Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Imaging spectroscopy reveals topographic variability effects on grassland functional traits and drought responses","authors":"Phuong D. Dao,&nbsp;Yuhong He,&nbsp;Bing Lu,&nbsp;Alexander Axiotis","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Functional traits and their variations are essential indicators of plant metabolism, growth, distribution, and survival and determine how a plant and an ecosystem function. Under the same climatic condition, traits can vary significantly between species and within the same species growing in different topographic conditions. When drought stress occurs, plants growing in these conditions may respond in various ways as their tolerance and adaptability are influenced by differences in topography. Insights into topographic variability-driven trait variation and drought response can improve our prediction of ecosystem functioning and ecological impacts. Imaging spectroscopy enables accurate identification of plant species, extraction of functional traits, and characterization of topography-driven and drought-related impacts on trait variation across spatial scales. However, applying these data in a heterogeneous grassland ecosystem is challenging as species are small, highly mixed, spectrally and texturally similar, and highly varied with small-scale variation in topography. This paper presents the first study to explore the use of high-resolution airborne imaging spectroscopy for characterizing the variation of key traits—such as chlorophylls (Chl), carotenoids (Car), Chl/Car ratio, water content (WC), and leaf area index (LAI)—across topographic gradients and under drought stress at the species level in a heterogeneous grassland. The results demonstrate significant relationships between functional traits and topographic variability, with the strength of these relationships varying among species and across different environmental conditions. Additionally, drought-induced trait responses differed notably both within and between species, particularly between drought-tolerant invasive species and drought-sensitive native species, as well as between lower and upper slope positions. The study makes a significant contribution to advancing our understanding of biological and ecological processes, enhancing the ability to predict plant invasion mechanism and ecosystem functioning under stressed environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143638709","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":"GLOSSAQUA: A global dataset of size spectra across aquatic ecosystems","authors":"Zeynep Ersoy,&nbsp;Charlotte Evangelista,&nbsp;Aitor Larrañaga,&nbsp;Daniel M. Perkins,&nbsp;Javier Sánchez-Hernández,&nbsp;Teofana Chonova,&nbsp;David Cunillera-Montcusí,&nbsp;Carmen García-Comas,&nbsp;Jorge García-Girón,&nbsp;Ioar de Guzman,&nbsp;Justin Pomeranz,&nbsp;Victor Saito,&nbsp;Matías Arim,&nbsp;Dirceu Baumgartner,&nbsp;Gilmar Baumgartner,&nbsp;Mauro Berazategui,&nbsp;Dani Boix,&nbsp;Giovanna Collyer,&nbsp;Jordi Compte,&nbsp;Almir Manoel Cunico,&nbsp;Renee M. van Dorst,&nbsp;Jon Harding,&nbsp;Ursula Gaedke,&nbsp;Stéphanie Gascón,&nbsp;Éder André Gubiani,&nbsp;Daniel Hernández,&nbsp;James R. Junker,&nbsp;Mercedes López-Vázquez,&nbsp;Anderson Luís Maciel,&nbsp;Thomas Mehner,&nbsp;Roger Paulo Mormul,&nbsp;Ramiro Pereira-Garbero,&nbsp;Danielle Petsch,&nbsp;Pitágoras Augusto Piana,&nbsp;Xavier D. Quintana,&nbsp;Julia Reiss,&nbsp;Lucía Rodríguez-Tricot,&nbsp;Jordi Sala,&nbsp;Wilson Sebastián Serra,&nbsp;Tadeu Siqueira,&nbsp;Helen J. Warburton,&nbsp;Matías Zarucki,&nbsp;Ignasi Arranz","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70050","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Body size is a key trait in ecology due to its influence on metabolism and many other life-history traits that affect population and community responses to environmental variation as well as ecosystem properties. The size spectrum represents the relationship between abundance (or biomass) and body size, independent of species identity. Size spectrum parameters, such as the slope or intercept, have been applied extensively as indicators of ecological status across multiple ecosystem types. The GLOSSAQUA dataset includes data from mainly heterotrophic communities composed of single (e.g., zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, or fish) to multiple taxonomic groups (e.g., from primary consumers to apex predators, and phytoplankton to large zooplankton), across diverse spatial and temporal scales, from surveys in freshwater (43% studies), marine (52% studies) and brackish (5% studies) ecosystems. In total, we compiled a unique global dataset of 8459 size spectrum slopes or exponents, 5237 intercepts, and 4,497 linearity coefficients (i.e., defined by the <i>R</i>² of the linear fit of the size spectrum) from 127 articles and gray literature (i.e., unpublished datasets). The current dataset aims to help identify the main drivers shaping aquatic size spectrum parameters at a global scale and contribute to cross-ecosystem comparisons. GLOSSAQUA can serve to explore questions such as factors influencing spatial and temporal dynamics of community size structure, comparing the response of community size structure between natural versus human-impacted sites, and comparing global patterns in different aquatic ecosystems. We encourage researchers, especially those from underrepresented geographical areas (e.g., South Hemisphere and Asia) to fuel this dataset in the future. The dataset is provided under a CC-BY-NC-S4 4.0 license, and users are encouraged to cite this data paper when using the data.