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Evans LC, Burgess MD, Potts SG, Kunin WE, Oliver TH. Population links between an insectivorous bird and moths disentangled through national-scale monitoring data. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14362. [PMID: 38253060 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14362] [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: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Insects are key components of food chains, and monitoring data provides new opportunities to identify trophic relationships at broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, combining two monitoring datasets from Great Britain, we reveal how the population dynamics of the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus are influenced by the abundance of moths - a core component of their breeding diet. We find that years with increased population growth for blue tits correlate strongly with high moth abundance, but population growth in moths and birds is less well correlated; suggesting moth abundance directly affects bird population change. Next, we identify moths that are important components of blue tit diet, recovering associations to species previously identified as key food sources such as the winter moth Operoptera brumata. Our work provides new evidence that insect abundance impacts bird population dynamics in natural communities and provides insight into spatial diet turnover at a national-scale.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Simon G Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | | | - Tom H Oliver
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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2
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Marsh CJ, Gavish Y, Kuemmerlen M, Stoll S, Haase P, Kunin WE. SDM profiling: A tool for assessing the information-content of sampled and unsampled locations for species distribution models. Ecol Modell 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2022.110170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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3
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Lukach M, Dally T, Evans W, Hassall C, Duncan EJ, Bennett L, Addison FI, Kunin WE, Chapman JW, Neely RR. The development of an unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis of dual-polarization weather surveillance radar observations to assess nocturnal insect abundance and diversity. Remote Sens Ecol Conserv 2022; 8:698-716. [PMID: 36588588 PMCID: PMC9790603 DOI: 10.1002/rse2.270] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary analyses of insect population trends are based, for the most part, on a large body of heterogeneous and short-term datasets of diurnal species that are representative of limited spatial domains. This makes monitoring changes in insect biomass and biodiversity difficult. What is needed is a method for monitoring that provides a consistent, high-resolution picture of insect populations through time over large areas during day and night. Here, we explore the use of X-band weather surveillance radar (WSR) for the study of local insect populations using a high-quality, multi-week time series of nocturnal moth light trapping data. Specifically, we test the hypotheses that (i) unsupervised data-driven classification algorithms can differentiate meteorological and biological phenomena, (ii) the diversity of the classes of bioscatterers are quantitatively related to the diversity of insects as measured on the ground and (iii) insect abundance measured at ground level can be predicted quantitatively based on dual-polarization Doppler WSR variables. Adapting the quasi-vertical profile analysis method and data clustering techniques developed for the analysis of hydrometeors, we demonstrate that our bioscatterer classification algorithm successfully differentiates bioscatterers from hydrometeors over a large spatial scale and at high temporal resolutions. Furthermore, our results also show a clear relationship between biological and meteorological scatterers and a link between the abundance and diversity of radar-based bioscatterer clusters and that of nocturnal aerial insects. Thus, we demonstrate the potential utility of this approach for landscape scale monitoring of biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryna Lukach
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds71‐75 Clarendon Rd, WoodhouseLeedsLS2 9PHUK
| | - Thomas Dally
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - William Evans
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds71‐75 Clarendon Rd, WoodhouseLeedsLS2 9PHUK
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Christopher Hassall
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Elizabeth J. Duncan
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Lindsay Bennett
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds71‐75 Clarendon Rd, WoodhouseLeedsLS2 9PHUK
| | - Freya I. Addison
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds71‐75 Clarendon Rd, WoodhouseLeedsLS2 9PHUK
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Jason W. Chapman
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenryn, CornwallTR10 9FEUK
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant ProtectionNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjing210095People's Republic of China
| | - Ryan R. Neely
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds71‐75 Clarendon Rd, WoodhouseLeedsLS2 9PHUK
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4
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Chetcuti J, Kunin WE, Bullock JM. Species' movement influence responses to habitat fragmentation. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13623] [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] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Chetcuti
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Wallingford UK
- Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
- Department of Botany, School of Natural Sciences Trinity College Dublin Dublin Ireland
- Department of Ecoscience Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark
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5
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Tripathi HG, Kunin WE, Smith HE, Sallu SM, Maurice S, Machera SD, Davies R, Florence M, Eze S, Yamdeu JHG, Sait SM. Climate-Smart Agriculture and Trade-Offs With Biodiversity and Crop Yield. Front Sustain Food Syst 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.868870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biophysical evaluations of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) often overlook the potential interactions with and implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services, which are important determinants of food system resilience and sustainability. Drawing on a case study in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, we compare the impacts of CSA with other agricultural management practices on invertebrate pest and natural enemy diversity, and the associated effects on crop damage and crop yield. We found that the most common CSA practices in the region, terracing and trenching with live and compost mulches, provided the best outcomes for crop production, pest suppression and agricultural income. However, greater diversity of pests was observed when neighboring fields planted improved crop varieties, suggesting that the use of improved varieties by farmers creates increased vulnerability to pest damage among neighboring farmers that used local varieties. Also, greater natural enemy diversity was found when neighboring fields were either intercropped or left fallow highlighting spatial flows of ecosystem services between fields. Landcover heterogeneity was positively correlated with pest diversity, whilst landcover richness was positively associated with higher pest volume, highlighting the importance of landscape characteristics in pest and natural enemy dynamics. Finally, we found that crop damage was most severe when pest communities had low species richness, suggesting that a small number of key crop pests contribute to most yield losses. Our findings illustrate that those varied combinations of agricultural management practices lead to heterogeneous biodiversity outcomes and trade-offs, and highlight the importance of local management, neighborhood effects and landscape characteristics. CSA evaluations must therefore look beyond productivity as a measure for success, as trade-offs with invertebrate biodiversity, food production, and environmental sustainability often interact and feedback in complex and unexpected ways.
