areas have high forest integrity across the tropics. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4949-4956.e3. [PMID: 36302386 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Intact tropical forests have a high conservation value.1 Although perceived as wild,2 they have been under long-term human influence.3 As global area-based conservation targets increase, the ecological contributions of Indigenous peoples through their governance institutions and practices4 are gaining mainstream interest. Indigenous lands-covering a quarter of Earth's surface5 and overlapping with a third of intact forests6-often have reduced deforestation, degradation, and carbon emissions, compared with non-protected areas and protected areas.7,8 A key question with implications for the design of more equitable and effective conservation policies is to understand the impacts of Indigenous lands on forest integrity and long-term use, as critical measures of ecosystem health included within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.9 Using the forest landscape integrity index10 and Anthromes11 datasets, we find that high-integrity forests tend to be located within the overlap of protected areas and Indigenous lands (protected-Indigenous areas). After accounting for location biases through statistical matching and regression, protected-Indigenous areas had the highest protective effect on forest integrity and the lowest land-use intensity relative to Indigenous lands, protected areas, and non-protected controls pan-tropically. The protective effect of Indigenous lands on forest integrity was lower in Indigenous lands than in protected areas and non-protected areas in the Americas and Asia. The combined positive effects of state legislation and Indigenous presence in protected-Indigenous areas may contribute to maintaining tropical forest integrity. Understanding management and governance in protected-Indigenous areas can help states to appropriately support community-governed lands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jocelyne S Sze
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - L Roman Carrasco
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore
| | - David P Edwards
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
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8
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Ellner SP, Adler PB, Childs DZ, Hooker G, Miller TEX, Rees M. A critical comparison of integral projection and matrix projection models for demographic analysis: Comment. Ecology 2022; 103:e3605. [PMID: 34897656 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen P Ellner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Peter B Adler
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Giles Hooker
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Tom E X Miller
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Mark Rees
- Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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9
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Hansson EM, Childs DZ, Beckerman AP. Mesostats—A multiplexed, low-cost, do-it-yourself continuous culturing system for experimental evolution of mesocosms. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272052. [PMID: 35901067 PMCID: PMC9333204 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial experimental evolution allows studying evolutionary dynamics in action and testing theory predictions in the lab. Experimental evolution in chemostats (i.e. continuous flow through cultures) has recently gained increased interest as it allows tighter control of selective pressures compared to static batch cultures, with a growing number of efforts to develop systems that are easier and cheaper to construct. This protocol describes the design and construction of a multiplexed chemostat array (dubbed “mesostats”) designed for cultivation of algae in 16 concurrent populations, specifically intended for studying adaptation to herbicides. We also present control data from several experiments run on the system to show replicability, data illustrating the effects of common issues like leaks, contamination and clumps, and outline possible modifications and adaptations of the system for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika M. Hansson
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew P. Beckerman
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
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10
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Comont D, MacGregor DR, Crook L, Hull R, Nguyen L, Freckleton RP, Childs DZ, Neve P. Dissecting weed adaptation: Fitness and trait correlations in herbicide-resistant Alopecurus myosuroides. Pest Manag Sci 2022; 78:3039-3050. [PMID: 35437938 PMCID: PMC9324217 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Unravelling the genetic architecture of non-target-site resistance (NTSR) traits in weed populations can inform questions about the inheritance, trade-offs and fitness costs associated with these traits. Classical quantitative genetics approaches allow study of the genetic architecture of polygenic traits even where the genetic basis of adaptation remains unknown. These approaches have the potential to overcome some of the limitations of previous studies into the genetics and fitness of NTSR. RESULTS Using a quantitative genetic analysis of 400 pedigreed Alopecurus myosuroides seed families from nine field-collected populations, we found strong heritability for resistance to the acetolactate synthase and acetyl CoA carboxylase inhibitors (h2 = 0.731 and 0.938, respectively), and evidence for shared additive genetic variance for resistance to these two different herbicide modes of action, rg = 0.34 (survival), 0.38 (biomass). We find no evidence for genetic correlations between life-history traits and herbicide resistance, indicating that resistance to these two modes of action is not associated with large fitness costs in blackgrass. We do, however, demonstrate that phenotypic variation in plant flowering characteristics is heritable, h2 = 0.213 (flower height), 0.529 (flower head number), 0.449 (time to flowering) and 0.372 (time to seed shed), demonstrating the potential for adaptation to other nonchemical management practices (e.g. mowing of flowering heads) now being adopted for blackgrass control. CONCLUSION These results highlight that quantitative genetics can provide important insight into the inheritance and genetic architecture of NTSR, and can be used alongside emerging molecular techniques to better understand the evolutionary and fitness landscape of herbicide resistance. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Comont
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted Research, HarpendenHertfordshireUK
| | - Dana R MacGregor
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted Research, HarpendenHertfordshireUK
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of DurhamDurhamUK
| | - Laura Crook
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted Research, HarpendenHertfordshireUK
| | - Richard Hull
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted Research, HarpendenHertfordshireUK
| | - Lieselot Nguyen
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted Research, HarpendenHertfordshireUK
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSouth YorkshireUK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSouth YorkshireUK
| | - Paul Neve
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted Research, HarpendenHertfordshireUK
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Section for Crop SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenTaastrupDenmark
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11
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Levin SC, Evers S, Potter T, Peña Guerrero M, Childs DZ, Compagnoni A, Knight TM, Salguero‐Gómez R. Rpadrino: an R package to access and use
PADRINO
, an open access database of Integral Projection Models. Methods Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sam C. Levin
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Department of Zoology, 11a Mansfield Rd University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Sanne Evers
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig Germany
| | - Tomos Potter
- Department of Zoology, 11a Mansfield Rd University of Oxford Oxford UK
- Department of Biological Sciences Florida State University Tallahassee FL USA
| | - Mayra Peña Guerrero
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig Germany
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Aldo Compagnoni
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Department of Zoology, 11a Mansfield Rd University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Tiffany M. Knight
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research‐UFZ, Theodor‐Lieser‐Straße 4, 06120 Halle (Saale) Germany
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12
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Busana M, Childs DZ, Burke TA, Komdeur J, Richardson DS, Dugdale HL. Population level consequences of facultatively cooperative behaviour in a stochastic environment. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:224-240. [PMID: 34704272 PMCID: PMC9299144 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The social environment in which individuals live affects their fitness and in turn population dynamics as a whole. Birds with facultative cooperative breeding can live in social groups with dominants, subordinate helpers that assist with the breeding of others, and subordinate non-helpers. Helping behaviour benefits dominants through increased reproductive rates and reduced extrinsic mortality, such that cooperative breeding might have evolved in response to unpredictable, harsh conditions affecting reproduction and/or survival of the dominants. Additionally, there may be different costs and benefits to both helpers and non-helpers, depending on the time-scale. For example, early-life costs might be compensated by later-life benefits. These differential effects are rarely analysed in the same study. We examined whether helping behaviour affects population persistence in a stochastic environment and whether there are direct fitness consequences of different life-history tactics adopted by helpers and non-helpers. We parameterised a matrix population model describing the population dynamics of female Seychelles warblers Acrocephalus sechellensis, birds that display facultative cooperative breeding. The stochastic density-dependent model is defined by a (st)age structure that includes life-history differences between helpers and non-helpers and thus can estimate the demographic mechanisms of direct benefits of helping behaviour. We found that population dynamics are strongly influenced by stochastic variation in the reproductive rates of the dominants, that helping behaviour promotes population persistence and that there are only early-life differences in the direct fitness of helpers and non-helpers. Through a matrix population model, we captured multiple demographic rates simultaneously and analysed their relative importance in determining population dynamics of these cooperative breeders. Disentangling early-life versus lifetime effects of individual tactics sheds new light on the costs and benefits of helping behaviour. For example, the finding that helpers and non-helpers have similar lifetime reproductive outputs and that differences in reproductive values between the two life-history tactics arise only in early life suggests that overall, helpers and non-helpers have a similar balance of costs and benefits when analysing direct benefits. We recommend analysing the consequence of different life-history tactics, during both early life and over the lifetime, as analyses of these different time frames may produce conflicting results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Busana
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Terrence A Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East-Anglia, Norfolk, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Mahè, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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13
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Levin SC, Childs DZ, Compagnoni A, Evers S, Knight TM, Salguero‐Gómez R. ipmr: Flexible implementation of Integral Projection Models in R. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sam C. Levin
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Aldo Compagnoni
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Sanne Evers
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Department of Community Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research‐UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Tiffany M. Knight
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Department of Community Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research‐UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
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14
