Ecology Letters最新文献

Recent and Rapid Assembly of an Island Species–Area Relationship Threatened by Human Disturbance 受人类干扰威胁的岛屿物种-区域关系的近期快速集合

IF 8.8 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-06 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70222

Luiz Jardim de Queiroz, Timothy J. Alexander, Daniela Achleitner, Martin Luger, Hubert Gassner, Carmela J. Doenz, Soraya Villalba, Lukas Rüber, Rampal S. Etienne, Luis Valente, Ole Seehausen

{"title":"Recent and Rapid Assembly of an Island Species–Area Relationship Threatened by Human Disturbance","authors":"Luiz Jardim de Queiroz, Timothy J. Alexander, Daniela Achleitner, Martin Luger, Hubert Gassner, Carmela J. Doenz, Soraya Villalba, Lukas Rüber, Rampal S. Etienne, Luis Valente, Ole Seehausen","doi":"10.1111/ele.70222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70222","url":null,"abstract":"The island species–area relationship (ISAR) describes how larger islands support more species. ISARs of isolated oceanic archipelagos, assembled over millions of years, typically show positive relationships, steep slopes, and species richness equilibrium. However, it remains unclear how quickly such characteristics emerge. We compiled a dataset for fish communities of 79 postglacial peri‐Alpine lakes and report an ISAR, formed de novo in less than 15,000 years, that partially mirrors older systems, but has an asymptotic shape. Immigration and speciation, the main ISAR drivers, are primarily associated with area and depth, respectively. Immigration increases with area, while speciation is promoted by greater depth, likely due to species depletion in the source pool and ecological constraints on speciation. This young ISAR has been reshaped by anthropogenic activities, with species introductions erasing its asymptotic shape. We demonstrate that ISARs can develop rapidly after insular habitat formation, offering insights into patterns of biodiversity assembly.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"113 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Belowground Communities in Lowlands Are Less Stable to Heat Extremes Across Seasons 低地的地下社区在不同季节对极端高温的反应不太稳定。

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-03 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70225

Gerard Martínez-De León, Ludovico Formenti, Jörg-Alfred Salamon, Madhav P. Thakur

{"title":"Belowground Communities in Lowlands Are Less Stable to Heat Extremes Across Seasons","authors":"Gerard Martínez-De León, Ludovico Formenti, Jörg-Alfred Salamon, Madhav P. Thakur","doi":"10.1111/ele.70225","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70225","url":null,"abstract":"Ecological responses to climate extremes vary drastically in different spatiotemporal contexts. Here, we investigate how soil communities at high- and low-elevation sites respond to extreme heat events in different seasons (spring, summer and autumn). We simulated 1-week heat events based on site-specific climatic history in laboratory experiments using 360 field-collected soil cores and measured the resistance and recovery of two major groups of soil biota: Collembola and fungi. We found that Collembola communities from low elevations exhibited the lowest resistance to extreme heat in spring and summer, with full recovery occurring primarily in spring soils. Fungal communities remained generally stable, though pathogens increased their relative abundances following summer heat events. Network analysis revealed increased connectance of negative associations between Collembola and fungi in response to extreme heat. We provide experimental evidence for how heat events can restructure and destabilise ecological communities depending on spatiotemporal contexts like elevation and seasonality.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70225","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145209125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Marine Benthic Community Assembly Is Taxonomically Stochastic but Functionally Deterministic in a Dynamic Coastal Sea 动态沿海海洋底栖生物群落组合在分类上是随机的，但在功能上是确定的。

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-02 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70228

Milenka Sloots, Oscar Franken, Kasper J. Meijer, Tjisse van der Heide, Laura L. Govers, Han Olff

{"title":"Marine Benthic Community Assembly Is Taxonomically Stochastic but Functionally Deterministic in a Dynamic Coastal Sea","authors":"Milenka Sloots, Oscar Franken, Kasper J. Meijer, Tjisse van der Heide, Laura L. Govers, Han Olff","doi":"10.1111/ele.70228","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70228","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the balance between deterministic and stochastic processes in community assembly is crucial for interpreting ecological community dynamics. Moreover, it provides perspective for conservation and management actions, as deterministic processes can be subject to targeted interventions, but stochastic processes are less manageable. Through a spatially explicit macrozoobenthic monitoring campaign consisting of 1323 sampling locations in the Dutch Wadden Sea, we examined the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes, including the role of hydrodynamic disturbance gradients. We found species-based community assembly to be mainly driven by stochastic processes, while trait-based assembly was more deterministic and environmentally driven. Environmental disturbance levels minimally affected the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic processes. For coastal benthic ecosystems, we therefore recommend management actions to target specific desired functional groups rather than specific changes in community composition.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70228","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145209328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Double Trouble: Aquatic Invasive Plants Can Promote Mosquitoes 双重麻烦：水生入侵植物会滋生蚊子。