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70050","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143639315","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":"Phenological sensitivity of Bromus tectorum genotypes depends on current and source environments","authors":"Megan L. Vahsen,&nbsp;Toby M. Maxwell,&nbsp;Dana M. Blumenthal,&nbsp;Diana Gamba,&nbsp;Matthew J. Germino,&nbsp;Mevin B. Hooten,&nbsp;Jesse R. Lasky,&nbsp;Elizabeth A. Leger,&nbsp;Nikki Pirtel,&nbsp;Lauren M. Porensky,&nbsp;Seth Romero,&nbsp;Justin J. Van Ee,&nbsp;Stella M. Copeland,&nbsp;David J. Ensing,&nbsp;Peter B. Adler","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70025","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plants respond to their environment with both short-term, within-generation trait plasticity, and long-term, between-generation evolutionary changes. However, the relative magnitude of plant responses to short- and long-term changes in the environment remains poorly understood. Shifts in phenological traits can serve as harbingers for responses to environmental change, and both a plant's current and source (i.e., genotype origin) environment can affect plant phenology via plasticity and local adaptation, respectively. To assess the role of current and source environments in explaining variation in flowering phenology of <i>Bromus tectorum</i>, an invasive annual grass, we conducted a replicated common garden experiment using 92 genotypes collected across western North America. Replicates of each genotype were planted in two densities (low = 100 seeds/1 m², high = 100 seeds/0.04 m²) under two different temperature treatments (low = white gravel; high = black gravel; 2.1°C average difference) in a factorial design, replicated across four common garden locations in Idaho and Wyoming, USA. We tested for the effect of current environment (i.e., density treatment, temperature treatment, and common garden location), source environment (i.e., genotype source climate), and their interaction on each plant's flowering phenology. Flowering timing was strongly influenced by a plant's current environment, with plants that experienced warmer current climates and higher densities flowering earlier than those that experienced cooler current climates and lower densities. Genotypes from hot and dry source climates flowered consistently earlier than those from cool and wet source climates, even after accounting for genotype relatedness, suggesting that this genetically based climate cline is a product of natural selection. We found minimal evidence of interactions between current and source environments or genotype-by-environment interactions. Phenology was more sensitive to variation in the current climate than to variation in source climate. These results indicate that cheatgrass phenology reflects high levels of plasticity as well as rapid local adaptation. Both processes likely contribute to its current success as a biological invader and its capacity to respond to future environmental change.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632976","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":"Seasonal structural stability promoted by forest diversity and composition explains overyielding","authors":"J. Antonio Guzmán Q.,&nbsp;Maria H. Park,&nbsp;Laura J. Williams,&nbsp;Jeannine Cavender-Bares","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70055","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The stability of forest productivity is a widely studied phenomenon often associated with tree species diversity. Yet, drivers of stability in forest structure and its consequences for forest productivity remain poorly understood. Using a large (10 ha) young tree diversity experiment, we evaluated how forest structure and multiple dimensions of diversity and composition are related to remotely sensed structural metrics and their stability through the growing season. We then examined whether structural stability (SS) across the growing season (April–October) could explain overyielding (i.e., the net biodiversity effect, NBE) in annual wood productivity. Using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle-Light Detecting and Ranging (UAV-LiDAR), we surveyed experimental tree communities eight times at regular intervals from before bud break to after leaf senescence to derive metrics associated with canopy height heterogeneity, fractional plant cover, and forest structural complexity (based on fractal geometry). The inverse coefficients of variation for each of these three metrics through the season were used as measures of SS. These metrics were then coupled with annual tree inventories to evaluate their relationships with the NBE. Our findings indicate that wood volume and, to some extent, multiple dimensions of diversity and composition (i.e., taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional) explain remotely sensed metrics of forest structure and their SS. Increases in wood volume as well as functional and phylogenetic diversity and variability (a measure of diversity independent of species richness) were linked to higher SS of forest complexity and canopy height heterogeneity. We further found that higher SS of forest complexity and fractional plant cover were associated with increased overyielding, which was mostly attributable to the complementarity effect. Structural equation models indicate that the stability of structural complexity explains more variation in NBE among plots than dimensions of diversity or variability, highlighting its value