Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Beyond the timing of flowering: Shortening of spring flowering duration of Korean trees and potential community effects","authors":"Min-Jung Kim,&nbsp;Chuleui Jung","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70194","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70194","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Advanced spring flowering relative to climate change has been widely documented, but studies on flowering duration remain limited due to a lack of comprehensive data. This study analyzed phenological data (1970–2021), including first and full flowering dates of seven temperate tree species across 16 locations in Korea. Trends in flowering phenology were assessed using day of year (DOY) values, and floral seasonality was evaluated at regional and national scales. We found that full flowering dates advanced more rapidly than first flowering dates for most species, resulting in shortened flowering durations. These trends suggest potential shifts in the floral community structure, including reduced connectivity of flowering times among species with non-overlapping flowering seasons. Nationally, regional variation of flowering times across all species has significantly decreased in recent years (2010–2021) compared to the two preceding 20-year periods. The observed changes in flowering times may have consequences, such as (1) reduced pollination opportunities due to shorter plant reproductive periods, (2) decreased food resources for pollinator insects, and (3) shortened harvesting periods for migratory beekeepers. Although our analysis focused on a limited number of species, the potential impacts identified highlight the need for strategies to manage plant–pollinator mismatches for better pollination services.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70194","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145059016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predicting microbially mediated plant coexistence is sensitive to vital rate identity and soil conditioning history","authors":"Petr Dostál","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70205","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70205","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding the mechanisms that maintain the coexistence of plant species is critical to addressing the global biodiversity crisis. Increasing attention has been paid to interactions between plants and soil microbes (plant–soil feedback, PSF), which can not only promote plant coexistence by increasing stabilizing effects but also hinder it by generating competitive fitness differences. However, the predictive power of the PSF has been questioned in recent studies because estimates of microbially mediated coexistence have correlated poorly with the outcomes of plant interactions observed in the field. This discrepancy may be due to the approaches typically used in PSF research, such as measuring PSF effects on a single vital rate or using soil conditioned for a short time period and without considering abiotic contexts. Here, I examined the effects of soil inoculum with different training histories and training environments (with and without added nutrients) on germination, seedling survival, and biomass of four grassland species. I then examined whether predictions of microbially mediated coexistence of four species pairs were sensitive to the vital rate identity, conditioning history, and soil training environment. I found that conspecific inoculum trained for longer had increasingly positive and negative effects on germination and biomass, respectively, although the effects of inoculum history varied across species and training environments. Estimates of microbially mediated outcomes were directly related to the vital rate used: when based on biomass and seedling survival, all four pairs were predicted to coexist, but only two pairs could do so when based on germination due to much reduced or even negative stabilization. Although coexistence predictions were not significantly related to conditioning history (including the effects of both variable conditioning durations and combinations of conditioning species) or nutrient treatments, both factors had a significant effect on stabilization. These results suggest that predictions of microbially mediated coexistence may be biased when based on a single vital rate, such as plant growth. To obtain more realistic and accurate outcome estimates, PSF effects should be integrated across different life stages, considering the temporal and abiotic contexts of these effects specific to a focal study system.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70205","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145038283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leaf allocation improves predictability of interspecific growth rates in a broadleaf deciduous temperate forest","authors":"Minh Chau N. Ho,&nbsp;Michael Kalyuzhny,&nbsp;María Natalia Umaña,&nbsp;Annette M. Ostling","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70203","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70203","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding the relationships between species' demography and functional traits is crucial for gaining a mechanistic understanding of community dynamics. While leaf morphology represents a key functional dimension for plants worldwide (i.e., the leaf economics spectrum), its ability to explain variation