Oecologia最新文献

{"title":"Co-occurring congeners coordinate drought and shade tolerance traits along gradients of canopy openness.","authors":"Sam W Anderson, Jackson Cramer, Katherine A McCulloh","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05950-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05950-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Physiological traits related to water status and photosynthesis biophysically link plant performance to environmental conditions like light and water availability. By approaching the concept of species' niches from a trait-based perspective, physiological traits can be used to characterize how trait syndromes diverge to limit direct resource competition and promote resource partitioning in sympatric species. Such traits could also inform broader studies of changing community composition in an era of drastic shifts in climate or disturbance regimes. However, the extent of inter/intraspecies trait variation and how such traits vary along local environmental gradients remains an open question in understanding physiological traits as species-level characteristics. To address this, we quantified hydraulic and gas exchange traits in four co-occurring Viburnum species while also quantifying local canopy coverage and soil conditions. All species displayed significant variation in gas-exchange traits, turgor loss point, and heavy carbon isotope discrimination along gradients of canopy openness. Specifically, plants in shadier environments exhibited higher photosynthetic rates at low light levels while individuals growing in gaps demonstrated higher drought tolerance and stricter stomatal regulation. Soil texture explained little variation in traits assessed. V. acerifolium displayed a more conservative, shade-tolerant trait syndrome, yet little significant difference was found in traits between the congeners, highlighting the potentially limited resolution of physiological traits to differentiate trait syndromes of closely related, co-occurring species.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13457493/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148707351","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":"Metabarcoding reveals the dietary diversity and food web structure of spider functional guilds in a highly diverse subtropical forest.","authors":"Jingting Chen, Mingqiang Wang, Arong Luo, Zhe Zhao, Feng Zhang, Douglas Chesters, Xiaoyu Shi, Andreas Schuldt, Chaodong Zhu","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05956-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05956-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Predator-prey interactions are key to regulating lower trophic levels and stabilizing ecosystem processes. Therefore, understanding prey selection and prey composition of predators is essential, yet especially the small size and diverse diets of predatory arthropods present a significant challenge to conventional field methods. Here, we employed DNA metabarcoding on gut contents of over 1500 arboreal spiders in a subtropical forest in China to construct a high-resolution spider-prey interaction network. Subsequently, we compared prey diversity, composition, starvation rates, and network metrics (predator niche overlap, generality, and prey vulnerability) across different spider hunting guilds and families. Our results revealed an exceptionally broad diet for these spiders, with spiders themselves constituting a significant proportion of prey (i.e. spider on spider predation), besides a wide range of insects, particularly flies and moths. Although, prey composition was broadly similar at high taxonomic levels and functional groups, distinct dietary partitioning was evident at lower (MOTU) taxonomic level. Interaction networks revealed a broader and more generalized diet spectrum of active-hunters compared to web-builders, which resulted in higher diet overlap within the hunting guild (high prey vulnerability and niche overlap). However, network metrics for active hunters were lower than null expectations, suggesting a structuring role of intraspecific competition, while web-builders displayed greater random associations, possibly reflective of the passive mode of prey capture. Collectively, our study offers a high-resolution overview of the dietary niches of subtropical arboreal spiders, revealing how hunting mode shapes their ecological impact and providing significant implications for leveraging these predators in biological control strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13451308/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148685368","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":"Pollination niche overlap contributes to the maintenance of rare flowering species in alpine grasslands.","authors":"Ting Yang, Cheng Bi, Gerardo Arceo-Gómez, Anton Pauw, Erliang Gao, Yuxian Wang, Zhigang Zhao","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05954-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05954-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pollinator-mediated interactions shape the assembly and diversity of plant communities reliant on animal pollination. Such interactions can provide rare species with fitness advantages through facilitation while increasing intraspecific competition among abundant species. However, the roles of pollination generalisation and pollinator sharing in these dynamics remain unclear. To address this, we examined how plant rarity and pollination niche structure (breadth and overlap) influence pollination outcomes across 44 co-flowering species in Qinghai-Tibetan alpine grasslands. We measured plant abundance, floral traits, pollinator visitation, stigmatic pollen deposition, and seed production. Our results showed that rarer species exhibited broader pollination niches and greater niche overlap with co-flowering species, both associated with higher visitation and increased pollination outcomes. Pollination niche overlap, enhanced by greater floral trait similarity, emerged as a key mechanism promoting the persistence of rarer species through pollinator-mediated facilitation. Furthermore, asymmetric facilitation allowed rarer species to gain disproportionate conspecific pollen while abundant species experienced stronger intraspecific competition. Together, these results show that trait-mediated pollinator sharing enhances the persistence of rare species in pollinator-limited ecosystems and contributes to the maintenance of plant diversity.