Ecosphere最新文献

{"title":"Advancing the EcoVeg approach as a terrestrial ecosystem typology: From global biomes to local plant communities","authors":"Don Faber-Langendoen,&nbsp;David A. Keith,&nbsp;Javier Loidi,&nbsp;Eileen H. Helmer,&nbsp;Wolfgang Willner,&nbsp;Gonzalo Navarro,&nbsp;John Hunter,&nbsp;Changcheng Liu,&nbsp;Reginald T. Guuroh,&nbsp;Patricio Pliscoff","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70237","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70237","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The goal of the EcoVeg approach is to fully describe and classify the diversity of the Earth's terrestrial ecosystems based on vegetation and ecological processes. The EcoVeg approach was used to develop the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) and various national classifications, which integrate patterns of vegetation growth form, structure, and floristics with ecological and biogeographic drivers at multiple spatial scales, from global formations to local plant communities. The approach remains unique among terrestrial ecological classifications in providing types at these scales. However, as a terrestrial typology, lack of context with respect to freshwater, marine and subterranean realms limited its clarity. Further, growth forms and structure were limited to readily observable features, which excluded important functional traits. The release by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) of the Global Ecosystem Typology (GET) presented an opportunity to revisit the EcoVeg approach because GET has a conceptually robust, scalable, and spatially explicit functional approach for all of earth's ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, marine, subterranean). Here, we briefly introduce the EcoVeg approach and the GET, and then outline a biome-based revision to EcoVeg and the IVC that builds on the strengths of GET for global terrestrial types and the IVC for continental to local terrestrial types. The outcome is a revised IVC that we rename the ecosystem-based International Vegetation Classification (eIVC). As with GET, the eIVC has a conceptual foundation based on realms and transitional realms, but it focuses on the terrestrial and transitional terrestrial (wetland) realms. It then fully implements terrestrial biome concepts across all the upper levels based on the integration of vegetation with global ecosystem processes and properties. Interoperable compatibility with GET is reflected in the fact that 84% of the global ecosystem types are largely equivalent, which facilitates the linkage of GET with the continental to local ecosystem types of the eIVC. The revisions that now form the eIVC will enhance collaborative development of ecosystem types across the globe and provide more robust opportunities for co-application of the eIVC and GET in the terrestrial realm for management, conservation, and restoration.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70237","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143939436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Neither source nor trap: Urban gardens as habitat for nonmigratory monarch butterflies in Northern California","authors":"E. Erickson,&nbsp;C. B. Schultz,&nbsp;E. E. Crone","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70259","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Urban ecosystems can act as hotspots for diverse taxa, especially pollinators. However, it is not clear whether urban environments function as high-quality habitat as opposed to demographic sinks or ecological traps. In recent years, a nonmigratory, winter-breeding population of monarch butterflies has established in urban gardens in Northern California, and there are conflicting hypotheses about whether these urban populations are beneficial or detrimental to the larger migratory monarch population. We tested whether the winter-breeding monarch butterfly population was primarily supported by the larger migratory one using monthly surveys of monarchs and milkweeds throughout urban gardens in the California East Bay. If the winter-breeding population were a trap, we expected increases in abundance and decreases in parasite prevalence to be timed with monarch migration into our study area. Demographic patterns of winter-breeding monarchs were not consistent with an influx from the migratory population. Population size was highest during summer months, when milkweed density was most abundant, not during monarch migration. Parasite loads were consistently high but increased during fall migration, in direct opposition to our prediction. During summer, monarch butterfly larva:egg ratios were lower than in other months, possibly due to predation by synanthropic species such as wasps, but predation did not prevent population growth. These demographic patterns contrast with recent studies of monarch butterflies in eastern North America. They also illustrate the importance of understanding mechanistically how species persist in urban environments and the potential of urban communities to function in novel ways as opposed to replicating natural habitat.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70259","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143930250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Responses of a large herbivore to predation risk are modulated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors","authors":"Michael S. Muthersbaugh,&nbsp;Elizabeth A. Saldo,&nbsp;Alex J. Jensen,&nbsp;Jay Cantrell,&nbsp;Charles Ruth,&nbsp;Beth E. Ross,&nbsp;John C. Kilgo,&nbsp;David S. Jachowski","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70252","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Prey species can perceive and respond to spatiotemporal variation in predation risk to increase survival. In addition to adjusting spatial and temporal activity patterns to avoid predation, prey employ other antipredator behaviors, such as vigilance and fleeing, and these behaviors can be further modulated by intrinsic, environmental, and anthropogenic factors. However, few studies simultaneously examine multiple potential antipredator behavioral responses of prey or examine prey responses to multiple scales of risk. In the southeastern