in trees' life history strategies remains limited. Plant growth is influenced by both leaf morphology and allocation; hence, incorporating both dimensions is essential but rarely done. Additionally, trait–performance relationships have mainly been studied in tropical communities, leaving gaps in our understanding of temperate forests where different seasonality patterns may alter these relationships. We examined whether species' leaf area index (leaf area per crown size, LAI), a measure of leaf allocation, explains the variation of juvenile tree species' potential growth rates in a winter-deciduous broadleaf forest. LAI has not been characterized as a species-level trait, but its ability to predict plant productivity at the ecosystem scale highlights its potential for explaining plant growth. We evaluated species' maximum LAI both individually and in conjunction with wood density (WD) and leaf mass per area (LMA). We expected that models would improve when both leaf morphology (LMA) and leaf allocation (LAI) were included and that species with denser crowns would have higher potential growth rates. LAI and LMA were significant predictors of growth but only when both were incorporated, and together explained a high proportion of species' growth variations (<i>R</i>²_adj = 0.59). We found evidence of a trade-off between LAI and LMA, with a negative relationship between them and each having a positive influence on species' growth, suggesting that there are multiple allocation strategies to achieve fast growth. A surprisingly positive LMA–growth relationship contrasts with observations from tropical forests. We did not find significant relationships with WD in this forest. Our results highlight that incorporating leaf allocation improves models of trait–performance relationships. They also suggest, in agreement with the limited literature, that temperate forests may exhibit different trait–performance relationships from those of tropical forests, where LMA is negatively related to growth and WD is often important. Clarifying the details and contexts of trait–performance relationships is crucial for applying the functional trait framework to understanding community structure and dynamics of forests globally.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70203","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145038355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grassland aboveground biomass, composition, and chemistry from multiple sites and years in Yellowstone National Park","authors":"Douglas A. Frank,&nbsp;Rick L. Wallen","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70198","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70198","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This data set includes measurements of aboveground plant biomass (in grams per square meter), percent alive and dead, composition (percent graminoid [grasses, sedges, rushes] and non-graminoid [other monocots, dicots]), and carbon and nitrogen content (in parts per million) of aboveground biomass collected during three studies (1988 and 1989; 1999–2001; 2012–2014) at grasslands grazed by herds of elk (<i>Cervus canadensis</i>), bison (<i>Bison bison</i>), and pronghorn (<i>Antilocapra americana</i>) in Yellowstone National Park. A total of 25 different grasslands were sampled during the studies. At each grassland, measurements were made outside and inside small (1.5 × 1.5 m) temporary exclosures moved approximately monthly throughout each growing season to determine ungulate consumption and aboveground production. Plant data were also gathered at a subsample of 13 of the grasslands inside permanent exclosures erected during the summer before each study. Monthly aboveground plant P content (in parts per million) is also provided at six sites in 2013 and 2014. Location (latitude, longitude), elevation, and 0 to 10 cm total soil C and N are included for all the sites. There are no copyright or proprietary restrictions on the data; please cite this data paper when using the data in other works.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70198","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145036097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Bearded Vulture as an accumulator of historical remains: Insights for future ecological and biocultural studies","authors":"Antoni Margalida,&nbsp;Sergio Couto,&nbsp;Sergio O. Pinedo,&nbsp;José María Gil-Sánchez,&nbsp;Lucía Agudo Pérez,&nbsp;Ana B. Marín-Arroyo","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70191","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70191","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Territorial raptors typically occupy their territories over long periods of time. Since usable nest sites are valuable resources for raptors and serve a signal function for conspecifics of habitat quality (Jiménez-Franco et al., &lt;span&gt;2014&lt;/span&gt;; Newton, &lt;span&gt;1979&lt;/span&gt;; Sergio et al., &lt;span&gt;2011&lt;/span&gt;), long-term nest reuse over decades and centuries can be usual for some species. For example, C-14 analyses of fecal material accumulated in a Gyrfalcon (&lt;i&gt;Falco rusticolus&lt;/i&gt;) eyrie in Greenland demonstrated that it had been occupied for at least 2500 years (Burham et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;). Similarly, an analysis of the twigs in a Golden Eagle (&lt;i&gt;Aquila chrysaetos&lt;/i&gt;) nest in western North America showed that it had been constructed more than 500 years ago (Ellis et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;). The records of 19th and early 20th century ornithologists also record cases of long-term nest occupancy. Based on information obtained from the literature, Ramírez et al. (&lt;span&gt;2016&lt;/span&gt;) documented the long-term occupancy (1900–2015) of an Egyptian Vulture (&lt;i&gt;Neophron percnopterus&lt;/i&gt;) nest in the Canary Islands.