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":"22 1","pages":""},"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}
Pub Date : 2024-09-04DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1455329
Quentin Jossart, Yann Lelièvre, Andreas Kelch, Blanca Figuerola, Camille V. E. Moreau, Davide Di Franco, Jamie Maxwell, Marie L. Verheye, Melanie Mackenzie, Rachel Downey, Sebastián Rosenfeld, Stéphane Hourdez, Thomas Saucède
Sub-Antarctic islands are expected to show a high degree of endemicity due to their remoteness. However, biogeographic affinities in the sub-Antarctic remain poorly understood, especially in the marine realm. Sub-Antarctic islands being at the crossroads between Antarctic and cold temperate regions, biodiversity characterization and biogeographic analyses are a priority for monitoring and rapidly assessing variations associated with environmental changes. One underexplored sub-Antarctic area is Crozet, a protected archipelago located halfway between Antarctica and South Africa. In this study, we investigated the shallow-water Crozet macrofaunal diversity, distribution patterns and biogeographic affinities based on the examination of fieldwork specimens via a thorough morphological identification and a genetic characterisation. The resulting dataset provides an important baseline for further studies and conservation strategies, compiling the first genetic and taxonomic database for the Crozet archipelago. In total, 100 morphotypes were found, belonging to nine different phyla, among which arthropods (32), molluscs (18) and echinoderms (17) were the richest. Forty-seven morphotypes were identified to the species level, among which 20 were reported in Crozet for the first time. This confirms that Crozet is a poorly known region, even compared to other sub-Antarctic areas. A large proportion of species (62%) had circum Southern Ocean or circum sub-Antarctic distributions. These species were mostly shared with Kerguelen (72%), the Magellan Province (64%), and Prince Edward Islands (64%), confirming the patterns found in macroalgae and specific macrofaunal groups. However, this large-distribution statement needs to be counterbalanced by the detection (genetic data) of more restricted distributions than expected in four study cases (the tanaid Apseudes spectabilis, the nudibranch Doris kerguelenensis, the polychaete Neanthes kerguelensis and the chiton Hemiarthrum setulosum). Considering that most morphotypes had no genetic data available from other regions, the proportion of morphotypes with restricted distribution is likely to increase alongside future investigations. In addition, we also found a few cases of unrecognized diversity that might lead to the descriptions of new species, some likely to be endemic to Crozet (e.g., within the polychaete genus Harmothoe and the bryozoan genus Antarctothoa). Altogether, this stresses the need to maintain conservation efforts in Crozet and pursue integrative investigations in order to highlight and protect its unusual diversity.
{"title":"A first glimpse into the biogeographic affinities of the shallow benthic communities from the sub-Antarctic Crozet archipelago","authors":"Quentin Jossart, Yann Lelièvre, Andreas Kelch, Blanca Figuerola, Camille V. E. Moreau, Davide Di Franco, Jamie Maxwell, Marie L. Verheye, Melanie Mackenzie, Rachel Downey, Sebastián Rosenfeld, Stéphane Hourdez, Thomas Saucède","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1455329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1455329","url":null,"abstract":"Sub-Antarctic islands are expected to show a high degree of endemicity due to their remoteness. However, biogeographic affinities in the sub-Antarctic remain poorly understood, especially in the marine realm. Sub-Antarctic islands being at the crossroads between Antarctic and cold temperate regions, biodiversity characterization and biogeographic analyses are a priority for monitoring and rapidly assessing variations associated with environmental changes. One underexplored sub-Antarctic area is Crozet, a protected archipelago located halfway between Antarctica and South Africa. In this study, we investigated the shallow-water Crozet macrofaunal diversity, distribution patterns and biogeographic affinities based on the examination of fieldwork specimens via a thorough morphological identification and a genetic characterisation. The resulting dataset provides an important baseline for further studies and conservation strategies, compiling the first genetic and taxonomic database for the Crozet archipelago. In total, 100 morphotypes were found, belonging to nine different phyla, among which arthropods (32), molluscs (18) and echinoderms (17) were the richest. Forty-seven morphotypes were identified to the species level, among which 20 were reported in Crozet for the first time. This confirms that Crozet is a poorly known region, even compared to other sub-Antarctic areas. A large proportion of species (62%) had circum Southern Ocean or circum sub-Antarctic distributions. These species were mostly shared with Kerguelen (72%), the Magellan Province (64%), and Prince Edward Islands (64%), confirming the patterns found in macroalgae and specific macrofaunal groups. However, this large-distribution statement needs to be counterbalanced by the detection (genetic data) of more restricted distributions than expected in four study cases (the tanaid <jats:italic>Apseudes spectabilis</jats:italic>, the nudibranch <jats:italic>Doris kerguelenensis</jats:italic>, the polychaete <jats:italic>Neanthes kerguelensis</jats:italic> and the chiton <jats:italic>Hemiarthrum setulosum</jats:italic>). Considering that most morphotypes had no genetic data available from other regions, the proportion of morphotypes with restricted distribution is likely to increase alongside future investigations. In addition, we also found a few cases of unrecognized diversity that might lead to the descriptions of new species, some likely to be endemic to Crozet (e.g., within the polychaete genus <jats:italic>Harmothoe</jats:italic> and the bryozoan genus <jats:italic>Antarctothoa</jats:italic>). Altogether, this stresses the need to maintain conservation efforts in Crozet and pursue integrative investigations in order to highlight and protect its unusual diversity.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182672","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 : 2024-09-03DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1442755