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Villellas J, Ehrlén J, Crone EE, Csergő AM, Garcia MB, Laine AL, Roach DA, Salguero-Gómez R, Wardle GM, Childs DZ, Elderd BD, Finn A, Munné-Bosch S, Bachelot B, Bódis J, Bucharova A, Caruso CM, Catford JA, Coghill M, Compagnoni A, Duncan RP, Dwyer JM, Ferguson A, Fraser LH, Griffoul E, Groenteman R, Hamre LN, Helm A, Kelly R, Laanisto L, Lonati M, Münzbergová Z, Nuche P, Olsen SL, Oprea A, Pärtel M, Petry WK, Ramula S, Rasmussen PU, Enri SR, Roeder A, Roscher C, Schultz C, Skarpaas O, Smith AL, Tack AJM, Töpper JP, Vesk PA, Vose GE, Wandrag E, Wingler A, Buckley YM. PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY MASKS RANGE-WIDE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION FOR VEGETATIVE BUT NOT REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS IN A SHORT-LIVED PLANT. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2378-2393. [PMID: 34355467 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity jointly shape intraspecific trait variation, but their roles differ among traits. In short-lived plants, reproductive traits may be more genetically determined due to their impact on fitness, whereas vegetative traits may show higher plasticity to buffer short-term perturbations. Combining a multi-treatment greenhouse experiment with observational field data throughout the range of a widespread short-lived herb, Plantago lanceolata, we (1) disentangled genetic and plastic responses of functional traits to a set of environmental drivers and (2) assessed how genetic differentiation and plasticity shape observational trait-environment relationships. Reproductive traits showed distinct genetic differentiation that largely determined observational patterns, but only when correcting traits for differences in biomass. Vegetative traits showed higher plasticity and opposite genetic and plastic responses, masking the genetic component underlying field-observed trait variation. Our study suggests that genetic differentiation may be inferred from observational data only for the traits most closely related to fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Villellas
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elizabeth E Crone
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anna Mária Csergő
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,Department of Botany and Soroksár Botanical Garden, Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Maria B Garcia
- Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Anna-Liisa Laine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Deborah A Roach
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Roberto Salguero-Gómez
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Glenda M Wardle
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Bret D Elderd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Alain Finn
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sergi Munné-Bosch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Benedicte Bachelot
- Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Judit Bódis
- Department of Plant Sciences and Biotechnology, Georgikon Faculty, University of Pannonia, Keszthely, Hungary
| | - Anna Bucharova
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institut of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Germany.,Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institut of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christina M Caruso
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jane A Catford
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK.,Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Matthew Coghill
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Aldo Compagnoni
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Richard P Duncan
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - John M Dwyer
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.,CSIRO Land & Water, EcoSciences Precinct, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Lauchlan H Fraser
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Liv Norunn Hamre
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway
| | - Aveliina Helm
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ruth Kelly
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Lauri Laanisto
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Michele Lonati
- Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Zuzana Münzbergová
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Paloma Nuche
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Adrian Oprea
- Botanic Garden "Anastasie Fatu", University "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" Iaşi, Romania
| | - Meelis Pärtel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - William K Petry
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Satu Ramula
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Pil U Rasmussen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Simone Ravetto Enri
- Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Anna Roeder
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christiane Roscher
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cheryl Schultz
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington, USA
| | - Olav Skarpaas
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Annabel L Smith
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Peter A Vesk
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Gregory E Vose
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth Wandrag
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Astrid Wingler
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Yvonne M Buckley
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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15
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James TD, Salguero-Gómez R, Jones OR, Childs DZ, Beckerman AP. Bridging gaps in demographic analysis with phylogenetic imputation. Conserv Biol 2021; 35:1210-1221. [PMID: 33068013 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Phylogenetically informed imputation methods have rarely been applied to estimate missing values in demographic data but may be a powerful tool for reconstructing vital rates of survival, maturation, and fecundity for species of conservation concern. Imputed vital rates could be used to parameterize demographic models to explore how populations respond when vital rates are perturbed. We used standardized vital rate estimates for 50 bird species to assess the use of phylogenetic imputation to fill gaps in demographic data. We calculated imputation accuracy for vital rates of focal species excluded from the data set either singly or in combination and with and without phylogeny, body mass, and life-history trait data. We used imputed vital rates to calculate demographic metrics, including generation time, to validate the use of imputation in demographic analyses. Covariance among vital rates and other trait data provided a strong basis to guide imputation of missing vital rates in birds, even in the absence of phylogenetic information. Mean NRMSE for null and phylogenetic models differed by <0.01 except when no vital rates were available or for vital rates with high phylogenetic signal (Pagel's λ > 0.8). In these cases, including body mass and life-history trait data compensated for lack of phylogenetic information: mean normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) for null and phylogenetic models differed by <0.01 for adult survival and <0.04 for maturation rate. Estimates of demographic metrics were sensitive to the accuracy of imputed vital rates. For example, mean error in generation time doubled in response to inaccurate estimates of maturation time. Accurate demographic data and metrics, such as generation time, are needed to inform conservation planning processes, for example through International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List assessments and population viability analysis. Imputed vital rates could be useful in this context but, as for any estimated model parameters, awareness of the sensitivities of demographic model outputs to the imputed vital rates is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamora D James
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K
| | - Roberto Salguero-Gómez
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Rd, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, U.K
| | - Owen R Jones
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop), Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Odense, Denmark
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K
| | - Andrew P Beckerman
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K
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16
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Hicks H, Lambert J, Pywell R, Hulmes L, Hulmes S, Walker K, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP. Characterizing the environmental drivers of the abundance and distribution of Alopecurus myosuroides on a national scale. Pest Manag Sci 2021; 77:2726-2736. [PMID: 33496990 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arable weeds threaten farming and food production, impacting on productivity. Large-scale data on weed populations are typically lacking, and changes are frequently undocumented until they reach problem levels. Managing the future spread of weeds requires that we understand the factors that influence current densities and distributions. In doing so, one of the challenges is to measure populations at a large enough scale to be able to accurately measure changes in densities and distributions. Here we analyse the density and distribution of a major weed (Alopecurus myosuroides) on a large scale. Our objectives were to (i) develop a methodology for rapid measurement of occurrence and abundance, (ii) test hypotheses about the roles of soils and climate variation in determining densities, and (iii) use this information to identify areas in which occurrence could increase in the future. RESULTS Populations were mapped through England over 4 years in 4631 locations. We also analysed UK atlas data published over the past 50 years. Densities of populations show significant interannual variability, but historical data show that the species has spread. We find significant impacts of soil and rainfall on densities, which increase with the proportion of heavy soils, but decrease with increasing rainfall. Compared with independent atlas data we found that our statistical models provide good predictions of large-scale occupancy and we provide maps of current and potential densities. CONCLUSION Models of spread highlight the localised nature of colonisation, and this emphasises the need for management to limit dispersal. Comparisons of current, historical and potential distributions suggest sizeable habitable areas in which increases in abundance are still possible. © 2021 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Hicks
- School of Animal Rural & Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - James Lambert
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | - Richard Pywell
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | - Lucy Hulmes
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | - Sarah Hulmes
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | - Kevin Walker
- Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Harrogate, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
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17
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Paniw M, James TD, Ruth Archer C, Römer G, Levin S, Compagnoni A, Che-Castaldo J, Bennett JM, Mooney A, Childs DZ, Ozgul A, Jones OR, Burns JH, Beckerman AP, Patwary A, Sanchez-Gassen N, Knight TM, Salguero-Gómez R. The myriad of complex demographic responses of terrestrial mammals to climate change and gaps of knowledge: A global analysis. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1398-1407. [PMID: 33825186 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 25% of mammals are currently threatened with extinction, a risk that is amplified under climate change. Species persistence under climate change is determined by the combined effects of climatic factors on multiple demographic rates (survival, development and reproduction), and hence, population dynamics. Thus, to quantify which species and regions on Earth are most vulnerable to climate-driven extinction, a global understanding of how different demographic rates respond to climate is urgently needed. Here, we perform a systematic review of literature on demographic responses to climate, focusing on terrestrial mammals, for which extensive demographic data are available. To assess the full spectrum of responses, we synthesize information from studies that quantitatively link climate to multiple demographic rates. We find only 106 such studies, corresponding to 87 mammal species. These 87 species constitute <1% of all terrestrial mammals. Our synthesis reveals a strong mismatch between the locations of demographic studies and the regions and taxa currently recognized as most vulnerable to climate change. Surprisingly, for most mammals and regions sensitive to climate change, holistic demographic responses to climate remain unknown. At the same time, we reveal that filling this knowledge gap is critical as the effects of climate change will operate via complex demographic mechanisms: a vast majority of mammal populations display projected increases in some demographic rates but declines in others, often depending on the specific environmental context, complicating simple projections of population fates. Assessments of population viability under climate change are in critical need to gather data that account for multiple demographic responses, and coordinated actions to assess demography holistically should be prioritized for mammals and other taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Paniw
- Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre (CREAF), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tamora D James
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - C Ruth Archer
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Gesa Römer
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.,Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Sam Levin
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Aldo Compagnoni
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Judy Che-Castaldo
- Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology, Conservation & Science Department, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Joanne M Bennett
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Centre for Applied Water Science, Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Andrew Mooney
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Arpat Ozgul
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Owen R Jones
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.,Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Jean H Burns
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Andrew P Beckerman
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Abir Patwary
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Tiffany M Knight
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle (Saale), Germany
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18
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Goodsell RM, Childs DZ, Spencer M, Coutts S, Vergnon R, Swinfield T, Queenborough SA, Freckleton RP. Developing hierarchical density‐structured models to study the national‐scale dynamics of an arable weed. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Goodsell
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN United Kingdom
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Spencer
- School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool L69 3GP United Kingdom
| | - Shaun Coutts
- Lincoln Institute for Agri‐food Technology University of Lincoln Lincoln LN2 2LG United Kingdom
| | - Remi Vergnon
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN United Kingdom
| | - Tom Swinfield
- RSPB Potton road Sandy Bedfordshire SH19 2DL United Kingdom
| | - Simon A. Queenborough
- Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven Connecticut 06511 USA
| | - Robert P. Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN United Kingdom
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19
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Compagnoni A, Levin S, Childs DZ, Harpole S, Paniw M, Römer G, Burns JH, Che-Castaldo J, Rüger N, Kunstler G, Bennett JM, Archer CR, Jones OR, Salguero-Gómez R, Knight TM. Herbaceous perennial plants with short generation time have stronger responses to climate anomalies than those with longer generation time. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1824. [PMID: 33758189 PMCID: PMC7988175 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21977-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
There is an urgent need to synthesize the state of our knowledge on plant responses to climate. The availability of open-access data provide opportunities to examine quantitative generalizations regarding which biomes and species are most responsive to climate drivers. Here, we synthesize time series of structured population models from 162 populations of 62 plants, mostly herbaceous species from temperate biomes, to link plant population growth rates (λ) to precipitation and temperature drivers. We expect: (1) more pronounced demographic responses to precipitation than temperature, especially in arid biomes; and (2) a higher climate sensitivity in short-lived rather than long-lived species. We find that precipitation anomalies have a nearly three-fold larger effect on λ than temperature. Species with shorter generation time have much stronger absolute responses to climate anomalies. We conclude that key species-level traits can predict plant population responses to climate, and discuss the relevance of this generalization for conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldo Compagnoni
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Sam Levin
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Stan Harpole
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maria Paniw
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich, CH-8057, Switzerland
| | - Gesa Römer
- Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Jean H Burns
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Judy Che-Castaldo
- Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology, Conservation & Science Department, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Nadja Rüger
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Department of Economics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Joanne M Bennett
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre for Applied Water Science, Institute for Applied Ecology, The University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Australia
| | - C Ruth Archer
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Owen R Jones
- Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | | | - Tiffany M Knight
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Halle (Saale), Germany
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20
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Coutts SR, Quintana-Ascencio PF, Menges ES, Salguero-Gómez R, Childs DZ. Fine-scale spatial variation in fitness is comparable to disturbance-induced fluctuations in a fire-adapted species. Ecology 2021; 102:e03287. [PMID: 33480055 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The spatial scale at which demographic performance (e.g., net reproductive output) varies can profoundly influence landscape-level population growth and persistence, and many demographically pertinent processes such as species interactions and resource acquisition vary at fine scales. We compared the magnitude of demographic variation associated with fine-scale heterogeneity (<10 m), with variation due to larger-scale (>1 ha) fluctuations associated with fire disturbance. We used a spatially explicit model within an IPM modeling framework to evaluate the demographic importance of fine-scale variation. We used a measure of expected lifetime fruit production, EF , that is assumed to be proportional to lifetime fitness. Demographic differences and their effects on EF were assessed in a population of the herbaceous perennial Hypericum cumulicola (~2,600 individuals), within a patch of Florida rosemary scrub (400 × 80 m). We compared demographic variation over fine spatial scales to demographic variation between years across 6 yr after a fire. Values of EF changed by orders of magnitude over <10 m. This variation in fitness over fine spatial scales (<10 m) is commensurate to postfire changes in fitness for this fire-adapted perennial. A life table response experiment indicated that fine-scale spatial variation in vital rates, especially survival, explains as much change in EF as demographic changes caused by time-since-fire, a key driver in this system. Our findings show that environmental changes over a few tens of meters can have ecologically meaningful implications for population growth and extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaun R Coutts
- Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.,Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Pedro F Quintana-Ascencio
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA.,Plant Ecology Program, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, Florida, USA
| | - Eric S Menges
- Plant Ecology Program, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, Florida, USA
| | - Roberto Salguero-Gómez
- Evolutionary Demography Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, DE-18057, Germany.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Centre of Excellence in Environmental Decisions, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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21
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Samplonius JM, Atkinson A, Hassall C, Keogan K, Thackeray SJ, Assmann JJ, Burgess MD, Johansson J, Macphie KH, Pearce-Higgins JW, Simmonds EG, Varpe Ø, Weir JC, Childs DZ, Cole EF, Daunt F, Hart T, Lewis OT, Pettorelli N, Sheldon BC, Phillimore AB. Strengthening the evidence base for temperature-mediated phenological asynchrony and its impacts. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 5:155-164. [PMID: 33318690 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01357-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Climate warming has caused the seasonal timing of many components of ecological food chains to advance. In the context of trophic interactions, the match-mismatch hypothesis postulates that differential shifts can lead to phenological asynchrony with negative impacts for consumers. However, at present there has been no consistent analysis of the links between temperature change, phenological asynchrony and individual-to-population-level impacts across taxa, trophic levels and biomes at a global scale. Here, we propose five criteria that all need to be met to demonstrate that temperature-mediated trophic asynchrony poses a growing risk to consumers. We conduct a literature review of 109 papers studying 129 taxa, and find that all five criteria are assessed for only two taxa, with the majority of taxa only having one or two criteria assessed. Crucially, nearly every study was conducted in Europe or North America, and most studies were on terrestrial secondary consumers. We thus lack a robust evidence base from which to draw general conclusions about the risk that climate-mediated trophic asynchrony may pose to populations worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelmer M Samplonius
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
| | | | - Christopher Hassall
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Katharine Keogan
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Marine Scotland Science, Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, UK
| | | | | | - Malcolm D Burgess
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Sandy, UK.,Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Kirsty H Macphie
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - James W Pearce-Higgins
- British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, UK.,Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emily G Simmonds
- Department of Mathematical Sciences and Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Øystein Varpe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.,Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jamie C Weir
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Ella F Cole
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Tom Hart
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Ben C Sheldon
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Albert B Phillimore
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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22
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Layton-Matthews K, Grøtan V, Hansen BB, Loonen MJJE, Fuglei E, Childs DZ. Environmental change reduces body condition, but not population growth, in a high-arctic herbivore. Ecol Lett 2020; 24:227-238. [PMID: 33184991 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Environmental change influences fitness-related traits and demographic rates, which in herbivores are often linked to resource-driven variation in body condition. Coupled body condition-demographic responses may therefore be important for herbivore population dynamics in fluctuating environments, such as the Arctic. We applied a transient Life-Table Response Experiment ('transient-LTRE') to demographic data from Svalbard barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), to quantify their population-dynamic responses to changes in body mass. We partitioned contributions from direct and delayed demographic and body condition-mediated processes to variation in population growth. Declines in body condition (1980-2017), which positively affected reproduction and fledgling survival, had negligible consequences for population growth. Instead, population growth rates were largely reproduction-driven, in part through positive responses to rapidly advancing spring phenology. The virtual lack of body condition-mediated effects indicates that herbivore population dynamics may be more resilient to changing body condition than previously expected, with implications for their persistence under environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Layton-Matthews
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Vidar Grøtan
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Brage Bremset Hansen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Eva Fuglei
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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23
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Comont D, Lowe C, Hull R, Crook L, Hicks HL, Onkokesung N, Beffa R, Childs DZ, Edwards R, Freckleton RP, Neve P. Publisher Correction: Evolution of generalist resistance to herbicide mixtures reveals a trade-off in resistance management. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4441. [PMID: 32879303 PMCID: PMC7468290 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18079-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Comont
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK.