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70199

Tressia Chikodza, Ross N. Cuthbert, Maarten Schrama, Julie Coetzee, Ryan Wasserman, Michiel P. Veldhuis, Emily F. Strange

{"title":"Double Trouble: Aquatic Invasive Plants Can Promote Mosquitoes","authors":"Tressia Chikodza, Ross N. Cuthbert, Maarten Schrama, Julie Coetzee, Ryan Wasserman, Michiel P. Veldhuis, Emily F. Strange","doi":"10.1111/ele.70199","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70199","url":null,"abstract":"Human activities continue to facilitate biological invasions, profoundly impacting our environment and economy. Plants and insects constitute the majority of invasions to date, with facilitative links established between them, particularly in terrestrial habitats. These relationships remain understudied in aquatic environments, including potential associations between aquatic invasive plants and disease vectors such as mosquitoes. Here, we synthesise current knowledge on the co-occurrence of aquatic invasive plants and mosquitoes, identify key research gaps and present a conceptual framework underpinned by testable hypotheses on how aquatic invasive plants may influence immature and adult mosquito populations. We provide evidence suggesting that these plant-mosquito relationships could pose previously unrecognised risks and highlight priority areas for future research to better understand the potential public health implications of aquatic plant invasions. We call for targeted in situ and ex situ investigations to test the proposed hypotheses and increase our understanding of the interactions between aquatic invasive plants and mosquito population dynamics. Testing these hypotheses will inform adaptive, evidence-based management strategies to simultaneously control aquatic invasive species and vector mosquitoes.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70199","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Ecological Niche Structure and the Interactive Role of Leaf-Nosed Bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) Within Frugivory Networks: Another Dimension of the Niche Centroid Hypothesis 生态位结构及其在果巢网络中的相互作用：生态位质心假说的另一个维度。

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70221

Alejandro R. Villa, Diana M. Ochoa-Sanz, Fabricio Villalobos, M. Cristina MacSwiney G., Octavio Rojas-Soto, Wesley Dáttilo

{"title":"Ecological Niche Structure and the Interactive Role of Leaf-Nosed Bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) Within Frugivory Networks: Another Dimension of the Niche Centroid Hypothesis","authors":"Alejandro R. Villa, Diana M. Ochoa-Sanz, Fabricio Villalobos, M. Cristina MacSwiney G., Octavio Rojas-Soto, Wesley Dáttilo","doi":"10.1111/ele.70221","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70221","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 Numerous studie have explored the factors shaping species' roles within ecological networks, but little is known about how these roles vary across communities. Climatic niche suitability has been proposed as a key driver of this variation, yet evidence is scarce, especially for bats. Here, we tested whether bat populations in areas with higher climatic suitability play more interactive roles within frugivory networks in the American tropics. Our first analyses revealed positive associations for four species and a negative one for another; however, these relationships were no longer statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Despite this, effect sizes and relationship directions remained consistent, suggesting meaningful ecological patterns. This study offers a new framework for studying how climatic factors influence species' roles in networks. Our findings provide insights into how environmental factors shape biotic interactions and highlight the importance of climate as a driver of community dynamics.\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Fission-Fusion Group Dynamics and Cooperative Hunting Stabilise Social Carnivore Populations 裂变-融合群体动态和合作狩猎稳定了群居食肉动物种群。

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70211

J. M. Fryxell, S. Mduma, J. Masoy, J. Grant C. Hopcraft, A. R. E. Sinclair, R. Dejeante, C. Packer

{"title":"Fission-Fusion Group Dynamics and Cooperative Hunting Stabilise Social Carnivore Populations","authors":"J. M. Fryxell, S. Mduma, J. Masoy, J. Grant C. Hopcraft, A. R. E. Sinclair, R. Dejeante, C. Packer","doi":"10.1111/ele.70211","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70211","url":null,"abstract":"Theory suggests that large social groups of carnivores should be unsustainable, due to reduced foraging efficiency because of overlapping perception radii. Using Serengeti lions as a case study, we apply behaviourally based foraging models to show that fragmentation of social groups into smaller subgroups or mutual cooperation during hunting are both plausible hypothetical mechanisms capable of sustaining larger lion prides. Data from the Serengeti ecosystem demonstrate that lion prides typically fragment into small hunting groups that are well approximated by an exponential distribution of group sizes typical of fission-fusion social systems. A model linking fission-fusion group dynamics with predator–prey interaction predicts both the surprising degree of population stability of the Serengeti lions as well as the long-term persistence of large prides. There is little evidence, however, that Serengeti lions cooperate during hunting except when they hunt Cape buffalo, so fission-fusion is apparently the dominant stabilising process in Serengeti.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70211","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

