Many vector‐borne diseases are sensitive to changes in land use and climate; hence, it is important to understand the factors that govern the vector populations. Ixodid ticks, which serve as vectors for multiple diseases, have a slow life cycle compared with many of their hosts. The observable questing population represents only a fraction of the total tick population and may include overlapping cohorts in each stage. The duration of each life stage (larvae, nymph, and adult) is variable and depends on factors such as the seasonal timing of questing, development, and host availability. Mathematical models are therefore essential to mediate how complex life cycle transitions and host interactions underpin the seasonal dynamics of the questing tick population. In this study, we develop a seasonal matrix population model for ixodid ticks feeding on a small and large host. The model has 17 stages representing the main life history stages (eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults) combined with status of feeding, seasonal timing of feeding, and overwintering. The probability of finding a host depends on tick instar and host type, and density regulation is incorporated through limited host capacity. Using a life history representing Ixodes ricinus in Northern Europe as a baseline, we extract seasonal numbers of different parts of the tick population and calculate life history outcomes such as generation time and mean and variance of lifespan and of lifetime reproductive output. These results are compared with an alternative scenario of a southern life history. Secondly, we investigate (1) effects of seasonality in the small host availability on the seasonal numbers of tick stages and (2) effects of varying host availability and utilization of small versus large hosts by larvae and nymphs, on the seasonal numbers of questing ticks. Our results suggest that the small host availability is an important regulating factor through the feeding of larvae. Our model incorporates complex mechanisms underlying the seasonal composition of the tick population. It can be applied to different ixodid tick species and provides a framework for future investigations into intra‐ and interspecific variation in life history and population dynamics.
{"title":"A seasonal matrix population model for ixodid ticks with complex life histories and limited host availability","authors":"Yngvild Vindenes, Atle Mysterud","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4511","url":null,"abstract":"Many vector‐borne diseases are sensitive to changes in land use and climate; hence, it is important to understand the factors that govern the vector populations. Ixodid ticks, which serve as vectors for multiple diseases, have a slow life cycle compared with many of their hosts. The observable questing population represents only a fraction of the total tick population and may include overlapping cohorts in each stage. The duration of each life stage (larvae, nymph, and adult) is variable and depends on factors such as the seasonal timing of questing, development, and host availability. Mathematical models are therefore essential to mediate how complex life cycle transitions and host interactions underpin the seasonal dynamics of the questing tick population. In this study, we develop a seasonal matrix population model for ixodid ticks feeding on a small and large host. The model has 17 stages representing the main life history stages (eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults) combined with status of feeding, seasonal timing of feeding, and overwintering. The probability of finding a host depends on tick instar and host type, and density regulation is incorporated through limited host capacity. Using a life history representing <jats:italic>Ixodes ricinus</jats:italic> in Northern Europe as a baseline, we extract seasonal numbers of different parts of the tick population and calculate life history outcomes such as generation time and mean and variance of lifespan and of lifetime reproductive output. These results are compared with an alternative scenario of a southern life history. Secondly, we investigate (1) effects of seasonality in the small host availability on the seasonal numbers of tick stages and (2) effects of varying host availability and utilization of small versus large hosts by larvae and nymphs, on the seasonal numbers of questing ticks. Our results suggest that the small host availability is an important regulating factor through the feeding of larvae. Our model incorporates complex mechanisms underlying the seasonal composition of the tick population. It can be applied to different ixodid tick species and provides a framework for future investigations into intra‐ and interspecific variation in life history and population dynamics.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Junfeng Tang, Ronald R. Swaisgood, Megan A. Owen, Xuzhe Zhao, Wei Wei, Mingsheng Hong, Hong Zhou, Jindong Zhang, Zejun Zhang
Understanding the patterns and drivers of species range shifts is essential to disentangle mechanisms driving species' responses to global change. Here, we quantified local extinction and colonization dynamics of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) using occurrence data collected by harnessing the labor of >1000 workers and >60,000 worker days for each of the three periods (TP1: 1985–1988, TP2: 1998–2002, and TP3: 2011–2014), and evaluated how these patterns were associated with (1) protected area, (2) local rarity/abundance, and (3) abiotic factors (i.e., climate, land‐use, and topography). We documented a decreased rate (from 0.433 during TP1–TP2 to 0.317 during TP2–TP3) of local extinction and a relatively stable rate (from 0.060 during TP1–TP2 to 0.056 during TP2–TP3) of local colonization through time. Furthermore, the occupancy gains have exceeded losses by a ratio of approximately 1.5 to 1, illustrating an expansion of panda's range at a rate of 1408.3 km2/decade. We also found that pandas were more likely to become locally extinct outside of protected areas, when locally rare in surrounding areas, and when certain biotic conditions were not met (e.g., increased forest cover). Local colonization was less likely in areas with high local rarity, challenging biotic conditions and unprotected area status. As the network of panda reserves expanded and the forest matured, the relative importance of other factors such as climate, biotic factors, and land‐use became more influential in determining patterns of local extinction and colonization. Our findings provide insights into the factors governing the expansion of panda's range and illustrate how the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors can change over time, indicating that effective conservation intervention may be able to mitigate some of the negative impacts of climate change and habitat degradation. This insight extends beyond pandas and highlights the role of conservation interventions can play in building resilience under a changing climate.
