Basic and Applied Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Short-term mating success in relation to fluctuating wing asymmetry in the male azure damselfly Coenagrion puella","authors":"Ken M. Mauser ,&nbsp;Jann Baumeyer ,&nbsp;Shahab Eshghi ,&nbsp;Stanislav N. Gorb ,&nbsp;Alessandro Manfrin ,&nbsp;Carsten A. Brühl","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As top flying predators, damselflies rely on wing symmetry and functionality. However, already during aquatic larval development, environmental stressors, including anthropogenic ones, can affect their development and impair wing morphology raising the question whether such alterations affect reproductive fitness. To investigate the role of wing morphology in mating success, we collected males of <em>Coenagrion puella</em> observed in copulation wheels (indicating short-term mating success) or actively chasing other wheel or tandem formations (unsuccessful mating attempts at the time of capture). Twenty individuals of each group were collected at two locations differing in environmental and anthropogenic pressures: one regularly used for recreational fishing and surrounded by agriculture in the Rhine Valley and one consisting of research ponds in the Palatinate Forest with restricted public access. Wing morphology and symmetry were assessed via computer-vision by comparing several cell shape and position dependent variables as well as wing size and number of cells and junctions using the recently developed software WingAnalogy. Mating males in the Palatinate Forest exhibited higher cell shape asymmetry than mating males in the Rhine Valley. In these individuals, the cell shape asymmetry was more pronounced in the distal part of the wing than in the proximal part. Mating males had lower body weight (-5%) and smaller wings (-3%) compared to chasing males at both locations. Our results challenge the general theory that stress-induced lower body weight and higher asymmetry diminish short-term mating success. Instead, they underscore the ecological importance of population-specific factors, like female availability or male-male competition, and environmental conditions that shape mating dynamics. Our results suggest that anthropogenic stressors in aquatic habitats have implications for terrestrial food webs by affecting the reproductive interactions of adult amphibiotic top predators, such as damselflies. This highlights the need to consider cross-ecosystem carry-over effects in ecological monitoring and conservation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Pages 55-65"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144071519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent biodiversity changes in grasslands across elevational bands in Switzerland","authors":"Kathrin E.R. Häberlin ,&nbsp;Jürgen Dengler","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Concerns about intensification of land use and land abandonment threatening plant diversity called for the establishment of national monitoring and agri-environmental payment schemes in Switzerland. Yet, little is known about recent biodiversity changes in Swiss grasslands. The analyses in this study were based on the presence / absence records of 455 permanent 10 m² plots in grasslands systematically spread across elevational bands in Switzerland, collected by the Swiss Biodiversity Monitoring BDM. We assessed changes in vascular plant species richness, mean ecological indicator values and species composition at the local scale in Swiss grasslands over two decades (2001–2023) and for three elevational sets (all, below, and above 1200 m a.s.l.). Further, we identified winners and losers at the species level. Throughout all three elevational sets, we found that the mean species richness increased in the study period. Likewise, the mean ecological indicator values for temperature increased throughout. While the mean ecological indicator values of nutrient, soil moisture and reaction remained constant for the set of all plots, at lower elevations there was a trend towards a decreased nutrient value whereas soil moisture decreased at higher elevations. Overall, more species showed positive rather than negative trends over time. Especially at lower elevations, short-lived, ruderal species and C₄ grasses are on the increase. We suggest that these trends are linked to the increased harvesting frequency and the recent trend towards longer dry spells in Swiss summer. By contrast, at higher elevations, stress tolerance of grasslands decreased while competitiveness increased. These diverging patterns point to different drivers of biodiversity change dependent on elevation and call for context-dependent conservation measures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"87 ","pages":"Pages 29-37"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecological assessment of forest management approaches to develop resilient forests in the face of global change in Central Europe","authors":"Franka Huth ,&nbsp;Alexander Tischer ,&nbsp;Petia Nikolova ,&nbsp;Heike Feldhaar ,&nbsp;Alexandra Wehnert ,&nbsp;Lisa Hülsmann ,&nbsp;Jürgen Bauhus ,&nbsp;Katrin Heer ,&nbsp;Juliane Vogt ,&nbsp;Christian Ammer ,&nbsp;Uta Berger ,&nbsp;Markus Bernhardt-Römermann ,&nbsp;Manuela Böhme ,&nbsp;Harald Bugmann ,&nbsp;Jörn Buse ,&nbsp;Laura Demant ,&nbsp;Inken Dörfler ,&nbsp;Jörg Ewald ,&nbsp;Eike Feldmann ,&nbsp;Andreas Fichtner ,&nbsp;Bernhard Schuldt","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effects of global change pose major challenges for both practical forest management and forest ecological research if European forests are to be managed in such a way that they can continue to provide their many services to people in the future. The number of studies on impacts of global change on forest ecosystems has increased enormously over the last decade, but the evidence on how to improve the resilience and resistance of forests is of varying quality and in some cases contradictory. For that reason a group of experts from the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfOe), Section Forest Ecology decided to review the relevant scientific information and to assess its degree of confidence to provide guidance for future forest adaption options. Our review of research on the impact of global change on European forests and associated forest management strategies to adapt forests identified 35 scientific statements that were grouped into the following thematic priorities: (1) selection of tree species and promoting diversity, (2) genetics, (3) forest structures, (4) forest functions, ecosystem services and nature’s contribution to the lives of people, (5) silvicultural systems, (6) natural regeneration, successional processes and wildlife management, and (7) future research and monitoring methods. Our analyses showed that most of the statements reflect validated research findings. However, many of them were incomplete and would not yet allow transfer to broad application in the form of silvicultural adaptation strategies. Future studies should focus on the identification of climate-resilient tree species and provenances, their regeneration processes and their resistance to pathogens and pests under drought conditions. Species- and site-specific scientific findings must be translated into silvicultural techniques/measures such as the determination of tree species mixtures, thinning and harvesting intensities and tree regeneration methods. We identified significant gaps in the application of forest monitoring practices needed to obtain reliable information on the provision of ecosystem goods and services. This review provides a comprehensive basis to develop a roadmap for future forest adaptation research to improve our level of confidence for science-based management recommendations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Pages 66-100"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144071838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Farmland bird decline is associated with a strong population limitation of open-habitat species","authors":"Jiří Reif ,&nbsp;Tomáš Telenský ,&nbsp;Petr Klvaňa ,&nbsp;Jaroslav Cepák ,&nbsp;David Storch","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.03.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.03.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Farmland birds rank among organisms showing the steepest declines of their European populations. To combat these declines, it is essential to understand demographic mechanisms underlying the negative population trends. For this purpose, we employ a novel modelling approach on a long-term multispecies dataset collected by citizen scientists throughout Czechia. Using this approach, we calculated recruitment, adult survival and population growth rates for 13 farmland bird species on annual basis from 2004 to 2021, and related these demographic rates to species population trends estimated over the same period, as well as to their habitat preferences. We observed a negative relationship between recruitment and adult survival within most species. This relationship becomes increasingly more negative in species breeding in more open habitats. These species also showed steeper population declines and less positive correlation between adult survival and population growth rate than species breeding more woody habitats. These results indicate that the open-habitat farmland birds face strong population regulation. Under such regulation, higher adult survival in some years, that may occur due to, for instance, suitable weather conditions, does not leave much capacity for new recruits, and thus is immediately compensated by low recruitment. We suggest that these demographic processes are underpinned by decreasing carrying capacity of the open habitats which may occur due to shrub encroachment or afforestation of agricultural land that are widespread in Europe. At the same time, species preferring woody habitats enjoy increasing habitat availability in farmland which may lead to population increases over the long-term. Our results indicate that conservation actions are needed to improve the carrying capacity of the open habitats, especially during the breeding season. For example, some initiatives aiming for mitigation of climate change impacts by afforestation should be carefully reconsidered to avoid adverse impacts on open habitat species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Pages 45-54"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bacterial community structure in bulk soil and rhizosphere of alpine plants exhibits opposite longitudinal patterns","authors":"Yixuan