Ecology Letters最新文献_第4页

Correction to “The importance of neutral over niche processes in structuring Ediacaran early animal communities” 更正“在构造埃迪卡拉纪早期动物群落中中性过程对生态位过程的重要性”

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-21 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70048

引用次数: 0

Causal Inference With Observational Data and Unobserved Confounding Variables 用观察数据和未观察到的混杂变量进行因果推断

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-21 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70023

Jarrett E. K. Byrnes, Laura E. Dee

{"title":"Causal Inference With Observational Data and Unobserved Confounding Variables","authors":"Jarrett E. K. Byrnes, Laura E. Dee","doi":"10.1111/ele.70023","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70023","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Experiments have long been the gold standard for causal inference in Ecology. As Ecology tackles progressively larger problems, however, we are moving beyond the scales at which randomised controlled experiments are feasible. To answer causal questions at scale, we need to also use observational data —something Ecologists tend to view with great scepticism. The major challenge using observational data for causal inference is confounding variables: variables affecting both a causal variable and response of interest. Unmeasured confounders—known or unknown—lead to statistical bias, creating spurious correlations and masking true causal relationships. To combat this omitted variable bias, other disciplines have developed rigorous approaches for causal inference from observational data that flexibly control for broad suites of confounding variables. We show how ecologists can harness some of these methods—causal diagrams to identify confounders coupled with nested sampling and statistical designs—to reduce risks of omitted variable bias. Using an example of estimating warming effects on snails, we show how current methods in Ecology (e.g., mixed models) produce incorrect inferences due to omitted variable bias and how alternative methods can eliminate it, improving causal inferences with weaker assumptions. Our goal is to expand tools for causal inference using observational and imperfect experimental data in Ecology.</p>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142991151","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

A Continuum From Positive to Negative Interactions Drives Plant Species' Performance in a Diverse Community 一个连续的从积极到消极的相互作用驱动植物物种的表现在一个多样化的群落

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-21 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70059

Lisa Buche, Lauren G. Shoemaker, Lauren M. Hallett, Ignasi Bartomeus, Peter Vesk, Christopher Weiss-Lehman, Margaret Mayfield, Oscar Godoy

{"title":"A Continuum From Positive to Negative Interactions Drives Plant Species' Performance in a Diverse Community","authors":"Lisa Buche, Lauren G. Shoemaker, Lauren M. Hallett, Ignasi Bartomeus, Peter Vesk, Christopher Weiss-Lehman, Margaret Mayfield, Oscar Godoy","doi":"10.1111/ele.70059","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70059","url":null,"abstract":"<p>With many species interacting in nature, determining which interactions describe community dynamics is nontrivial. By applying a computational modeling approach to an extensive field survey, we assessed the importance of interactions from plants (both inter- and intra-specific), pollinators and insect herbivores on plant performance (i.e., viable seed production). We compared the inclusion of interaction effects as aggregate guild-level terms versus terms specific to taxonomic groups. We found that a continuum from positive to negative interactions, containing mostly guild-level effects and a few strong taxonomic-specific effects, was sufficient to describe plant performance. While interactions with herbivores and intraspecific plants varied from weakly negative to weakly positive, heterospecific plants mainly promoted competition and pollinators facilitated plants. The consistency of these empirical findings over 3 years suggests that including the guild-level effects and a few taxonomic-specific groups rather than all pairwise and high-order interactions, can be sufficient for accurately describing species variation in plant performance across natural communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70059","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142991152","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

High Capacity for Physiological Plasticity Occurs at a Slow Rate in Ectotherms 高生理可塑性在变温动物中以缓慢的速度发生

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70046

Tim Burton, Sigurd Einum

引用次数: 0

Foundations and Future Directions for Causal Inference in Ecological Research 生态学研究中因果推理的基础与未来方向

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70053

Katherine Siegel, Laura E. Dee

{"title":"Foundations and Future Directions for Causal Inference in Ecological Research","authors":"Katherine Siegel, Laura E. Dee","doi":"10.1111/ele.70053","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70053","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Ecology often seeks to answer causal questions, and while ecologists have a rich history of experimental approaches, novel observational data streams and the need to apply insights across naturally occurring conditions pose opportunities and challenges. Other fields have developed causal inference approaches that can enhance and expand our ability to answer ecological causal questions using observational or experimental data. However, the lack of comprehensive resources applying causal inference to ecological settings and jargon from multiple disciplines creates barriers. We introduce approaches for causal inference, discussing the main frameworks for counterfactual causal inference, how causal inference differs from other research aims and key challenges; the application of causal inference in experimental and quasi-experimental study designs; appropriate interpretation of the results of causal inference approaches given their assumptions and biases; foundational papers; and the data requirements and trade-offs between internal and external validity posed by different designs. We highlight that these designs generally prioritise internal validity over generalisability. Finally, we identify opportunities and considerations for ecologists to further integrate causal inference with synthesis science and meta-analysis and expand the spatiotemporal scales at which causal inference is possible. We advocate for ecology as a field to collectively define best practices for causal inference.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70053","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142990599","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

Trees First Inhibit Then Promote Litter Decomposition in the Subarctic 在亚北极地区，树木先抑制后促进凋落物分解

