Pub Date : 2024-09-12DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1433485
Daniel P. Thompson, Nicholas L. Fowler, John A. Crouse, Thomas J. McDonough, Oriana H. Badajos, Miles O. Spathelf, Dominique E. Watts, Susanne U. Rodman
Wildlife contend with seasonal fluctuations in resource availability and have adapted survival and reproductive strategies to overcome resource limitations. Many northern ungulates are adapted to a dynamic nutritional landscape and rely on somatic reserves accumulated during the short growing season. Moose (Alces alces) populations in the boreal forest respond to variation in their nutritional landscapes that quickly change after wildland fires. We tested associations between somatic energy reserves of female moose and a suite of factors relevant to energy demands and nutrient availability after landscape scale wildland fires on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. From 2015–2022, we immobilized 97 individual, adult moose (n=163 early winter; n=98 late winter) and collected over 223,000 GPS locations. We evaluated if somatic energy reserves of cow moose were influenced by endogenous or exogenous energy demands, or access to moose forage to accumulate energy reserves. Cows that gave birth and lost their neonate(s) early in the summer had more early winter body fat (14.39% ± 0.24SE) compared with cows that gave birth and the neonate survived to 4-months-old (10.59% ± 0.34SE). Body fat measured in early winter was positively correlated with home ranges of cows during summer with a higher percent cover of aspen forage. Late winter body fat of cow moose was negatively correlated with home ranges with higher percent cover of aspen forage, but positively correlated with home ranges with higher percent cover of willows and shoulder season forages. Our results highlight that a suite of plant species and seral states is needed across the landscape for moose to accumulate and moderate the loss of somatic energy reserves over the year. Furthermore, our results emphasize the importance of shoulder season forages for moose when snow depth is low. Managing the nutritional landscape of the boreal forest through interagency wildland fire management could create a mosaic of seral states that enhances moose forage, while reducing wildland fire hazards along the wildland urban interface and providing ecosystem services.
{"title":"Seasonal somatic reserves of a northern ungulate influenced by reproduction and a fire-mediated landscape","authors":"Daniel P. Thompson, Nicholas L. Fowler, John A. Crouse, Thomas J. McDonough, Oriana H. Badajos, Miles O. Spathelf, Dominique E. Watts, Susanne U. Rodman","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1433485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1433485","url":null,"abstract":"Wildlife contend with seasonal fluctuations in resource availability and have adapted survival and reproductive strategies to overcome resource limitations. Many northern ungulates are adapted to a dynamic nutritional landscape and rely on somatic reserves accumulated during the short growing season. Moose (<jats:italic>Alces alces</jats:italic>) populations in the boreal forest respond to variation in their nutritional landscapes that quickly change after wildland fires. We tested associations between somatic energy reserves of female moose and a suite of factors relevant to energy demands and nutrient availability after landscape scale wildland fires on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. From 2015–2022, we immobilized 97 individual, adult moose (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>=163 early winter; <jats:italic>n</jats:italic>=98 late winter) and collected over 223,000 GPS locations. We evaluated if somatic energy reserves of cow moose were influenced by endogenous or exogenous energy demands, or access to moose forage to accumulate energy reserves. Cows that gave birth and lost their neonate(s) early in the summer had more early winter body fat (14.39% ± 0.24SE) compared with cows that gave birth and the neonate survived to 4-months-old (10.59% ± 0.34SE). Body fat measured in early winter was positively correlated with home ranges of cows during summer with a higher percent cover of aspen forage. Late winter body fat of cow moose was negatively correlated with home ranges with higher percent cover of aspen forage, but positively correlated with home ranges with higher percent cover of willows and shoulder season forages. Our results highlight that a suite of plant species and seral states is needed across the landscape for moose to accumulate and moderate the loss of somatic energy reserves over the year. Furthermore, our results emphasize the importance of shoulder season forages for moose when snow depth is low. Managing the nutritional landscape of the boreal forest through interagency wildland fire management could create a mosaic of seral states that enhances moose forage, while reducing wildland fire hazards along the wildland urban interface and providing ecosystem services.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-12DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1461147
Rocio Pamela Demartín, Romina Ghirardi, Javier Alejandro López
Habitat alteration is recognized as one of the most important drivers of biodiversity decline. Urbanization implies a major habitat alteration and its impact on biodiversity depends on type and degrees of habitat modifications. Growing cities generate great heterogeneity with respect to the uses of space that enable the preservation of a certain diversity of amphibians within the urban frame. Our objective is to understand how environments with different levels of urbanization influence local amphibian diversity. We grouped various urban green spaces of a medium-sized and growing city of Argentina in relation to natural and anthropic environmental variables which allows us to describe an urban environmental gradient and we calculate beta diversity among these groups of urban environments considering the richness, composition and abundance of amphibian at each sites’ group. From this, we analyze and tested the differences in the functional diversity of amphibians in the defined urban environmental gradient. We hypothesize that: (i) the described spatial heterogeneity would be related to an elevated beta diversity of amphibians within the urban frame; and (ii) the analysis of functional diversity would reveal a stronger biotic or abiotic filtering of the focal community. We found that groups of urban environments with an intermediate degree of urbanization can present a greater functional diversity and species richness than those that are less urbanized. We identified urban avoiders (T. typhonius, P. santafecinus and P. biligonigerus) and urban tolerant species (E. bicolor, R. arenarum, R. dorbignyi, L. macrosternum, L. latinasus, P. albonotatus, D. nanus and S. nasicus). The replacement beta diversity recorded indicated that the species assemblage changes throughout urban environmental gradient, but functionally similar species thrive in the less to the most urbanized sites, allowing them to occupy the entire functional space of the groups of urban environments with different types and degrees of urbanization.