Jiaqi Liu, Kexin Xu, Dian Jin, Chengliang Wu, Yang Zhang
IntroductionIn the search for sustainable development, urban eco-development is becoming a core agenda for all countries. China’s low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy is an important initiative to promote urban low-carbon governance. And exploring the direction of LCCP policy is an important step towards sustainable urban development.MethodsSuper-SBM is employed to calculate urban ecological efficiency using panel data from 254 prefecture-level cities between 2007 and 2020. The methods of kernel density estimation and spatial Markov chains are applied to the spatial analysis of urban ecological efficiency. The spatial analyses examine the spatiotemporal patterns and dynamic evolving trends of urban ecological efficiency. Additionally, the multiperiod difference-in-differences method is used to assess the impact of the LCCP policy on urban ecological efficiency. On this basis, we apply the method of mechanism analysis to discuss the influence mechanism.ResultsThe results indicate that urban ecological efficiency gradually forms a continuous spatial clustering pattern, although there is a widening tendency in the absolute differences. In the subsequent transfer process, the spatial factor plays a highly significant role. Benchmark regressions and auxiliary robustness tests demonstrate that the LCCP policy is effective in improving urban ecological efficiency. Further analysis shows that the effect of LCCP policies on ecological efficiency can be transmitted by promoting green technology innovation as well as facilitating a low-carbon transition in the energy mix. The above findings indicate the presence of the "Green Innovation Effect" and the "Decoupling Effect".DiscussionThese discoveries enhance the theoretical framework of urban ecology and offer valuable insights for other regions seeking to implement low-carbon urban governance.
{"title":"Urban low-carbon governance and ecological efficiency: new evidence from prefecture-level cities in China","authors":"Jiaqi Liu, Kexin Xu, Dian Jin, Chengliang Wu, Yang Zhang","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1442755","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1442755","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionIn the search for sustainable development, urban eco-development is becoming a core agenda for all countries. China’s low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy is an important initiative to promote urban low-carbon governance. And exploring the direction of LCCP policy is an important step towards sustainable urban development.MethodsSuper-SBM is employed to calculate urban ecological efficiency using panel data from 254 prefecture-level cities between 2007 and 2020. The methods of kernel density estimation and spatial Markov chains are applied to the spatial analysis of urban ecological efficiency. The spatial analyses examine the spatiotemporal patterns and dynamic evolving trends of urban ecological efficiency. Additionally, the multiperiod difference-in-differences method is used to assess the impact of the LCCP policy on urban ecological efficiency. On this basis, we apply the method of mechanism analysis to discuss the influence mechanism.ResultsThe results indicate that urban ecological efficiency gradually forms a continuous spatial clustering pattern, although there is a widening tendency in the absolute differences. In the subsequent transfer process, the spatial factor plays a highly significant role. Benchmark regressions and auxiliary robustness tests demonstrate that the LCCP policy is effective in improving urban ecological efficiency. Further analysis shows that the effect of LCCP policies on ecological efficiency can be transmitted by promoting green technology innovation as well as facilitating a low-carbon transition in the energy mix. The above findings indicate the presence of the \"Green Innovation Effect\" and the \"Decoupling Effect\".DiscussionThese discoveries enhance the theoretical framework of urban ecology and offer valuable insights for other regions seeking to implement low-carbon urban governance.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182531","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 : 2024-08-30DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1443683
Jixing Huang, Shuqi Yang, Weihan Zhu, Jinhuang Lin, Yanping Zhu, Jie Ren, Yongwu Dai, An Zhang
Identifying ecosystem service functions, clarifying the spatiotemporal trade-offs and synergies of terrestrial ecosystem services and their driving mechanisms, and exploring differentiated ecological functional zoning are crucial steps in achieving healthy regional ecosystem management, and are conducive to developing diversified ecological restoration strategies, establishing a robust cross-regional collaborative management mechanism, implementing differentiated ecological management strategies, and contributing to the construction of a Beautiful China. This paper, based on the InVEST model, Pearson correlation, GeoDetector, and Spatiotemporal Geographically Weighted Regression models, constructs a spatial quantification model of the trade-offs and synergies among five key ecosystem service functions—habitat quality, soil retention, water conservation, food supply, and carbon sequestration—of China’s terrestrial ecosystems from 2000 to 2020. It explores the influencing factors of terrestrial ecosystem services in China and their spatiotemporal heterogeneity, thereby investigating the future strategies for ecological functional zoning and management of China’s