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6
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Gillespie MAK, Baude M, Biesmeijer J, Boatman N, Budge GE, Crowe A, Davies N, Evans R, Memmott J, Morton RD, Moss E, Murphy M, Pietravalle S, Potts SG, Roberts SPM, Rowland C, Senapathi D, Smart SM, Wood C, Kunin WE. Landscape-scale drivers of pollinator communities may depend on land-use configuration. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210172. [PMID: 35491602 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0172] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Research into pollinators in managed landscapes has recently combined approaches of pollination ecology and landscape ecology, because key stressors are likely to interact across wide areas. While laboratory and field experiments are valuable for furthering understanding, studies are required to investigate the interacting drivers of pollinator health and diversity across a broader range of landscapes and a wider array of taxa. Here, we use a network of 96 study landscapes in six topographically diverse regions of Britain, to test the combined importance of honeybee density, insecticide loadings, floral resource availability and habitat diversity to pollinator communities. We also explore the interactions between these drivers and the cover and proximity of semi-natural habitat. We found that among our four drivers, only honeybee density was positively related to wild pollinator abundance and diversity, and the positive association between abundance and floral resources depended on insecticide loadings and habitat diversity. By contrast, our exploratory models including habitat composition metrics revealed a complex suite of interactive effects. These results demonstrate that improving pollinator community composition and health is unlikely to be achieved with general resource enhancements only. Rather, local land-use context should be considered in fine-tuning pollinator management and conservation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A K Gillespie
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,Department of Science and Engineering, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, PB 133, 6851 Sogndal, Norway
| | - Mathilde Baude
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK.,INRAE USC1328, LBLGC EA1207, University of Orléans, rue de Chartres, BP 6759, 45067 Orléans Cedex 2, France
| | - Jacobus Biesmeijer
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands.,Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nigel Boatman
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency), Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK
| | - Giles E Budge
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency), Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK.,School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Andrew Crowe
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency), Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK
| | - Nancy Davies
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
| | - Rebecca Evans
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
| | - R Daniel Morton
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Ellen Moss
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.,Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Mark Murphy
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Stephane Pietravalle
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency), Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK
| | - Simon G Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Stuart P M Roberts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Clare Rowland
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Simon M Smart
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Claire Wood
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
| | - William E Kunin
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa
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7
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Jeliazkov A, Gavish Y, Marsh CJ, Geschke J, Brummitt N, Rocchini D, Haase P, Kunin WE, Henle K. Sampling and modelling rare species: Conceptual guidelines for the neglected majority. Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:3754-3777. [PMID: 35098624 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [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: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity conservation faces a methodological conundrum: Biodiversity measurement often relies on species, most of which are rare at various scales, especially prone to extinction under global change, but also the most challenging to sample and model. Predicting the distribution change of rare species using conventional species distribution models is challenging because rare species are hardly captured by most survey systems. When enough data are available, predictions are usually spatially biased towards locations where the species is most likely to occur, violating the assumptions of many modelling frameworks. Workflows to predict and eventually map rare species distributions imply important trade-offs between data quantity, quality, representativeness and model complexity that need to be considered prior to survey and analysis. Our opinion is that study designs need to carefully integrate the different steps, from species sampling to modelling, in accordance with the different types of rarity and available data in order to improve our capacity for sound assessment and prediction of rare species distribution. In this article, we summarize and comment on how different categories of species rarity lead to different types of occurrence and distribution data depending on choices made during the survey process, namely the spatial distribution of samples (where to sample) and the sampling protocol in each selected location (how to sample). We then clarify which species distribution models are suitable depending on the different types of distribution data (how to model). Among others, for most rarity forms, we highlight the insights from systematic species-targeted sampling coupled with hierarchical models that allow correcting for overdispersion and spatial and sampling sources of bias. Our article provides scientists and practitioners with a much-needed guide through the ever-increasing diversity of methodological developments to improve the prediction of rare species distribution depending on rarity type and available data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yoni Gavish
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Charles J Marsh
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Ecology and Evolution & Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jonas Geschke
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Neil Brummitt
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Duccio Rocchini
- BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Spatial Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Praha - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Haase
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | | | - Klaus Henle
- Department of Conservation Biology & Social-Ecological Systems, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
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8
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Gardner E, Breeze TD, Clough Y, Smith HG, Baldock KCR, Campbell A, Garratt MPD, Gillespie MAK, Kunin WE, McKerchar M, Potts SG, Senapathi D, Stone GN, Wäckers F, Westbury DB, Wilby A, Oliver TH. Field boundary features can stabilise bee populations and the pollination of mass‐flowering crops in rotational systems. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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)
- Emma Gardner
- School of Biological Sciences University of Reading Reading UK
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Tom D. Breeze
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Yann Clough
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research and Department Biology Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Henrik G. Smith
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research and Department Biology Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Katherine C. R. Baldock
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
- Cabot Institute University of Bristol Bristol UK
- Department of Geographical and Environmental Sciences Northumbria University Newcastle upon Tyne UK
| | | | | | - Mark A. K. Gillespie
- School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds UK
- Department of Environmental Sciences Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Sogndal Norway
| | | | - Megan McKerchar
- School of Science and the Environment University of Worcester UK
| | - Simon G. Potts
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Graham N. Stone
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Felix Wäckers
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | | | - Andrew Wilby
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | - Tom H. Oliver
- School of Biological Sciences University of Reading Reading UK
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9
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Abstract
Debate rages as to whether habitat fragmentation leads to the decline of biodiversity once habitat loss is accounted for. Previous studies have defined fragmentation variously, but research needs to address “fragmentation per se,” which excludes confounding effects of habitat loss. Our study controls for habitat area and employs a mechanistic multi-species simulation to explore processes that may lead some species groups to be more or less sensitive to fragmentation per se. Our multi-land-cover, landscape-scale, individual-based model incorporates the movement of generic species, each with different land cover preferences. We investigate how fragmentation per se changes diversity patterns; within (alpha), between (beta) and across (gamma) patches of a focal-land-cover, and if this differs among species groups according to their specialism and dependency on this focal-land-cover. We defined specialism as the increased competitive ability of specialists in suitable habitat and decreased ability in less suitable land covers compared to generalist species. We found fragmentation per se caused an increase in gamma diversity in the focal-land-cover if we considered all species regardless of focal-land-cover preference. However, critically for conservation, the gamma diversity of species for whom the focal land cover is suitable habitat declined under fragmentation per se. An exception to this finding occurred when these species were specialists, who were unaffected by fragmentation per se. In general, focal-land-cover species were under pressure from the influx of other species, with fragmentation per se leading to a loss of alpha diversity not compensated for by increases in beta diversity and, therefore, gamma diversity fell. The specialist species, which were more competitive, were less affected by the influx of species and therefore alpha diversity decreased less with fragmentation per se and beta diversity compensated for this loss, meaning gamma diversity did not decrease. Our findings help to inform the fragmentation per se debate, showing that effects on biodiversity can be negative or positive, depending on species’ competitive abilities and dependency on the fragmented land cover. Such differences in the effect of fragmentation per se would have important consequences for conservation. Focusing conservation efforts on reducing or preventing fragmentation in areas with species vulnerable to fragmentation.
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10