| | - Claudia Lowe
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Richard Hull
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Laura Crook
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Helen L Hicks
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2TN, UK.,School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell, NG25 0QF, UK
| | - Nawaporn Onkokesung
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Roland Beffa
- Bayer Crop Science, Weed Resistance Research, 65926, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Robert Edwards
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Paul Neve
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK.,Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, CV8 2TL, UK
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24
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Jackson J, Mar KU, Htut W, Childs DZ, Lummaa V. Changes in age-structure over four decades were a key determinant of population growth rate in a long-lived mammal. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:2268-2278. [PMID: 32592591 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A changing environment directly influences birth and mortality rates, and thus population growth rates. However, population growth rates in the short term are also influenced by population age-structure. Despite its importance, the contribution of age-structure to population growth rates has rarely been explored empirically in wildlife populations with long-term demographic data. Here we assessed how changes in age-structure influenced short-term population dynamics in a semi-captive population of Asian elephants Elephas maximus. We addressed this question using a demographic dataset of female Asian elephants from timber camps in Myanmar spanning 45 years (1970-2014). First, we explored temporal variation in age-structure. Then, using annual matrix population models, we used a retrospective approach to assess the contributions of age-structure and vital rates to short-term population growth rates with respect to the average environment. Age-structure was highly variable over the study period, with large proportions of juveniles in the years 1970 and 1985, and made a substantial contribution to annual population growth rate deviations. High adult birth rates between 1970 and 1980 would have resulted in large positive population growth rates, but these were prevented by a low proportion of reproductive-aged females. We highlight that an understanding of both age-specific vital rates and age-structure is needed to assess short-term population dynamics. Furthermore, this example from a human-managed system suggests that the importance of age-structure may be accentuated in populations experiencing human disturbance where age-structure is unstable, such as those in captivity or for endangered species. Ultimately, changes to the environment drive population dynamics by influencing birth and mortality rates, but understanding demographic structure is crucial for assessing population growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Jackson
- Department of Biology, Interdisciplinary Centre for Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.,Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Khyne U Mar
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Win Htut
- Myanma Timber Enterprise, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation, Gyogone Forest Compound, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Virpi Lummaa
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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25
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Comont D, Lowe C, Hull R, Crook L, Hicks HL, Onkokesung N, Beffa R, Childs DZ, Edwards R, Freckleton RP, Neve P. Evolution of generalist resistance to herbicide mixtures reveals a trade-off in resistance management. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3086. [PMID: 32555156 PMCID: PMC7303185 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16896-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Intense selection by pesticides and antibiotics has resulted in a global epidemic of evolved resistance. In agriculture and medicine, using mixtures of compounds from different classes is widely accepted as optimal resistance management. However, this strategy may promote the evolution of more generalist resistance mechanisms. Here we test this hypothesis at a national scale in an economically important agricultural weed: blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides), for which herbicide resistance is a major economic issue. Our results reveal that greater use of herbicide mixtures is associated with lower levels of specialist resistance mechanisms, but higher levels of a generalist mechanism implicated in enhanced metabolism of herbicides with diverse modes of action. Our results indicate a potential evolutionary trade-off in resistance management, whereby attempts to reduce selection for specialist resistance traits may promote the evolution of generalist resistance. We contend that where specialist and generalist resistance mechanisms co-occur, similar trade-offs will be evident, calling into question the ubiquity of resistance management based on mixtures and combination therapies. Mixtures of antibiotics or pesticides can help reduce the evolution of resistance to individual compounds. Here, Comont et al. show that in blackgrass, an important agricultural weed, herbicide mixtures do reduce specialized resistance but instead can select for a generalized resistance mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Comont
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK.
| | - Claudia Lowe
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Richard Hull
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Laura Crook
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Helen L Hicks
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2TN, UK.,School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell, NG25 0QF, UK
| | - Nawaporn Onkokesung
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Roland Beffa
- Bayer Crop Science, Weed Resistance Research, 65926, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Robert Edwards
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Paul Neve
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK.,Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, CV8 2TL, UK
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26
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Jackson J, Childs DZ, Mar KU, Htut W, Lummaa V. Long-term trends in wild-capture and population dynamics point to an uncertain future for captive elephants. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20182810. [PMID: 30900534 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining sustainable populations in captivity without supplementation through wild-capture is a major challenge in conservation that zoos and aquaria are working towards. However, the capture of wild animals continues for many purposes where conservation is not the primary focus. Wild-capture hinders long-term conservation goals by reducing remaining wild populations, but the direct and long-term indirect consequences of wild-capture for captive population viability are rarely addressed using longitudinal data. We explored the implications of changes in wild-capture on population dynamics in captivity over 54 years using a multi-generational studbook of working Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus) from Myanmar, the largest remaining captive elephant population. Here we show that population growth and birth rates declined between 1960 and 2014 with declines in wild-capture. Importantly, wild-caught females had reduced birth rates and a higher mortality risk. However, despite the disadvantages of wild-capture, the population may not be sustainable without it, with immediate declines owing to an unstable age-structure that may last for 50 years. Our results highlight the need to assess the long-term demographic consequences of wild-capture to ensure the sustainability of captive and wild populations as species are increasingly managed and conserved in altered or novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Jackson
- 1 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield , Sheffield S10 2TN , UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- 1 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield , Sheffield S10 2TN , UK
| | - Khyne U Mar
- 2 Department of Biology, University of Turku , 20500 Turku , Finland
| | - Win Htut
- 3 Myanma Timber Enterprise, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation, Gyogone Forest Compound , Bayint Naung Road, Insein Township, Yangon , Myanmar
| | - Virpi Lummaa
- 2 Department of Biology, University of Turku , 20500 Turku , Finland
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27
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Edmondson JL, Childs DZ, Dobson MC, Gaston KJ, Warren PH, Leake JR. Feeding a city - Leicester as a case study of the importance of allotments for horticultural production in the UK. Sci Total Environ 2020; 705:135930. [PMID: 31837547 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The process of urbanization has detached a large proportion of the global population from involvement with food production. However, there has been a resurgence in interest in urban agriculture and there is widespread recognition by policy-makers of its potential contribution to food security. Despite this, there is little data on urban agricultural production by non-commercial small-scale growers. We combine citizen science data for self-provisioning crop yields with field-mapping and GIS-based analysis of allotments in Leicester, UK, to provide an estimate of allotment fruit and vegetable production at a city-scale. In addition, we examine city-scale changes in allotment land provision on potential crop production over the past century. The average area of individual allotment plots used to grow crops was 52%. Per unit area yields for the majority of crops grown in allotments were similar to those of UK commercial horticulture. We estimate city-wide allotment production of >1200 t of fruit and vegetables and 200 t of potatoes per annum, equivalent to feeding >8500 people. If the 13% of plots that are completely uncultivated were used this could increase production to >1400 t per annum, feeding ~10,000 people, however this production may not be located in areas where there is greatest need for increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The citywide contribution of allotment cultivation peaked in the 1950s when 475 ha of land was allotments, compared to 97 ha currently. This suggests a decline from >45,000 to <10,000 of people fed per annum. We demonstrate that urban allotments make a small but important contribution to the fruit and vegetable diet of a UK city. However, further urban population expansion will exert increasing development pressure on allotment land. Policy-makers should both protect allotments within cities, and embed urban agricultural land within future developments to improve local food security.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill L Edmondson
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Miriam C Dobson
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Kevin J Gaston
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Philip H Warren
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Jonathan R Leake
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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28
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Smith AL, Hodkinson TR, Villellas J, Catford JA, Csergő AM, Blomberg SP, Crone EE, Ehrlén J, Garcia MB, Laine AL, Roach DA, Salguero-Gómez R, Wardle GM, Childs DZ, Elderd BD, Finn A, Munné-Bosch S, Baudraz MEA, Bódis J, Brearley FQ, Bucharova A, Caruso CM, Duncan RP, Dwyer JM, Gooden B, Groenteman R, Hamre LN, Helm A, Kelly R, Laanisto L, Lonati M, Moore JL, Morales M, Olsen SL, Pärtel M, Petry WK, Ramula S, Rasmussen PU, Enri SR, Roeder A, Roscher C, Saastamoinen M, Tack AJM, Töpper JP, Vose GE, Wandrag EM, Wingler A, Buckley YM. Global gene flow releases invasive plants from environmental constraints on genetic diversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:4218-4227. [PMID: 32034102 PMCID: PMC7049112 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915848117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
When plants establish outside their native range, their ability to adapt to the new environment is influenced by both demography and dispersal. However, the relative importance of these two factors is poorly understood. To quantify the influence of demography and dispersal on patterns of genetic diversity underlying adaptation, we used data from a globally distributed demographic research network comprising 35 native and 18 nonnative populations of Plantago lanceolata Species-specific simulation experiments showed that dispersal would dilute demographic influences on genetic diversity at local scales. Populations in the native European range had strong spatial genetic structure associated with geographic distance and precipitation seasonality. In contrast, nonnative populations had weaker spatial genetic structure that was not associated with environmental gradients but with higher within-population genetic diversity. Our findings show that dispersal caused by repeated, long-distance, human-mediated introductions has allowed invasive plant populations to overcome environmental constraints on genetic diversity, even without strong demographic changes. The impact of invasive plants may, therefore, increase with repeated introductions, highlighting the need to constrain future introductions of species even if they already exist in an area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabel L Smith