national land space. The results indicate that: (1) during 2000–2020, China’s food supply and soil conservation have increased. However, the habitat quality, water conservation, and carbon sequestration have decreased. (2) Significant spatial and temporal heterogeneities exist in the key ecosystem services of China’s terrestrial ecosystems. (3) Natural, economic, and social factors all impact China’s terrestrial key ecosystem services. Among them, slope, annual average precipitation, land development intensity, and vegetation coverage are the main influencing factors, and different factors exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity. (4) Significant trade-offs/synergy effects among critical terrestrial ecosystem services exist in China. (5) China’s national territory is divided into four ecological protection functional zones: ecological restoration areas, ecological control areas, resilient development areas, and ecological conservation areas, and explores differentiated zoning optimization control paths.
{"title":"Spatial and temporal characterization of critical ecosystem services in China’s terrestrial area, 2000–2020: trade-off synergies, driving mechanisms and functional zoning","authors":"Jixing Huang, Shuqi Yang, Weihan Zhu, Jinhuang Lin, Yanping Zhu, Jie Ren, Yongwu Dai, An Zhang","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1443683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1443683","url":null,"abstract":"Identifying ecosystem service functions, clarifying the spatiotemporal trade-offs and synergies of terrestrial ecosystem services and their driving mechanisms, and exploring differentiated ecological functional zoning are crucial steps in achieving healthy regional ecosystem management, and are conducive to developing diversified ecological restoration strategies, establishing a robust cross-regional collaborative management mechanism, implementing differentiated ecological management strategies, and contributing to the construction of a Beautiful China. This paper, based on the InVEST model, Pearson correlation, GeoDetector, and Spatiotemporal Geographically Weighted Regression models, constructs a spatial quantification model of the trade-offs and synergies among five key ecosystem service functions—habitat quality, soil retention, water conservation, food supply, and carbon sequestration—of China’s terrestrial ecosystems from 2000 to 2020. It explores the influencing factors of terrestrial ecosystem services in China and their spatiotemporal heterogeneity, thereby investigating the future strategies for ecological functional zoning and management of China’s national land space. The results indicate that: (1) during 2000–2020, China’s food supply and soil conservation have increased. However, the habitat quality, water conservation, and carbon sequestration have decreased. (2) Significant spatial and temporal heterogeneities exist in the key ecosystem services of China’s terrestrial ecosystems. (3) Natural, economic, and social factors all impact China’s terrestrial key ecosystem services. Among them, slope, annual average precipitation, land development intensity, and vegetation coverage are the main influencing factors, and different factors exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity. (4) Significant trade-offs/synergy effects among critical terrestrial ecosystem services exist in China. (5) China’s national territory is divided into four ecological protection functional zones: ecological restoration areas, ecological control areas, resilient development areas, and ecological conservation areas, and explores differentiated zoning optimization control paths.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182532","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 : 2024-08-30DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1398353
Courtney L. Pike, Rebecca Hood-Nowotny, Barbara Kofler, Heinz Richner, Sabine Tebbich
The avian vampire fly is an invasive species on the Galapagos Islands, where its hematophagous larvae utilize nestling birds as hosts. It poses a serious threat to populations and species of Darwin finches and other avian species. Prior studies suggest that the avian vampire fly larvae develop more rapidly in nests of small tree finches compared to sympatric green warbler finch nests. Here we investigate factors that may differentially influence larval growth in the two host species, including nest microclimate and nestling diet. We collected nest base temperature and humidity data as proxies for nest microclimate. As indicators of dietary composition and quality, we measured stable isotope δ13C and δ15N composition of nestling blood, used the C:N ratios as an indicator of relative protein content, and assessed the amino acid composition of the blood. The hematophagous larvae living off nestling blood were analyzed for the same parameters except amino acid composition. The effect of nest base humidity on nest base temperature significantly depended on bird species: at low humidity levels nest base temperature was higher in the small tree finch, and declined in both species as nest base humidity increased, which suggests higher stable heat capacity of small tree finch nests. The effect of age group based on the predicted onset of thermoregulation was marginally significant. Nest base temperatures were significantly higher in small tree finch nests during the predicted female brooding period before fully effective thermoregulation. Stable isotope δ13C levels were significantly higher in the blood of small tree finch nestlings compared to warbler finch nestlings, suggesting a difference in nestling food composition and source, while. δ15N levels were similar. The C:N ratios and amino acid composition of nestling blood were not significantly different between the two species, suggesting similar dietary quality. Thus, the faster development of larvae in small tree finch nests may be due to higher nest base temperatures during the early nestling phase rather than host blood quality parameters.