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Breeze TD, Bailey AP, Balcombe KG, Brereton T, Comont R, Edwards M, Garratt MP, Harvey M, Hawes C, Isaac N, Jitlal M, Jones CM, Kunin WE, Lee P, Morris RKA, Musgrove A, O'Connor RS, Peyton J, Potts SG, Roberts SPM, Roy DB, Roy HE, Tang CQ, Vanbergen AJ, Carvell C. Pollinator monitoring more than pays for itself. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tom D. Breeze
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Alison P. Bailey
- Department Land Management and Systems Lincoln University Lincoln New Zealand
| | - Kelvin G. Balcombe
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
| | | | | | - Mike Edwards
- Edwards Ecological and Data Services Ltd Wallingford UK
| | - Michael P. Garratt
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Martin Harvey
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences The Open University Milton Keynes UK
| | | | - Nick Isaac
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Wallingford UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Rory S. O'Connor
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
- Department of Biology Leeds University Leeds UK
| | | | - Simon G. Potts
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
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11
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Gardner E, Breeze TD, Clough Y, Smith HG, Baldock KCR, Campbell A, Garratt MPD, Gillespie MAK, Kunin WE, McKerchar M, Memmott J, Potts SG, Senapathi D, Stone GN, Wäckers F, Westbury DB, Wilby A, Oliver TH. Reliably predicting pollinator abundance: Challenges of calibrating process‐based ecological models. Methods Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [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)
- Emma Gardner
- School of Biological Sciences University of Reading Reading UK
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental ResearchUniversity of Reading Reading UK
| | - Tom D. Breeze
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental ResearchUniversity of Reading Reading UK
| | - Yann Clough
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Henrik G. Smith
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Katherine C. R. Baldock
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
- Cabot InstituteUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
- Department of Geographical and Environmental Sciences Northumbria University Newcastle upon Tyne UK
| | | | | | - Mark A. K. Gillespie
- School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds UK
- Department of Environmental Sciences Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Sogndal Norway
| | | | - Megan McKerchar
- School of Science and the Environment University of Worcester Worcester UK
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Simon G. Potts
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental ResearchUniversity of Reading Reading UK
| | - Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental ResearchUniversity of Reading Reading UK
| | - Graham N. Stone
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Felix Wäckers
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | - Duncan B. Westbury
- School of Science and the Environment University of Worcester Worcester UK
| | - Andrew Wilby
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | - Tom H. Oliver
- School of Biological Sciences University of Reading Reading UK
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12
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Bradter U, O'Connell J, Kunin WE, Boffey CWH, Ellis RJ, Benton TG. Classifying grass-dominated habitats from remotely sensed data: The influence of spectral resolution, acquisition time and the vegetation classification system on accuracy and thematic resolution. Sci Total Environ 2020; 711:134584. [PMID: 31818561 PMCID: PMC7014585 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134584] [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] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Detailed maps of vegetation facilitate spatial conservation planning. Such information can be difficult to map from remotely sensed data with the detail (thematic resolution) required for ecological applications. For grass-dominated habitats in the South-East of the UK, it was evaluated which of the following choices improved classification accuracies at various thematic resolutions: 1) Hyperspectral data versus data with a reduced spectral resolution of eight and 13 bands, which were simulated from the hyperspectral data. 2) A vegetation classification system using a detailed description of vegetation (sub)-communities (the British National Vegetation Classification, NVC) versus clustering based on the dominant plant species (Dom-Species). 3) The month of imagery acquisition. Hyperspectral data produced the highest accuracies for vegetation away from edges using the NVC (84-87%). Simulated 13-band data performed also well (83-86% accuracy). Simulated 8-band data performed poorer at finer thematic resolutions (77-78% accuracy), but produced accuracies similar to those from simulated 13-band or hyperspectral data for coarser thematic resolutions (82-86%). Grouping vegetation by NVC (84-87% accuracy for hyperspectral data) usually achieved higher accuracies compared to Dom-Species (81-84% for hyperspectral data). Highest discrimination rates were achieved around the time vegetation was fully developed. The results suggest that using a detailed description of vegetation (sub)-communities instead of one based on the dominating species can result in more accurate mapping. The NVC may reflect differences in site conditions in addition to differences in the composition of dominant species, which may benefit vegetation classification. The results also suggest that using hyperspectral data or the 13-band multispectral data can help to achieve the fine thematic resolutions that are often required in ecological applications. Accurate vegetation maps with a high thematic resolution can benefit a range of applications, such as species and habitat conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ute Bradter
- University of Leeds, School of Biology, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
| | | | | | | | | | - Tim G Benton
- University of Leeds, School of Biology, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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13
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14
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Bradter U, O'Connell J, Kunin WE, Boffey CW, Ellis RJ, Benton TG. Field spectroscopy data from non-arable, grass-dominated objects in an intensively used agricultural landscape in East Anglia, UK. Data Brief 2019; 28:104888. [PMID: 31886347 PMCID: PMC6920490 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2019.104888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [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: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Remote sensing of vegetation provides important information for ecological applications and environmental assessments. The association between vegetation composition and structure with its spectral signal can most fully be assessed with hyperspectral data. Particularly field spectroscopy data can improve such understanding as the spectral data can be linked with the vegetation under consideration without the geographic registration uncertainties of aerial or satellite imagery. The data provided in this article contain field spectroscopy measurements from non-arable, grass-dominated objects on four farms in an intensively used agricultural landscape in the South-East of the UK. Detailed data on the plant species composition of the objects are also supplied with this article to support further analysis. Reuse potential includes linking the vegetation data with the spectral response using spectral unmixing techniques to map certain plant species or including the field spectroscopy data in a larger study with data from a wider area. This data article is related to the paper ‘Classifying grass-dominated habitats from remotely sensed data: the influence of spectral resolution, acquisition time and the vegetation classification system on accuracy and thematic resolution’ (Bradter et al., 2019) in which the ability to classify the recorded vegetation from the field spectroscopy data was analysed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ute Bradter
- University of Leeds, School of Biology, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, 7485, Trondheim, Norway
- Corresponding author. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, 7485, Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Jerome O'Connell
- University of Leeds, School of Biology, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
- University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 N2E5, Ireland
| | | | | | | | - Tim G. Benton
- University of Leeds, School of Biology, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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15
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O'Connor RS, Kunin WE, Garratt MPD, Potts SG, Roy HE, Andrews C, Jones CM, Peyton JM, Savage J, Harvey MC, Morris RKA, Roberts SPM, Wright I, Vanbergen AJ, Carvell C. Monitoring insect pollinators and flower visitation: The effectiveness and feasibility of different survey methods. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rory S. O'Connor
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
- The Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | | | - Michael P. D. Garratt
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
| | - Simon G. Potts
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
| | | | | | - Catherine M. Jones
- The Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
- Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust Peterborough UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Stuart P. M. Roberts
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK
| | | | - Adam J. Vanbergen
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Penicuik UK
- AgroécologieAgroSup DijonINRAUniv. Bourgogne Franche‐Comté Dijon France
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16
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Marsh CJ, Gavish Y, Kunin WE, Brummitt NA. Mind the gap: Can downscaling Area of Occupancy overcome sampling gaps when assessing IUCN Red List status? DIVERS DISTRIB 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Charles J. Marsh
- Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum London UK
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Yoni Gavish
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
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17
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Davey MP, Palmer BG, Armitage E, Vergeer P, Kunin WE, Woodward FI, Quick WP. Natural variation in tolerance to sub-zero temperatures among populations of Arabidopsis lyrata ssp. petraea. BMC Plant Biol 2018; 18:277. [PMID: 30419829 PMCID: PMC6233594 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-018-1513-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Temperature is one of the most important abiotic factors limiting plant growth and productivity. Many plants exhibit cold acclimation to prepare for the likelihood of freezing as temperatures decrease towards 0 °C. The physiological mechanisms associated with enabling increased tolerance to sub-zero temperatures vary between species and genotypes. Geographically and climatically diverse populations of Arabidopsis lyrata ssp. petraea were examined for their ability to survive, maintain functional photosynthetic parameters and cellular electrolyte leakage integrity after being exposed to sub-zero temperatures. The duration of cold acclimation prior to sub-zero temperatures was also manipulated (2 and 14 days). RESULTS We found that there was significant natural variation in tolerances to sub-zero temperatures among populations of A. petraea. The origin of the population affected the acclimation response and survival after exposure to sub-zero temperatures. Cold acclimation of plants prior to sub-zero temperatures affected the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) (Fv/Fm) in that plants that were cold acclimated for longer periods had higher values of Fv/Fm as a result of sub-zero temperatures. The inner immature leaves were better able to recover Fv/Fm from sub-zero temperatures than mature outer leaves. The Irish population (Leitrim) acclimated faster, in terms of survival and electrolyte leakage than the Norwegian population (Helin). CONCLUSION The ability to survive, recover photosynthetic processes and cellular electrolyte leakage after exposure to sub-zero temperatures is highly dependent on the duration of cold acclimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew P. Davey
