EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-13DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70708
Jin Hyeok Choi, Daegeun Oh, Na Hyeon Kim, Jong Koo Lee, Kil Won Kim
{"title":"Microclimate of cemetery habitats and nest site selection of Eresus kollari (Araneae: Eresidae) in South Korea","authors":"Jin Hyeok Choi, Daegeun Oh, Na Hyeon Kim, Jong Koo Lee, Kil Won Kim","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70708","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nest site selection and construction are important life history events for many animals. These decisions are largely governed by abiotic factors such as temperature, humidity, and solar radiation. <i>Eresus kollari</i>—a burrowing spider that excavates its own nest and rears its offspring within—likewise faces important decisions when choosing where to build. In South Korea, the species often occupies sun-exposed, dome-shaped burial mounds. To understand the behavioral decision-making that leads the species to occupy mound habitats, we conducted field surveys and laboratory experiments. Field surveys showed that 75.6% of all <i>E. kollari</i> nests were found on mound surfaces, with the highest density near the mound center (3.98 nests/m<sup>2</sup>). Across the hemispherical mound, nests were concentrated on the eastern, central, and western sectors and displayed a slight overall bias toward the south. Mean soil temperature was ~19°C and did not differ between the mound and adjacent ground. In contrast, the mound surface was markedly drier (soil moisture = 4.7%) than the surrounding soil (7.5%). These spiders formed highly localized clusters within their habitats; this clustering pattern resembled a parent–offspring aggregation and also suggested that individuals exhibit preferences for specific environmental conditions. Laboratory selection tests corroborated the field patterns: Spiders preferentially moved away from moist substrates and displayed a strong attraction to illuminated directions. Collectively, these results suggest that <i>E. kollari</i> prefers sunny, dry mound surfaces as nesting sites and settles there to construct nests.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70708","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148467093","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-13DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70713
Jordi Tablada, Matthew Bennion, Shane W. Geange, Clinton A. Duffy, Fabrice Stephenson, Bruce W. Hartill, Jan G. Hiddink
{"title":"Spatial assessment of recreational fishing displacement from marine protected areas","authors":"Jordi Tablada, Matthew Bennion, Shane W. Geange, Clinton A. Duffy, Fabrice Stephenson, Bruce W. Hartill, Jan G. Hiddink","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70713","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) to achieve healthy and resilient ecosystems is a proven conservation strategy to generate a wide range of ecological and socioeconomic benefits. However, the planning and design of MPAs must be well thought out to avoid unintended management consequences. Among the things that practitioners should consider is the potential for fishing effort displaced from MPAs to exacerbate fishing impacts outside of MPAs. Commercial fisheries are generally well studied when analyzing and predicting fishing displacement, but recreational fisheries often receive less attention. In this study, we analyze the spatial relationship between recreational fishing effort (estimates of recreational fishing vessel density) and the predicted habitat suitability of the main target fish species for recreational fishers in the Hauraki Gulf in northern New Zealand. A spatial prioritization software, Zonation, was used to identify areas likely to receive fishing effort displacement due to the establishment of 14 new MPAs that exclude all recreational fishing and almost all commercial fishing. A “displaced effort index” is provided for each protected area, as well as for the entire area of study, to help identify broad areas that are likely to absorb displaced recreational fishing effort. The index can help inform effectiveness of MPAs and identify areas that should be the focus of assessments of localized depletion of fisheries resources due to displaced effort. While the analysis described here is based in the Hauraki Gulf, the methodology can be adapted to different areas and other fisheries.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70713","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148467092","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-10DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70705
Lilianna K. Wolf, Catherine G. Haase, Peter Sprouse, Emma P. Gómez-Ruiz, Thomas E. Lacher Jr.