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland;
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, 4343, Australia
| | - Trevor R Hodkinson
- Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Jesus Villellas
- Departamento Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MNCN-CSIC), E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jane A Catford
- Department of Geography, King's College London, WC2B 4BG London, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Mária Csergő
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Horticultural Science, Szent István University, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
- Soroksár Botanical Garden, Faculty of Horticultural Science, Szent István University, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Simone P Blomberg
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maria B Garcia
- Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, CSIC, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Anna-Liisa Laine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Deborah A Roach
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904
| | | | - Glenda M Wardle
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Bret D Elderd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
| | - Alain Finn
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sergi Munné-Bosch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maude E A Baudraz
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Judit Bódis
- Georgikon Faculty, University of Pannonia, H-8360 Keszthely, Hungary
| | - Francis Q Brearley
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, M1 5GD Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Bucharova
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Ecosystem and Biodiversity Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Christina M Caruso
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Richard P Duncan
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia
| | - John M Dwyer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- CSIRO Land & Water, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Ben Gooden
- CSIRO Health & Biosecurity, CSIRO, Black Mountain, ACT 2601, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | | | - Liv Norunn Hamre
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, N-6856 Sogndal, Norway
| | - Aveliina Helm
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ruth Kelly
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Lauri Laanisto
- Biodiversity and Nature Tourism, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Michele Lonati
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, 10015 Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Joslin L Moore
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Melanie Morales
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Research Group of Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions, Faculty of Biology, University of Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Siri Lie Olsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
| | - Meelis Pärtel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - William K Petry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Satu Ramula
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Pil U Rasmussen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, 2100 København Ø, Denmark
| | - Simone Ravetto Enri
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, 10015 Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Anna Roeder
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christiane Roscher
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- Organismal and Evolutionary Research Programme, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Gregory E Vose
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Elizabeth M Wandrag
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
| | - Astrid Wingler
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork T23 N73K, Ireland
| | - Yvonne M Buckley
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Paniw M, Childs DZ, Armitage KB, Blumstein DT, Martin JGA, Oli MK, Ozgul A. Assessing seasonal demographic covariation to understand environmental-change impacts on a hibernating mammal. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:588-597. [PMID: 31970918 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Natural populations are exposed to seasonal variation in environmental factors that simultaneously affect several demographic rates (survival, development and reproduction). The resulting covariation in these rates determines population dynamics, but accounting for its numerous biotic and abiotic drivers is a significant challenge. Here, we use a factor-analytic approach to capture partially unobserved drivers of seasonal population dynamics. We use 40 years of individual-based demography from yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) to fit and project population models that account for seasonal demographic covariation using a latent variable. We show that this latent variable, by producing positive covariation among winter demographic rates, depicts a measure of environmental quality. Simultaneously, negative responses of winter survival and reproductive-status change to declining environmental quality result in a higher risk of population quasi-extinction, regardless of summer demography where recruitment takes place. We demonstrate how complex environmental processes can be summarized to understand population persistence in seasonal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Paniw
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.,Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre (CREAF), Campus de Bellaterra (UAB) Edifici C, ES-08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Kenneth B Armitage
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045-7534, USA
| | - Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.,The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, 81224, USA
| | - Julien G A Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK.,Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 9A7, Canada
| | - Madan K Oli
- Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Arpat Ozgul
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
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30
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Varah A, Ahodo K, Coutts SR, Hicks HL, Comont D, Crook L, Hull R, Neve P, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP, Norris K. The costs of human-induced evolution in an agricultural system. Nat Sustain 2020; 3:63-71. [PMID: 31942455 PMCID: PMC6962049 DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0450-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Pesticides have underpinned significant improvements in global food security, albeit with associated environmental costs. Currently, the yield benefits of pesticides are threatened as overuse has led to wide-scale evolution of resistance. Yet despite this threat, there are no large-scale estimates of crop yield losses or economic costs due to resistance. Here, we combine national-scale density and resistance data for the weed Alopecurus myosuroides (black-grass) with crop yield maps and a new economic model to estimate that the annual cost of resistance in England is £0.4bn in lost gross profit (2014 prices), and annual wheat yield loss due to resistance is 0.8 million tonnes. A total loss of herbicide control against black-grass would cost £1bn and 3.4 million tonnes of lost wheat yield annually. Worldwide, there are 253 herbicide-resistant weeds, so the global impact of resistance could be enormous. Our research provides an urgent case for national-scale planning to combat further evolution of resistance, and an incentive for policies focused on increasing yields through more sustainable food-production systems rather than relying so heavily on herbicides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexa Varah
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
- All correspondence or requests should be addressed to Dr Alexa Varah,
| | - Kwadjo Ahodo
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Shaun R. Coutts
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
- Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN2 2LG, UK
| | - Helen L. Hicks
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
- School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Brackenhurst Campus, Southwell, NG25 0QF, UK
| | - David Comont
- Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Laura Crook
- Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Richard Hull
- Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Paul Neve
- Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Robert P. Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Ken Norris
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
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31
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Hindle BJ, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM, Childs DZ. Cumulative weather effects can impact across the whole life cycle. Glob Chang Biol 2019; 25:3282-3293. [PMID: 31237387 PMCID: PMC6771737 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Predicting how species will be affected by future climatic change requires the underlying environmental drivers to be identified. As vital rates vary over the lifecycle, structured population models derived from statistical environment-demography relationships are often used to inform such predictions. Environmental drivers are typically identified independently for different vital rates and demographic classes. However, these rates often exhibit positive temporal covariance, suggesting that vital rates respond to common environmental drivers. Additionally, models often only incorporate average weather conditions during a single, a priori chosen time window (e.g. monthly means). Mismatches between these windows and the period when the vital rates are sensitive to variation in climate decrease the predictive performance of such approaches. We used a demographic structural equation model (SEM) to demonstrate that a single axis of environmental variation drives the majority of the (co)variation in survival, reproduction, and twinning across six age-sex classes in a Soay sheep population. This axis provides a simple target for the complex task of identifying the drivers of vital rate variation. We used functional linear models (FLMs) to determine the critical windows of three local climatic drivers, allowing the magnitude and direction of the climate effects to differ over time. Previously unidentified lagged climatic effects were detected in this well-studied population. The FLMs had a better predictive performance than selecting a critical window a priori, but not than a large-scale climate index. Positive covariance amongst vital rates and temporal variation in the effects of environmental drivers are common, suggesting our SEM-FLM approach is a widely applicable tool for exploring the joint responses of vital rates to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethan J. Hindle
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
- Department of Applied SciencesUniversity of the West of EnglandBristolUK
| | - Jill G. Pilkington
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Josephine M. Pemberton
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
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32
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Lambert JPT, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP. Testing the ability of unmanned aerial systems and machine learning to map weeds at subfield scales: a test with the weed Alopecurus myosuroides (Huds). Pest Manag Sci 2019; 75:2283-2294. [PMID: 30972939 PMCID: PMC6767585 DOI: 10.1002/ps.5444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is important to map agricultural weed populations to improve management and maintain future food security. Advances in data collection and statistical methodology have created new opportunities to aid in the mapping of weed populations. We set out to apply these new methodologies (unmanned aerial systems; UAS) and statistical techniques (convolutional neural networks; CNN) to the mapping of black-grass, a highly impactful weed in wheat fields in the UK. We tested this by undertaking extensive UAS and field-based mapping over the course of 2 years, in total collecting multispectral image data from 102 fields, with 76 providing informative data. We used these data to construct a vegetation index (VI), which we used to train a custom CNN model from scratch. We undertook a suite of data engineering techniques, such as balancing and cleaning to optimize performance of our metrics. We also investigate the transferability of the models from one field to another. RESULTS The results show that our data collection methodology and implementation of CNN outperform pervious approaches in the literature. We show that data engineering to account for 'artefacts' in the image data increases our metrics significantly. We are not able to identify any traits that are shared between fields that result in high scores from our novel leave one field our cross validation (LOFO-CV) tests. CONCLUSION We conclude that this evaluation procedure is a better estimation of real-world predictive value when compared with past studies. We conclude that by engineering the image data set into discrete classes of data quality we increase the prediction accuracy from the baseline model by 5% to an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.825. We find that the temporal effects studied here have no effect on our ability to model weed densities. © 2019 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- James PT Lambert
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldU.K.