United States, coyotes (<i>Canis latrans</i>) have become established as the top predator of white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) populations mainly through fawn predation, and deer adjust behaviors in response to coyotes. Using passive camera trap data from summer 2019 to 2021, we simultaneously tested for evidence that deer adjust spatial activity patterns, diel activity patterns, and vigilance behavior in response to various abiotic and biotic factors including long-term and short-term coyote encounter risk. Overall, our results suggest that deer are unable to eliminate the risk of encountering coyotes by modifying their spatial activity and thus employ other demographic-specific behavioral adaptations to reduce coyote encounter risk. Deer nursery groups were significantly more diurnal than adult males or adult female deer traveling alone, likely in an attempt to reduce predation risk for fawns. Deer nursery groups increased spatial activity but decreased vigilance at sites the day following increased wild pig (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) activity, suggesting invasive competitors have impacts on maternal behaviors in deer. Adult female deer collectively increased vigilance at sites with greater long-term coyote encounter risk, and in support of the “many-eyes” hypothesis, were less vigilant when in larger groups. Spatial activity of adult female deer traveling alone was positively related to short-term coyote encounter risk, potentially indicating coyotes seek areas with increased doe activity to help locate fawn prey. The results of our study show that behavioral responses to predators and competitors are modulated by individual state (demography), grouping behavior, and habitat features. Our study highlights the need to analyze multiple potential antipredator behaviors and multiple scales of risk to gain a more complete understanding of prey responses to risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70252","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Do olive ridley turtles select mates based on size? An investigation of mate size preference at a major arribada rookery","authors":"Ashis Kumar Das,&nbsp;Sandeep Kumar Mohapatra,&nbsp;Basudev Tripathy,&nbsp;Anshuman Swain,&nbsp;Anil Mohapatra","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70264","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We investigated mate size preferences in olive ridley sea turtles (<i>Lepidochelys olivacea</i>), one of the world's smallest and most abundant sea turtle species, using data from two years near a single mass nesting site. Even though past research has focused on many aspects of the reproductive biology of these turtles, not much is known about their mate preference and related behaviors. Our study focused on the large number of turtles that congregated for mating in nearshore waters before mass nesting. We captured, tagged, and measured 268 individuals (134 mating pairs), analyzing the correlation between male and female carapace length to test for assortative mating and found a significant positive correlation. Larger females produce more eggs, and larger males can have physical advantages during mating, and we think that these factors drive size-based assortative mating. We also observed frequent biting scar marks on females and multiple males attempting to mate with individual females, suggesting competition during mating. These findings enhance our understanding of olive ridley sea turtle mating behavior, specifically mate choice related to size.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70264","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Native and exotic Juglans nigra seedlings recruit distinct mycobiomes that differentiate with emergent disease variation","authors":"Geoffrey M. Williams,&nbsp;Matthew D. Ginzel","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70253","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Under global change, the transformation of landscapes and anthropogenic movement of organisms lead to novel biotic interactions that affect ecosystem health. A prior field-based metabarcoding survey revealed that <i>Juglans nigra</i> harbors a novel, low-diversity mycobiome outside of its native range that may contribute to the severity of thousand cankers disease (TCD), a destructive insect–disease complex affecting walnut in the western United States and Europe. The previous metabarcoding study also identified differences in mycobiome composition among plant genotypes and between naturally infected TCD-positive trees and healthy trees. In this study, seeds were germinated in the field in two locations: Martell Forest, Indiana (TCD negative) and Walla Walla, Washington (TCD positive). After one season, seedlings were transplanted to a greenhouse and inoculated with <i>Geosmithia morbida</i>, the fungal pathogen component of TCD. Fungi were isolated from roots and cankers and identified morphologically and with the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of rDNA to test the extent to which trees in the two locations recruited different mycobiomes from their environment. Stem necrosis around inoculation points was measured to assess the extent to which necrosis was influenced by distinct mycobiomes and to examine covariation between necrosis and the mycobiome. Additionally, seedlings from Walla Walla were control inoculated to evaluate the effect of inoculation on the mycobiome. Root–shoot ratio was also measured to investigate the relationship between necrotic area and belowground versus aboveground investment. Canker area was marginally higher in Walla Walla, and covariation with the root–shoot ratio was generally negative but positive in one plot in Walla Walla. Roots from inoculated seedlings from Martell Forest had distinct and marginally more diverse mycobiomes than those from Walla Walla. Root and canker mycobiomes from inoculated seedlings differed between locations and with necrotic area. Mycobiome differences between seedlings with large and small cankers were higher in Martell Forest plots with greater variability in necrotic area, whereas in Walla Walla, plots with more variable necrotic area showed smaller mycobiome differences between seedlings with large and small cankers. These findings suggest that plants in novel habitats recruit low-diversity mycobiomes that influence disease etiology.