{"title":"Ecological and anthropogenic drivers of local extinction and colonization of giant pandas over the past 30 years","authors":"Junfeng Tang, Ronald R. Swaisgood, Megan A. Owen, Xuzhe Zhao, Wei Wei, Mingsheng Hong, Hong Zhou, Jindong Zhang, Zejun Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4507","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the patterns and drivers of species range shifts is essential to disentangle mechanisms driving species' responses to global change. Here, we quantified local extinction and colonization dynamics of giant pandas (<jats:italic>Ailuropoda melanoleuca</jats:italic>) using occurrence data collected by harnessing the labor of >1000 workers and >60,000 worker days for each of the three periods (TP1: 1985–1988, TP2: 1998–2002, and TP3: 2011–2014), and evaluated how these patterns were associated with (1) protected area, (2) local rarity/abundance, and (3) abiotic factors (i.e., climate, land‐use, and topography). We documented a decreased rate (from 0.433 during TP1–TP2 to 0.317 during TP2–TP3) of local extinction and a relatively stable rate (from 0.060 during TP1–TP2 to 0.056 during TP2–TP3) of local colonization through time. Furthermore, the occupancy gains have exceeded losses by a ratio of approximately 1.5 to 1, illustrating an expansion of panda's range at a rate of 1408.3 km<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>/decade. We also found that pandas were more likely to become locally extinct outside of protected areas, when locally rare in surrounding areas, and when certain biotic conditions were not met (e.g., increased forest cover). Local colonization was less likely in areas with high local rarity, challenging biotic conditions and unprotected area status. As the network of panda reserves expanded and the forest matured, the relative importance of other factors such as climate, biotic factors, and land‐use became more influential in determining patterns of local extinction and colonization. Our findings provide insights into the factors governing the expansion of panda's range and illustrate how the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors can change over time, indicating that effective conservation intervention may be able to mitigate some of the negative impacts of climate change and habitat degradation. This insight extends beyond pandas and highlights the role of conservation interventions can play in building resilience under a changing climate.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emma Dawson‐Glass, Rory Schiafo, Sara E. Kuebbing, Katharine L. Stuble
Shifting community assembly dynamics are an underappreciated mechanism by which warming will alter plant community composition. Germination timing (which can determine the order in which seedlings emerge within a community) will likely shift unevenly across species in response to warming. In seasonal environments where communities reassemble at the beginning of each growing season, changes in germination timing could lead to changes in seasonal priority effects, and ultimately community composition. We test this expectation by assembling mesocosms of 15 species in one of two orders—“ambient” assembly order or “warmed” assembly order—based on the order in which the constituent species germinated under ambient and warmed conditions. Community composition differed significantly between mesocosms assembled in ambient versus warmed orders. The impact of assembly order on species mean biomass was largely explained by how much earlier (or later) a species arrived in the warmed‐order treatment relative to the ambient‐order treatment. Species whose germination phenology advanced more under warmed conditions relative to ambient conditions showed greater relative increases in biomass under the warmed assembly treatment. These findings demonstrate that warming can drive community assembly and shape community composition by reordering the relative timing of germination among species. These findings enhance our ability to predict which species are likely to benefit from warming and which may decline based on how warming may shift assembly order, ultimately informing how warming may alter plant communities.