- Current address: Department of Plant Sciences, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA UK
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Ben G. Palmer
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Emily Armitage
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Philippine Vergeer
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - William E. Kunin
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - F. Ian Woodward
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - W. Paul Quick
- Animal and Plant Sciences, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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18
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Affiliation(s)
- Solène Guenat
- Sustainability Research InstituteSchool of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
| | | | - Andrew J. Dougill
- Sustainability Research InstituteSchool of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - Martin Dallimer
- Sustainability Research InstituteSchool of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Charles J. Marsh
- School of BiologyFaculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Yoni Gavish
- School of BiologyFaculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of BiologyFaculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
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20
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Rocchini D, Luque S, Pettorelli N, Bastin L, Doktor D, Faedi N, Feilhauer H, Féret J, Foody GM, Gavish Y, Godinho S, Kunin WE, Lausch A, Leitão PJ, Marcantonio M, Neteler M, Ricotta C, Schmidtlein S, Vihervaara P, Wegmann M, Nagendra H. Measuring β‐diversity by remote sensing: A challenge for biodiversity monitoring. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [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)
- Duccio Rocchini
- Center Agriculture Food Environment University of Trento S. Michele all’Adige (TN) Italy
- Centre for Integrative Biology University of Trento Povo (TN) Italy
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology Fondazione Edmund Mach, Research and Innovation Centre S. Michele all’Adige (TN) Italy
| | - Sandra Luque
- UMR‐TETIS, IRSTEA Montpellier, Maison de la Télédétection Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | | | - Lucy Bastin
- School of Computer Science Aston University Birmingham UK
| | - Daniel Doktor
- Department Computational Landscape Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Nicolò Faedi
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology Fondazione Edmund Mach, Research and Innovation Centre S. Michele all’Adige (TN) Italy
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of Bologna Bologna Italy
| | - Hannes Feilhauer
- Institut für Geographie Friedrich‐Alexander Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg Erlangen Germany
| | - Jean‐Baptiste Féret
- UMR‐TETIS, IRSTEA Montpellier, Maison de la Télédétection Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | - Giles M. Foody
- School of Geography University of Nottingham Nottingham UK
| | - Yoni Gavish
- School of Biology, Faculty of biological Science University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - Sergio Godinho
- Institute of Mediterranean Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM) Universidade de Evora Evora Portugal
| | | | - Angela Lausch
- Department Computational Landscape Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Pedro J. Leitão
- Department Landscape Ecology and Environmental System Analysis Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig Germany
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Matteo Marcantonio
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine University of California Davis CA USA
| | | | - Carlo Ricotta
- Department of Environmental Biology University of Rome “La Sapienza” Rome Italy
| | - Sebastian Schmidtlein
- Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie Karlsruhe Germany
| | - Petteri Vihervaara
- Natural Environment Centre Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) Helsinki Finland
| | - Martin Wegmann
- Department of Remote Sensing, Remote Sensing and Biodiversity Research Group University of Wuerzburg Wuerzburg Germany
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21
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Velázquez-López R, Wegier A, Alavez V, Pérez-López J, Vázquez-Barrios V, Arroyo-Lambaer D, Ponce-Mendoza A, Kunin WE. The Mating System of the Wild-to-Domesticated Complex of Gossypium hirsutum L. Is Mixed. Front Plant Sci 2018; 9:574. [PMID: 29868048 PMCID: PMC5954804 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00574] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The domestication syndrome of many plants includes changes in their mating systems. The evolution of the latter is shaped by ecological and genetic factors that are particular to an area. Thus, the reproductive biology of wild relatives must be studied in their natural distribution to understand the mating system of a crop species as a whole. Gossypium hirsutum (upland cotton) includes both domesticated varieties and wild populations of the same species. Most studies on mating systems describe cultivated cotton as self-pollinated, while studies on pollen dispersal report outcrossing; however, the mating system of upland cotton has not been described as mixed and little is known about its wild relatives. In this study we selected two wild metapopulations for comparison with domesticated plants and one metapopulation with evidence of recent gene flow between wild relatives and the crop to evaluate the mating system of cotton's wild-to-domesticated complex. Using classic reproductive biology methods, our data demonstrate that upland cotton presents a mixed mating system throughout the complex. Given cotton's capacity for outcrossing, differences caused by the domestication process in cultivated individuals can have consequences for its wild relatives. This characterization of the diversity of the wild relatives in their natural distribution, as well as their interactions with the crop, will be useful to design and implement adequate strategies for conservation and biosecurity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Velázquez-López
- Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ana Wegier
- Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Valeria Alavez
- Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Javier Pérez-López
- Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Valeria Vázquez-Barrios
- Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Denise Arroyo-Lambaer
- Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - William E. Kunin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
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22
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Kunin WE, Harte J, He F, Hui C, Jobe RT, Ostling A, Polce C, Šizling A, Smith AB, Smith K, Smart SM, Storch D, Tjørve E, Ugland K, Ulrich W, Varma V. Upscaling biodiversity: estimating the species–area relationship from small samples. ECOL MONOGR 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- William E. Kunin
- Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT United Kingdom
- Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch 7600 South Africa
| | - John Harte
- Energy and Resources Group and Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California 94720 USA
| | - Fangliang He
- Department of Renewable Resources University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta T6G 2H1 Canada
| | - Cang Hui
- Department of Mathematical Sciences Centre for Invasion Biology Stellenbosch University, and African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Stellenbosch 7600 South Africa
| | - R. Todd Jobe
- Department of Geography University of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina 27599‐3220 USA
| | - Annette Ostling
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan 830 North Avenue Ann Arbor MI 48109‐1048 USA
| | - Chiara Polce
- Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT United Kingdom
| | - Arnošt Šizling
- Center for Theoretical Study Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Jilská 1 110 00 Praha 1 Czech Republic
| | - Adam B. Smith
- Energy and Resources Group and Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California 94720 USA
- Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development Missouri Botanical Garden 4344 Shaw Boulevard St. Louis Missouri 63110 USA
| | - Krister Smith
- Senkenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Simon M. Smart
- NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Library Avenue, Bailrigg Lancaster LA1 4AP United Kingdom
| | - David Storch
- Center for Theoretical Study Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Jilská 1 110 00 Praha 1 Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology Faculty of Science Charles University Viničná 7 128 44 Praha 2 Czech Republic
| | - Even Tjørve
- Lillehammer University College P.O. Box 952 NO‐2604 Lillehammer Norway
| | - Karl‐Inne Ugland
- Department of Biology University of Oslo PB 1064 Blindern 0316 Oslo Norway
| | - Werner Ulrich
- Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection Nicolaus Copernicus University Lwowska 1 87‐100 Toruń Poland
| | - Varun Varma
- Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT United Kingdom
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23
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Marsh CJ, Barwell LJ, Gavish Y, Kunin WE. downscale: An R Package for Downscaling Species Occupancy from Coarse-Grain Data to Predict Occupancy at Fine-Grain Sizes. J Stat Softw 2018. [DOI: 10.18637/jss.v086.c03] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
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24
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Dainese M, Isaac NJB, Powney GD, Bommarco R, Öckinger E, Kuussaari M, Pöyry J, Benton TG, Gabriel D, Hodgson JA, Kunin WE, Lindborg R, Sait SM, Marini L. Landscape simplification weakens the association between terrestrial producer and consumer diversity in Europe. Glob Chang Biol 2017; 23:3040-3051. [PMID: 27992955 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 11/30/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Land-use change is one of the primary drivers of species loss, yet little is known about its effect on other components of biodiversity that may be at risk. Here, we ask whether, and to what extent, landscape simplification, measured as the percentage of arable land in the landscape, disrupts the functional and phylogenetic association between primary producers and consumers. Across seven European regions, we inferred the potential associations (functional and phylogenetic) between host plants and butterflies in 561 seminatural grasslands. Local plant diversity showed a strong bottom-up effect on butterfly diversity in the most complex landscapes, but this effect disappeared in simple landscapes. The functional associations between plant and butterflies are, therefore, the results of processes that act not only locally but are also dependent on the surrounding landscape context. Similarly, landscape simplification reduced the phylogenetic congruence among host plants and butterflies indicating that closely related butterflies become more generalist in the resources used. These processes occurred without any detectable change in species richness of plants or butterflies along the gradient of arable land. The structural properties of ecosystems are experiencing substantial erosion, with potentially pervasive effects on ecosystem functions and future evolutionary trajectories. Loss of interacting species might trigger cascading extinction events and reduce the stability of trophic interactions, as well as influence the longer term resilience of ecosystem functions. This underscores a growing realization that species richness is a crude and insensitive metric and that both functional and phylogenetic associations, measured across multiple trophic levels, are likely to provide additional and deeper insights into the resilience of ecosystems and the functions they provide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Dainese