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70253","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143880039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Hyperspectral leaf reflectance of grasses varies with evolutionary lineage more than with site","authors":"Stephanie Pau,&nbsp;Ryan Slapikas,&nbsp;Che-Ling Ho,&nbsp;Shannon L. J. Bayliss,&nbsp;Ryan C. Donnelly,&nbsp;Adam Abdullahi,&nbsp;Brent R. Helliker,&nbsp;Jesse B. Nippert,&nbsp;William J. Riley,&nbsp;Christopher J. Still,&nbsp;Emily R. Wedel,&nbsp;Daniel M. Griffith","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70257","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To predict ecological responses at broad environmental scales, grass species are commonly grouped into two broad functional types based on photosynthetic pathway. However, closely related species may have distinctive anatomical and physiological attributes that influence ecological responses, beyond those related to photosynthetic pathway alone. Hyperspectral leaf reflectance can provide an integrated measure of covarying leaf traits that may result from phylogenetic trait conservatism and/or environmental conditions. Understanding whether spectra-trait relationships are lineage specific or reflect environmental variation across sites is necessary for using hyperspectral reflectance to predict plant responses to environmental changes across spatial scales. We measured hyperspectral leaf reflectance (400–2400 nm) and 12 structural, biochemical, and physiological leaf traits from five grass-dominated sites spanning the Great Plains of North America. We assessed if variation in leaf reflectance spectra among grass species is explained more by evolutionary lineage (as captured by tribes or subfamilies), photosynthetic pathway (C₃ or C₄), or site differences. We then determined whether leaf spectra can be used to predict leaf traits within and across lineages. Our results using redundancy analysis ordination (RDA) show that grass tribe identity explained more variation in leaf spectra (adjusted <i>R</i>² = 0.12) than photosynthetic pathway, which explained little variation in leaf spectra (adjusted <i>R</i>² = 0.00). Furthermore, leaf reflectance from the same tribe across multiple sites was more similar than leaf reflectance from the same site across tribes (adjusted <i>R</i>² = 0.12 and 0.08, respectively). Across all sites and species, trait predictions based on spectra ranged considerably in predictive accuracies (<i>R</i>² = 0.65 to &lt;0.01), but <i>R</i>² was &gt;0.80 for certain lineages and sites. The relationship between Vc_max, a measure of photosynthetic capacity, and spectra was particularly promising. Chloridoideae, a lineage more common at drier sites, appears to have distinct spectra-trait relationships compared with other lineages. Overall, our results show that evolutionary relatedness explains more variation in grass leaf spectra than photosynthetic pathway or site, but consideration of lineage- and site-specific trait relationships is needed to interpret spectral variation across large environmental gradients.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70257","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143880040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 type 3 functional responses just statistical apparitions?","authors":"John P. DeLong,&nbsp;Kyle E. Coblentz,&nbsp;Stella F. Uiterwaal","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70247","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Type 3 (sigmoidal) functional responses can protect rare prey from predation, but such functional responses are not often described. It is also not clear that factors that are hypothesized to promote type 3 functional responses, such as predator–prey size ratios and higher temperatures, are actually associated with type 3 curves, especially given experimental design concerns. Here, we assess support for type 2 or type 3 functional responses for a compilation of functional response experiments and evaluate the role of experimental design and biology in generating type 3 functional responses. We find that experimental design considerations generate support for type 3 models more than biological factors, and after accounting for experimental effects, both predator–prey size ratio and temperature increase the support for type 3 models, in line with predictions. However, no factor explains much variation in support for functional response type (full model <i>R</i>² = 0.08). We also show that the standard model selection cutoff for support for one model over the other is inconsistent across bootstrapped samples, indicating that support for type 3 models may emerge stochastically due to noise in foraging trial data. Finally, we suggest a more conservative approach is needed for assessing support for type 3 models.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70247","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Mapping predicted ecological states at landscape scales using remote-sensing data and machine learning","authors":"N. J. Kleist,&nbsp;C. T. Domschke,&nbsp;A. C. Knight,&nbsp;T. W. Nauman,&nbsp;M. C. Duniway,&nbsp;S. K. Carter","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70243","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Dryland ecosystems, covering 45% of the Earth's land and supporting over one-third of the global population, face significant threats from land degradation and ecological state change. Managing these ecosystems is complex, and science-based frameworks like Ecological Site Descriptions and state-and-transition models are essential tools for guiding decisions to support ecological health while maintaining stakeholder values such as grazing, wildlife, and recreation. However, alignment of these frameworks with smaller scale soil survey maps limits their applicability to broader ecological processes. Here, we extend these frameworks to larger landscapes with a machine learning approach that integrates large-scale, high-resolution vegetation data with identified ecological states from a data-driven state-and-transition