{"title":"Warming‐induced changes in seasonal priority effects drive shifts in community composition","authors":"Emma Dawson‐Glass, Rory Schiafo, Sara E. Kuebbing, Katharine L. Stuble","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4504","url":null,"abstract":"Shifting community assembly dynamics are an underappreciated mechanism by which warming will alter plant community composition. Germination timing (which can determine the order in which seedlings emerge within a community) will likely shift unevenly across species in response to warming. In seasonal environments where communities reassemble at the beginning of each growing season, changes in germination timing could lead to changes in seasonal priority effects, and ultimately community composition. We test this expectation by assembling mesocosms of 15 species in one of two orders—“ambient” assembly order or “warmed” assembly order—based on the order in which the constituent species germinated under ambient and warmed conditions. Community composition differed significantly between mesocosms assembled in ambient versus warmed orders. The impact of assembly order on species mean biomass was largely explained by how much earlier (or later) a species arrived in the warmed‐order treatment relative to the ambient‐order treatment. Species whose germination phenology advanced more under warmed conditions relative to ambient conditions showed greater relative increases in biomass under the warmed assembly treatment. These findings demonstrate that warming can drive community assembly and shape community composition by reordering the relative timing of germination among species. These findings enhance our ability to predict which species are likely to benefit from warming and which may decline based on how warming may shift assembly order, ultimately informing how warming may alter plant communities.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Forests sequester a substantial portion of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Many open questions concern how. We address two of these questions. Has leaf and fine litter production changed? And what is the contribution of old‐growth forests? We address these questions with long‐term records (≥10 years) of total, reproductive, and especially foliar fine litter production from 32 old‐growth forests. We expect increases in forest productivity associated with rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and, in cold climates, with rising temperatures. We evaluate the statistical power of our analysis using simulations of known temporal trends parameterized with sample sizes (in number of years) and levels of interannual variation observed for each record. Statistical power is inadequate to detect biologically plausible trends for records lasting less than 20 years. Modest interannual variation characterizes fine litter production, and more variable phenomena will require even longer records to evaluate global change responses with sufficient statistical power. Just four old‐growth forests have records of fine litter production lasting longer than 20 years, and these four provide no evidence for increases. Three of the four forests are in central Panama, also have long‐term records of wood production, and both components of aboveground production are unchanged over 21–38 years. The possibility that recent increases in forest productivity are limited for old‐growth forests deserves more attention.
{"title":"Statistical power and the detection of global change responses: The case of leaf production in old‐growth forests","authors":"S. Joseph Wright, Osvaldo Calderón","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4526","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4526","url":null,"abstract":"Forests sequester a substantial portion of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Many open questions concern how. We address two of these questions. Has leaf and fine litter production changed? And what is the contribution of old‐growth forests? We address these questions with long‐term records (≥10 years) of total, reproductive, and especially foliar fine litter production from 32 old‐growth forests. We expect increases in forest productivity associated with rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and, in cold climates, with rising temperatures. We evaluate the statistical power of our analysis using simulations of known temporal trends parameterized with sample sizes (in number of years) and levels of interannual variation observed for each record. Statistical power is inadequate to detect biologically plausible trends for records lasting less than 20 years. Modest interannual variation characterizes fine litter production, and more variable phenomena will require even longer records to evaluate global change responses with sufficient statistical power. Just four old‐growth forests have records of fine litter production lasting longer than 20 years, and these four provide no evidence for increases. Three of the four forests are in central Panama, also have long‐term records of wood production, and both components of aboveground production are unchanged over 21–38 years. The possibility that recent increases in forest productivity are limited for old‐growth forests deserves more attention.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shudong Zhang, Francina Dekker, Richard S. P. van Logtestijn, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen
Global warming increases the risk of wildfire and insect outbreaks, potentially reducing the carbon storage function of coarse woody debris (CWD). There is an increasing focus on the interactive effects of wildfire and insect infestation on forest carbon, but the impact of wood‐boring beetle tunnels via their effect on the flammability of deadwood remains unexplored. We hypothesized that the presence of beetle holes, at natural densities, can affect its flammability positively through increased surface area and enhanced oxygen availability in the wood. To test this, wood‐boring beetle holes were mimicked experimentally in decaying logs of two coniferous species, and flammability variables of these treated logs were compared. We found that wood‐boring beetles partly increased the flammability of CWD of both species (via promoting deadwood smoldering combustion) when their holes were parallel with the airflow. Even when accounting for the influences of wood density and cracks, these radial holes continued to have a notable impact on deadwood flammability. While these holes did not make the wildfire more intense, they significantly increased carbon loss during combustion. This suggests that wood‐boring beetles will enhance carbon release from deadwood into the atmosphere during wildfire.