- DAFNAE, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
| | - Nick J B Isaac
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Gary D Powney
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Riccardo Bommarco
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SE-750 07, Sweden
| | - Erik Öckinger
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SE-750 07, Sweden
| | - Mikko Kuussaari
- Natural Environment Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, PO Box 140, Helsinki, FI-00251, Finland
| | - Juha Pöyry
- Natural Environment Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, PO Box 140, Helsinki, FI-00251, Finland
| | - Tim G Benton
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Doreen Gabriel
- Institute of Crop and Soil Science, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Bundesallee 50, Braunschweig, D-38116, Germany
| | - Jenny A Hodgson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, UK
| | - William E Kunin
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Regina Lindborg
- Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Steven M Sait
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Lorenzo Marini
- DAFNAE, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
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25
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Carmel Y, Suprunenko YF, Kunin WE, Kent R, Belmaker J, Bar-Massada A, Cornell SJ. Using exclusion rate to unify niche and neutral perspectives on coexistence. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [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)
- Yohay Carmel
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Technion; Haifa Israel
| | | | | | - Rafi Kent
- Dept of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan Univ.; Ramat-Gan Israel
| | - Jonathan Belmaker
- Dept of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv Univ; Tel Aviv Israel
| | - Avi Bar-Massada
- Dept of Biology and Environment, Univ. of Haifa at Oranim; Kiryat Tivon Israel
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26
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Gillespie MAK, Baude M, Biesmeijer J, Boatman N, Budge GE, Crowe A, Memmott J, Morton RD, Pietravalle S, Potts SG, Senapathi D, Smart SM, Kunin WE. A method for the objective selection of landscape‐scale study regions and sites at the national level. Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. K. Gillespie
- School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Department of Science & Engineering Western Norway University of Applied Sciences PB 133 6851 Sogndal Norway
| | - Mathilde Baude
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Woodland Road Bristol BS8 1UG UK
- Collegium Sciences et Techniques EA 1207 LBLGC University of Orleans F‐45067 Orléans France
| | - Jacobus Biesmeijer
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center 2333 CR Leiden The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Nigel Boatman
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency) Sand Hutton York YO41 1LZ UK
| | - Giles E. Budge
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency) Sand Hutton York YO41 1LZ UK
- Institute for Agri‐Food Research and Innovation Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU UK
| | - Andrew Crowe
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency) Sand Hutton York YO41 1LZ UK
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Woodland Road Bristol BS8 1UG UK
| | - R. Daniel Morton
- NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Library Avenue, Bailrigg Lancaster LA1 4AP UK
| | - Stephane Pietravalle
- Fera Science Ltd (previously Food and Environment Research Agency) Sand Hutton York YO41 1LZ UK
| | - Simon G. Potts
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading RG6 6AR UK
| | - Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading RG6 6AR UK
| | - Simon M. Smart
- NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Library Avenue, Bailrigg Lancaster LA1 4AP UK
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch 7600 South Africa
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27
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Firbank LG, Bertora C, Blankman D, Delle Vedove G, Frenzel M, Grignani C, Groner E, Kertész M, Krab EJ, Matteucci G, Menta C, Mueller CW, Stadler J, Kunin WE. Towards the co-ordination of terrestrial ecosystem protocols across European research infrastructures. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:3967-3975. [PMID: 28616191 PMCID: PMC5468142 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Revised: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of ecosystem processes over multiple scales of space and time is often best achieved using comparable data from multiple sites. Yet, long-term ecological observatories have often developed their own data collection protocols. Here, we address this problem by proposing a set of ecological protocols suitable for widespread adoption by the ecological community. Scientists from the European ecological research community prioritized terrestrial ecosystem parameters that could benefit from a more consistent approach to data collection within the resources available at most long-term ecological observatories. Parameters for which standard methods are in widespread use, or for which methods are evolving rapidly, were not selected. Protocols were developed by domain experts, building on existing methods where possible, and refined through a process of field testing and training. They address above-ground plant biomass; decomposition; land use and management; leaf area index; soil mesofaunal diversity; soil C and N stocks, and greenhouse gas emissions from soils. These complement existing methods to provide a complete assessment of ecological integrity. These protocols offer integrated approaches to ecological data collection that are low cost and are starting to be used across the European Long Term Ecological Research community.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chiara Bertora
- Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Science Università degli Studi di Torino Torino Italy
| | - David Blankman
- Information Management, Israel LTERBen-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva Israel
| | - Gemini Delle Vedove
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences University of Udine Udine Italy
| | - Mark Frenzel
- Department of Community Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Halle/Saale Germany
| | - Carlo Grignani
- Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Science Università degli Studi di Torino Torino Italy
| | - Elli Groner
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center Mitzpe Ramon Israel
| | - Miklós Kertész
- MTA Centre for Ecological Research Institute of Ecology and Botany Vácrátót Hungary
| | - Eveline J Krab
- Department of Ecological Science VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands.,Present address: Climate Impacts Research Centre Abisko Naturvetenskapliga Station Ecology and Environmental Sciences Umeå University Abisko Sweden
| | - Giorgio Matteucci
- CNR ISAFOM National Research Council of Italy Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean Ercolano NA Italy
| | - Christina Menta
- Department of Chemistry Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability University of Parma Parma Italy
| | - Carsten W Mueller
- Lehrstuhl für Bodenkunde Research Department Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technische Universitaet Muenchen Munich Germany
| | - Jutta Stadler
- Department of Community Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Halle/Saale Germany
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28
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Gavish Y, Marsh CJ, Kuemmerlen M, Stoll S, Haase P, Kunin WE. Accounting for biotic interactions through alpha‐diversity constraints in stacked species distribution models. Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [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)
- Yoni Gavish
- School of Biology Faculty of biological Science University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Charles J. Marsh
- School of Biology Faculty of biological Science University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Mathias Kuemmerlen
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt Clamecystr. 12 D‐63571 Gelnhausen Germany
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Department of Systems Analysis, Integrated Assessment and Modelling Ueberlandstrasse 133 8600 Duebendorf Switzerland
| | - Stefan Stoll
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt Clamecystr. 12 D‐63571 Gelnhausen Germany
- Institute for Environmental Sciences University of Koblenz‐Landau Fortstr. 7 76829 Landau Germany
| | - Peter Haase
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt Clamecystr. 12 D‐63571 Gelnhausen Germany
- University of Duisburg‐Essen Faculty of Biology Universitätsstr. 5 45141 Essen Germany
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology Faculty of biological Science University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
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29
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research School of Agriculture Policy & Development University of Reading ReadingRG6 6AR UK
| | - Mark A. Goddard
- School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences Newcastle University Newcastle upon TyneNE1 7RU UK
| | | | - Katherine C. R. Baldock
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol BristolBS8 1TQ UK
- Cabot Institute University of Bristol Royal Fort House BristolBS8 1UJ UK
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Gunton RM, Marsh CJ, Moulherat S, Malchow AK, Bocedi G, Klenke RA, Kunin WE. Multicriterion trade-offs and synergies for spatial conservation planning. J Appl Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sylvain Moulherat
- Station d’écologie Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis; USR 2936; 2 route du CNRS 09200 Moulis France
- TerrOïko; 2 rue Clémence Isaure 31250 Revel France
| | - Anne-Kathleen Malchow
- Department of Conservation Biology; UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Permoserstr. 15 04318 Leipzig Germany
| | - Greta Bocedi
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences; University of Aberdeen; Zoology Building Tillydrone Avenue Aberdeen AB24 2TZ UK
| | - Reinhard A. Klenke
- Department of Conservation Biology; UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Permoserstr. 15 04318 Leipzig Germany
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31