{"title":"Nest climate and blood quality of two host species of the ectoparasitic Philornis downsi in the Galapagos Islands as factors of larval development","authors":"Courtney L. Pike, Rebecca Hood-Nowotny, Barbara Kofler, Heinz Richner, Sabine Tebbich","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1398353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1398353","url":null,"abstract":"The avian vampire fly is an invasive species on the Galapagos Islands, where its hematophagous larvae utilize nestling birds as hosts. It poses a serious threat to populations and species of Darwin finches and other avian species. Prior studies suggest that the avian vampire fly larvae develop more rapidly in nests of small tree finches compared to sympatric green warbler finch nests. Here we investigate factors that may differentially influence larval growth in the two host species, including nest microclimate and nestling diet. We collected nest base temperature and humidity data as proxies for nest microclimate. As indicators of dietary composition and quality, we measured stable isotope δ<jats:sup>13</jats:sup>C and δ<jats:sup>15</jats:sup>N composition of nestling blood, used the C:N ratios as an indicator of relative protein content, and assessed the amino acid composition of the blood. The hematophagous larvae living off nestling blood were analyzed for the same parameters except amino acid composition. The effect of nest base humidity on nest base temperature significantly depended on bird species: at low humidity levels nest base temperature was higher in the small tree finch, and declined in both species as nest base humidity increased, which suggests higher stable heat capacity of small tree finch nests. The effect of age group based on the predicted onset of thermoregulation was marginally significant. Nest base temperatures were significantly higher in small tree finch nests during the predicted female brooding period before fully effective thermoregulation. Stable isotope δ<jats:sup>13</jats:sup>C levels were significantly higher in the blood of small tree finch nestlings compared to warbler finch nestlings, suggesting a difference in nestling food composition and source, while. δ<jats:sup>15</jats:sup>N levels were similar. The C:N ratios and amino acid composition of nestling blood were not significantly different between the two species, suggesting similar dietary quality. Thus, the faster development of larvae in small tree finch nests may be due to higher nest base temperatures during the early nestling phase rather than host blood quality parameters.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142223842","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 : 2024-08-29DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1410546
Sai Jiang, Ran Li, Lina Jiang, Wei Wang, Yongcheng Liu, Yuewei Yang, Jichun Xing, Zizhong Li, Yujian Li
The mitochondrial genome is recognized for its utility in insect molecular research, due to its distinctive features, including fast evolutionary rate, low recombination, and maternal inheritance. In this study, we explored the mitochondrial genome in the context of the leafhopper subfamily Evacanthinae, which is significant in the agricultural pest sector due to the direct and indirect damage caused to plants by its species. We present complete mitochondrial genome sequences for three species: Evacanthus bivittatus, Carinata ganga, and Carinata recurvata. Comparative analyses of nucleotide composition, codon usage of protein coding genes (PCGs), nucleotide diversity, transfer RNA secondary structure, and gene overlap were conducted. To understand phylogenetic relationships among species, we constructed phylogenetic trees using nucleotide sequences from the 13 PCGs of the genomes newly sequenced in this study alongside other available leafhopper genome sequences. Phylogenetic analysis supported monophyly of the Evacanthinae subfamily and suggested a close relationship between the Evacanthini and Nirvanini tribes. Our research indicates that anticodon differences in trnS1 are insufficient to serve as taxonomic markers for distinguishing between these two tribes. This study contributes valuable genetic data supporting ongoing investigations into genetic diversity, molecular evolution, and species identification, while laying groundwork for future taxonomic and evolutionary endeavors within Cicadellidae.