{"title":"Do wood‐boring beetles influence the flammability of deadwood?","authors":"Shudong Zhang, Francina Dekker, Richard S. P. van Logtestijn, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4508","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4508","url":null,"abstract":"Global warming increases the risk of wildfire and insect outbreaks, potentially reducing the carbon storage function of coarse woody debris (CWD). There is an increasing focus on the interactive effects of wildfire and insect infestation on forest carbon, but the impact of wood‐boring beetle tunnels via their effect on the flammability of deadwood remains unexplored. We hypothesized that the presence of beetle holes, at natural densities, can affect its flammability positively through increased surface area and enhanced oxygen availability in the wood. To test this, wood‐boring beetle holes were mimicked experimentally in decaying logs of two coniferous species, and flammability variables of these treated logs were compared. We found that wood‐boring beetles partly increased the flammability of CWD of both species (via promoting deadwood smoldering combustion) when their holes were parallel with the airflow. Even when accounting for the influences of wood density and cracks, these radial holes continued to have a notable impact on deadwood flammability. While these holes did not make the wildfire more intense, they significantly increased carbon loss during combustion. This suggests that wood‐boring beetles will enhance carbon release from deadwood into the atmosphere during wildfire.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A growing body of theoretical studies and laboratory experiments has focused attention on reciprocal feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes. However, uncertainty remains about whether such eco‐evolutionary feedbacks have an important or negligible influence on natural communities. Thus, recent discussions call for field experiments that explore whether selection on phenotypic variation within populations leads to contemporaneous effects on community dynamics. To help fill this gap, in this study, we test the hypothesis that selection on consumer traits in a population of predatory drilling snails can drive eco‐evolutionary dynamics in a rocky intertidal community in California, USA. We first conducted a laboratory selection experiment to raise newly hatched dogwhelks (Nucella canaliculata) on four diet treatments encompassing a range of prey species and shell thicknesses. Snails that survived to adulthood under these diet treatments differed in their capacity to drill thick‐shelled mussels. Dogwhelks from these treatment groups were then outplanted to intertidal field cages for 1 year to test whether groups experiencing selection differed in their effects on mussel bed succession. As expected, succession proceeded most rapidly in the reference treatment with dogwhelks excluded. However, successional patterns differed minimally among dogwhelks raised under the different diet treatments. Thus, although our laboratory results suggest that prey can impose selection that leads to rapid adaptation and divergent consumer traits, these feedbacks were not strong enough to result in clear community effects in the field. We propose that a limited range of variation in functional traits within populations, moderate strengths of selection, and a background of substantial abiotic and biotic variation may all act to dampen the potential for strong eco‐evolutionary dynamics in this and many other natural communities.
{"title":"An experimental test of eco‐evolutionary dynamics on rocky shores","authors":"Emily K. Longman, Eric Sanford","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4505","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4505","url":null,"abstract":"A growing body of theoretical studies and laboratory experiments has focused attention on reciprocal feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes. However, uncertainty remains about whether such eco‐evolutionary feedbacks have an important or negligible influence on natural communities. Thus, recent discussions call for field experiments that explore whether selection on phenotypic variation within populations leads to contemporaneous effects on community dynamics. To help fill this gap, in this study, we test the hypothesis that selection on consumer traits in a population of predatory drilling snails can drive eco‐evolutionary dynamics in a rocky intertidal community in California, USA. We first conducted a laboratory selection experiment to raise newly hatched dogwhelks (<jats:italic>Nucella canaliculata</jats:italic>) on four diet treatments encompassing a range of prey species and shell thicknesses. Snails that survived to adulthood under these diet treatments differed in their capacity to drill thick‐shelled mussels. Dogwhelks from these treatment groups were then outplanted to intertidal field cages for 1 year to test whether groups experiencing selection differed in their effects on mussel bed succession. As expected, succession proceeded most rapidly in the reference treatment with dogwhelks excluded. However, successional patterns differed minimally among dogwhelks raised under the different diet treatments. Thus, although our laboratory results suggest that prey can impose selection that leads to rapid adaptation and divergent consumer traits, these feedbacks were not strong enough to result in clear community effects in the field. We propose that a limited range of variation in functional traits within populations, moderate strengths of selection, and a background of substantial abiotic and biotic variation may all act to dampen the potential for strong eco‐evolutionary dynamics in this and many other natural communities.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexander A. Mauro, Kyndall R. Zeller, Julián Torres‐Dowdall, Cameron K. Ghalambor