The Imbalance of Nature: The Role of Species Environmental Responses for Community Stability 自然失衡：物种环境响应对群落稳定的作用

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70224

Francesco Polazzo, Til Hämmig, Owen L. Petchey, Frank Pennekamp

{"title":"The Imbalance of Nature: The Role of Species Environmental Responses for Community Stability","authors":"Francesco Polazzo, Til Hämmig, Owen L. Petchey, Frank Pennekamp","doi":"10.1111/ele.70224","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70224","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding stability is crucial for predicting ecological responses to environmental fluctuations. While the diversity-stability relationship is well studied, the role of species' fundamental responses remains underexplored. We investigate how the distribution of species' fundamental responses, captured by a novel metric—imbalance—drives community stability through asynchrony and population stability. Using a protist microcosm experiment, we manipulated species richness and response distributions (defined as interspecific variation in species performance curves) under fluctuating temperature at different nutrient concentrations. Results show that lower imbalance leads to higher temporal stability, while richness has no effect. Structural equation modelling revealed that asynchrony and population stability explain 90% of the variation in stability. Imbalance estimated from monocultures predicted community stability, suggesting that fundamental species responses drove community stability. This study offers new insights into the responses of ecological systems to environmental change.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70224","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Remote-Control Science in Ecology: A Hidden Face of Scientific Neocolonialism 生态学中的遥控科学：科学新殖民主义的隐藏面孔。

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70227

Wesley Dáttilo, Tlacaelel Rivera-Núñez

{"title":"Remote-Control Science in Ecology: A Hidden Face of Scientific Neocolonialism","authors":"Wesley Dáttilo, Tlacaelel Rivera-Núñez","doi":"10.1111/ele.70227","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70227","url":null,"abstract":"While parachute and helicopter science have been condemned for marginalizing researchers from the Global South, we argue that a new practice, which we call “remote-control science”, is becoming increasingly common. In this model, researchers frequently based in the Global North retain decision-making power over questions, methods, funding, and publications without being physically present in the study sites. Local collaborators, despite leading fieldwork, are often relegated to marginal roles with limited resources and authorship recognition. Remote-control science is especially evident in large-scale and macroecological studies, where global datasets are rapidly assembled while local knowledge and validation are overlooked. These dynamics are not limited to North–South relations: they also occur within and between countries, when well-funded scientific urban institutions overshadow peripheral ones. We identify the risks of this practice and propose actions to promote more equitable collaborations: early involvement, recognition of local knowledge, fair authorship, capacity building, and improved funding. Confronting remote-control science is essential for decolonizing ecology.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70227","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0

Cover Image, Volume 28, Issue 9 封面图片，第28卷，第9期

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-09-25 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70226

Wenjing Zeng, M. Luke McCormack, Yun Lyu, Yuanxin Liu, Huijie Gan, Shaopeng Wang, Lingcai Kong, Liang Li, Zeqing Ma

引用次数: 0

Gene Family Expansions Provide Molecular Flexibility Required for Context-Dependent Species Interactions 基因家族扩展提供了环境依赖物种相互作用所需的分子灵活性

IF 7.9 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-09-22 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70213

Damian J. Hernandez, Gwendolyn B. Pohlmann, Michelle E. Afkhami

{"title":"Gene Family Expansions Provide Molecular Flexibility Required for Context-Dependent Species Interactions","authors":"Damian J. Hernandez, Gwendolyn B. Pohlmann, Michelle E. Afkhami","doi":"10.1111/ele.70213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70213","url":null,"abstract":"As environments worldwide change at unprecedented rates during the Anthropocene, understanding context dependency—how species interactions vary depending on environmental context—is crucial. Combining comparative genomics across 42 angiosperms with transcriptomics, genome-wide association mapping and gene duplication origin analyses, we show for the first time that gene family expansions are important to context-dependent regulation of species interactions. Gene families expanded in mycorrhizal fungi-associating plants display up to 200% more context-dependent gene expression and double the genetic variation associated with mycorrhizal benefits to plant fitness. Moreover, we discover these gene family expansions arise primarily from tandem duplications with > 2-times more tandem duplications genome-wide, indicating gene family expansions continuously supply genetic variation, allowing fine-tuning of context dependency in species interactions throughout plant evolution. Taken together, our results spotlight how widespread gene duplications can provide molecular flexibility required for plant–microbial interactions to match changing environmental conditions.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70213","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145111156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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}

引用次数: 0