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Most vulture species breed on cliffs and carry food to the nest for their chicks in their crop. However, some species such as the Bearded Vulture (&lt;i&gt;Gypaetus barbatus&lt;/i&gt;) and the Egyptian Vulture mainly use their beaks to carry food, and Bearded Vultures also sometimes use their talons. In the case of cliff-nesting species, their well-protected eyries situated in cliff caves, rock shelters, or on cornices allow the accumulation of food remains in the eyries, as well as natural or anthropogenic material used to build the nest (Ellis et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Sanchis Serra et al., &lt;span&gt;2014&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Bearded Vulture is the most threatened vulture in Europe, with only 309 breeding pairs, 144 of which are in the Pyrenees. However, during the 19th century, the species was distributed in all of the mountainous areas of the Iberian Peninsula and other European mountains. The Bearded Vulture is a cliff-nesting species characterized by a specialized osteophagous diet (Margalida, Bertran, &amp; Heredia, &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Margalida, Sánchez-Zapata, et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;) that generally uses protected nesting sites such as cliff caves. Its nest sites are characterized by having microclimatic conditions that allow both the accumulated bone remains delivered to the nest to feed the chick and the material used to build the nest to remain in good condition. Pieces of cloth, string, and other anthropogenic manufactured material used to cover the nest bowl for thermoregulatory purposes during incubation are regularly observed in contemporary nests (A. Margalida, personal observation). Feeding ecology can be studied by examination of the accumulated bone, feather, skin, and hair remains in nests (Margalida et al., &lt;span&gt;2007&lt;/span&gt;; Sanz et al., &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) as well as the occurrence of anthropogenic material. The study of ","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70191","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145032175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Foraging and collection of resin on Bursera simaruba roots by Frieseomelitta nigra on the coast of Veracruz, Mexico","authors":"José Alfredo Jiménez-Rubio,&nbsp;Emmanuel Sánchez-Gamiño,&nbsp;José G. García-Franco,&nbsp;Arely A. Vargas-Díaz,&nbsp;Armando Aguirre-Jaimes","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70200","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70200","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145035120","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":"Herbivore effects on plant quality and quantity in a shortgrass prairie","authors":"Julie Rebh,&nbsp;Ellen A. R. Welti","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70192","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70192","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Earth's grasslands have experienced extensive alterations to their grazing regimes over the course of human history. We asked how native grassland herbivores (bison, prairie dogs, and grasshoppers) and a non-native herbivore that has become dominant (cattle) affect seasonal patterns of plant and soil elemental chemistry and aboveground plant biomass in a shortgrass prairie in the North American Northern Great Plains. To quantify herbivore effects, we sampled plants and soils across 4 months of the growing season in 15 grassland sites comprising five herbivore regimes with varying densities of bison, cattle, prairie dogs, and grasshoppers. Prairie dogs had the strongest herbivore effects on grass and soil chemistry, increasing grass N, K, and Mg, and increasing soil C and N. Both bison and cattle grazing increased grass Mg and decreased grass Si. Sites with higher grasshopper densities had higher soil P. Finally, the seasonal trajectory of aboveground plant biomass was altered by the use of insecticides in prairie dog towns, with the biomass at these sites peaking near the end of the growing season. Plant biomass peaked in mid-summer in all other herbivore regimes, with declines in the late growing season. This suggests that Orthopteran herbivores, taxa that tend to eat more in the late season when they are often in the adult stage, may have an overlooked contribution to seasonal aboveground plant biomass trajectories in temperate grasslands. Conservation and rewilding of grassland herbivores can maintain the critical nutrient cycling services that these taxa provide.