线粒体基因组因其进化速度快、重组率低和母系遗传等显著特点而被公认为是昆虫分子研究的有用工具。在本研究中，我们以叶蝉亚科（Evacanthinae）为背景，对线粒体基因组进行了探索。叶蝉亚科在农业害虫领域具有重要地位，因为其物种对植物造成了直接和间接的损害。我们展示了三个物种的完整线粒体基因组序列：Evacanthus bivittatus、Carinata ganga 和 Carinata recurvata。我们对核苷酸组成、蛋白质编码基因（PCGs）的密码子使用、核苷酸多样性、转移核糖核酸二级结构和基因重叠进行了比较分析。为了解物种间的系统发育关系，我们利用本研究中新测序的基因组中 13 个 PCGs 的核苷酸序列与其他可用的叶蝉基因组序列一起构建了系统发生树。系统发育分析支持Evacanthinae亚科的单系性，并表明Evacanthini和Nirvanini部落之间关系密切。我们的研究表明，trnS1的反密码子差异不足以作为区分这两个部落的分类标记。这项研究为正在进行的遗传多样性、分子进化和物种鉴定研究提供了宝贵的遗传数据支持，同时也为今后蝉科内的分类和进化工作奠定了基础。
{"title":"The complete mitochondrial genomes of three Evacanthini species, Evacanthus bivittatus, Carinata ganga, and Carinata recurvata, and phylogenomic analysis of the Evacanthini","authors":"Sai Jiang, Ran Li, Lina Jiang, Wei Wang, Yongcheng Liu, Yuewei Yang, Jichun Xing, Zizhong Li, Yujian Li","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1410546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1410546","url":null,"abstract":"The mitochondrial genome is recognized for its utility in insect molecular research, due to its distinctive features, including fast evolutionary rate, low recombination, and maternal inheritance. In this study, we explored the mitochondrial genome in the context of the leafhopper subfamily Evacanthinae, which is significant in the agricultural pest sector due to the direct and indirect damage caused to plants by its species. We present complete mitochondrial genome sequences for three species: <jats:italic>Evacanthus bivittatus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Carinata ganga</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Carinata recurvata</jats:italic>. Comparative analyses of nucleotide composition, codon usage of protein coding genes (PCGs), nucleotide diversity, transfer RNA secondary structure, and gene overlap were conducted. To understand phylogenetic relationships among species, we constructed phylogenetic trees using nucleotide sequences from the 13 PCGs of the genomes newly sequenced in this study alongside other available leafhopper genome sequences. Phylogenetic analysis supported monophyly of the Evacanthinae subfamily and suggested a close relationship between the Evacanthini and Nirvanini tribes. Our research indicates that anticodon differences in <jats:italic>trnS1</jats:italic> are insufficient to serve as taxonomic markers for distinguishing between these two tribes. This study contributes valuable genetic data supporting ongoing investigations into genetic diversity, molecular evolution, and species identification, while laying groundwork for future taxonomic and evolutionary endeavors within Cicadellidae.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182533","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 : 2024-08-29DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1423063
Zexu Nie, Chao Wang, Na Zhang
Grassland vegetation phenology has undergone great changes under the influence of climate, which affects ecosystem functions and services. However, the mechanism of preseason climatic factors in driving phenological shifts is unclear. In this study, we determined the start (SOS) and peak (POS) of the growing season for Inner Mongolian grasslands using gross primary productivity data (2000–2018). We investigated the spatiotemporal changes of SOS and POS and elucidated the mechanisms behind these changes by analyzing how these phenological events were influenced by the specific preseason climatic requirements (precipitation, air temperature, and solar radiation). Our results revealed that the SOS significantly advanced at a rate of 0.65 days/a, while the POS was stable across the study area. At the pixel scale, areas with initially later SOS and POS exhibited stronger advanced trends. An earlier SOS and POS were associated with lower thermal requirements, including air temperature and solar radiation. Conversely, a delayed SOS and POS necessitated higher climatic requirements. The impact of preseason precipitation on both SOS and POS demonstrated notable spatial variability. Moreover, the effects of different climatic factors on phenology were not in sync due to regional environmental disparities. Our study provides insight into the mechanisms underlying phenological shifts in grassland ecosystems under climate change.