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Ouvrard P, Hicks DM, Mouland M, Nicholls JA, Baldock KCR, Goddard MA, Kunin WE, Potts SG, Thieme T, Veromann E, Stone GN. Molecular taxonomic analysis of the plant associations of adult pollen beetles (Nitidulidae: Meligethinae), and the population structure of Brassicogethes aeneus. Genome 2016; 59:1101-1116. [PMID: 27824505 DOI: 10.1139/gen-2016-0020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Pollen beetles (Nitidulidae: Meligethinae) are among the most abundant flower-visiting insects in Europe. While some species damage millions of hectares of crops annually, the biology of many species is little known. We assessed the utility of a 797 base pair fragment of the cytochrome oxidase 1 gene to resolve molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) in 750 adult pollen beetles sampled from flowers of 63 plant species sampled across the UK and continental Europe. We used the same locus to analyse region-scale patterns in population structure and demography in an economically important pest, Brassicogethes aeneus. We identified 44 Meligethinae at ∼2% divergence, 35 of which contained published sequences. A few specimens could not be identified because the MOTUs containing them included published sequences for multiple Linnaean species, suggesting either retention of ancestral haplotype polymorphism or identification errors in published sequences. Over 90% of UK specimens were identifiable as B. aeneus. Plant associations of adult B. aeneus were found to be far wider taxonomically than for their larvae. UK B. aeneus populations showed contrasting affiliations between the north (most similar to Scandinavia and the Baltic) and south (most similar to western continental Europe), with strong signatures of population growth in the south.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Ouvrard
- a Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.,b Earth and Life Institute - Agronomy, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 2, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Damien M Hicks
- a Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | - Molly Mouland
- a Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | - James A Nicholls
- a Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | - Katherine C R Baldock
- c School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, UK.,d Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UJ, UK
| | - Mark A Goddard
- e School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - William E Kunin
- e School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Simon G Potts
- f Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Thomas Thieme
- g BTL Bio-Test Labor GmbH Sagerheide, Kirchstrasse 3, D-18184 Thulendorf, Germany
| | - Eve Veromann
- h Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, Tartu 51014, Estonia
| | - Graham N Stone
- a Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
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32
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Hicks DM, Ouvrard P, Baldock KCR, Baude M, Goddard MA, Kunin WE, Mitschunas N, Memmott J, Morse H, Nikolitsi M, Osgathorpe LM, Potts SG, Robertson KM, Scott AV, Sinclair F, Westbury DB, Stone GN. Food for Pollinators: Quantifying the Nectar and Pollen Resources of Urban Flower Meadows. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0158117. [PMID: 27341588 PMCID: PMC4920406 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [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: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Planted meadows are increasingly used to improve the biodiversity and aesthetic amenity value of urban areas. Although many ‘pollinator-friendly’ seed mixes are available, the floral resources these provide to flower-visiting insects, and how these change through time, are largely unknown. Such data are necessary to compare the resources provided by alternative meadow seed mixes to each other and to other flowering habitats. We used quantitative surveys of over 2 million flowers to estimate the nectar and pollen resources offered by two exemplar commercial seed mixes (one annual, one perennial) and associated weeds grown as 300m2 meadows across four UK cities, sampled at six time points between May and September 2013. Nectar sugar and pollen rewards per flower varied widely across 65 species surveyed, with native British weed species (including dandelion, Taraxacum agg.) contributing the top five nectar producers and two of the top ten pollen producers. Seed mix species yielding the highest rewards per flower included Leontodon hispidus, Centaurea cyanus and C. nigra for nectar, and Papaver rhoeas, Eschscholzia californica and Malva moschata for pollen. Perennial meadows produced up to 20x more nectar and up to 6x more pollen than annual meadows, which in turn produced far more than amenity grassland controls. Perennial meadows produced resources earlier in the year than annual meadows, but both seed mixes delivered very low resource levels early in the year and these were provided almost entirely by native weeds. Pollen volume per flower is well predicted statistically by floral morphology, and nectar sugar mass and pollen volume per unit area are correlated with flower counts, raising the possibility that resource levels can be estimated for species or habitats where they cannot be measured directly. Our approach does not incorporate resource quality information (for example, pollen protein or essential amino acid content), but can easily do so when suitable data exist. Our approach should inform the design of new seed mixes to ensure continuity in floral resource availability throughout the year, and to identify suitable species to fill resource gaps in established mixes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien M. Hicks
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
| | - Pierre Ouvrard
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
- Earth and Life Institute - Agronomy, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 2, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Katherine C. R. Baldock
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, United Kingdom
- Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UJ, United Kingdom
| | - Mathilde Baude
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, United Kingdom
- Collegium Sciences et Techniques, EA 1207 LBLGC, Université d’Orléans, 45067, Orléans, France
| | - Mark A. Goddard
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Nadine Mitschunas
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, United Kingdom
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, United Kingdom
- Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UJ, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Morse
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Nikolitsi
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Lynne M. Osgathorpe
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQUG, United Kingdom
| | - Simon G. Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | | | - Anna V. Scott
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | - Frazer Sinclair
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Gola Rainforest National Park, Kenema, Sierra Leone
| | - Duncan B. Westbury
- Institute of Science & the Environment, The University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester, WR2 6AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Graham N. Stone
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Senapathi D, Carvalheiro LG, Biesmeijer JC, Dodson CA, Evans RL, McKerchar M, Morton RD, Moss ED, Roberts SPM, Kunin WE, Potts SG. The impact of over 80 years of land cover changes on bee and wasp pollinator communities in England. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20150294. [PMID: 25833861 PMCID: PMC4426632 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [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] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Change in land cover is thought to be one of the key drivers of pollinator
declines, and yet there is a dearth of studies exploring the relationships
between historical changes in land cover and shifts in pollinator communities.
Here, we explore, for the first time, land cover changes in England over more
than 80 years, and relate them to concurrent shifts in bee and wasp species
richness and community composition. Using historical data from 14 sites across
four counties, we quantify the key land cover changes within and around these
sites and estimate the changes in richness and composition of pollinators. Land
cover changes within sites, as well as changes within a 1 km radius outside the
sites, have significant effects on richness and composition of bee and wasp
species, with changes in edge habitats between major land classes also having a
key influence. Our results highlight not just the land cover changes that may be
detrimental to pollinator communities, but also provide an insight into how
increases in habitat diversity may benefit species diversity, and could thus
help inform policy and practice for future land management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Luísa G Carvalheiro
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Cassie-Ann Dodson
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Rebecca L Evans
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Megan McKerchar
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | | | - Ellen D Moss
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Stuart P M Roberts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - William E Kunin
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Simon G Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
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34
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Baude M, Kunin WE, Boatman ND, Conyers S, Davies N, Gillespie MAK, Morton RD, Smart SM, Memmott J. Historical nectar assessment reveals the fall and rise of floral resources in Britain. Nature 2016; 530:85-8. [PMID: 26842058 PMCID: PMC4756436 DOI: 10.1038/nature16532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [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: 06/06/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
There is considerable concern over declines in insect pollinator communities and potential impacts on the pollination of crops and wildflowers. Among the multiple pressures facing pollinators, decreasing floral resources due to habitat loss and degradation has been suggested as a key contributing factor. However, a lack of quantitative data has hampered testing for historical changes in floral resources. Here we show that overall floral rewards can be estimated at a national scale by combining vegetation surveys and direct nectar measurements. We find evidence for substantial losses in nectar resources in England and Wales between the 1930s and 1970s; however, total nectar provision in Great Britain as a whole had stabilized by 1978, and increased from 1998 to 2007. These findings concur with trends in pollinator diversity, which declined in the mid-twentieth century but stabilized more recently. The diversity of nectar sources declined from 1978 to 1990 and thereafter in some habitats, with four plant species accounting for over 50% of national nectar provision in 2007. Calcareous grassland, broadleaved woodland and neutral grassland are the habitats that produce the greatest amount of nectar per unit area from the most diverse sources, whereas arable land is the poorest with respect to amount of nectar per unit area and diversity of nectar sources. Although agri-environment schemes add resources to arable landscapes, their national contribution is low. Owing to their large area, improved grasslands could add substantially to national nectar provision if they were managed to increase floral resource provision. This national-scale assessment of floral resource provision affords new insights into the links between plant and pollinator declines, and offers considerable opportunities for conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Baude