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145021826","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":"Evaluating the contribution of individual variation in parasite-mediated anorexia to trophic cascades","authors":"Yen-Hua Huang,&nbsp;Vanessa O. Ezenwa","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70188","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70188","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Recent evidence suggests that parasite-mediated reductions in food intake (i.e., anorexia) in herbivores can trigger trophic cascades that increase producer biomass. This outcome assumes homogeneous host responses to parasite infection; however, individual variation in parasite-mediated anorexia is common. To understand the potential consequences of such variation, we quantified individual variation in host feeding responses to parasitism empirically using a wild herbivore–helminth system. We then evaluated the impact of ecologically relevant levels of variation in anorexia on producers using stochastic individual-based models composed of parasites, herbivores, and plants. Our empirical data showed that although higher helminth burdens were associated with lower population-level feeding rates, there was considerable individual variation in the presence and magnitude of anorexia. Our models revealed a pronounced effect of variation in anorexia prevalence but not magnitude on plants. Plant biomass increased as anorexia became prevalent in the herbivore population, and there was a strong dampening effect of anorexia prevalence on plant biomass variance, suggesting that parasite-mediated anorexia in herbivores can stabilize producer population dynamics. Interestingly, the association between higher anorexia prevalence and lower variance in plant biomass was due, in part, to negative feedback between herbivore feeding rates and helminth ingestion, suggesting that negative feedback between host behavior and parasitism, a phenomenon that can help stabilize certain host–parasite interactions, may have stabilizing effects that extend to other members of the ecological community via trophic cascades.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145007982","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":"Natal dispersal patterns in a social wild mammal: What does family tell us?","authors":"Marlène Gamelon,&nbsp;Jean-Pierre Coudrin,&nbsp;Gilles Capron,&nbsp;Alise Gilot,&nbsp;Éric Baubet,&nbsp;Jessica Cachelou,&nbsp;Jean-Michel Gaillard","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70190","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70190","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Natal dispersal is a key process in ecology and evolution. Similarities of dispersal patterns between relatives can lead to small-scale kin structure within populations with consequences for population dynamics and genetics. Most studies have focused on birds, lizards, and small mammals. How family effects may shape sex-specific natal dispersal patterns in a large-sized social mammal remains unexplored. We fill this gap thanks to a 30-year-long monitoring of a wild boar population. This polytocous, polygynous, and size dimorphic species displays a matrilineal social organization. From the monitoring of individuals from early life to adulthood, we characterized natal dispersal patterns by investigating the propensity to disperse and the dispersal distance. As expected for a species subjected to strong sexual selection, offspring males dispersed more often and farther than females. Looking specifically at similarities of dispersal patterns among relatives within a group, we found that offspring females from the same family displayed more similar dispersal propensity and distance than females from different groups, highlighting family effects. However, this dispersal pattern did not hold for males. Family effects can thus shape natal dispersal patterns in a sex-specific way in social mammals and are key to understanding individual variation in dispersal patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70190","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145007980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Joint species-trait distribution modeling: The role of intraspecific trait variation in community assembly","authors":"Nerea Abrego,&nbsp;Pekka Niittynen,&nbsp;Julia Kemppinen,&nbsp;Otso Ovaskainen","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70174","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecy.70174","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The links between intraspecific trait variation and community assembly remain little studied, partially due to the lack of statistical methods to jointly model intraspecific trait variation and species abundances at the community level. Here, we extend the joint species distribution modeling (JSDM) framework into the joint species-trait distribution modeling (JSTDM) framework to explicitly link species abundances to phenotypic variation in traits for multiple species simultaneously. Using a case study of 65 tundra plant species abundances and 3 key functional traits measured across 325 sites, we show how the JSTDM approach (1) estimates the statistical associations among species abundances, species-level traits, and site-level traits, relative to environmental variation; (2) improves predictions on trait variation by using information on species abundances; and (3) generates hypotheses about trait-driven community assembly mechanisms. The JSTDM methodology presented in this study allows assessing the interplay between species abundances and traits at the community level, providing the much needed modeling tools to quantify the role of phenotypic trait variation in eco-evolutionary community assembly.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70174","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144995726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}