Species interactions can contribute to species turnover when the outcomes of the interactions are context dependent (e.g., change along environmental gradients). Plasticity may change this dynamic by altering the environmental tolerances of the species interacting. Here, we explored how the competitive interaction between two euryhaline fish, Poecilia reticulata and Poecilia picta, is influenced by acute and developmental responses to salinity. In Trinidad, P. reticulata is confined to freshwater despite being tolerant of brackish water. P. reticulata may fail to occupy brackish water because of reduced tolerance to salinity or because P. picta competitively excludes them, and developing in brackish water could alter the dynamics of either scenario. To test this, we compared the salinity tolerances of both species in the absence of competition, reared P. reticulata individuals in freshwater or brackish water, and tested the consequences of developmental plasticity in experiments in which P. reticulata competed against conspecifics or P. picta during acute exposure to freshwater or brackish water. We found that (1) P. reticulata has a weaker salinity tolerance than P. picta; (2) P. reticulata that developed in freshwater perform best when competing against P. picta in freshwater but perform poorly when competing against P. picta in brackish water, suggesting the species interaction is context dependent; and (3) developing in brackish water did not benefit P. reticulata in brackish water. Our results suggest that P. reticulata's freshwater range limit is in part a product of a lower salinity tolerance leading to a decrease in competitive performance in brackish water. Adaptive plasticity has been suggested to be a crucial part of the colonization process, yet nonadaptive plastic responses as found here can limit range expansion and reinforce range limits.
{"title":"Developmental plasticity does not improve performance during a species interaction: Implications for species turnover","authors":"Alexander A. Mauro, Kyndall R. Zeller, Julián Torres‐Dowdall, Cameron K. Ghalambor","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4503","url":null,"abstract":"Species interactions can contribute to species turnover when the outcomes of the interactions are context dependent (e.g., change along environmental gradients). Plasticity may change this dynamic by altering the environmental tolerances of the species interacting. Here, we explored how the competitive interaction between two euryhaline fish, <jats:italic>Poecilia reticulata</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Poecilia picta</jats:italic>, is influenced by acute and developmental responses to salinity. In Trinidad, <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> is confined to freshwater despite being tolerant of brackish water. <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> may fail to occupy brackish water because of reduced tolerance to salinity or because <jats:italic>P. picta</jats:italic> competitively excludes them, and developing in brackish water could alter the dynamics of either scenario. To test this, we compared the salinity tolerances of both species in the absence of competition, reared <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> individuals in freshwater or brackish water, and tested the consequences of developmental plasticity in experiments in which <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> competed against conspecifics or <jats:italic>P. picta</jats:italic> during acute exposure to freshwater or brackish water. We found that (1) <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> has a weaker salinity tolerance than <jats:italic>P. picta</jats:italic>; (2) <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> that developed in freshwater perform best when competing against <jats:italic>P. picta</jats:italic> in freshwater but perform poorly when competing against <jats:italic>P. picta</jats:italic> in brackish water, suggesting the species interaction is context dependent; and (3) developing in brackish water did not benefit <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic> in brackish water. Our results suggest that <jats:italic>P. reticulata</jats:italic>'s freshwater range limit is in part a product of a lower salinity tolerance leading to a decrease in competitive performance in brackish water. Adaptive plasticity has been suggested to be a crucial part of the colonization process, yet nonadaptive plastic responses as found here can limit range expansion and reinforce range limits.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mycorrhizal associations drive plant community diversity and ecosystem functions. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (EcM) are two widespread mycorrhizal types and are thought to differentially affect plant diversity and productivity by nutrient acquisition and plant–soil feedback. However, it remains unclear how the mixture of two mycorrhizal types influences tree diversity, forest biomass, and their relationship at large spatial scales. Here, we explored these issues using data from 1247 plots (600 m2 for each) across China's natural forests located mostly in temperate and subtropical regions. Both AM‐dominated and EcM‐dominated forests show relatively lower tree species richness and stand biomass, whereas forests with the mixture of mycorrhizal strategies sustain more tree species and higher biomass. Interestingly, the positive effect of tree diversity on biomass is stronger in forests with low (≤50%) than high AM tree proportion (>50%), reflecting a shift from the complementarity effect to functional redundancy with increasing AM trees. Our findings suggest that mycorrhizal dominance influences tree diversity and richness–biomass relationship in forest ecosystems.