生境改变被认为是导致生物多样性减少的最重要因素之一。城市化意味着栖息地的重大改变，其对生物多样性的影响取决于栖息地改变的类型和程度。不断发展的城市在空间利用方面产生了巨大的异质性，这使得两栖动物在城市框架内能够保持一定的多样性。我们的目标是了解不同城市化水平的环境如何影响当地两栖动物的多样性。我们根据自然和人为环境变量，将阿根廷一个中等规模且不断发展的城市中的各种城市绿地进行了分组，从而描述了城市环境梯度，并根据每个地点组的两栖动物丰富度、组成和丰度，计算了这些城市环境组之间的贝塔多样性。由此，我们分析并检验了两栖动物功能多样性在所定义的城市环境梯度中的差异。我们假设(i) 所描述的空间异质性将与城市框架内两栖动物 beta 多样性的提高有关；(ii) 对功能多样性的分析将揭示焦点群落更强的生物或非生物过滤性。我们发现，与城市化程度较低的群落相比，城市化程度处于中等水平的群落具有更高的功能多样性和物种丰富度。我们发现了城市回避物种（T. typhonius、P. santafecinus 和 P. biligonigerus）和城市耐受物种（E. bicolor、R. arenarum、R. dorbignyi、L. macrosternum、L. latinasus、P. albonotatus、D. nanus 和 S. nasicus）。记录到的替换贝塔多样性表明，在整个城市环境梯度中，物种组合发生了变化，但功能相似的物种在城市化程度较低到最高的地点都很繁盛，使它们能够占据城市化类型和程度不同的城市环境组的整个功能空间。
{"title":"Amphibian diversity across an urban gradient in southern South America","authors":"Rocio Pamela Demartín, Romina Ghirardi, Javier Alejandro López","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1461147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1461147","url":null,"abstract":"Habitat alteration is recognized as one of the most important drivers of biodiversity decline. Urbanization implies a major habitat alteration and its impact on biodiversity depends on type and degrees of habitat modifications. Growing cities generate great heterogeneity with respect to the uses of space that enable the preservation of a certain diversity of amphibians within the urban frame. Our objective is to understand how environments with different levels of urbanization influence local amphibian diversity. We grouped various urban green spaces of a medium-sized and growing city of Argentina in relation to natural and anthropic environmental variables which allows us to describe an urban environmental gradient and we calculate beta diversity among these groups of urban environments considering the richness, composition and abundance of amphibian at each sites’ group. From this, we analyze and tested the differences in the functional diversity of amphibians in the defined urban environmental gradient. We hypothesize that: (i) the described spatial heterogeneity would be related to an elevated beta diversity of amphibians within the urban frame; and (ii) the analysis of functional diversity would reveal a stronger biotic or abiotic filtering of the focal community. We found that groups of urban environments with an intermediate degree of urbanization can present a greater functional diversity and species richness than those that are less urbanized. We identified urban avoiders (<jats:italic>T. typhonius</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>P. santafecinus</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>P. biligonigerus</jats:italic>) and urban tolerant species (<jats:italic>E. bicolor</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>R. arenarum</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>R. dorbign</jats:italic>yi, <jats:italic>L. macrosternum</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>L. latinasus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>P. albonotatus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>D. nanus</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>S. nasicus</jats:italic>). The replacement beta diversity recorded indicated that the species assemblage changes throughout urban environmental gradient, but functionally similar species thrive in the less to the most urbanized sites, allowing them to occupy the entire functional space of the groups of urban environments with different types and degrees of urbanization.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-11DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1422925
Ntambwe Albert Serge Mayombo, Mimoza Dani, Michael Kloster, Danijela Vidaković, Dominik Buchner, Andrea M. Burfeid-Castellanos, Bánk Beszteri
IntroductionMicroalgae form an essential group of benthic organisms that respond swiftly to environmental changes. They are widely used as bioindicators of anthropogenic stressors in freshwater ecosystems. We aimed to assess the responses of microalgae communities to multiple environmental stressors in the Kinzig River catchment, home to a long-term ecological monitoring site, in Germany.MethodsWe used a photosynthetic biomass proxy alongside community composition of diatoms assessed by digital light microscopy, and of microalgae by 18S-V9 amplicon sequencing, to characterise microalgae at 19 sampling sites scattered across the catchment.ResultsOur results revealed significant effects of physical and chemical factors on microalgae biomass and community compositions. We found that conductivity, water temperature and pH were the most important factors affecting microalgae community composition, as observed in both microscopy and amplicon analysis. In addition to these three variables, the effect of total phosphate on all microalgae, together with water discharge on the diatom (Bacillariophyta) communities, as assessed by amplicon analysis, may reveal taxon-specific variations in the ecological responses of different microalgal groups.DiscussionOur results highlighted the complex relationship between various environmental variables and microalgae biomass and community composition. Further investigations, involving the collection of time series data, are required to fully understand the underlying biotic and abiotic parameters that influence these microalgae communities.