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70063

Micael Jonsson, Karina E. Clemmensen, Carles Castaño, Thomas C. Parker

{"title":"Trees First Inhibit Then Promote Litter Decomposition in the Subarctic","authors":"Micael Jonsson, Karina E. Clemmensen, Carles Castaño, Thomas C. Parker","doi":"10.1111/ele.70063","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70063","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Trees affect organic matter decomposition through allocation of recently fixed carbon belowground, but the magnitude and direction of this effect may depend on substrate type and decomposition stage. Here, we followed mass loss, chemical composition and fungal colonisation of leaf and root litters incubated in mountain birch forests over 4 years, in plots where belowground carbon allocation was severed by tree girdling or in control plots. Initially, girdling stimulated leaf and root litter mass loss by 12% and 22%, respectively, suggesting competitive release of saprotrophic decomposition when tree-mediated competition by ectomycorrhizal fungi was eliminated (Gadgil effect). After 4 years, girdling instead hampered mass loss of root litter by 30%, suggesting late-stage priming of decomposition in the presence of trees, in parallel with increased growth of shrubs and associated fungi following tree elimination. Hence, different mechanisms driving early- and late-stage litter decomposition should be considered in climate-feedback evaluations of plant–soil interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70063","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142990598","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

Weaker Plant-Frugivore Trait Matching Towards the Tropics and on Islands 热带和岛屿上较弱的植物-果食性性状匹配

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70061

Xiao Huang, Bo Dalsgaard, Si-Chong Chen

{"title":"Weaker Plant-Frugivore Trait Matching Towards the Tropics and on Islands","authors":"Xiao Huang, Bo Dalsgaard, Si-Chong Chen","doi":"10.1111/ele.70061","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70061","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biotic interactions play an important role in species diversification and maintenance and, thus, are regarded as the architecture of biodiversity. Since Darwin and Wallace, biologists have debated whether biotic interactions are stronger towards the tropics and on continents, when compared to temperate regions and islands. Here, based on 354 avian frugivory networks accounting for 22,199 interactions between 1247 bird species and 2126 plant species, we quantified trait matching strength, which reflects interaction strength and specificity, across gradients of latitude and insularity globally. We found that matching between beak size and fruit size was significantly stronger towards the poles and on continents, when compared with the tropics and on islands. As underlining ecological factors, trait matching was stronger with a larger proportion of frugivory (measured as the mean proportion of fruits in bird diets) and network-level mean beak size, and with a smaller proportion of fleshy-fruited species (measured as the proportion of fleshy-fruited plant species in the botanical country where the network was located). These findings suggest that the latitudinal and insular patterns in trait matching are driven by biotic factors that may relate to trait co-evolution between interacting species and optimal foraging for bird species.</p>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70061","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142990597","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

Continuous Abrupt Vegetation Shifts in the Global Terrestrial Ecosystem 全球陆地生态系统中连续的植被突变

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70069

Maohong Wei, Shengpeng Li, Lin Zhu, Xueqiang Lu, Hongyuan Li, Jianfeng Feng

引用次数: 0

Impacts of Weather Anomalies and Climate on Plant Disease 天气异常和气候对植物病害的影响

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70062

Devin Kirk, Jeremy M. Cohen, Vianda Nguyen, Marissa L. Childs, Johannah E. Farner, T. Jonathan Davies, S. Luke Flory, Jason R. Rohr, Mary I. O'Connor, Erin A. Mordecai

{"title":"Impacts of Weather Anomalies and Climate on Plant Disease","authors":"Devin Kirk, Jeremy M. Cohen, Vianda Nguyen, Marissa L. Childs, Johannah E. Farner, T. Jonathan Davies, S. Luke Flory, Jason R. Rohr, Mary I. O'Connor, Erin A. Mordecai","doi":"10.1111/ele.70062","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70062","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Predicting the effects of climate change on plant disease is critical for protecting ecosystems and food production. Here, we show how disease pressure responds to short-term weather, historical climate and weather anomalies by compiling a global database (4339 plant–disease populations) of disease prevalence in both agricultural and wild plant systems. We hypothesised that weather and climate would play a larger role in disease in wild versus agricultural plant populations, which the results supported. In wild systems, disease prevalence peaked when the temperature was 2.7°C warmer than the historical average for the same time of year. We also found evidence of a negative interactive effect between weather anomalies and climate in wild systems, consistent with the idea that climate maladaptation can be an important driver of disease outbreaks. Temperature and precipitation had relatively little explanatory power in agricultural systems, though we observed a significant positive effect of current temperature. These results indicate that disease pressure in wild plants is sensitive to nonlinear effects of weather, weather anomalies and their interaction with historical climate. In contrast, warmer temperatures drove risks for agricultural plant disease outbreaks within the temperature range examined regardless of historical climate, suggesting vulnerability to ongoing climate change.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70062","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142990601","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

Additive Effects of Multiple Global Change Factors on Plant Invasions Are Common 多种全球变化因子对植物入侵的加性效应是常见的

IF 7.6 1区环境科学与生态学

Ecology Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-17 DOI: 10.1111/ele.70057

Xiong Shi, Yanjie Liu, Mark van Kleunen

引用次数: 0