Liu ,&nbsp;Hao Zhou ,&nbsp;Guoqi Xu ,&nbsp;Qiudi Zhang ,&nbsp;Xing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil bacteria play a key role in determining vegetation dynamics and ecosystem functions in natural grasslands, and can change along biogeographic gradients due to the sensitivity to abiotic and biotic factors. However, it remains unclear whether there are differences in longitudinal patterns and main drivers of bacterial community structure between bulk soil and rhizosphere, especially in alpine grassland ecosystems. In this study, we characterized bacterial communities in rhizosphere of alpine plants (28 species) and bulk soil at 13 sites of three alpine grassland types along the longitudinal gradient (from 82.5°E to 93.8°E) in China. Our results showed that climate and soil properties (e.g. mean annual precipitation, soil pH, and organic matter content), as well as bacterial taxonomic diversity in these two soil origins, changed along the longitudinal gradient. Total OTUs richness, Shannon index, and generalist richness of bacterial communities in the bulk soil increased along longitude, apparently due to the higher organic matter content and lower available potassium content. On the contrary, Shannon index in the rhizosphere decreased along longitude and was not related with any environmental factor. The dissimilarity in bacterial communities between paired samples was positively related with the differences in longitude and environmental factors (mean annual precipitation and soil pH in particular) for the two soil origins. There was a positive relationship between bacterial community dissimilarity among rhizosphere samples and the phylogenetic distance of co-occurring plant species in the individual sites of different alpine grassland types, suggesting phylogenetic conversation in plant-bacteria interactions under field conditions. Our findings suggest that the differential responses of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere versus bulk soil to abiotic and biotic factors may underlie their opposite longitudinal patterns, which highlights the necessity of integrating biogeographic and phylogenetic approaches in exploring plant-soil bacterial associations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Pages 11-20"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143891591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review of the importance of aquatic prey for riparian arthropod predators","authors":"Franziska Middendorf ,&nbsp;Mirco Bundschuh ,&nbsp;Bernhard Eitzinger ,&nbsp;Martin H Entling ,&nbsp;Jens Schirmel","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aquatic-derived resources can be important subsidies for riparian consumers. We systematically reviewed variations in the use of aquatic prey by riparian predators and investigated whether changes and differences in the availability of emerging insects influence riparian arthropod predator communities. We found that aquatic subsidies present a major food source for several riparian arthropod predators. However, the role of aquatic prey in the diet varied between predator groups and hunting strategies. Riparian web-building spiders, especially horizontal web-builders such as <em>Tetragnatha</em>, showed the highest proportion of aquatic insects in their diet (70 %). However, free-hunting spiders and riparian beetles also benefited substantially from these subsidies. The use of aquatic prey decreased with increasing distance from the water, varied throughout the year in line with the emergence peaks, and was affected by habitat characteristics. Our review also shows that the abundance and biomass of riparian arthropod predators can be influenced by variations in the availability of aquatic subsidies. This was particularly evident for riparian web-building spiders, especially horizontal web-building spiders such as <em>Tetragnatha</em>. Despite the considerable research activity over the past two decades, we identified several research gaps and present opportunities for future studies. First, there is a clear geographical bias, with a marked lack of studies in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia, with the exception of Japan. Second, most studies have focused on a few families of mostly web-building spiders while only a few have considered spiders with different hunting modes (e.g., ambush hunters or free hunters on vegetation), carabids and other beetles. Third, most studies used stable isotope analysis (SIA) for prey analysis. Additional methods, such as polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) analysis, molecular gut content analysis, or combinations of these methods with SIA, should give a clearer picture of the reliance of riparian arthropods on aquatic prey.