{"title":"Assessment of microphytobenthos communities in the Kinzig catchment using photosynthesis-related traits, digital light microscopy and 18S-V9 amplicon sequencing","authors":"Ntambwe Albert Serge Mayombo, Mimoza Dani, Michael Kloster, Danijela Vidaković, Dominik Buchner, Andrea M. Burfeid-Castellanos, Bánk Beszteri","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1422925","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1422925","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionMicroalgae form an essential group of benthic organisms that respond swiftly to environmental changes. They are widely used as bioindicators of anthropogenic stressors in freshwater ecosystems. We aimed to assess the responses of microalgae communities to multiple environmental stressors in the Kinzig River catchment, home to a long-term ecological monitoring site, in Germany.MethodsWe used a photosynthetic biomass proxy alongside community composition of diatoms assessed by digital light microscopy, and of microalgae by 18S-V9 amplicon sequencing, to characterise microalgae at 19 sampling sites scattered across the catchment.ResultsOur results revealed significant effects of physical and chemical factors on microalgae biomass and community compositions. We found that conductivity, water temperature and pH were the most important factors affecting microalgae community composition, as observed in both microscopy and amplicon analysis. In addition to these three variables, the effect of total phosphate on all microalgae, together with water discharge on the diatom (Bacillariophyta) communities, as assessed by amplicon analysis, may reveal taxon-specific variations in the ecological responses of different microalgal groups.DiscussionOur results highlighted the complex relationship between various environmental variables and microalgae biomass and community composition. Further investigations, involving the collection of time series data, are required to fully understand the underlying biotic and abiotic parameters that influence these microalgae communities.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-11DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1419254
Holly-Anne Turner, Stephen McLoughlin, Chris Mays
Plants and arthropods are primary drivers of terrestrial ecosystem function. Trace fossils of plant–arthropod interactions (PAIs) provide a unique window into assessing terrestrial ecosystem states through geological time and evaluating changes in herbivorous arthropod feeding guilds in the wake of global biotic crises. The end-Permian event (EPE; c. 252 Ma) resulted in the loss of keystone plant species from humid tropical and high-latitude ecosystems and the extinction of several major insect groups. The subsequent Early to Middle Triassic evinced diminished terrestrial productivity, punctuated by a series of second-order biotic crises that hindered recovery. Here, we survey records of Gondwanan Early to Middle Triassic floral assemblages for evidence of PAIs as an indication of ecosystem recovery following the EPE. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of fossil plant taxa and PAIs for lower Mesozoic strata of Gondwana, revealing an increase in specific and generic floral diversity from the Early to Middle Triassic. We noted a lack of PAIs reported from many localities with abundant fossil leaves, which might be interpreted to be a consequence of a post-EPE delay in the recovery of arthropod feeding guilds compared to the flora. However, by comparing floral assemblages between regions of Gondwana, our results also partly attribute the absence of PAIs to the relative paucity of palaeoichnological and palaeobotanical studies of this interval. To test for potential under-reporting of PAIs in the Triassic, we present a case study of the well-described Australian Middle Triassic Benolong Flora. In contrast to existing Australian Early to Middle Triassic PAI reports on only three plant specimens, this systematic investigation revealed 44 PAI traces comparable to published examples, hosted by 40 fossil plant fragments (7.77% of fragments assessed; N = 591). Margin-feeding traces constituted the dominant Functional Feeding Group (FFG) identified (23 examples: 3.72% of fragments assessed). Our review highlights several Early and Middle Triassic Gondwanan plant fossil-rich successions and existing collections that require further examination. We predict that investigations of these assemblages will greatly elucidate the relationships between rapidly changing environments during the Early and Middle Triassic and their effects on the plant and arthropod communities in the Southern Hemisphere.
植物和节肢动物是陆地生态系统功能的主要驱动力。植物与节肢动物相互作用（PAIs）的痕量化石为通过地质时间评估陆地生态系统状态以及评估全球生物危机后草食性节肢动物食性的变化提供了一个独特的窗口。二叠纪末事件（EPE；约 252 Ma）导致潮湿的热带和高纬度生态系统中关键植物物种的消失以及几个主要昆虫类群的灭绝。随后的早三叠世至中三叠世显示出陆地生产力的下降，一系列二阶生物危机阻碍了陆地生产力的恢复。在这里，我们调查了冈瓦纳早三叠世至中三叠世花卉组合的记录，以寻找多物种动物群的证据，作为EPE之后生态系统恢复的标志。我们汇编了冈瓦纳中生代下统地层植物化石类群和PAIs的综合数据集，发现早三叠世至中三叠世的特异和一般花卉多样性有所增加。我们注意到，许多化石叶片丰富的地方缺乏 PAIs 报告，这可能被解释为与植物区系相比，节肢动物食性的恢复在环境退化后出现了延迟。然而，通过比较冈瓦纳地区之间的花卉组合，我们的研究结果还将缺乏PAIs的部分原因归咎于对这一时期的古昆虫学和古植物学研究相对较少。为了检验三叠纪 PAIs 是否存在报告不足的可能性，我们对澳大利亚三叠纪中期贝诺龙植物群进行了案例研究。与现有的澳大利亚早三叠世至中三叠世仅有三个植物标本的 PAI 报告不同，本次系统调查发现了 44 个与已发表实例相当的 PAI 痕迹，由 40 块植物化石碎片（占评估碎片的 7.77%；N = 591）构成。边缘取食痕迹是主要的功能取食类（FFG）（23 例：占评估碎片的 3.72%）。我们的综述强调了一些早三叠世和中三叠世冈瓦纳植物化石丰富的演替和现有的收藏，需要进一步研究。我们预测，对这些化石群的研究将极大地阐明早三叠世和中三叠世迅速变化的环境之间的关系及其对南半球植物和节肢动物群落的影响。