model developed for a landscape-scale Ecological Site Group. A “global” model, which used combined inputs from multiple remotely sensed datasets, outperformed individual dataset models based on evaluation with independent data. Ecological state maps generated through this approach broaden the utility of state-and-transition models across Ecological Site Groups, providing a more spatially robust tool for land management at watershed and larger landscape scales. These methods, and the associated ecological state maps, can help meet critical needs for improved land condition assessments that support development of resource management plans and help identify priority areas for restoration and conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70243","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143880037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The social–ecological fabric of freshwater fish management: Accounting for feedback loops in human–fish interactions","authors":"Robin Holmes,&nbsp;Kiely McFarlane,&nbsp;Edward Challies,&nbsp;Calum MacNeil,&nbsp;Jason Arnold","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70249","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A holistic view of nature, which situates human relationships and actions within ecosystems, can broaden our understanding of environmental problems and expand the scope and efficacy of potential solutions. Social–ecological systems (SES) research attempts to take this broad perspective. However, a core challenge for the field is accounting for the complex nature of SES, which can develop self-reinforcing feedback loops and unpredictable emergent properties. Here, in the context of freshwater ecosystems, we consider key conceptual frameworks that have emerged over recent decades to make sense of SES dynamics. We review selected international examples of freshwater SES before outlining three examples from the island nation of Aotearoa New Zealand. We focus on fish as key ecological components of freshwater SES because of their status as a focal point for cultural and social relationships with rivers and lakes worldwide. Within our SES examples, we highlight positive and negative feedback dynamics that either reinforce desired social–ecological states or create “social–ecological traps” that set freshwater systems on stubborn trajectories of degradation. Four SES features were common within our examples of feedback loops leading to social–ecological traps: (1) poor information flow between resource users and managers, (2) the exclusion of Indigenous people and local communities from resource governance, (3) altered hydrological regimes, and (4) introduced species. We suggest that identifying and addressing feedback loops with SES is a valuable focus for environmental management and should occur alongside efforts to promote deeper societal changes toward sustainability. Our conceptual review highlights the mechanics of freshwater SES feedback loops in the hope that further work in this field will widen the scope of sustainability-focused actions in systems where freshwater fish play a key role.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70249","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143880038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Sugar diet affects Culex pipiens early-life mortality, biochemical parameters, and immunocompetence","authors":"Olaya García-Ruiz,&nbsp;Juan Pascual-Gil,&nbsp;Cristina Megías,&nbsp;Josué Martínez-de la Puente,&nbsp;Jordi Figuerola,&nbsp;María José Ruiz-López","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70158","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mosquitoes obtain carbohydrates from plants, providing a fundamental source of energy for their metabolism. These nutrients influence mosquito immunocompetence and longevity, which has potential implications for the transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens. We experimentally evaluated how sugar concentration in the diet of <i>Culex pipiens</i> females affected their survival rate, body mass, body composition (i.e., protein, lipid, glucose, and glycogen), and immunocompetence (i.e., number of hemocytes). To do so, we reared field-captured larvae in the laboratory, and the emerged mosquito females were randomly assigned to different concentrations of sucrose offered ad libitum (mass/volume%: 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, and 16%). These solutions were chosen to represent the range of concentrations used in lab experiments and to simulate low to medium sucrose availability similar to what mosquitoes might encounter in different plants. Mosquitoes were analyzed at three different ages, 7, 14, and 21 days postemergence (dpe). We observed that mosquitoes fed on the highest sucrose concentration (16%) had reduced survival at 21 dpe, but their dry body mass increased. Protein, lipid, glucose, and glycogen content increased significantly with mosquito dry body mass. Furthermore, the diets with higher sucrose concentrations increased the lipid and glucose content but decreased the quantity of glycogen. Mosquito age significantly affected lipid content, it increased in mosquitoes from 7 to 14 dpe, when it reached its maximum value, and decreased in 21 dpe mosquitoes. In addition, we found a significant effect of the interaction between age and sucrose concentration on the quantity of glycogen. Seven dpe mosquitoes fed with lower sucrose concentration diet (0.5%, 1%, and 2%) had more glycogen than older mosquitoes, but in mosquitoes fed with higher concentrations of sucrose, the significant effect of age disappeared. The total number of hemocytes and oenocytoids varied with sucrose concentration, being more abundant in mosquitoes fed with the 1% sucrose concentration. The changes caused by the sucrose concentration of the diet on their mortality rate until 21 dpe, body composition, and immunity may ultimately affect the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes. This study contributes to a better understanding of how nutrition may affect the immunity of vectors and the outcome of vector-pathogen interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70158","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}