{"title":"Mycorrhizal dominance influences tree species richness and richness–biomass relationship in China's forests","authors":"Suhui Ma, Guoping Chen, Qiong Cai, Chengjun Ji, Biao Zhu, Zhiyao Tang, Shuijin Hu, Jingyun Fang","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4501","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4501","url":null,"abstract":"Mycorrhizal associations drive plant community diversity and ecosystem functions. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (EcM) are two widespread mycorrhizal types and are thought to differentially affect plant diversity and productivity by nutrient acquisition and plant–soil feedback. However, it remains unclear how the mixture of two mycorrhizal types influences tree diversity, forest biomass, and their relationship at large spatial scales. Here, we explored these issues using data from 1247 plots (600 m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> for each) across China's natural forests located mostly in temperate and subtropical regions. Both AM‐dominated and EcM‐dominated forests show relatively lower tree species richness and stand biomass, whereas forests with the mixture of mycorrhizal strategies sustain more tree species and higher biomass. Interestingly, the positive effect of tree diversity on biomass is stronger in forests with low (≤50%) than high AM tree proportion (>50%), reflecting a shift from the complementarity effect to functional redundancy with increasing AM trees. Our findings suggest that mycorrhizal dominance influences tree diversity and richness–biomass relationship in forest ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142841505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Internal seed dispersal of Rhynchotechum discolor (Gesneriaceae) by a freshwater crab","authors":"Kenji Suetsugu","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4506","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142825019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Skikne, Blair McLaughlin, Mark Fisher, David Ackerly, Erika Zavaleta
Climate change is projected to cause extensive plant range shifts, and, in many cases such shifts already are underway. Most long‐term studies of range shifts measure emergent changes in species distributions but not the underlying demographic patterns that shape them. To better understand species' elevational range shifts and their underlying demographic processes, we use the powerful approach of rephotography, comparing historical (1978–1982) and modern (2015–2016) photographs taken along a 1000‐m elevational gradient in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. This approach allowed us to track demographic outcomes for 4263 individual plants of 11 long‐lived, perennial species over the past ~36 years. All species showed an upward shift in mean elevation (average = 45 m), consistent with observed increasing temperature and severe drought in the region. We found that varying demographic processes underlaid these elevational shifts, with some species showing higher recruitment and some showing higher survival with increasing elevation. Species with faster life‐history rates (higher background recruitment and mortality rates) underwent larger elevational shifts. Our findings emphasize the importance of demography and life history in shaping range shift responses and future community composition, as well as the sensitivity of desert systems to climate change despite the typical “slow motion” population dynamics of perennial desert plants.
{"title":"Contrasting demographic processes underlie uphill shifts in a desert ecosystem","authors":"Sarah Skikne, Blair McLaughlin, Mark Fisher, David Ackerly, Erika Zavaleta","doi":"10.1002/ecy.4494","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4494","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is projected to cause extensive plant range shifts, and, in many cases such shifts already are underway. Most long‐term studies of range shifts measure emergent changes in species distributions but not the underlying demographic patterns that shape them. To better understand species' elevational range shifts and their underlying demographic processes, we use the powerful approach of rephotography, comparing historical (1978–1982) and modern (2015–2016) photographs taken along a 1000‐m elevational gradient in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. This approach allowed us to track demographic outcomes for 4263 individual plants of 11 long‐lived, perennial species over the past ~36 years. All species showed an upward shift in mean elevation (average = 45 m), consistent with observed increasing temperature and severe drought in the region. We found that varying demographic processes underlaid these elevational shifts, with some species showing higher recruitment and some showing higher survival with increasing elevation. Species with faster life‐history rates (higher background recruitment and mortality rates) underwent larger elevational shifts. Our findings emphasize the importance of demography and life history in shaping range shift responses and future community composition, as well as the sensitivity of desert systems to climate change despite the typical “slow motion” population dynamics of perennial desert plants.","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"119 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142825020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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