{"title":"Comprehensive survey of Early to Middle Triassic Gondwanan floras reveals under-representation of plant–arthropod interactions","authors":"Holly-Anne Turner, Stephen McLoughlin, Chris Mays","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1419254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419254","url":null,"abstract":"Plants and arthropods are primary drivers of terrestrial ecosystem function. Trace fossils of plant–arthropod interactions (PAIs) provide a unique window into assessing terrestrial ecosystem states through geological time and evaluating changes in herbivorous arthropod feeding guilds in the wake of global biotic crises. The end-Permian event (EPE; c. 252 Ma) resulted in the loss of keystone plant species from humid tropical and high-latitude ecosystems and the extinction of several major insect groups. The subsequent Early to Middle Triassic evinced diminished terrestrial productivity, punctuated by a series of second-order biotic crises that hindered recovery. Here, we survey records of Gondwanan Early to Middle Triassic floral assemblages for evidence of PAIs as an indication of ecosystem recovery following the EPE. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of fossil plant taxa and PAIs for lower Mesozoic strata of Gondwana, revealing an increase in specific and generic floral diversity from the Early to Middle Triassic. We noted a lack of PAIs reported from many localities with abundant fossil leaves, which might be interpreted to be a consequence of a post-EPE delay in the recovery of arthropod feeding guilds compared to the flora. However, by comparing floral assemblages between regions of Gondwana, our results also partly attribute the absence of PAIs to the relative paucity of palaeoichnological and palaeobotanical studies of this interval. To test for potential under-reporting of PAIs in the Triassic, we present a case study of the well-described Australian Middle Triassic Benolong Flora. In contrast to existing Australian Early to Middle Triassic PAI reports on only three plant specimens, this systematic investigation revealed 44 PAI traces comparable to published examples, hosted by 40 fossil plant fragments (7.77% of fragments assessed; <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 591). Margin-feeding traces constituted the dominant Functional Feeding Group (FFG) identified (23 examples: 3.72% of fragments assessed). Our review highlights several Early and Middle Triassic Gondwanan plant fossil-rich successions and existing collections that require further examination. We predict that investigations of these assemblages will greatly elucidate the relationships between rapidly changing environments during the Early and Middle Triassic and their effects on the plant and arthropod communities in the Southern Hemisphere.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142223815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-10DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1436320
Matias E. Mac Allister, Carlos E. Figueroa, Regina Mazzei, Ramiro G. Tintorelli, Diana B. Acosta, Orlando Gallo, Diego Castillo, Emiliano Pinardi, Virginia D. Zelada Perrone, Alejandro Rodríguez, Juan I. Zanón Martínez, Mariano L. Merino, Juan I. Túnez, Alejandro Travaini, Gabriela P. Fernández
The puma (Puma concolor Linnaeus, 1771) is the top predator with the widest distribution in America. Since the establishment of European settlers on the American continent, puma populations have experienced significant contractions and reductions in their original distribution. In Argentina, the management of the conflict between humans and pumas (direct persecution and habitat modification) focused on reduction or elimination methods, leading to a drastic contraction, even total eradication, of puma populations as seen in Patagonia and the eastern part of the country. Despite the lack of knowledge about puma population demographic trends, there are taxonomic issues that remain controversial and need to be resolved to implement appropriate management and conservation measures. Therefore, the aim of this study was to genetically characterize puma populations in the central-southern region of Argentina using two mitochondrial markers, evaluate their demographic history, compare our results at a macro-regional level, and discuss our findings in a conservation and management context. A total of 203 individuals were used, and a fragment of the control region and another of ND5 were sequenced. The genetic variability obtained was moderate. Substitution rates for each locus and the tMRCA were calculated from calibrated trees. In a concatenated tree, two main phylogenetic clades were identified (posterior probability = 1), although a reciprocal monophyly was not observed, with a divergence time of 228 thousand years and a 95% CI [117–363 thousand years]. When evaluating population structuring, three genetic clusters were found, one characteristic of the Patagonian region and the others in the central part of the country. Calculating the ФST values for pairs resulted in significant structuring between Patagonia and the rest of the populations, suggesting the arid diagonal as a possible barrier to gene flow. When evaluating the demographic history, neutrality tests would support a recent expansion in Patagonia. These findings are crucial in defining two distinct Management Units (MUs) in the southern part of puma distribution and providing valuable information for management and conservation measures for the species.
