An Eltonian proxy for restoring a lost browser-tree interaction

IF 2.6 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2024-07-29 DOI:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105228
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Abstract

Many South American dry woodlands lack good historical or paleoecological baseline data to inform restoration and conservation. However, functionalist approaches such as those popularized by rewilding suggest that functional interactions producing target ecosystem processes are valid even without data confirming compositionalist values such as a long coevolutionary histories or known historical range overlaps of target species. In central Chile, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) has been extirpated but is known to browse trees in other regions of South America, and the tree Vachellia [Acacia] caven shows adaptations to browsing but has no extant browsers within its Chilean range. Both species are native to Chile but there are no data to assess their historical levels of interaction. Here we test the hypothesis that they can act as mutual “Eltonian proxy” species: interacting species for which we lack sufficient data (the Eltonian shortfall) to prove they are not proxies. Specifically we predict that they have complementary adaptations such that guanacos will browse Vachellia [Acacia] caven and the latter will show adaptive responses to their browsing. We introduced five guanacos into an enclosure of Vachellia [Acacia] caven “espinal” woodland, and over two years measured the growth responses of individual branches, compared to branches of trees in an area without browsing. We predicted that Vachellia [Acacia] caven would show compensatory growth in response to guanaco browsing resulting in an increase in branching. Guanacos browsed throughout the two years. In the presence of guanaco browsing, Vachellia [Acacia] caven branches grew longer, grew more sub-branches, and showed more densely streamlined branch architectures. These results indicate that guanacos could be used to substitute anthropogenic pruning as a restoration and management technique in Vachellia [Acacia] caven “espinal” woodlands. However, other extinct megaherbivores or extirpated deer may also be key components of a past herbivore community to which Vachellia [Acacia] caven was adapted. Further attention to a network of multiple interacting browsers, and their indirect and nontrophic effects, is an area for further research.

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恢复丢失的浏览器树交互的埃尔顿代理
许多南美洲干旱林地缺乏良好的历史或古生态基线数据,无法为恢复和保护提供信息。然而,功能主义方法(如野化所推广的方法)表明,即使没有数据证实组成主义的价值(如目标物种漫长的共同进化史或已知的历史范围重叠),产生目标生态系统过程的功能相互作用也是有效的。在智利中部,观赏鸟()已经灭绝,但已知其在南美洲其他地区也会啃食树木,而树木显示出对啃食的适应性,但在其智利分布区内却没有现存的啃食者。这两个物种都原产于智利,但没有数据可以评估它们历史上的互动程度。在这里,我们检验了一种假设,即它们可以互为 "埃尔顿代理 "物种:我们缺乏足够数据(埃尔顿短缺)来证明它们不是代理物种的互动物种。具体来说,我们预测它们具有互补的适应性,例如羚牛会浏览,而后者会对羚牛的浏览做出适应性反应。我们将五只鬣羚引入 "espinal "林地的围栏中,并在两年时间里测量了单个树枝的生长反应,并与无啃食地区的树枝进行了比较。我们预测,树枝的生长将对食蚁兽的啃食做出补偿性反应,从而导致树枝的增加。在这两年中,关纳哥一直在啃食树木。在有食蚁兽啃食的情况下,树枝长得更长,长出了更多的子枝,树枝结构也更加密集流线型。这些结果表明,在 "espinal "林地中,可以用番鸭来替代人为修剪,作为一种恢复和管理技术。然而,其他已灭绝的巨型食草动物或已灭绝的鹿也可能是适应过去食草动物群落的关键组成部分。进一步关注多种相互影响的食草动物网络及其间接和非营养性影响,是一个有待进一步研究的领域。
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来源期刊
Journal of Arid Environments
Journal of Arid Environments 环境科学-环境科学
CiteScore
5.70
自引率
3.70%
发文量
144
审稿时长
55 days
期刊介绍: The Journal of Arid Environments is an international journal publishing original scientific and technical research articles on physical, biological and cultural aspects of arid, semi-arid, and desert environments. As a forum of multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary dialogue it addresses research on all aspects of arid environments and their past, present and future use.
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