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148685346","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":"Northern Bobwhite roost site selection influences survival during the non-breeding season.","authors":"Justin N Hill, Emily B McCallen, James A Martin","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05952-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05952-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A key assumption of the ideal free distribution theory is that animals select resources based on environmental cues that maximize fitness, thereby facilitating natural selection within a population. Habitat management and conservation practices are commonly based on results of resource selection models with the assumption that selection and fitness are correlated. This is concerning given that this critical assumption has been demonstrably violated in certain systems, where animals select resources that ultimately reduce vital rates. We studied how nocturnal habitat selection of 6 common landcover types influenced survival rates of Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) on public lands in southern Indiana, USA during the non-breeding season. We found that selection for woody cover had a positive effect on survival rates. Our results suggest that ideal free distribution is facilitated in this system by minimizing predation risk through the use of woody roosting cover. To develop more comprehensive knowledge on habitat selection for species, studies should examine the effects that selection has on one or more vital rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13451445/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148685431","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":"Maternal carryover drives post-weaning survival of juveniles in a long-lived mammal.","authors":"Tayler N LaSharr, Rhiannon P Jakopak, Taylor O Wagstaff, Rebekah T Rafferty, Samantha P H Dwinnell, Jill Randall, Cheyenne Stewart, Rusty C Kaiser, Mark Thonhoff, Brandon Scurlock, Troy Fieseler, Gary L Fralick, Kevin L Monteith","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05953-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05953-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The decisions and conditions of animals often carry over to influence fitness in subsequent seasons or years. The condition, choices, and behaviors of parents may have a huge influence on offspring survival, not only when they are nutritionally dependent (i.e., pre-weaning or pre-fledgling), but also after they have reached independence but before adulthood (i.e., post-weaning or post-fledgling). Using a long-lived, iteroparous mammal, we evaluated the hypothesis that carryover effects of a mother's condition (i.e., age and nutritional condition) and her behavior and decisions during the first few months of her offspring's life will influence survival of juvenile deer after they reach nutritional independence-during their first migration and their first winter. Age of a mother and mass of her neonates at birth influenced if her offspring survived their first winter; mothers who were young or had high body fat produced offspring that were more likely to survive winter. Moreover, mothers could improve overwinter survival of their offspring by delaying the initiation of their autumn migration. Internal characteristics (i.e., body fat and age) and decisions of parents during their offspring's first year of life carried over to influence survival of those juveniles after they become nutritionally independent. Juvenile animals still carry the costs and face the consequences of their mother's decisions well into the period of their independence. The influence of parental characteristics on offspring survival once independent demonstrates the importance of considering how environmental and behavioral characteristics influence survival across generations.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13451305/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148685343","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":"Variation in resistance and survival of the European bitterling fish across a gradient of Sinanodonta woodiana expansion.","authors":"Abhishek Nair Anil, Dariusz Halabowski, Kacper Pyrzanowski, Grzegorz Zięba, Joanna Grabowska, Carl Smith, Karel Douda, Martin Reichard","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05945-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05945-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biological invasions impose new selective pressures on native species, prompting rapid evolutionary responses. We examined how the parasitic larvae (glochidia) of the invasive East Asian mussel Sinanodonta woodiana affect European bitterling fish (Rhodeus amarus) populations with different histories of exposure to the parasite (none, 15 years, or 40 + years). Glochidia parasitise fish fins and gills, and bitterling are especially vulnerable to parasitism due to their spawning association with mussels. In a common garden experiment, we found the lowest glochidia load in bitterling from populations with the longest association with S. woodiana, indicating evolved resistance. While infection reduced swimming capacity proportionally to parasite load, this effect was not affected by exposure history. However, post-infection mortality was highest in naïve and lowest in long-associated populations. No negative long-term effects on survival, growth, condition, or reproduction were observed, suggesting fitness costs are concentrated shortly after infection. These results show that novel host-parasite interactions during invasions can drive rapid adaptive change, emphasising the need to consider evolutionary dynamics in invasion management.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148648901","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":"Far-red light enhances photosynthesis in the shade-adapted old forest lichen Lobaria pulmonaria.","authors":"Knut Asbjørn Solhaug, Krisilnta Kaimakou, Dhanushka Niroshani Herath Ekanayake, Nieves Solera Guerrero, Yngvar Gauslaa","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05942-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05942-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Far-red (FR) light (700-750 nm) is strongly enriched beneath forest canopies, but its impact on photosynthesis in shade-adapted lichens is not well understood. We investigated the role of FR light in photosynthesis of Lobaria pulmonaria, an oldforest cephalolichen. Spectral measurements showed that FR photons contributed up to 32% of the extended photosynthetic photon flux density (ePPFD; 400-750 nm) under the canopy, compared to only 11% in open areas. Gas exchange data showed that FR light alone supported moderate CO₂ uptake, but photosynthetic rates increased markedly when 50-100% FR was combined with background red light (R), demonstrating the Emerson enhancement effect. When comparing absorbed photons, FR light was even more efficient than R. Chlorophyll fluorescence data indicated that conventional electron transport rate (ETR) calculations often overestimate photosynthetic activity under high FR, underscoring the need for improved methods. These results suggest that FR light is crucial for lichen growth and survival in shaded forests. We recommend using ePPFD sensors in ecological studies to more accurately quantify relevant light availability for photosynthetic organisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13427912/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148648904","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":"Are there choices in the darkness? habitat selection and environmental filtering shape invertebrate communities in semi-arid caves.","authors":"Vitor Gabriel Pereira Junta, Marconi Souza-Silva, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05940-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05940-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Habitat selection governs subterranean organism distributions, where environmental gradients and restricted resources impose strong constraints, suggesting many cave-dwelling species respond primarily to fine-scale microhabitat variation rather than broad spatial patterns. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examined environmental drivers of invertebrate richness and community composition across 24 limestone caves in a tropical semi-arid region. Adopting a multi-scale framework, we quantified landscape attributes, cave-level habitat features, and local microhabitat conditions, recording 336 invertebrate species representing 40 orders and 106 families, including 38 obligate subterranean taxa. Our findings demonstrate that these communities are governed by a hierarchy of localized environmental filters, while regional spatial processes exert a negligible footprint. At the mesoscale, cave identity and internal sectors heavily determine community composition, overriding geographic distance and maintaining high species turnover. Across internal gradients, non-troglobitic and troglobitic fauna display an inverse spatial sorting between scales. For non-troglobitic communities, species richness declines sharply toward deeper zones, a negative effect intensified at the microscale where these organisms respond positively to trophic resource availability. Conversely, obligate troglobitic richness is constrained by moisture availability at the mesoscale but becomes solely and positively driven by distance from the entrance at the microscale, as specialized species track deep, buffered microhabitats to avoid competitive interactions in high-energy zones. Together, our results confirm that niche-based environmental filtering structures these assemblages, positioning each cave as an ecologically singular unit. Consequently, Brazilian environmental licensing cannot rely on regional offsetting, since individual caves are not ecological substitutes, and fine-scale inventories are critical to prevent biodiversity loss.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13424313/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148631125","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":"Lack of behavioral response of a native crayfish to the invasive predatory swamp eel.","authors":"Brandon A Güell, Nathan J Dorn","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05941-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05941-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Invasive predators are globally pervasive and frequently drive ecological disruption, yet the mechanisms underlying extreme prey vulnerability often remain unclear. Prey that fail to recognize or appropriately respond to novel predators may experience disproportionality high mortality. In the Florida Everglades, the recent invasion of the Asian Swamp eel (Monopterus albus/javanensis) has been associated with rapid collapse of slough crayfish (Procambarus fallax), and other prey of nesting wading birds. We assessed the behaviors of slough crayfish exposed to either a common native predator, warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) or invasive Asian swamp eels. Consistent with established antipredator responses of aquatic invertebrates facing visually oriented fish predators, crayfish reduced their movement, increased spatial avoidance, and decreased feeding in the presence of warmouth. In contrast, crayfish exhibited limited or no response to swamp eels. Naïve crayfish from invaded and uninvaded wetlands showed similar responses to the different fish predators, suggesting limited recognition/responsiveness despite > 10 generations of exposure to eels. Laboratory observations of predation by swamp eels suggest that slough crayfish may face a behavioral trade-off, with native predators selecting for cryptic lifestyles while coexistence with swamp eels favors more movement and active escape responses. Our results provide an initial assessment of behavioral mechanisms that may help explain crayfish population collapses following swamp eel invasion in the Everglades, are consistent with a hypothesis of prey naiveté, and suggest that historical selective pressures and/or constraints from conflicting predation modes may represent an overlooked mechanism in studies of predator-prey dynamics involving invasive species.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13424548/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148631185","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":"Offset or not: guidance on accounting for sampling effort when modelling abundance data.","authors":"James A Smith","doi":"10.1007/s00442-026-05944-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00442-026-05944-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ecological data are often dependent on sampling effort, such as counts measured per unit area. Such data come from monitoring programs across ecology and fisheries (e.g. point counts, camera and trap surveys, fishery sampling), and underpin abundance indices, species distribution models, and often management decisions. A common tool to account for effort differences is the 'offset term' in generalized linear models, enforcing fixed proportionality between effort and the response. However, detailed guidance is limited on applying offsets and transformations, or when an effort covariate is preferable. This article reviews approaches for modelling sampling effort in regression analyses, provides best-practice recommendations, and uses simulation to examine performance of alternative parameterisations across scenarios. Offsets of log-transformed effort are preferable when proportionality is strongly supported, guaranteeing proportionality and avoiding misspecification bias. When deviation from proportionality is possible (which may be common), effort should be included as a log-transformed covariate, ideally a constrained smoother, to allow estimation of non-linear or saturated relationships. The choice between offset and covariate also depends on modelling aims: offsets support standardisation, whereas covariates enable inference on effort effects. In delta or hurdle models, effort covariates are useful because offsets have different interpretations across model components. Additional considerations include multiple effort variables, collinearity, endogeneity (when effort responds to abundance), and species-specific responses in multi-species models. Rather than modelling effort routinely, researchers should explore the effort-response relationship (proportional, otherwise linear on the link or original scales, or non-linear), drawing on prior knowledge, practical experience, data exploration, and statistical tests.</p>","PeriodicalId":19473,"journal":{"name":"Oecologia","volume":"208 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13423905/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148631284","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}