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Pages 1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143891650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing metabarcoding-based identifications for monitoring beetle communities in temperate forests","authors":"R․G․Bina Perl ,&nbsp;Alexander Schneider ,&nbsp;Julio V. Schneider ,&nbsp;Viktor Hartung ,&nbsp;Angela Röhner ,&nbsp;Sebastian Will ,&nbsp;Steffen U. Pauls","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With accelerating global change, there is an urgent need for rapid and comprehensive species monitoring programs to assess the status of insect assemblages; knowledge that is indispensable for the development of strategies that counteract insect declines. With the advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies, DNA metabarcoding has evolved into a particularly useful tool for speedy identification of species from bulk samples. Here, we evaluated the suitability of both tissue- and preservative-based DNA metabarcoding approaches for potential use in large-scale forest insect monitoring initiatives with a focus on beetle communities. For this purpose, we investigated the contents of pitfall (Barber) traps and corresponding cross-window traps for the presence of Coleoptera species. We also compared the performance of three common preservative liquids in terms of species and DNA preservation and determined the optimal time interval for trap replacement. To assess how well the investigated forest beetle community can actually be represented by metabarcoding, we identified ground beetles (Carabidae) of each Barber trap sample using (a) morphological identification; (b) DNA metabarcoding of the homogenised tissues; and (c) DNA metabarcoding of the preservative liquids used in the traps. Finally, we evaluated the influence of the number of DNA extraction and PCR replicates on taxon detection. Even though our study was limited to a single location and peak season, we succeeded in detecting the DNA of 389 mostly plausible beetle species across a total of 54 samples. Effects of preservative liquids were small, although more species were captured by ethanol-filled traps. We further observed an increase in detected beetle species with increasing length of trapping intervals. Overall, we found tissue-based metabarcoding approaches employing a well-designed DNA extraction (and possibly PCR) replication strategy to represent a powerful option for monitoring forest beetles and potentially other insect communities. The preservative-based approach we used needs further optimisation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Pages 32-44"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143922647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forest birds maintain body condition in Alder-leaf Birch (Betula alnoides) plantations in subtropical Asia","authors":"Wenyi Zhou ,&nbsp;Alexandra A. Grossi ,&nbsp;Daniel R. Gustafsson ,&nbsp;Zhengzhen Wang ,&nbsp;Zhuyang Zhang ,&nbsp;Yuqing Han ,&nbsp;Xinyi Wang ,&nbsp;Anru Zuo ,&nbsp;Miguel A. Acevedo ,&nbsp;Yang Liu ,&nbsp;Scott K. Robinson","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plantation forestry alters avian community assembly by creating homogeneous habitats with simplified vegetation structure. However, its effects on avian body condition remain poorly understood, despite the influence body condition has on survival and reproduction. We studied how plantation forestry of Alder-leaf Birch (<em>Betula alnoides</em>, “birch”) affects the body condition of nine forest bird species in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot in southwestern China. Through mist-net sampling, we collected data on avian body condition in birch plantations and natural forests of two age classes (young and mature). We also examined other factors that might affect body condition including demographic information (age and sex), previous-day weather (rainfall and temperature), and reproductive status. Body condition scores measured using the scaled mass index (SMI) were similar between birch plantations and natural forests, indicating that birch plantations support avian body condition at levels comparable to natural forests. Age and rainfall affected the body condition of Yunnan Fulvettas (<em>Alcippe fratercula</em>), with adults and individuals captured after rainfall having lower SMIs. Additionally, the body condition of Rusty-capped Fulvettas (<em>Schoeniparus dubius</em>) and Silver-eared Mesias (<em>Leiothrix argentauris</em>) was positively associated with their reproductive status, though the higher SMI values may partly result from gonadal and egg development. Our study reveals not only the conservation value of birch plantations but also the effects of demographic, environmental, and reproductive factors on avian body condition. We recommend considering birch as a candidate timber species for promoting conservation in plantation forestry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Pages 45-55"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143864724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moving away from objectivity—A response to Wirth & Schulemann-Maier","authors":"Nadja Pernat ,&nbsp;Sascha Buchholz ,&nbsp;Jan Ole Kriegs ,&nbsp;Hilke Hollens-Kuhr","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Pages 36-37"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143852349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moving away from science - response to Pernat et al., 2025, Moving north under the eye of the public: the dispersal ecology of the Nosferatu spider, documented by citizen scientists","authors":"Alexander Wirth,&nbsp;Gaby Schulemann-Maier","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Pages 11-12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143817639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}