as an informative metric that likely integrates multiple drivers associated with overyielding. This study highlights the potential to integrate remote sensing and ecology to disentangle the role of forest SS in shaping ecological processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70055","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632908","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":"Potential caterpillar mimicry in a tropical hummingbird","authors":"Jay J. Falk,&nbsp;Michael Castaño-Diaz,&nbsp;Sebastian Gallan-Giraldo,&nbsp;Joseph See,&nbsp;Scott Taylor","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70060","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632977","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":"Blue angels have devil hands: Predatory behavior using cerata in Glaucus atlanticus","authors":"Gaku Yamamoto,&nbsp;Naoki Kanai,&nbsp;Toru Miura,&nbsp;Kohei Oguchi","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70062","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Nudibranchs, a subset of gastropods within the phylum Mollusca, encompass over 3000 valid species worldwide, characterized by the thinning or internalization of a shell (Do et al., &lt;span&gt;2022&lt;/span&gt;; Goodheart et al., &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;; Valdés, &lt;span&gt;2004&lt;/span&gt;). In place of shells, nudibranchs have evolved various alternative defense tactics, including vibrant warning or camouflage coloration (Paul &amp; Ritson-Williams, &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;; Wägele &amp; Klussmann-Kolb, &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;). Among nudibranch species belonging to Cladobranchia, most employ nematocysts stolen from dietary benthic cnidarians such as hydrozoans and anemones for defense, as known as “kleptocnidae.” These nematocysts are incorporated inside dorsal projections called “cerata (singular: ceras)” (Edmunds, &lt;span&gt;1966&lt;/span&gt;; Goodheart et al., &lt;span&gt;2017&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;; Greenwood, &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Grosvenor, &lt;span&gt;1903&lt;/span&gt;; Kepner, &lt;span&gt;1943&lt;/span&gt;; Putz et al., &lt;span&gt;2010&lt;/span&gt;). Nematocysts are a type of organelle unique to cnidarians; these pouch-like structures invert in response to mechanical and/or chemical stimuli, to release toxic needles (Holstein &amp; Tardent, &lt;span&gt;1984&lt;/span&gt;). Remarkably, cladobranchs can capture and store nematocysts in the distal part of each ceras in an organ called the “cnidosac,” which are expelled when attacked by predators (Goodheart et al., &lt;span&gt;2017&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;; Greenwood, &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Grosvenor, &lt;span&gt;1903&lt;/span&gt;). During the process of incorporating the ingested nematocysts, they are transported through the digestive tract into specialized cells called “cnidophages” located in the cnidosac (Goodheart et al., &lt;span&gt;2017&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;; Greenwood, &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Grosvenor, &lt;span&gt;1903&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlike most cladobranchs, which have cerata on their dorsal sides, all species of the genus &lt;i&gt;Glaucus&lt;/i&gt; (the sole genus in the family Glaucidae), bear several paired fin-like projections on each side of their bodies (Thompson &amp; Bennett, &lt;span&gt;1970&lt;/span&gt;; Thompson &amp; McFarlane, &lt;span&gt;1967&lt;/span&gt;). &lt;i&gt;Glaucus&lt;/i&gt; species live by floating with air inside their bodies and their ventral side facing the surface of the water (Thompson &amp; McFarlane, &lt;span&gt;1967&lt;/span&gt;). Due to their distinctive body plan and their silvery-white dorsal and blue ventral coloration, they are often called “blue angels,” “blue dragons” or “sea swallows” (Figure 1a). Unlike many other nudibranchs which are benthic, all species of &lt;i&gt;Glaucus&lt;/i&gt; are pleuston (sometimes termed neuston) species that live on the ocean's surface, using cerata and air bubbles in their stomach cavities for buoyancy (Miller, &lt;span&gt;1974&lt;/span&gt;; Thompson &amp; Bennett, &lt;span&gt;1970&lt;/span&gt;; Thompson &amp; McFarlane, &lt;span&gt;1967&lt;/span&gt;). They are carnivorous and prey on other pleustonic cnidarian species, including bluebottles (&lt;i&gt;Physalia&lt;/i&gt; sp.), sea rafts (&lt;i&gt;Velella velella&lt;/i&gt;), and blue buttons (&lt;i&gt;Porpita porpita&lt;/i&gt;) (Bieri, &lt;","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70062","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632909","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":"Altitude sickness in pollinators: Skyward emigration holds consequences for a native bee","authors":"Shawn A. Steffan,&nbsp;Prarthana S. Dharampal","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70063","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;In the era of climate change, organisms globally are being challenged to adapt to increasingly extreme stressors (Lloret et al., &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;; Walters et al., &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;). Such climate stressors are often typified by heat spikes, severe drought, flooding, and fire (Wagner, &lt;span&gt;2020&lt;/span&gt;). For animals requiring snow cover (i.e., the space between snow and soil, also known as the &lt;i&gt;subnivium&lt;/i&gt;) to survive winter, this