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UJ, UK
| | | | | | | | - Nancy Davies
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UJ, UK
| | | | - R Daniel Morton
- NERC Center for Ecology &Hydrology, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Simon M Smart
- NERC Center for Ecology &Hydrology, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UJ, UK
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35
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Inclán DJ, Cerretti P, Gabriel D, Benton TG, Sait SM, Kunin WE, Gillespie MAK, Marini L. Organic farming enhances parasitoid diversity at the local and landscape scales. J Appl Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [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)
- Diego J. Inclán
- DAFNAE-Entomology; University of Padova; Viale dell'Università 16 Legnaro Padova 35020 Italy
- Research Associate; Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales; Sección Invertebrados; Rumipamba 341 y Av. de los Shyris Quito Ecuador
| | - Pierfilippo Cerretti
- DAFNAE-Entomology; University of Padova; Viale dell'Università 16 Legnaro Padova 35020 Italy
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology ‘Charles Darwin’; Sapienza University of Rome; Piazzale A. Moro 5 Rome 00185 Italy
| | - Doreen Gabriel
- Institute of Crop and Soil Science; Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI); Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants; Bundesallee 50 Braunschweig D-38116 Germany
| | - Tim G. Benton
- School of Biology; Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Steven M. Sait
- School of Biology; Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology; Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Mark A. K. Gillespie
- School of Biology; Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Lorenzo Marini
- DAFNAE-Entomology; University of Padova; Viale dell'Università 16 Legnaro Padova 35020 Italy
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Baldock KCR, Goddard MA, Hicks DM, Kunin WE, Mitschunas N, Osgathorpe LM, Potts SG, Robertson KM, Scott AV, Stone GN, Vaughan IP, Memmott J. Where is the UK's pollinator biodiversity? The importance of urban areas for flower-visiting insects. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 282:20142849. [PMID: 25673686 PMCID: PMC4345454 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [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: 11/19/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect pollinators provide a crucial ecosystem service, but are under threat. Urban areas could be important for pollinators, though their value relative to other habitats is poorly known. We compared pollinator communities using quantified flower-visitation networks in 36 sites (each 1 km(2)) in three landscapes: urban, farmland and nature reserves. Overall, flower-visitor abundance and species richness did not differ significantly between the three landscape types. Bee abundance did not differ between landscapes, but bee species richness was higher in urban areas than farmland. Hoverfly abundance was higher in farmland and nature reserves than urban sites, but species richness did not differ significantly. While urban pollinator assemblages were more homogeneous across space than those in farmland or nature reserves, there was no significant difference in the numbers of rarer species between the three landscapes. Network-level specialization was higher in farmland than urban sites. Relative to other habitats, urban visitors foraged from a greater number of plant species (higher generality) but also visited a lower proportion of available plant species (higher specialization), both possibly driven by higher urban plant richness. Urban areas are growing, and improving their value for pollinators should be part of any national strategy to conserve and restore pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine C R Baldock
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UJ, UK
| | - Mark A Goddard
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Damien M Hicks
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | | | - Nadine Mitschunas
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Lynne M Osgathorpe
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Simon G Potts
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | | | - Anna V Scott
- School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
| | - Graham N Stone
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | - Ian P Vaughan
- Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UJ, UK
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Abstract
In 2003, 24 presence–absence β‐diversity metrics were reviewed and a number of trade‐offs and redundancies identified. We present a parallel investigation into the performance of abundance‐based metrics of β‐diversity. β‐diversity is a multi‐faceted concept, central to spatial ecology. There are multiple metrics available to quantify it: the choice of metric is an important decision. We test 16 conceptual properties and two sampling properties of a β‐diversity metric: metrics should be 1) independent of α‐diversity and 2) cumulative along a gradient of species turnover. Similarity should be 3) probabilistic when assemblages are independently and identically distributed. Metrics should have 4) a minimum of zero and increase monotonically with the degree of 5) species turnover, 6) decoupling of species ranks and 7) evenness differences. However, complete species turnover should always generate greater values of β than extreme 8) rank shifts or 9) evenness differences. Metrics should 10) have a fixed upper limit, 11) symmetry (βA,B = βB,A), 12) double‐zero asymmetry for double absences and double presences and 13) not decrease in a series of nested assemblages. Additionally, metrics should be independent of 14) species replication 15) the units of abundance and 16) differences in total abundance between sampling units. When samples are used to infer β‐diversity, metrics should be 1) independent of sample sizes and 2) independent of unequal sample sizes. We test 29 metrics for these properties and five ‘personality’ properties. Thirteen metrics were outperformed or equalled across all conceptual and sampling properties. Differences in sensitivity to species’ abundance lead to a performance trade‐off between sample size bias and the ability to detect turnover among rare species. In general, abundance‐based metrics are substantially less biased in the face of undersampling, although the presence–absence metric, βsim, performed well overall. Only βBaselga R turn, βBaselga B‐C turn and βsim measured purely species turnover and were independent of nestedness. Among the other metrics, sensitivity to nestedness varied >4‐fold. Our results indicate large amounts of redundancy among existing β‐diversity metrics, whilst the estimation of unseen shared and unshared species is lacking and should be addressed in the design of new abundance‐based metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise J Barwell
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, LC Miall Building, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.,Biological Records Centre, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Nick J B Isaac
- Biological Records Centre, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - William E Kunin
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, LC Miall Building, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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38
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chiara Polce
- School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
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39
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Azaele S, Maritan A, Cornell SJ, Suweis S, Banavar JR, Gabriel D, Kunin WE. Towards a unified descriptive theory for spatial ecology: predicting biodiversity patterns across spatial scales. Methods Ecol Evol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [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)
- Sandro Azaele
- Department of Applied Mathematics School of Mathematics University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JTUK
| | - Amos Maritan
- Dipartimento di Fisica ‘G. Galilei’ & CNISM INFN Università di Padova Via Marzolo 8 35131Padova Italy
| | - Stephen J. Cornell
- Institute of Integrative Biology University of Liverpool Liverpool L69 7ZBUK
| | - Samir Suweis
- Dipartimento di Fisica ‘G. Galilei’ & CNISM INFN Università di Padova Via Marzolo 8 35131Padova Italy
| | | | - Doreen Gabriel
- Julius Kühn‐Institut ‐ Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants Bundesallee, 50 D‐38116Braunschweig Germany
- School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JTUK
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40
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Carvalheiro LG, Biesmeijer JC, Benadi G, Fründ J, Stang M, Bartomeus I, Kaiser-Bunbury CN, Baude M, Gomes SIF, Merckx V, Baldock KCR, Bennett ATD, Boada R, Bommarco R, Cartar R, Chacoff N, Dänhardt J, Dicks LV, Dormann CF, Ekroos J, Henson KS, Holzschuh A, Junker RR, Lopezaraiza-Mikel M, Memmott J, Montero-Castaño A, Nelson IL, Petanidou T, Power EF, Rundlöf M, Smith HG, Stout JC, Temitope K, Tscharntke T, Tscheulin T, Vilà M, Kunin WE. The potential for indirect effects between co-flowering plants via shared pollinators depends on resource abundance, accessibility and relatedness. Ecol Lett 2014; 17:1389-99. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2014] [Revised: 05/26/2014] [Accepted: 07/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luísa Gigante Carvalheiro
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center; RA Leiden 2300 The Netherlands
| | - Jacobus Christiaan Biesmeijer
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center; RA Leiden 2300 The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystems Dynamics (IBED); University of Amsterdam; Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Gita Benadi
- Department of Biometry and Environmental Systems Analysis; University of Freiburg; Tennenbacherstr. 4 Freiburg i. Br 79106 Germany
| | - Jochen Fründ
- Department of Integrative Biology; University of Guelph; Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Martina Stang
- Institute of Biology; University of Leiden; RA Leiden 2300 The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Mathilde Baude
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol BS8 1UG UK
- Collégium Sciences et Techniques (LBLGC-1207); Université d'Orléans; Orléans F-45067 France
| | | | - Vincent Merckx
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center; RA Leiden 2300 The Netherlands
| | | | - Andrew T. D. Bennett
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol BS8 1UG UK
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; Deakin University; Victoria 3217 Australia
| | - Ruth Boada
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol BS8 1UG UK
| | - Riccardo Bommarco
- Department of Ecology; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Uppsala SE-75007 Sweden
| | - Ralph Cartar
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Calgary; Calgary AB T2N 1N4 Canada
| | - Natacha Chacoff
- Fac. de Cs Nat. e IML; Instituto de Ecología Regional; Universidad Nacional de Tucumán; Tucumán Argentina
| | - Juliana Dänhardt
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research & Department of Biology; Lund University; Lund S-223 62 Sweden
| | - Lynn V. Dicks
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
| | - Carsten F. Dormann
- Department of Biometry and Environmental Systems Analysis; University of Freiburg; Tennenbacherstr. 4 Freiburg i. Br 79106 Germany
| | - Johan Ekroos