{"title":"Genetic diversity and diversification patterns of puma (Puma concolor) populations in the southern end of the species distribution","authors":"Matias E. Mac Allister, Carlos E. Figueroa, Regina Mazzei, Ramiro G. Tintorelli, Diana B. Acosta, Orlando Gallo, Diego Castillo, Emiliano Pinardi, Virginia D. Zelada Perrone, Alejandro Rodríguez, Juan I. Zanón Martínez, Mariano L. Merino, Juan I. Túnez, Alejandro Travaini, Gabriela P. Fernández","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1436320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1436320","url":null,"abstract":"The puma (<jats:italic>Puma concolor</jats:italic> Linnaeus, 1771) is the top predator with the widest distribution in America. Since the establishment of European settlers on the American continent, puma populations have experienced significant contractions and reductions in their original distribution. In Argentina, the management of the conflict between humans and pumas (direct persecution and habitat modification) focused on reduction or elimination methods, leading to a drastic contraction, even total eradication, of puma populations as seen in Patagonia and the eastern part of the country. Despite the lack of knowledge about puma population demographic trends, there are taxonomic issues that remain controversial and need to be resolved to implement appropriate management and conservation measures. Therefore, the aim of this study was to genetically characterize puma populations in the central-southern region of Argentina using two mitochondrial markers, evaluate their demographic history, compare our results at a macro-regional level, and discuss our findings in a conservation and management context. A total of 203 individuals were used, and a fragment of the control region and another of ND5 were sequenced. The genetic variability obtained was moderate. Substitution rates for each locus and the tMRCA were calculated from calibrated trees. In a concatenated tree, two main phylogenetic clades were identified (posterior probability = 1), although a reciprocal monophyly was not observed, with a divergence time of 228 thousand years and a 95% CI [117–363 thousand years]. When evaluating population structuring, three genetic clusters were found, one characteristic of the Patagonian region and the others in the central part of the country. Calculating the Ф<jats:sub>ST</jats:sub> values for pairs resulted in significant structuring between Patagonia and the rest of the populations, suggesting the arid diagonal as a possible barrier to gene flow. When evaluating the demographic history, neutrality tests would support a recent expansion in Patagonia. These findings are crucial in defining two distinct Management Units (MUs) in the southern part of puma distribution and providing valuable information for management and conservation measures for the species.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1457476
Lucas M. Leveau
Urban environments have been characterized by their temporal stability of resources, which could promote stability in bird composition. Several studies have found that bird communities in urban environments persist over the years, showing a similar species composition in the short term. However, studies analyzing continuous changes in urban communities over the long term are scarce. This study aimed to analyze the stability or directional changes (instability) in bird communities along an urban gradient. Bird counts were conducted in urban, suburban, and periurban areas over 8-10 years in 2002-2019. Changes in species composition were analyzed over periods ranging from one year to the next, to changes from one year to the seventeenth. Urban bird communities were more similar between years than suburban and periurban communities. Compositional changes were greater as time lags increased, indicating directional compositional shifts. The magnitude of these changes was similar across the urban gradient. The Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango), the Picazuro Pigeon (Patagioenas picazuro), the Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus), and the Red-bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris) significantly increased their abundances during the period, while the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) significantly decreased its abundance. Regional changes in species abundance, urban vegetation succession, and biotic interactions could explain the changes in bird communities.
{"title":"Long-term directional changes in urban bird communities of Mar del Plata City, Argentina","authors":"Lucas M. Leveau","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1457476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1457476","url":null,"abstract":"Urban environments have been characterized by their temporal stability of resources, which could promote stability in bird composition. Several studies have found that bird communities in urban environments persist over the years, showing a similar species composition in the short term. However, studies analyzing continuous changes in urban communities over the long term are scarce. This study aimed to analyze the stability or directional changes (instability) in bird communities along an urban gradient. Bird counts were conducted in urban, suburban, and periurban areas over 8-10 years in 2002-2019. Changes in species composition were analyzed over periods ranging from one year to the next, to changes from one year to the seventeenth. Urban bird communities were more similar between years than suburban and periurban communities. Compositional changes were greater as time lags increased, indicating directional compositional shifts. The magnitude of these changes was similar across the urban gradient. The Chimango Caracara (<jats:italic>Milvago chimango</jats:italic>), the Picazuro Pigeon (<jats:italic>Patagioenas picazuro</jats:italic>), the Rufous Hornero (<jats:italic>Furnarius rufus</jats:italic>), and the Red-bellied Thrush (<jats:italic>Turdus rufiventris</jats:italic>) significantly increased their abundances during the period, while the House Sparrow (<jats:italic>Passer domesticus</jats:italic>) significantly decreased its abundance. Regional changes in species abundance, urban vegetation succession, and biotic interactions could explain the changes in bird communities.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1441397
Constanza Millán-Medina, Marcelo Lizama, Thomas Saucède, Elie Poulin, Nicolás I. Segovia, Claudio González-Wevar
Rafting has been proposed as an effective mechanism for species without free-living pelagic larvae to achieve long-distance dispersal, theoretically preventing population differentiation over wide distributional ranges. Moreover, rafting has been advocated as a main dispersal mechanism for marine invertebrates with sub-Antarctic distributions, because of abundant buoyant kelps, driven by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Nonetheless, little attention has been given to the role of rafting to establish regular gene flow across the sub-Antarctic, and the geographic and temporal scales at which it occurs. Aiming to unravel these major questions about the extent of genetic connectivity across the Southern Ocean (SO), we studied the pulmonate limpet Siphonaria lateralis, a benthic species with encapsulated larvae, found on the rocky intertidal of sub-Antarctic islands and southern South America. Since S. lateralis is closely associated with D. antarctica, dispersal by rafting is plausible, as revealed by the absence of phylogeographic structure across the sub-Antarctic. We sampled 116 individuals from eight localities across the SO, and used 5,515 SNPs obtained through Genotyping-by-Sequencing, to determine contemporary genetic diversity, structure, and gene flow at two spatial scales; global, across the SO, and regional, within Kerguelen. Results identified substantial genetic structure, differentiating Patagonia, Falklands/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the Kerguelen archipelago, and low levels of contemporary gene flow. The most notable genetic differentiation was found between Patagonia/Falklands and South Georgia/Kerguelen. Structure was also significant between Patagonia and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. Conversely, South Georgia and Kerguelen exhibited closer genetic affinity, and indications of recent but limited gene flow. Moreover, historical gene flow estimates between the four populations were low. At regional scale, noteworthy genetic structure persisted, and gene flow was insufficient to prevent genetic differentiation within Kerguelen. Consequently, rafting’s potential may be overestimated as a contemporary mechanism promoting gene flow across the SO, as these events may be sporadic, irregular, and unpredictable for marine invertebrates lacking a larval dispersal stage, since contemporary dispersal events don’t seem to facilitate high gene flow at both scales. Accordingly, other oceanographic factors or processes may hinder the establishment of species associated with macroalgae, and as consequence, contemporary genetic connectivity in the sub-Antarctic.