{"title":"White-nose syndrome suitability of Mexican Sierra Madre Oriental karst to sustain Pseudogymnoascus destructans fungus","authors":"Lilianna K. Wolf, Catherine G. Haase, Peter Sprouse, Emma P. Gómez-Ruiz, Thomas E. Lacher Jr.","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70705","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70705","url":null,"abstract":"<p>White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the emerging fungal pathogen <i>Pseudogymnoascus destructans</i>, has led to a steep decline in North American bat populations since the disease was first described in 2006. Although previously thought to only threaten bat populations in northern latitudes with prolonged hibernation in cool climates, recent reports of bat mortalities in Texas, USA, and Oaxaca, Southern Mexico, indicate that populations in warmer regions are also vulnerable to WNS, posing risks to ecologically and agriculturally important bats in Mexico. <i>P. destructans</i> can persist on cave substrates under certain microclimate conditions, even without a host. As a result, caves that are not consistently used as hibernacula may still serve as reservoirs for pathogen transmission. Our objective was to assess microclimate suitability within selected caves in Northern Mexican karst systems to characterize the region's ability to sustain sufficient growth of <i>P. destructans</i> and the ability of Mexican caves to act as foci for the spread of this pathogen. We measured internal temperature from 10 caves in the Sierra Madre Oriental region of Mexico and correlated monthly mean temperatures to external surface variables (elevation, latitude, monthly mean surface temperature) to predict internal cave temperatures of known caves in surrounding karst systems within the region. We then assessed the potential suitability for <i>P. destructans</i> in these cave systems given known relationships between the fungus and cave temperatures. Our results indicate that caves within the Sierra Madre Oriental region are likely able to sustain internal microclimates that support the growth of <i>P. destructans</i>, with the western ridge of the range containing a high density of caves that are particularly suitable for fungal growth. Our results suggest that the Sierra Madre Oriental region is an important region to monitor for the spread of <i>P. destructans</i> and WNS in Mexico.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70705","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148466759","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-09DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70707
Mark A. McPeek
{"title":"Coexistence of poorer competitors for all available resources requires greater niche overlap","authors":"Mark A. McPeek","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70707","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70707","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The need for niche differentiation among resource competitors to coexist is a universally accepted principle in ecology. However, this principle is derived from models with one or two resources or no resource dynamics at all. Graphical analysis of a consumer-resource model including three resources shows that a consumer that is not the best competitor for any single resource can coexist with two consumers that are the best competitors for one and two resources, respectively, if it has high diet/niche overlap and so strongly competes with one or both other competitors for two of the resources. The same community structure emerges in randomly assembled communities with up to six consumers feeding on six resources: Up to half of the consumers can be the best competitor on no available resource. Specifically, consumers that are the best competitor for at least one available resource have low diet overlap with one another, and consumers that are the best competitor for no resource have high diet overlap with the best competitors on at least one resource and among themselves. Coexistence of these consumers requires higher niche overlap with competitors that are the best competitors for multiple resources and permits even higher niche overlap among themselves.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70707","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148466702","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-09DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70699
Randall R. Jiménez, Piper Thacher, Owen G. Osborne, Brian Gratwicke, Carly R. Muletz-Wolz
{"title":"Microbial metacommunity ecology: Using null models and networks to understand assembly in a salamander disease system","authors":"Randall R. Jiménez, Piper Thacher, Owen G. Osborne, Brian Gratwicke, Carly R. Muletz-Wolz","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70699","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Animals host diverse microbiomes crucial for their health, which subsequently influence their function in ecosystems. Metacommunity theory offers a useful framework to understand the processes driving host-associated microbiome assembly across scales, linking regional environmental processes to local host–microbial processes. We formulated hypotheses based on community ecology theory and tested them using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing and analytical approaches to analyze the microbiomes of three Appalachian salamander species and in their corresponding environments: red-backed salamanders (<i>Plethodon cinereus</i>) in forest soils, two-lined salamanders (<i>Eurycea bislineata</i>) in streams, and eastern newts (<i>Notophthalmus viridescens</i>) in ponds. We hypothesized that salamander skin microbiomes would exhibit niche-based deterministic processes (e.g., environmental selection) given prior observations that evolutionary history and infection by the fungal pathogen <i>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</i> (Bd) influenced microbiome composition. Deterministic processes varied across salamanders, being lowest in <i>N. viridescens</i>, intermediate in <i>P. cinereus</i>, and highest in <i>E. bislineata</i>. Environmental microbiomes in forests and ponds were strongly structured by deterministic processes, whereas stream microbiomes showed moderate deterministic structuring. Given that rare environmental microbes frequently occur on amphibian skin, we hypothesized that patch dynamics, such as competition–colonization trade-offs, would contribute to metacommunity processes. Network analyses (both unipartite and bipartite) revealed bacterial co-occurrence patterns that provided correlational support for competition and colonization trade-offs within salamander skin microbiome networks. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that fungal exposures would cause an increase of Bd-inhibitory bacteria and found evidence for terrestrial environments linked to higher amounts of putatively Bd-inhibitory bacteria driven by higher fungal gene copy counts on salamander skin and in their environments. Our findings suggest that niche-based processes influence microbiome structure at the environmental-host interface, while patterns consistent with patch dynamics contribute to variation within and among hosts. We provide a framework to measure stochasticity and identify factors that predict microbiome structure based on environment and host biology.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70699","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148466704","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70696
J. V. Trout-Haney, J. A. Brentrup, K. L. Cottingham, K. C. Weathers, B. D. Cook, M. J. Ducey, C. Herrick, K. M. Johnson, M. W. Palace, B. G. Steele, M. C. Thompson, D. A. Lutz
{"title":"Key considerations for the use of satellite-based remote sensing for lake and reservoir research and management","authors":"J. V. Trout-Haney, J. A. Brentrup, K. L. Cottingham, K. C. Weathers, B. D. Cook, M. J. Ducey, C. Herrick, K. M. Johnson, M. W. Palace, B. G. Steele, M. C. Thompson, D. A. Lutz","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70696","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70696","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Given the critical importance of freshwater for human well-being and the myriad threats altering water quality and quantity, monitoring lakes and reservoirs is necessary to identify where, how, and why freshwater ecosystems are changing globally. Satellite remote sensing tools hold great promise for improving water quality monitoring to advance research and management objectives, but “ready-to-use” solutions are not yet available for navigating the decisions required to collect, process, and analyze quality remote sensing data. While new products and techniques are continuously being developed, their use for research and management remains challenging. Aspiring users of satellite data face key decisions among many different options to select, process, and use these data to estimate surface water quality parameters. These decisions have important downstream consequences for inference, but knowledge gaps remain in how to navigate them to match project goals, particularly for interdisciplinary teams. We point to key considerations for how users can evaluate the spatiotemporal requirements for their specific project and identify essential decision points in how to process and interpret the acquired satellite data to estimate water quality parameters, using cyanobacterial blooms as a focal example. Well-considered front-end decisions are crucial for matching satellite and in situ data and fully leveraging satellite data to address the specific question and system. Importantly, the science and tools underlying remote sensing methods are evolving quickly and the “best” choices depend on the study or monitoring objective. We provide information for nonspecialists and questions for interdisciplinary teams to consider to aid in the wise use of this transformative technology. We conclude by identifying five priorities for further development and emphasizing the importance of reciprocal knowledge exchange and engagement between the aquatic ecology and remote sensing communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70696","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389225","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70697
Sam J. Ahler, Isabella Morse, Sara Padula, Scott A. Taylor, Samuel Zavala, Lisa Corwin
{"title":"Coming out(side): Challenges and supports experienced by LGBTQ+ undergraduates in field-based courses","authors":"Sam J. Ahler, Isabella Morse, Sara Padula, Scott A. Taylor, Samuel Zavala, Lisa Corwin","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70697","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70697","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Field-based education can be an important educational experience for undergraduate students interested in field-based careers or the natural environment. However, field courses introduce a wide array of variables not found in the traditional classroom that must be considered in terms of student access and inclusion. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ+) students are one group that is currently underrepresented and underserved in field-based careers and who are likely to face identity-related challenges in field-based courses. We interviewed LGBTQ+ undergraduates to determine what challenges and supports they experienced while participating in field-based education. We found numerous challenges related to sociopolitical and environmental barriers, infrastructural constraints, and unsupportive interpersonal dynamics. That said, multiple supports helped to at least partially remediate these challenges, such as community building, instructor support, and individual fluidity. This work provides a foundational understanding of challenges experienced by LGBTQ+ undergraduates and serves to guide future research on the experiences of marginalized students in the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70697","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389221","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70688