受气候影响，草原植被物候发生了巨大变化，从而影响了生态系统的功能和服务。然而，季节性气候因素对物候变化的驱动机制尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们利用总初级生产力数据（2000-2018 年）确定了内蒙古草原生长季的起始期（SOS）和高峰期（POS）。我们研究了 SOS 和 POS 的时空变化，并通过分析这些物候事件如何受特定季前气候要求（降水、气温和太阳辐射）的影响，阐明了这些变化背后的机制。我们的研究结果表明，在整个研究区域内，SOS 以 0.65 天/年的速度明显提前，而 POS 则保持稳定。在像素尺度上，SOS 和 POS 最初较晚的地区表现出更强的提前趋势。较早的 SOS 和 POS 与较低的热要求有关，包括空气温度和太阳辐射。相反，SOS 和 POS 推迟则需要更高的气候要求。季前降水对 SOS 和 POS 的影响表现出明显的空间差异性。此外，由于地区环境差异，不同气候因子对物候的影响并不一致。我们的研究有助于深入了解气候变化下草原生态系统物候变化的内在机制。
{"title":"Effects of preseason climate change on spring and summer phenological shifts in Inner Mongolian grasslands","authors":"Zexu Nie, Chao Wang, Na Zhang","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1423063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1423063","url":null,"abstract":"Grassland vegetation phenology has undergone great changes under the influence of climate, which affects ecosystem functions and services. However, the mechanism of preseason climatic factors in driving phenological shifts is unclear. In this study, we determined the start (SOS) and peak (POS) of the growing season for Inner Mongolian grasslands using gross primary productivity data (2000–2018). We investigated the spatiotemporal changes of SOS and POS and elucidated the mechanisms behind these changes by analyzing how these phenological events were influenced by the specific preseason climatic requirements (precipitation, air temperature, and solar radiation). Our results revealed that the SOS significantly advanced at a rate of 0.65 days/a, while the POS was stable across the study area. At the pixel scale, areas with initially later SOS and POS exhibited stronger advanced trends. An earlier SOS and POS were associated with lower thermal requirements, including air temperature and solar radiation. Conversely, a delayed SOS and POS necessitated higher climatic requirements. The impact of preseason precipitation on both SOS and POS demonstrated notable spatial variability. Moreover, the effects of different climatic factors on phenology were not in sync due to regional environmental disparities. Our study provides insight into the mechanisms underlying phenological shifts in grassland ecosystems under climate change.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182534","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 : 2024-08-28DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1112712
Anouschka R. Hof, Marco Mina, Paola Mairota, Francisco Aguilar, Georg Leitinger, Josef Brůna, Matti Koivula, Matija Klopčič, Jörgen Sjögren, Giorgio Vacchiano
Climate change significantly alters species distributions. Numerous studies project the future distribution of species using Species Distribution models (SDMs), most often using coarse resolutions. Working at coarse resolutions in forest ecosystems fails to capture landscape-level dynamics, spatially explicit processes, and temporally defined events that act at finer resolutions and that can disproportionately affect future outcomes. Dynamic Forest Landscape Models (FLMs) can simulate the survival, growth, and mortality of (stands of) trees over long time periods at small resolutions. However, as they are able to simulate at fine resolutions, study landscapes remain relatively small due to computational constraints. The large amount of feedbacks between biodiversity, forest, and ecosystem processes cannot completely be captured by FLMs or SDMs alone. Integrating SDMs with FLMs enables a more detailed understanding of the impact of perturbations on forest landscapes and their biodiversity. Several studies have used this approach at landscape scales, using fine resolutions. Yet, many scientific questions in the fields of biogeography, macroecology, conservation management, among others, require a focus on both large scales and fine resolutions. Here, drawn from literature and experience, we provide our perspective on the most important challenges that need to be overcome to use integrated frameworks at spatial scales larger than the landscape and at fine resolutions. Future research should prioritize these challenges to better understand drivers of species distributions in forest ecosystems and effectively design conservation strategies under the influence of changing climates on spatially and temporally explicit processes. We further discuss possibilities to address these challenges.