{"title":"Does rafting promote contemporary gene flow? Global and regional patterns of population genetic diversity and structure on the false limpet Siphonaria lateralis in the Southern Ocean","authors":"Constanza Millán-Medina, Marcelo Lizama, Thomas Saucède, Elie Poulin, Nicolás I. Segovia, Claudio González-Wevar","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1441397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1441397","url":null,"abstract":"Rafting has been proposed as an effective mechanism for species without free-living pelagic larvae to achieve long-distance dispersal, theoretically preventing population differentiation over wide distributional ranges. Moreover, rafting has been advocated as a main dispersal mechanism for marine invertebrates with sub-Antarctic distributions, because of abundant buoyant kelps, driven by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Nonetheless, little attention has been given to the role of rafting to establish regular gene flow across the sub-Antarctic, and the geographic and temporal scales at which it occurs. Aiming to unravel these major questions about the extent of genetic connectivity across the Southern Ocean (SO), we studied the pulmonate limpet <jats:italic>Siphonaria lateralis</jats:italic>, a benthic species with encapsulated larvae, found on the rocky intertidal of sub-Antarctic islands and southern South America. Since <jats:italic>S. lateralis</jats:italic> is closely associated with <jats:italic>D. antarctica</jats:italic>, dispersal by rafting is plausible, as revealed by the absence of phylogeographic structure across the sub-Antarctic. We sampled 116 individuals from eight localities across the SO, and used 5,515 SNPs obtained through Genotyping-by-Sequencing, to determine contemporary genetic diversity, structure, and gene flow at two spatial scales; global, across the SO, and regional, within Kerguelen. Results identified substantial genetic structure, differentiating Patagonia, Falklands/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the Kerguelen archipelago, and low levels of contemporary gene flow. The most notable genetic differentiation was found between Patagonia/Falklands and South Georgia/Kerguelen. Structure was also significant between Patagonia and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. Conversely, South Georgia and Kerguelen exhibited closer genetic affinity, and indications of recent but limited gene flow. Moreover, historical gene flow estimates between the four populations were low. At regional scale, noteworthy genetic structure persisted, and gene flow was insufficient to prevent genetic differentiation within Kerguelen. Consequently, rafting’s potential may be overestimated as a contemporary mechanism promoting gene flow across the SO, as these events may be sporadic, irregular, and unpredictable for marine invertebrates lacking a larval dispersal stage, since contemporary dispersal events don’t seem to facilitate high gene flow at both scales. Accordingly, other oceanographic factors or processes may hinder the establishment of species associated with macroalgae, and as consequence, contemporary genetic connectivity in the sub-Antarctic.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1409379
Megan E. Maloney, Katherine M. Buckley, Marie E. Strader
IntroductionUpside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) are highly tolerant to multiple abiotic stressors, including fluctuating temperatures associated with shallow marine habitats. This resilience may underlie the ability of Cassiopea sp. to inhabit a wide variety of tropical habitats across the globe. Additionally, Cassiopea sp. are marked by a conspicuous array of appendage coloration; individual medusae vary in the hue and number of oral appendages, which are often strikingly blue. The function of this coloration is not understood. We aimed to understand how extrinsic (temperature, location) and intrinsic (host color) factors may shape thermal tolerance.MethodsAdult Cassiopea xamachana were collected from two sites that vary in daily temperature range within the Florida Keys and were subjected to acute lethal heat stress. To quantify a whole-organism response to heat, we measured changes in bell pulsation, which likely plays a role in feeding, oxygen exchange, and symbiont uptake. Finally, color morphs were acclimated at either ambient (26°C) or elevated (33°C) temperatures.ResultsC. xamachana from two locations that vary in thermal range do not exhibit different responses to heat, suggesting that temperature fluctuations do not prime individuals for higher thermal tolerance. Additionally, C. xamachana with blue appendages survived significantly higher temperatures and exhibited less change in bell pulsation rates compared to non-blue individuals. We found that acclimation at 33°C, as well as appendage color in each treatment, led to higher survival under acute heat stress.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of temperature and coloration in Cassiopea xamachana resilience during heat stress.