refuge space has been retreating skyward (higher in altitude) and poleward (higher in latitude) as climates warm (Pauli et al., &lt;span&gt;2013&lt;/span&gt;). With the increasing severity of climate stressors, the elevational ranges of plant species are pushing skyward (Jump et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Kelly &amp; Goulden, &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;), as are many insect populations (Hodkinson, &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;). Indeed, an emerging biogeographic pattern associated with climate change is the skyward and poleward redistribution of plant and animal populations (Hodkinson, &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;; Jump et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;). Among pollinator communities, climate change has been linked to continental-scale redistributions of bee taxa (Ghisbain et al., &lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;), reductions in bee size over the last three decades (Herrera et al., &lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;), and precipitous declines in general abundance (Wagner, &lt;span&gt;2020&lt;/span&gt;). The channeling and redistribution of species are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude globally (Hodkinson, &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;; Jump et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;High-elevation habitats may serve as near-term biodiversity reservoirs (“sky islands”), particularly for pollinator communities (Wagner, &lt;span&gt;2020&lt;/span&gt;), as climate stressors reduce the viability of populations at lower elevations (Kelly &amp; Goulden, &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;; Lloret et al., &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;). Pollinators and other organisms seeking refuge from excessive heat may find skyward dispersal more expedient than poleward dispersal, given that a 1°C decline in temperature can be achieved (on average) with a 167-m increase in altitude, while the same drop in temperature would necessitate a 145 km increase in latitude (Jump et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;). However, any elevational gradient will be associated with decreasing air pressure (Peacock, &lt;span&gt;1998&lt;/span&gt;), which will impose a degree of hypoxia on colonizing organisms (Hoback &amp; Stanley, &lt;span&gt;2001&lt;/span&gt;; Hodkinson, &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;). Insect species developing under depleted oxygen (O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) concentrations in controlled laboratory conditions are known to exhibit smaller adult sizes, reduced reproductive capacity, and lower survival rates (Harrison et al., &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;), all of which represent major fitness consequences for insects (Honěk, &lt;span&gt;1993&lt;/span&gt;; Kingsolver &amp; Huey, &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;). This begs the question as to whether altitudinal hypoxia might produce the same types of consequences as artificially reduced O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; in laboratory experiments.&lt;/","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70063","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143602512","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":"Frequent disturbance to a foundation species disrupts consumer-mediated nutrient cycling in giant kelp forests","authors":"Joseph R. Peters,&nbsp;Daniel C. Reed,&nbsp;June Shrestha,&nbsp;Scott L. Hamilton,&nbsp;Deron E. Burkepile","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Structure-forming foundation species facilitate consumers by providing habitat and refugia. In return, consumers can benefit foundation species by reducing top-down pressures and increasing the supply of nutrients. Consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics (CND) fuel the growth of autotrophic foundation species and generate more habitat for consumers, forming reciprocal feedbacks. Such feedbacks are threatened when foundation species are lost to disturbances, yet testing these interactions requires long-term studies, which are rare. Here, we experimentally evaluated how disturbance to giant kelp, a marine foundation species, affects (1) CND of the forest animal community and (2) nutrient feedbacks that help sustain forest primary production during extended periods of low nitrate. Our experiment involved removing giant kelp annually during the winter for 10 years at four sites to mimic frequent wave disturbance. We paired temporal changes in the forest community in kelp removal and control plots with estimates of taxon-specific ammonium excretion rates (reef fishes and macroinvertebrates) and nitrogen (N) demand (giant kelp and understory macroalgae) to determine the effects of disturbance on CND as measured by ammonium excretion, N demand by kelp forest macroalgae, and the percentage of nitrogen demand met by ammonium excretion. We found that disturbance to giant kelp decreased ammonium excretion by 66% over the study, mostly due to declines in fishes. Apart from a few fish species that dominated CND, most reef-associated consumers were unaffected by disturbance. Disturbance to giant kelp reduced its N demand by 56% but increased that of the understory by 147% due to its increased abundance in the absence of a kelp canopy. Overall, disturbance had little effect on the fraction of N demand of macroalgae met by consumer excretion due to the offsetting responses of giant kelp, understory macroalgae, and consumers to disturbance. Across both disturbance regimes, on average, consumers supported 11%–12% of the N required by all kelp forest macroalgae and 48% of N demand by the understory macroalgae (which are confined to the benthos where most reef-associated consumers reside). Our findings suggest that CND constitutes a considerable contribution of N required in kelp forests, yet nutrient inputs decrease following reductions in essential habitat perpetuated by frequent disturbances.