{"title":"Frontiers | A perspective on the need for integrated frameworks linking species distribution and dynamic forest landscape models across spatial scales","authors":"Anouschka R. Hof, Marco Mina, Paola Mairota, Francisco Aguilar, Georg Leitinger, Josef Brůna, Matti Koivula, Matija Klopčič, Jörgen Sjögren, Giorgio Vacchiano","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1112712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1112712","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change significantly alters species distributions. Numerous studies project the future distribution of species using Species Distribution models (SDMs), most often using coarse resolutions. Working at coarse resolutions in forest ecosystems fails to capture landscape-level dynamics, spatially explicit processes, and temporally defined events that act at finer resolutions and that can disproportionately affect future outcomes. Dynamic Forest Landscape Models (FLMs) can simulate the survival, growth, and mortality of (stands of) trees over long time periods at small resolutions. However, as they are able to simulate at fine resolutions, study landscapes remain relatively small due to computational constraints. The large amount of feedbacks between biodiversity, forest, and ecosystem processes cannot completely be captured by FLMs or SDMs alone. Integrating SDMs with FLMs enables a more detailed understanding of the impact of perturbations on forest landscapes and their biodiversity. Several studies have used this approach at landscape scales, using fine resolutions. Yet, many scientific questions in the fields of biogeography, macroecology, conservation management, among others, require a focus on both large scales and fine resolutions. Here, drawn from literature and experience, we provide our perspective on the most important challenges that need to be overcome to use integrated frameworks at spatial scales larger than the landscape and at fine resolutions. Future research should prioritize these challenges to better understand drivers of species distributions in forest ecosystems and effectively design conservation strategies under the influence of changing climates on spatially and temporally explicit processes. We further discuss possibilities to address these challenges.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142250875","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 : 2024-08-27DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1333162
Emma Reasoner, Laurie Marker, Stijn Verschueren, Willem Briers-Louw, Meed Mbidzo, Bogdan Cristescu
Mesocarnivores fill important roles in ecological communities globally, but their distribution and abundance are often understudied. Many species have historically been regarded as vermin and subject to lethal control due to their role in livestock predation. Identifying the factors influencing mesocarnivore populations can help disentangle their relationship within ecological communities and inform conflict mitigation and conservation priorities. To help identify these factors, we used camera traps to study the community of medium and large mammals in four communal conservancies of northeastern Namibia covering the wet and dry seasons using 99 and 97 camera trap stations, respectively. We modelled black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) abundance using the robust Royle-Nichols model. Black-backed jackal were widespread, with a mean per site abundance of 2.01 (SD=0.66) in the wet season and 2.41 (SD=0.49) in the dry season. Black-backed jackal showed seasonally contrasting covariate associations, with lower abundance in areas with medium and large-sized wild prey during the wet season, and higher abundance in areas with more villages and close to African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) dens in the dry season. We identified localized hotspots of black-backed jackal abundance during the dry season, which may indicate that when resources are scarce, black-backed jackals rely on anthropogenic food sources despite an elevated risk for conflict, and on carcass remains from African wild dog kills. These findings highlight potential drivers of mesocarnivore abundance that would be obscured in a conventional occurrence modelling framework, and illustrate how local abundance may be influenced by seasonal variability, wild and anthropogenic food sources, and a likely facilitative relationship with a large carnivore. Further investigations in areas with more complex carnivore guilds and higher density of dominant predators are needed to understand black-backed jackal-African wild dog interactions and impacts on population dynamics.
{"title":"Frontiers | Relative abundance of a mesocarnivore in a human-dominated, semi-arid rangeland in Namibia","authors":"Emma Reasoner, Laurie Marker, Stijn Verschueren, Willem Briers-Louw, Meed Mbidzo, Bogdan Cristescu","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1333162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1333162","url":null,"abstract":"Mesocarnivores fill important roles in ecological communities globally, but their distribution and abundance are often understudied. Many species have historically been regarded as vermin and subject to lethal control due to their role in livestock predation. Identifying the factors influencing mesocarnivore populations can help disentangle their relationship within ecological communities and inform conflict mitigation and conservation priorities. To help identify these factors, we used camera traps to study the community of medium and large mammals in four communal conservancies of northeastern Namibia covering the wet and dry seasons using 99 and 97 camera trap stations, respectively. We modelled black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) abundance using the robust Royle-Nichols model. Black-backed jackal were widespread, with a mean per site abundance of 2.01 (SD=0.66) in the wet season and 2.41 (SD=0.49) in the dry season. Black-backed jackal showed seasonally contrasting covariate associations, with lower abundance in areas with medium and large-sized wild prey during the wet season, and higher abundance in areas with more villages and close to African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) dens in the dry season. We identified localized hotspots of black-backed jackal abundance during the dry season, which may indicate that when resources are scarce, black-backed jackals rely on anthropogenic food sources despite an elevated risk for conflict, and on carcass remains from African wild dog kills. These findings highlight potential drivers of mesocarnivore abundance that would be obscured in a conventional occurrence modelling framework, and illustrate how local abundance may be influenced by seasonal variability, wild and anthropogenic food sources, and a likely facilitative relationship with a large carnivore. Further investigations in areas with more complex carnivore guilds and higher density of dominant predators are needed to understand black-backed jackal-African wild dog interactions and impacts on population dynamics.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142250876","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 : 2024-08-22DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1426923
Kristina Karlsson Green, Chiara De Pasqual, Maria Litto, Peter Anderson
During decision-making, animals may use either innate or plastic behaviours. This has been suggested to be important for generalist phytophagous insects where females need to assess a large range of cues during host plant selection for oviposition. To facilitate the choice, generalists may thus use innate preference hierarchies among host plants combined with phenotypic plasticity based on earlier host experience, but if populations differ in whether they rely on innate or plastic factors during decision-making is not well-known. Females from an Egyptian population of the polyphagous moth Spodoptera littoralis has previously been found to shift preference between plants in their innate preference hierarchy depending on larval host plant experience. We studied the innate preference hierarchy for three host plants (cotton, cabbage and cowpea), and whether the hierarchy shifts based on larval host plant experience, in a Northern range margin population (Italy) and a core population (Kenya) of S. littoralis, to see if and how these traits vary across populations. In addition, we studied larval performance on the three host plants in all three populations. The Italian and Kenyan populations had different innate preference hierarchies, and both hierarchies differed from the hierarchy that has previously been found in the Egyptian population. Furthermore, the host plant selection of ovipositing females was affected by larval diet in the Italian and Kenyan population, but the larval host plant experience did not completely shift the preference hierarchy as in the Egyptian population. This indicates that not only host plant preference per se, but also phenotypic plasticity during host plant selection can vary between populations. We further found that the populations responded differently to larval diet for some performance traits. However, it was only the Italian population that showed indications of any link between preference and performance, as they had slower development on their least preferred host plant. Overall, preference divergence between populations seems not to be driven by local variation in larval performance.