导言倒挂水母（Cassiopea sp.）对多种非生物压力具有很强的耐受性，包括与浅海栖息地相关的温度波动。这种恢复能力可能是 Cassiopea sp.能够栖息于全球各种热带栖息地的原因。此外，Cassiopea sp.还具有一系列明显的附肢着色；个体髓质的色调和口腔附肢的数量各不相同，通常呈醒目的蓝色。这种着色的功能尚不清楚。我们的目的是了解外在因素（温度、地点）和内在因素（宿主颜色）如何影响热耐受性。方法从佛罗里达礁岛群内两个日温差不同的地点采集成年Cassiopea xamachana，并对其进行急性致命热胁迫。为了量化整个有机体对热的反应，我们测量了铃铛脉动的变化，这种脉动可能在摄食、氧气交换和共生体吸收中发挥作用。最后，在环境温度（26°C）或较高温度（33°C）下对颜色形态进行了适应性试验。结果来自两个热范围不同地点的 C. xamachana 对热的反应并无不同，这表明温度波动并不会使个体具有更强的耐热性。此外，与非蓝色个体相比，蓝色附肢的 C. xamachana 能在更高的温度下存活，其铃铛脉动率的变化也更小。我们发现，在急性热胁迫下，在33°C条件下的适应以及各处理中的附肢颜色都能提高存活率。
{"title":"Appendage pigmentation and temperature acclimation correlate with survival during acute heat stress in the upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamachana","authors":"Megan E. Maloney, Katherine M. Buckley, Marie E. Strader","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1409379","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1409379","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionUpside-down jellyfish (<jats:italic>Cassiopea</jats:italic> sp.) are highly tolerant to multiple abiotic stressors, including fluctuating temperatures associated with shallow marine habitats. This resilience may underlie the ability of <jats:italic>Cassiopea</jats:italic> sp. to inhabit a wide variety of tropical habitats across the globe. Additionally, <jats:italic>Cassiopea</jats:italic> sp. are marked by a conspicuous array of appendage coloration; individual medusae vary in the hue and number of oral appendages, which are often strikingly blue. The function of this coloration is not understood. We aimed to understand how extrinsic (temperature, location) and intrinsic (host color) factors may shape thermal tolerance.MethodsAdult <jats:italic>Cassiopea xamachana</jats:italic> were collected from two sites that vary in daily temperature range within the Florida Keys and were subjected to acute lethal heat stress. To quantify a whole-organism response to heat, we measured changes in bell pulsation, which likely plays a role in feeding, oxygen exchange, and symbiont uptake. Finally, color morphs were acclimated at either ambient (26°C) or elevated (33°C) temperatures.Results<jats:italic>C. xamachana</jats:italic> from two locations that vary in thermal range do not exhibit different responses to heat, suggesting that temperature fluctuations do not prime individuals for higher thermal tolerance. Additionally, <jats:italic>C. xamachana</jats:italic> with blue appendages survived significantly higher temperatures and exhibited less change in bell pulsation rates compared to non-blue individuals. We found that acclimation at 33°C, as well as appendage color in each treatment, led to higher survival under acute heat stress.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of temperature and coloration in <jats:italic>Cassiopea xamachana</jats:italic> resilience during heat stress.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
IntroductionThe selection of an optimal scale or granularity in landscape analysis is pivotal for uncovering inherent patterns and changes driven by processes. Variations in spatial resolution can significantly alter the proportions and distributions of various landscape types, thereby impacting the assessment of landscape patterns. Despite its importance, the scale factor is frequently neglected in studies focusing on long-term landscape dynamics.MethodsBridging this gap, we utilized remote sensing imagery data from 1986 to 2020 for Lushui City, integrating remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to generate land cover maps. Our focus centered on investigating the sensitivity of landscape pattern indices within the 30–1000m scale. Combining the first scale domain with an information loss assessment model, we identified the optimal granularity for the analysis, conducting a detailed spatiotemporal examination of landscape pattern from 1986 to 2020 using the index analysis method.Results and discussionThe results show that: (1) The dominance of forests in Lushui City, yet reveal a significant increase in construction land area over the study period, primarily driven by the conversion of forest and grassland. (2) Among the 10 examined indices, four (PD, ED, TE, and LSI) demonstrated predictable responses to changes in granularity, while three (PAFEAC, COHESION, AI) exhibited unpredictable stepwise reactions. Three indices (LPI, SHDI, PLAND) displayed minimal regularity to granularity changes. (3) The optimal long-term landscape analysis granularity for Lushui was identified as 100 m. (4) Before 1996, the city’s landscape exhibited characteristics of aggregation, good connectivity, and minimal anthropogenic disturbance. However, post-1996, the landscape experienced disruptions, leading to an overall increase in fragmentation. The expansion of cultivated land and construction land due to urbanization has intensified landscape fragmentation. However, policies such as converting cropland to forest and planned ecological civilization initiatives have restored forest coverage and improved landscape cohesion and connectivity in Lushui City. This research offers vital insights for ecological planning and resource management in alpine valley watershed cities, deepening our grasp of landscape pattern evolution.