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldU.K.
| | - Rob P Freckleton
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldU.K.
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33
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross D. Booton
- Dept of Animal and Plant Sciences, Univ. of Sheffield Sheffield UK
- Dept of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London London UK
| | - Yoh Iwasa
- Dept of Bioscience, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei‐Gakuin Univ Japan
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Dept of Animal and Plant Sciences, Univ. of Sheffield Sheffield UK
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34
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Hindle BJ, Rees M, Sheppard AW, Quintana‐Ascencio PF, Menges ES, Childs DZ. Exploring population responses to environmental change when there is never enough data: a factor analytic approach. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bethan J. Hindle
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Mark Rees
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Andy W. Sheppard
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Canberra ACT Australia
| | | | | | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield UK
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35
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Freckleton RP, Hicks HL, Comont D, Crook L, Hull R, Neve P, Childs DZ. Measuring the effectiveness of management interventions at regional scales by integrating ecological monitoring and modelling. Pest Manag Sci 2018; 74:2287-2295. [PMID: 29024368 PMCID: PMC6175144 DOI: 10.1002/ps.4759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2017] [Revised: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/04/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Because of site-specific effects and outcomes, it is often difficult to know whether a management strategy for the control of pests has worked or not. Population dynamics of pests are typically spatially and temporally variable. Moreover, interventions at the scale of individual fields or farms are essentially unreplicated experiments; a decrease in a target population following management cannot safely be interpreted as success because, for example, it might simply be a poor year for that species. Here, we argue that if large-scale data are available, population models can be used to measure outcomes against the prevailing mean and variance. We apply this approach to the problem of rotational management of the weed Alopecurus myosuroides. RESULTS We derived density-structured population models for a set of fields that were not subject to rotational management (continuous winter wheat) and another group that were (rotated into spring barley to control A. myosuroides). We used these models to construct means and variances of the outcomes of management for given starting conditions, and to conduct transient growth analysis. We show that, overall, this management strategy is successful in reducing densities of weeds, albeit with considerable variance. However, we also show that one variant (rotation to spring barley along with variable sowing) shows little evidence for additional control. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that rotational strategies can be effective in the control of this weed, but also that strategies require careful evaluation against a background of spatiotemporal variation. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Helen L Hicks
- Department of Animal & Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - David Comont
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted ResearchHarpendenUK
| | - Laura Crook
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted ResearchHarpendenUK
| | - Richard Hull
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted ResearchHarpendenUK
| | - Paul Neve
- Department of Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted ResearchHarpendenUK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal & Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
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36
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Maldonado-Chaparro AA, Blumstein DT, Armitage KB, Childs DZ. Transient LTRE analysis reveals the demographic and trait-mediated processes that buffer population growth. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1693-1703. [PMID: 30252195 PMCID: PMC6849557 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Temporal variation in environmental conditions affects population growth directly via its impact on vital rates, and indirectly through induced variation in demographic structure and phenotypic trait distributions. We currently know very little about how these processes jointly mediate population responses to their environment. To address this gap, we develop a general transient life table response experiment (LTRE) which partitions the contributions to population growth arising from variation in (1) survival and reproduction, (2) demographic structure, (3) trait values and (4) climatic drivers. We apply the LTRE to a population of yellow‐bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) to demonstrate the impact of demographic and trait‐mediated processes. Our analysis provides a new perspective on demographic buffering, which may be a more subtle phenomena than is currently assumed. The new LTRE framework presents opportunities to improve our understanding of how trait variation influences population dynamics and adaptation in stochastic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana A Maldonado-Chaparro
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1606, USA.,Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, Konstanz, 78315, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätstraße 10, Konstanz, 78464, Germany
| | - Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1606, USA.,Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Box 519, Crested Butte, CO, 81224, USA
| | - Kenneth B Armitage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
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37
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Neve P, Barney JN, Buckley Y, Cousens RD, Graham S, Jordan NR, Lawton‐Rauh A, Liebman M, Mesgaran MB, Schut M, Shaw J, Storkey J, Baraibar B, Baucom RS, Chalak M, Childs DZ, Christensen S, Eizenberg H, Fernández‐Quintanilla C, French K, Harsch M, Heijting S, Harrison L, Loddo D, Macel M, Maczey N, Merotto A, Mortensen D, Necajeva J, Peltzer DA, Recasens J, Renton M, Riemens M, Sønderskov M, Williams M, Rew L. Reviewing research priorities in weed ecology, evolution and management: a horizon scan. Weed Res 2018; 58:250-258. [PMID: 30069065 PMCID: PMC6055875 DOI: 10.1111/wre.12304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Weedy plants pose a major threat to food security, biodiversity, ecosystem services and consequently to human health and wellbeing. However, many currently used weed management approaches are increasingly unsustainable. To address this knowledge and practice gap, in June 2014, 35 weed and invasion ecologists, weed scientists, evolutionary biologists and social scientists convened a workshop to explore current and future perspectives and approaches in weed ecology and management. A horizon scanning exercise ranked a list of 124 pre-submitted questions to identify a priority list of 30 questions. These questions are discussed under seven themed headings that represent areas for renewed and emerging focus for the disciplines of weed research and practice. The themed areas considered the need for transdisciplinarity, increased adoption of integrated weed management and agroecological approaches, better understanding of weed evolution, climate change, weed invasiveness and finally, disciplinary challenges for weed science. Almost all the challenges identified rested on the need for continued efforts to diversify and integrate agroecological, socio-economic and technological approaches in weed management. These challenges are not newly conceived, though their continued prominence as research priorities highlights an ongoing intransigence that must be addressed through a more system-oriented and transdisciplinary research agenda that seeks an embedded integration of public and private research approaches. This horizon scanning exercise thus set out the building blocks needed for future weed management research and practice; however, the challenge ahead is to identify effective ways in which sufficient research and implementation efforts can be directed towards these needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Neve
- Rothamsted ResearchBiointeractions & Crop Protection DepartmentHarpendenHertfordshireUK
| | - J N Barney
- Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed ScienceVirginia TechBlacksburgVAUSA
| | - Y Buckley
- School of Natural Sciences, ZoologyTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - R D Cousens
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCAUSA
| | - S Graham
- School of Social SciencesThe University of New South WalesSydneyNSWAustralia
| | - N R Jordan
- Agronomy & Plant Genetics DepartmentUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMNUSA
| | - A Lawton‐Rauh
- Department of Genetics and BiochemistryClemson UniversityClemsonSCUSA
| | | | - M B Mesgaran
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCAUSA
| | - M Schut
- Knowledge, Technology and Innovation GroupWageningen UniversityWageningenthe Netherlands
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)KigaliRwanda
| | - J Shaw
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQldAustralia
| | - J Storkey
- Rothamsted ResearchBiointeractions & Crop Protection DepartmentHarpendenHertfordshireUK
| | - B Baraibar
- Plant Sciences DepartmentPenn State UniversityUniversity ParkPAUSA
| | - R S Baucom
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - M Chalak
- School of Agricultural and Resource EconomicsCentre for Environmental Economics & PolicyUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWAAustralia
| | - D Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - S Christensen
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenFrederiksbergDenmark
| | - H Eizenberg
- Department of Plant Pathology and Weed ResearchNewe Ya'ar Research CenterAgricultural Research Organization (ARO)Ramat YishayIsrael
| | | | - K French
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of WollongongWollongongNSWAustralia
| | - M Harsch
- Department of BiologyUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWAUSA
| | - S Heijting
- Wageningen University and ResearchLelystadthe Netherlands
| | - L Harrison
- Environment DepartmentUniversity of YorkYorkUK
| | - D Loddo
- Institute of Agro‐environmental and forest BiologyNational Research Council (IBAF‐CNR)LegnaroItaly
| | - M Macel
- Molecular Interaction EcologyRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenthe Netherlands
| | | | - A Merotto
- Graduate Group in Plant ScienceSchool of AgricultureFederal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)Porto AlegreBrazil
| | - D Mortensen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - J Necajeva
- Department of Plant PhysiologyFaculty of BiologyUniversity of LatviaRigaLatvia
| | - D A Peltzer
- Ecosystem Processes and Global ChangeLandcare ResearchLincolnNew Zealand
| | - J Recasens
- Horticulture, Botany and Landscaping DepartmentAgrotecnio, ETSEAUniversitat de LleidaLleidaSpain
| | - M Renton
- Schools of Biological Sciences & Agriculture and EnvironmentAustralian Herbicide Resistance Initiative and Institute of AgricultureThe University of Western AustraliaCrawleyWAAustralia
| | - M Riemens
- Environment DepartmentUniversity of YorkYorkUK
| | - M Sønderskov
- Department of AgroecologyAarhus UniversityFlakkebjergDenmark
| | - M Williams
- Michael Williams & Associates Pty LtdNatural resource Management Facilitators and StrategistsSydneyNSWAustralia
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38
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Bearup DJ, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP. Funder Restrictions on Application Numbers Lead to Chaos. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:565-568. [PMID: 30007843 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Restricting application rates is an attractive way for funders to reduce time and money wasted evaluating uncompetitive applications. However, mathematical models show that this could induce chaotic cycles in total application numbers, increasing uncertainty in the funding process. One emergent property is that smaller institutions spend disproportionally more time unfunded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Bearup