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research & Department of Biology; Lund University; Lund S-223 62 Sweden
| | - Kate S.E. Henson
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol BS8 1UG UK
| | - Andrea Holzschuh
- Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology; University of Würzburg; Würzburg 97074 Germany
| | - Robert R. Junker
- Department of Organismic Biology; University Salzburg; Salzburg 5020 Austria
| | - Martha Lopezaraiza-Mikel
- Unidad Académica en Desarrollo Sustentable; Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero; Guerrero 40900 México
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol BS8 1UG UK
| | | | - Isabel L. Nelson
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol BS8 1UG UK
| | - Theodora Petanidou
- Department of Geography; Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology; University of the Aegean; Mytilene Lesvos 81100 Greece
| | - Eileen F. Power
- School of Natural Sciences and Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research; Trinity College Dublin; Dublin 2 Ireland
| | - Maj Rundlöf
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research & Department of Biology; Lund University; Lund S-223 62 Sweden
| | - Henrik G. Smith
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research & Department of Biology; Lund University; Lund S-223 62 Sweden
| | - Jane C. Stout
- School of Natural Sciences and Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research; Trinity College Dublin; Dublin 2 Ireland
| | - Kehinde Temitope
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology; Stellenbosch University; Stellenbosch South Africa
- Department of Zoology; Obafemi Awolowo University; Ile-Ife Nigeria
| | | | - Thomas Tscheulin
- Department of Geography; Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology; University of the Aegean; Mytilene Lesvos 81100 Greece
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise J. Barwell
- NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Maclean Building Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford Wallingford Oxfordshire OX10 8BB UK
- School of Biology Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Sandro Azaele
- School of Mathematics Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - William E. Kunin
- School of Biology Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | - Nick J. B. Isaac
- NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Maclean Building Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford Wallingford Oxfordshire OX10 8BB UK
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Affiliation(s)
- Luísa Gigante Carvalheiro
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center; PO Box 9517 2300RA Leiden The Netherlands
| | | | - Jacobus Christiaan Biesmeijer
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center; PO Box 9517 2300RA Leiden The Netherlands
- University of Amsterdam; Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics; PO Box 94248 1090 GE Amsterdam The Netherlands
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Carvalheiro LG, Kunin WE, Keil P, Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Ellis WN, Fox R, Groom Q, Hennekens S, Van Landuyt W, Maes D, Van de Meutter F, Michez D, Rasmont P, Ode B, Potts SG, Reemer M, Roberts SPM, Schaminée J, WallisDeVries MF, Biesmeijer JC. Species richness declines and biotic homogenisation have slowed down for NW-European pollinators and plants. Ecol Lett 2013; 16:870-8. [PMID: 23692632 PMCID: PMC3738924 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 262] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [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] [Received: 02/14/2013] [Revised: 03/26/2013] [Accepted: 04/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Concern about biodiversity loss has led to increased public investment in conservation. Whereas there is a widespread perception that such initiatives have been unsuccessful, there are few quantitative tests of this perception. Here, we evaluate whether rates of biodiversity change have altered in recent decades in three European countries (Great Britain, Netherlands and Belgium) for plants and flower visiting insects. We compared four 20-year periods, comparing periods of rapid land-use intensification and natural habitat loss (1930-1990) with a period of increased conservation investment (post-1990). We found that extensive species richness loss and biotic homogenisation occurred before 1990, whereas these negative trends became substantially less accentuated during recent decades, being partially reversed for certain taxa (e.g. bees in Great Britain and Netherlands). These results highlight the potential to maintain or even restore current species assemblages (which despite past extinctions are still of great conservation value), at least in regions where large-scale land-use intensification and natural habitat loss has ceased.
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Shackelford G, Steward PR, Benton TG, Kunin WE, Potts SG, Biesmeijer JC, Sait SM. Comparison of pollinators and natural enemies: a meta-analysis of landscape and local effects on abundance and richness in crops. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2013; 88:1002-21. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 165] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2012] [Revised: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 03/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gorm Shackelford
- Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
| | - Peter R. Steward
- Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
| | - Tim G. Benton
- Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
| | - William E. Kunin
- Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
| | - Simon G. Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development; University of Reading; Reading RG6 6AR U.K
| | - Jacobus C. Biesmeijer
- Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
- Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity; NCB-Naturalis; NL-2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands
| | - Steven M. Sait
- Faculty of Biological Sciences; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
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Moustakas A, Kunin WE, Cameron TC, Sankaran M. Facilitation or competition? Tree effects on grass biomass across a precipitation gradient. PLoS One 2013; 8:e57025. [PMID: 23451137 PMCID: PMC3579797 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2012] [Accepted: 01/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Savanna ecosystems are dominated by two distinct plant life forms, grasses and trees, but the interactions between them are poorly understood. Here, we quantified the effects of isolated savanna trees on grass biomass as a function of distance from the base of the tree and tree height, across a precipitation gradient in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Our results suggest that mean annual precipitation (MAP) mediates the nature of tree-grass interactions in these ecosystems, with the impact of trees on grass biomass shifting qualitatively between 550 and 737 mm MAP. Tree effects on grass biomass were facilitative in drier sites (MAP≤550 mm), with higher grass biomass observed beneath tree canopies than outside. In contrast, at the wettest site (MAP = 737 mm), grass biomass did not differ significantly beneath and outside tree canopies. Within this overall precipitation-driven pattern, tree height had positive effect on sub-canopy grass biomass at some sites, but these effects were weak and not consistent across the rainfall gradient. For a more synthetic understanding of tree-grass interactions in savannas, future studies should focus on isolating the different mechanisms by which trees influence grass biomass, both positively and negatively, and elucidate how their relative strengths change over broad environmental gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aristides Moustakas
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
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Vergeer P, Kunin WE. Adaptation at range margins: common garden trials and the performance of Arabidopsis lyrata across its northwestern European range. New Phytol 2013; 197:989-1001. [PMID: 23278159 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 10/20/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Widely distributed species, such as the perennial plant Arabidopsis lyrata, face a range of environmental conditions across space, creating selective pressures for local evolutionary adaptation. The species' fragmented distribution may reduce gene flow, which could either reduce or increase adaptive potential. The substantial variation in phenotypic traits observed across this species' northwestern European range may reflect a combination of plastic responses to environmental conditions, evolutionary adaptation and nonadaptive genetic differentiation. We conducted multi-site common garden experiments to study differences in plant performance in core and marginal areas. Plants from eight source populations representing the species' full geographic and altitudinal range in northwestern Europe were planted out in Iceland, Sweden, Scotland and Wales. We found evidence of both strong plastic responses and apparently adaptive differentiation in performance. Most evidence for local adaptation was found at range margins, with the strongest effects on reproductive output. Both biotic and abiotic factors affected performance, especially at range margins. Performance of most plants was best in the Scottish and Swedish common garden sites, in the core of the species' distribution. Despite adaptations at range margins, the performance of the species declines at distributional limits, with extreme southern populations looking particularly vulnerable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippine Vergeer
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - William E Kunin
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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Affiliation(s)
- Doreen Gabriel
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
- Institute for Crop and Soil Science; Julius Kühn-Institute - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants; Bundesallee 50 D-38116 Braunschweig Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity; Thünen Institute - Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Fisheries and Forestry; Bundesallee 50 D-38116 Braunschweig Germany
| | - Steven M. Sait
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
| | | | - Tim G. Benton
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds LS2 9JT UK
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Bradter U, Kunin WE, Altringham JD, Thom TJ, Benton TG. Identifying appropriate spatial scales of predictors in species distribution models with the random forest algorithm. Methods Ecol Evol 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.2041-210x.2012.00253.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ute Bradter
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds; LS2 9JT; UK
| | | | | | - Tim J. Thom
- Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority; Grassington; BD23 5LB; UK
| | - Tim G. Benton
- School of Biology; University of Leeds; Leeds; LS2 9JT; UK
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Nielsen A, Dauber J, Kunin WE, Lamborn E, Jauker B, Moora M, Potts SG, Reitan T, Roberts S, Sõber V, Settele J, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stout JC, Tscheulin T, Vaitis M, Vivarelli D, Biesmeijer JC, Petanidou T. Pollinator community responses to the spatial population structure of wild plants: A pan-European approach. Basic Appl Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2012.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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