{"title":"Spatiotemporal variation of alpine gorge watershed landscape patterns via multi-scale metrics and optimal granularity analysis: a case study of Lushui City in Yunnan Province, China","authors":"Yongshu Wang, Xiangdong Yan, Qingping Fang, Lan Wang, Dongbo Chen, Zhexiu Yu","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1448426","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1448426","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionThe selection of an optimal scale or granularity in landscape analysis is pivotal for uncovering inherent patterns and changes driven by processes. Variations in spatial resolution can significantly alter the proportions and distributions of various landscape types, thereby impacting the assessment of landscape patterns. Despite its importance, the scale factor is frequently neglected in studies focusing on long-term landscape dynamics.MethodsBridging this gap, we utilized remote sensing imagery data from 1986 to 2020 for Lushui City, integrating remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to generate land cover maps. Our focus centered on investigating the sensitivity of landscape pattern indices within the 30–1000m scale. Combining the first scale domain with an information loss assessment model, we identified the optimal granularity for the analysis, conducting a detailed spatiotemporal examination of landscape pattern from 1986 to 2020 using the index analysis method.Results and discussionThe results show that: (1) The dominance of forests in Lushui City, yet reveal a significant increase in construction land area over the study period, primarily driven by the conversion of forest and grassland. (2) Among the 10 examined indices, four (PD, ED, TE, and LSI) demonstrated predictable responses to changes in granularity, while three (PAFEAC, COHESION, AI) exhibited unpredictable stepwise reactions. Three indices (LPI, SHDI, PLAND) displayed minimal regularity to granularity changes. (3) The optimal long-term landscape analysis granularity for Lushui was identified as 100 m. (4) Before 1996, the city’s landscape exhibited characteristics of aggregation, good connectivity, and minimal anthropogenic disturbance. However, post-1996, the landscape experienced disruptions, leading to an overall increase in fragmentation. The expansion of cultivated land and construction land due to urbanization has intensified landscape fragmentation. However, policies such as converting cropland to forest and planned ecological civilization initiatives have restored forest coverage and improved landscape cohesion and connectivity in Lushui City. This research offers vital insights for ecological planning and resource management in alpine valley watershed cities, deepening our grasp of landscape pattern evolution.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-04DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1434518
Luciana Tellería, Álvaro Garitano-Zavala
Hummingbirds have crucial ecological importance in natural and human-altered habitats in the Neotropics. Their unique biological characteristics imply a delicate energetic balance that drove the evolution of species-specific dominance and territorial behavior tactics that, in turn, shape the diversity and composition of nectarivorous communities. Understanding these factors could help improve conservation strategies, particularly important for eroding communities in cities. Our objective is to evaluate whether a species of territorial hummingbird, the Sparkling Violetear (Colibri coruscans), is able to modulate its aggressive behavior in relation to the identity of the species that invades its feeding territory, comparing between dry (relative depletion of nectar resources) and wet seasons, and analyzing the possible ecological factors that determine this response. Considering the maximization of energy efficiency, we hypothesize that the territorial aggressive responses of Sparkling Violetears will vary in relation to the territoriality and behavioral dominance of each intruder species, and that aggressive responses in the dry season will be greater compared to the wet season. We elicited aggressive behavioral responses with territorial songs playbacks from the four species that compose the urban nectarivorous bird community, including songs from their own species, characterizing eight behaviors that varied in aggressive intensity. We quantified the aggressive response in two ways: the number of observation events in which territorial Sparkling Violetears performed each behavior and by constructing an “aggressiveness score” for each territorial individual in each observation event. Territorial aggressive response varied significantly in relation to the identity of the intruding species, but the seasonal effect was only observed, as a more aggressive response in the dry season, towards heterospecific playbacks. We analyzed several hypotheses that could explain the species-specific aggressive response, concluding that the “risk to take-over” hypothesis, through wing morphology and maneuverability, best explains the modulation of the aggressive response in relation to the territoriality and behavioral dominance of each intruder species. These results are useful for urban planning if we elucidate the ecological conditions that could promote the coexistence of subordinate species with dominant ones.
{"title":"Playback-elicited heterospecific aggressive responses in urbanized Sparkling Violetear are modulated in relation the risk of take-over hypothesis","authors":"Luciana Tellería, Álvaro Garitano-Zavala","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1434518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1434518","url":null,"abstract":"Hummingbirds have crucial ecological importance in natural and human-altered habitats in the Neotropics. Their unique biological characteristics imply a delicate energetic balance that drove the evolution of species-specific dominance and territorial behavior tactics that, in turn, shape the diversity and composition of nectarivorous communities. Understanding these factors could help improve conservation strategies, particularly important for eroding communities in cities. Our objective is to evaluate whether a species of territorial hummingbird, the Sparkling Violetear (<jats:italic>Colibri coruscans</jats:italic>), is able to modulate its aggressive behavior in relation to the identity of the species that invades its feeding territory, comparing between dry (relative depletion of nectar resources) and wet seasons, and analyzing the possible ecological factors that determine this response. Considering the maximization of energy efficiency, we hypothesize that the territorial aggressive responses of Sparkling Violetears will vary in relation to the territoriality and behavioral dominance of each intruder species, and that aggressive responses in the dry season will be greater compared to the wet season. We elicited aggressive behavioral responses with territorial songs playbacks from the four species that compose the urban nectarivorous bird community, including songs from their own species, characterizing eight behaviors that varied in aggressive intensity. We quantified the aggressive response in two ways: the number of observation events in which territorial Sparkling Violetears performed each behavior and by constructing an “aggressiveness score” for each territorial individual in each observation event. Territorial aggressive response varied significantly in relation to the identity of the intruding species, but the seasonal effect was only observed, as a more aggressive response in the dry season, towards heterospecific playbacks. We analyzed several hypotheses that could explain the species-specific aggressive response, concluding that the “risk to take-over” hypothesis, through wing morphology and maneuverability, best explains the modulation of the aggressive response in relation to the territoriality and behavioral dominance of each intruder species. These results are useful for urban planning if we elucidate the ecological conditions that could promote the coexistence of subordinate species with dominant ones.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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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