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143595068","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":"Cell size explains shift in phytoplankton community structure following storm-induced changes in light and nutrients","authors":"Alexis L. N. Guislain,&nbsp;Jens C. Nejstgaard,&nbsp;Jan Köhler,&nbsp;Erik Sperfeld,&nbsp;Ute Mischke,&nbsp;Birger Skjelbred,&nbsp;Hans-Peter Grossart,&nbsp;Anne Lyche Solheim,&nbsp;Mark O. Gessner,&nbsp;Stella A. Berger","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70043","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding the mechanisms driving community structure and dynamics is crucial in the face of escalating climate change, including increasing incidences of extreme weather. Cell size is a master trait of small organisms that is subject to a trade-off between resistance to grazing and competition for resources, and thus holds potential to explain and predict community dynamics in response to disturbances. Here, we aimed at determining whether cell size can explain shifts in phytoplankton communities following changes in nutrient and light conditions resulting from storm-induced inputs of nutrients and colored dissolved organic matter (cDOM) to deep clearwater lakes. To ensure realistic environmental conditions, we used a crossed gradient design to conduct a large-scale enclosure experiment over 6 weeks. Cell size explained phytoplankton community structure when light availability declined as a result of cDOM supply. Initially unimodal, with small-celled species accounting for up to 60% of the total community biovolume, the cell-size distribution gradually shifted toward large-celled species as light levels declined following cDOM addition. Neither nutrients nor mesozooplankton affected the shift in cell-size distribution. These results suggest a distinct competitive advantage of larger over smaller species at reduced light levels following cDOM inputs during storm events. Importantly, the clustering of species in two distinct size classes implies that interspecific size differences matter as much as cell size per se to understand community dynamics. Given that shifts in cell-size distribution have strong implications for food-web structure and biogeochemical cycles, our results point to the importance of analyzing cell-size distributions of small organisms as an essential element to forecast community and ecosystem dynamics in response to environmental change.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70043","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143594931","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":"Net primary productivity but not its remote-sensing proxies predict mammal diversity in Andean-Amazonian rainforests","authors":"Kim L. Holzmann,&nbsp;Pedro Alonso-Alonso,&nbsp;Yenny Correa-Carmona,&nbsp;Andrea Pinos,&nbsp;Felipe Yon,&nbsp;Alejandro Lopera,&nbsp;Gunnar Brehm,&nbsp;Alexander Keller,&nbsp;Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter,&nbsp;Marcell K. Peters","doi":"10.1002/ecy.70059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70059","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tropical forests are disappearing, but we have a limited understanding of the factors driving species coexistence in mammal communities of old-growth forest ecosystems. The total energy that is bound by plants is assumed to be a key factor determining mammalian species richness, but accurately measuring energy flows in complex ecosystems is difficult, and most studies therefore rely on remote-sensing-based surrogates of net primary productivity (NPP). We monitored mammal species richness across three seasons using camera traps on 26 study plots along a forested, elevational gradient from 245 to 3588 m above sea level in southeastern Peru for which a unique dataset on field-measured NPP exists. Using linear-regression models and path analysis, we disentangled the effects of climate and NPP on the diversity of mammals, testing the predictions of the more-individuals hypothesis, stating that energy availability drives the number of individuals and, thus, the number of coexisting species. We compared detailed field measurements of NPP with remote-sensing products (MODIS NPP and MODIS NDVI). Mammal species richness, abundance, and biomass decreased in a negative exponential pattern with elevation. Field-measured data on NPP, which was largely driven by temperature, was a strong predictor of both abundance and species richness, while remotely sensed proxies for NPP failed to accurately predict mammal diversity. Our study underpins the importance of field-based ecosystem data and emphasizes the role of high primary productivity for maintaining diverse mammal communities, which is a particularly pressing issue in light of recent anthropogenic impacts on the Amazonian forest system.</p>","PeriodicalId":11484,"journal":{"name":"Ecology","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.70059","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143595226","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}