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7FS, UK; Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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39
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Heather FJ, Childs DZ, Darnaude AM, Blanchard JL. Using an integral projection model to assess the effect of temperature on the growth of gilthead seabream Sparus aurata. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0196092. [PMID: 29723211 PMCID: PMC5933764 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate information on the growth rates of fish is crucial for fisheries stock assessment and management. Empirical life history parameters (von Bertalanffy growth) are widely fitted to cross-sectional size-at-age data sampled from fish populations. This method often assumes that environmental factors affecting growth remain constant over time. The current study utilized longitudinal life history information contained in otoliths from 412 juveniles and adults of gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, a commercially important species fished and farmed throughout the Mediterranean. Historical annual growth rates over 11 consecutive years (2002-2012) in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) were reconstructed to investigate the effect of temperature variations on the annual growth of this fish. S. aurata growth was modelled linearly as the relationship between otolith size at year t against otolith size at the previous year t-1. The effect of temperature on growth was modelled with linear mixed effects models and a simplified linear model to be implemented in a cohort Integral Projection Model (cIPM). The cIPM was used to project S. aurata growth, year to year, under different temperature scenarios. Our results determined current increasing summer temperatures to have a negative effect on S. aurata annual growth in the Gulf of Lions. They suggest that global warming already has and will further have a significant impact on S. aurata size-at-age, with important implications for age-structured stock assessments and reference points used in fisheries.
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Affiliation(s)
- F J Heather
- Dept. Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - D Z Childs
- Dept. Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - A M Darnaude
- MARBEC, CNRS-Univ. Montpellier-Ifremer-IRD (Montpellier)-Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, Montpellier, France
| | - J L Blanchard
- Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Castray Esplanade, Hobart, Australia
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Booton RD, Yamaguchi R, Marshall JAR, Childs DZ, Iwasa Y. Interactions between immunotoxicants and parasite stress: Implications for host health. J Theor Biol 2018; 445:120-127. [PMID: 29474856 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Revised: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Many organisms face a wide variety of biotic and abiotic stressors which reduce individual survival, interacting to further reduce fitness. Here we studied the effects of two such interacting stressors: immunotoxicant exposure and parasite infection. We model the dynamics of a within-host infection and the associated immune response of an individual. We consider both the indirect sub-lethal effects on immunosuppression and the direct effects on health and mortality of individuals exposed to toxicants. We demonstrate that sub-lethal exposure to toxicants can promote infection through the suppression of the immune system. This happens through the depletion of the immune response which causes rapid proliferation in parasite load. We predict that the within-host parasite density is maximised by an intermediate toxicant exposure, rather than continuing to increase with toxicant exposure. In addition, high toxicant exposure can alter cellular regulation and cause the breakdown of normal healthy tissue, from which we infer higher mortality risk of the host. We classify this breakdown into three phases of increasing toxicant stress, and demonstrate the range of conditions under which toxicant exposure causes failure at the within-host level. These phases are determined by the relationship between the immunity status, overall cellular health and the level of toxicant exposure. We discuss the implications of our model in the context of individual bee health. Our model provides an assessment of how pesticide stress and infection interact to cause the breakdown of the within-host dynamics of individual bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross D Booton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
| | - Ryo Yamaguchi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
| | - James A R Marshall
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Yoh Iwasa
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
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41
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Hicks HL, Comont D, Coutts SR, Crook L, Hull R, Norris K, Neve P, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP. The factors driving evolved herbicide resistance at a national scale. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:529-536. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0470-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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42
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Lambert JPT, Hicks HL, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP, Gonzalez‐Andujar J. Evaluating the potential of Unmanned Aerial Systems for mapping weeds at field scales: a case study with Alopecurus myosuroides. Weed Res 2018; 58:35-45. [PMID: 29527066 PMCID: PMC5832304 DOI: 10.1111/wre.12275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Mapping weed densities within crops has conventionally been achieved either by detailed ecological monitoring or by field walking, both of which are time-consuming and expensive. Recent advances have resulted in increased interest in using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to map fields, aiming to reduce labour costs and increase the spatial extent of coverage. However, adoption of this technology ideally requires that mapping can be undertaken automatically and without the need for extensive ground-truthing. This approach has not been validated at large scale using UAS-derived imagery in combination with extensive ground-truth data. We tested the capability of UAS for mapping a grass weed, Alopecurus myosuroides, in wheat crops. We addressed two questions: (i) can imagery accurately measure densities of weeds within fields and (ii) can aerial imagery of a field be used to estimate the densities of weeds based on statistical models developed in other locations? We recorded aerial imagery from 26 fields using a UAS. Images were generated using both RGB and Rmod (Rmod 670-750 nm) spectral bands. Ground-truth data on weed densities were collected simultaneously with the aerial imagery. We combined these data to produce statistical models that (i) correlated ground-truth weed densities with image intensity and (ii) forecast weed densities in other fields. We show that weed densities correlated with image intensity, particularly Rmod image data. However, results were mixed in terms of out of sample prediction from field-to-field. We highlight the difficulties with transferring models and we discuss the challenges for automated weed mapping using UAS technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- J P T Lambert
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - H L Hicks
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - D Z Childs
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - R P Freckleton
- Department of Animal & Plant ScienceUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
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43
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Griffiths JI, Petchey OL, Pennekamp F, Childs DZ. Linking intraspecific trait variation to community abundance dynamics improves ecological predictability by revealing a growth–defence trade‐off. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason I. Griffiths
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Owen L. Petchey
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Frank Pennekamp
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield UK
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Abstract
Many quantitative traits are labile (e.g. somatic growth rate, reproductive timing and investment), varying over the life cycle as a result of behavioural adaptation, developmental processes and plastic responses to the environment. At the population level, selection can alter the distribution of such traits across age classes and among generations. Despite a growing body of theoretical research exploring the evolutionary dynamics of labile traits, a data‐driven framework for incorporating such traits into demographic models has not yet been developed. Integral projection models (IPMs) are increasingly being used to understand the interplay between changes in labile characters, life histories and population dynamics. One limitation of the IPM approach is that it relies on phenotypic associations between parents and offspring traits to capture inheritance. However, it is well‐established that many different processes may drive these associations, and currently, no clear consensus has emerged on how to model micro‐evolutionary dynamics in an IPM framework. We show how to embed quantitative genetic models of inheritance of labile traits into age‐structured, two‐sex models that resemble standard IPMs. Commonly used statistical tools such as GLMs and their mixed model counterparts can then be used for model parameterization. We illustrate the methodology through development of a simple model of egg‐laying date evolution, parameterized using data from a population of Great tits (Parus major). We demonstrate how our framework can be used to project the joint dynamics of species' traits and population density. We then develop a simple extension of the age‐structured Price equation (ASPE) for two‐sex populations, and apply this to examine the age‐specific contributions of different processes to change in the mean phenotype and breeding value. The data‐driven framework we outline here has the potential to facilitate greater insight into the nature of selection and its consequences in settings where focal traits vary over the lifetime through ontogeny, behavioural adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, as well as providing a potential bridge between theoretical and empirical studies of labile trait variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Department of Zoology, The Edward Grey Institute, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Mark Rees
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
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45
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Abstract
A dogma in ecology and evolution holds that the environment is an extrinsic force that is not, in turn, shaped by the adaptive evolution of species. Recent work on stickleback life history, community ecology and speciation challenges this dogma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew P Beckerman
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Alan O Bergland
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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Bassar RD, Childs DZ, Rees M, Tuljapurkar S, Reznick DN, Coulson T. The effects of asymmetric competition on the life history of Trinidadian guppies. Ecol Lett 2016; 19:268-78. [PMID: 26843397 PMCID: PMC4991285 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 11/03/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The effects of asymmetric interactions on population dynamics has been widely investigated, but there has been little work aimed at understanding how life history parameters like generation time, life expectancy and the variance in lifetime reproductive success are impacted by different types of competition. We develop a new framework for incorporating trait‐mediated density‐dependence into size‐structured models and use Trinidadian guppies to show how different types of competitive interactions impact life history parameters. Our results show the degree of symmetry in competitive interactions can have dramatic effects on the speed of the life history. For some vital rates, shifting the competitive superiority from small to large individuals resulted in a doubling of the generation time. Such large influences of competitive symmetry on the timescale of demographic processes, and hence evolution, highlights the interwoven nature of ecological and evolutionary processes and the importance of density‐dependence in understanding eco‐evolutionary dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald D Bassar