在决策过程中，动物可能会使用先天或可塑性行为。有人认为这对植食性昆虫非常重要，因为雌性昆虫在选择寄主植物产卵时需要评估大量线索。因此，为了便于选择，通食昆虫可能会利用寄主植物的先天偏好等级与基于早期寄主经验的表型可塑性相结合，但目前还不清楚不同种群在决策过程中是依赖先天因素还是可塑性因素。以前曾发现埃及一个多食蛾种群中的雌蛾会根据幼虫寄主植物的经验在其先天偏好等级中改变对不同植物的偏好。我们研究了 S. littoralis 的一个北部边缘种群（意大利）和一个核心种群（肯尼亚）对三种寄主植物（棉花、卷心菜和豇豆）的先天偏好层次结构，以及该层次结构是否会随着幼虫寄主植物经历的变化而改变，以了解这些特征在不同种群之间是否存在差异以及如何变化。此外，我们还研究了幼虫在这三个种群的三种寄主植物上的表现。意大利种群和肯尼亚种群具有不同的先天偏好等级，这两种等级都不同于之前在埃及种群中发现的等级。此外，在意大利和肯尼亚种群中，产卵雌虫对寄主植物的选择受幼虫食性的影响，但幼虫寄主植物经历并没有像埃及种群那样完全改变其偏好等级。这表明，不仅寄主植物偏好本身，不同种群在选择寄主植物时的表型可塑性也可能不同。我们还发现，不同种群对幼虫食物的反应在某些表现性状上有所不同。然而，只有意大利种群显示出偏好与表现之间的联系，因为它们在最不喜欢的寄主植物上发育较慢。总体而言，不同种群之间的偏好差异似乎并不是由幼虫表现的地方性差异造成的。
{"title":"Population comparison of innate and plastic host plant preference and performance in a polyphagous insect","authors":"Kristina Karlsson Green, Chiara De Pasqual, Maria Litto, Peter Anderson","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1426923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1426923","url":null,"abstract":"During decision-making, animals may use either innate or plastic behaviours. This has been suggested to be important for generalist phytophagous insects where females need to assess a large range of cues during host plant selection for oviposition. To facilitate the choice, generalists may thus use innate preference hierarchies among host plants combined with phenotypic plasticity based on earlier host experience, but if populations differ in whether they rely on innate or plastic factors during decision-making is not well-known. Females from an Egyptian population of the polyphagous moth <jats:italic>Spodoptera littoralis</jats:italic> has previously been found to shift preference between plants in their innate preference hierarchy depending on larval host plant experience. We studied the innate preference hierarchy for three host plants (cotton, cabbage and cowpea), and whether the hierarchy shifts based on larval host plant experience, in a Northern range margin population (Italy) and a core population (Kenya) of <jats:italic>S. littoralis</jats:italic>, to see if and how these traits vary across populations. In addition, we studied larval performance on the three host plants in all three populations. The Italian and Kenyan populations had different innate preference hierarchies, and both hierarchies differed from the hierarchy that has previously been found in the Egyptian population. Furthermore, the host plant selection of ovipositing females was affected by larval diet in the Italian and Kenyan population, but the larval host plant experience did not completely shift the preference hierarchy as in the Egyptian population. This indicates that not only host plant preference <jats:italic>per</jats:italic> se, but also phenotypic plasticity during host plant selection can vary between populations. We further found that the populations responded differently to larval diet for some performance traits. However, it was only the Italian population that showed indications of any link between preference and performance, as they had slower development on their least preferred host plant. Overall, preference divergence between populations seems not to be driven by local variation in larval performance.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182535","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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