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Mark Rees
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | - David N Reznick
- Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Tim Coulson
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
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47
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Metcalf CJE, Graham AL, Martinez-Bakker M, Childs DZ. Opportunities and challenges of Integral Projection Models for modelling host-parasite dynamics. J Anim Ecol 2015; 85:343-55. [PMID: 26620440 PMCID: PMC4991293 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiological dynamics are shaped by and may in turn shape host demography. These feedbacks can result in hard to predict patterns of disease incidence. Mathematical models that integrate infection and demography are consequently a key tool for informing expectations for disease burden and identifying effective measures for control. A major challenge is capturing the details of infection within individuals and quantifying their downstream impacts to understand population‐scale outcomes. For example, parasite loads and antibody titres may vary over the course of an infection and contribute to differences in transmission at the scale of the population. To date, to capture these subtleties, models have mostly relied on complex mechanistic frameworks, discrete categorization and/or agent‐based approaches. Integral Projection Models (IPMs) allow variance in individual trajectories of quantitative traits and their population‐level outcomes to be captured in ways that directly reflect statistical models of trait–fate relationships. Given increasing data availability, and advances in modelling, there is considerable potential for extending this framework to traits of relevance for infectious disease dynamics. Here, we provide an overview of host and parasite natural history contexts where IPMs could strengthen inference of population dynamics, with examples of host species ranging from mice to sheep to humans, and parasites ranging from viruses to worms. We discuss models of both parasite and host traits, provide two case studies and conclude by reviewing potential for both ecological and evolutionary research.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Jessica E Metcalf
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.,Office of Population Research, The Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Andrea L Graham
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield University, Sheffield, UK
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48
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Metcalf CJE, Ellner SP, Childs DZ, Salguero‐Gómez R, Merow C, McMahon SM, Jongejans E, Rees M. Statistical modelling of annual variation for inference on stochastic population dynamics using Integral Projection Models. Methods Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Jessica E. Metcalf
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
| | - Stephen P. Ellner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Sheffield University Sheffield UK
| | - Roberto Salguero‐Gómez
- Evolutionary Demography Laboratory Max Planck Institute of Demographic Research Rostock 18057 Germany
- School of Biological Sciences Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Cory Merow
- Division of Migratory Bird Management United States Fish and Wildlife Service Laurel MD USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater MD USA
| | | | - Eelke Jongejans
- Department of Animal Ecology and Ecophysiology Radboud University Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Mark Rees
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Sheffield University Sheffield UK
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49
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Petchey OL, Pontarp M, Massie TM, Kéfi S, Ozgul A, Weilenmann M, Palamara GM, Altermatt F, Matthews B, Levine JM, Childs DZ, McGill BJ, Schaepman ME, Schmid B, Spaak P, Beckerman AP, Pennekamp F, Pearse IS, Vasseur D. The ecological forecast horizon, and examples of its uses and determinants. Ecol Lett 2015; 18:597-611. [PMID: 25960188 PMCID: PMC4676300 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Forecasts of ecological dynamics in changing environments are increasingly important, and are available for a plethora of variables, such as species abundance and distribution, community structure and ecosystem processes. There is, however, a general absence of knowledge about how far into the future, or other dimensions (space, temperature, phylogenetic distance), useful ecological forecasts can be made, and about how features of ecological systems relate to these distances. The ecological forecast horizon is the dimensional distance for which useful forecasts can be made. Five case studies illustrate the influence of various sources of uncertainty (e.g. parameter uncertainty, environmental variation, demographic stochasticity and evolution), level of ecological organisation (e.g. population or community), and organismal properties (e.g. body size or number of trophic links) on temporal, spatial and phylogenetic forecast horizons. Insights from these case studies demonstrate that the ecological forecast horizon is a flexible and powerful tool for researching and communicating ecological predictability. It also has potential for motivating and guiding agenda setting for ecological forecasting research and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen L Petchey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyÜberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Mikael Pontarp
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå UniversitySE- 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Thomas M Massie
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sonia Kéfi
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, CC065Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Arpat Ozgul
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maja Weilenmann
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gian Marco Palamara
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyÜberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Blake Matthews
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyKastanienbaum, Seestrasse 79, 6047 Luzern, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan M Levine
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH ZurichUniversitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield UniversitySheffield, Western Bank. S10 2TN South Yorkshire, UK
| | - Brian J McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology and Mitchel Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of MaineOrono, 5751 Murray Hall, ME 04469, USA
| | - Michael E Schaepman
- University of Zurich, Department of Geography, Remote Sensing LaboratoriesWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Piet Spaak
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyÜberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH ZurichUniversitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrew P Beckerman
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield UniversitySheffield, Western Bank. S10 2TN South Yorkshire, UK
| | - Frank Pennekamp
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ian S Pearse
- The Illinois Natural History SurveyChampaign, 1816 South Oak Street, MC 652, IL 61820, USA
| | - David Vasseur
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyÜberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå UniversitySE- 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, CC065Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyKastanienbaum, Seestrasse 79, 6047 Luzern, Switzerland
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH ZurichUniversitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield UniversitySheffield, Western Bank. S10 2TN South Yorkshire, UK
- School of Biology and Ecology and Mitchel Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of MaineOrono, 5751 Murray Hall, ME 04469, USA
- University of Zurich, Department of Geography, Remote Sensing LaboratoriesWinterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- The Illinois Natural History SurveyChampaign, 1816 South Oak Street, MC 652, IL 61820, USA
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Palamara GM, Childs DZ, Clements CF, Petchey OL, Plebani M, Smith MJ. Inferring the temperature dependence of population parameters: the effects of experimental design and inference algorithm. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:4736-50. [PMID: 25558365 PMCID: PMC4278823 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Revised: 09/25/2014] [Accepted: 10/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding and quantifying the temperature dependence of population parameters, such as intrinsic growth rate and carrying capacity, is critical for predicting the ecological responses to environmental change. Many studies provide empirical estimates of such temperature dependencies, but a thorough investigation of the methods used to infer them has not been performed yet. We created artificial population time series using a stochastic logistic model parameterized with the Arrhenius equation, so that activation energy drives the temperature dependence of population parameters. We simulated different experimental designs and used different inference methods, varying the likelihood functions and other aspects of the parameter estimation methods. Finally, we applied the best performing inference methods to real data for the species Paramecium caudatum. The relative error of the estimates of activation energy varied between 5% and 30%. The fraction of habitat sampled played the most important role in determining the relative error; sampling at least 1% of the habitat kept it below 50%. We found that methods that simultaneously use all time series data (direct methods) and methods that estimate population parameters separately for each temperature (indirect methods) are complementary. Indirect methods provide a clearer insight into the shape of the functional form describing the temperature dependence of population parameters; direct methods enable a more accurate estimation of the parameters of such functional forms. Using both methods, we found that growth rate and carrying capacity of Paramecium caudatum scale with temperature according to different activation energies. Our study shows how careful choice of experimental design and inference methods can increase the accuracy of the inferred relationships between temperature and population parameters. The comparison of estimation methods provided here can increase the accuracy of model predictions, with important implications in understanding and predicting the effects of temperature on the dynamics of populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Marco Palamara
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich Wintherthurerstrase 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland ; Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research Cambridge, CB1 2FB, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Christopher F Clements
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich Wintherthurerstrase 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Owen L Petchey
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich Wintherthurerstrase 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marco Plebani
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich Wintherthurerstrase 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthew J Smith
- Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research Cambridge, CB1 2FB, UK
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