Kristin L. Laidre, Axel Schweiger, Jinlun Zhang, Benjamin Cohen, Michael Steele, Steven H. Ferguson, G. W. K. Moore
{"title":"Revisiting the status of the Arctic's Last Ice Area as a refuge for marine predators","authors":"Kristin L. Laidre, Axel Schweiger, Jinlun Zhang, Benjamin Cohen, Michael Steele, Steven H. Ferguson, G. W. K. Moore","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70688","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70688","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Last Ice Area (LIA), located north of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland, has the Arctic's oldest and thickest sea ice. The LIA is hypothesized to be a potential climate refuge for ice-dependent top predators as Arctic sea ice continues to decline. However, recent studies indicate the region may be less resilient than expected. We used a coupled biophysical model to examine the impact of changes in sea ice and nutrient availability on the LIA marine planktonic ecosystem and the ecological potential of this critical area. The model was used to generate two downscaled simulations which were forced by two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR6 climate models (GFDL-ESM4 and CNRM-CM6-1-HR using the SSP5-8.5 shared socioeconomic pathway) to investigate potential changes in primary productivity (PP) with different rates of future warming. Both downscaled model runs, which captured observed sea ice dynamics, predicted declines in LIA sea ice concentration and thickness. Under CNRM-CM6-1-HR, summer sea ice was largely absent from the LIA by 2055–2070, shortly after it disappeared elsewhere in the Arctic. Under GFDL-ESM4, some summer sea ice persisted through 2070 although concentration and thickness were low. Concurrently with declining sea ice, both models predicted increases in PP through 2070, with annual values peaking in August. While increased PP would support higher trophic levels, ice-dependent top predators require an ice platform for foraging and resting. Our approach of integrating physical and biological forecasts is a step towards a more complete picture to date of anticipated ecological changes in the LIA. We identify future research needs, which include evaluating additional climate models and forcing scenarios, collecting in situ ecological data, and obtaining a mechanistic understanding of how lower level ecological changes will affect top predators.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70688","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148462951","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70698
Sunshine Van Bael
{"title":"The growth of microbial ecology research in a selection of the Ecological Society of America's portfolio of journals","authors":"Sunshine Van Bael","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70698","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70698","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Early in the inception of ecology as a field of science, microorganisms have been known to play a role in ecosystems. The growth of the portfolio of journals from the Ecological Society of America (ESA) correlates to an increase in the studies of microbial ecology through time. The aim of this retrospective is to discuss some of the foundational and highly cited works within the ESA portfolio just as a new track in <i>Ecosphere</i> is dedicated solely to microbial ecology. Related search terms found that 13.3% of the papers published in ESA journals had some reference to microbial ecology. Most studies were in terrestrial systems with fewer in aquatic systems, and very few in marine systems. Themes such as host–microbe symbioses, climate change, and biogeography are likely to increase steadily in the literature. The new Microbial Ecology track in <i>Ecosphere</i> is a home for studies in which “interactions” of microbes with plants, animals, and processes may have previously been relegated to more taxon-specific journals.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70698","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389226","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}
EcospherePub Date : 2026-07-05DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70703
Miguel Gómez-Llano, Adam Hasik, Shantanu Joshi, Taylor Ping, Dylan Powell, Adam M. Siepielski
{"title":"Evidence consistent with local adaptation to predation shaping stabilizing effects underlying local coexistence","authors":"Miguel Gómez-Llano, Adam Hasik, Shantanu Joshi, Taylor Ping, Dylan Powell, Adam M. Siepielski","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70703","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70703","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Trait divergence in resource use and susceptibility to predation can promote local competitor coexistence if such divergence generates demographic advantages when species are rare, producing frequency-dependent stabilizing effects. These effects may vary spatially as populations experience different ecological conditions shaping species interactions. Here, we examine how population-specific differences in competitive and predator–prey interactions among damselfly larvae are associated with variation in the strength and occurrence of stabilizing mechanisms underlying coexistence. Using field transplant experiments, we compared growth and mortality rates between local and transplanted damselfly populations to assess whether stabilizing effects differed across population–environment contexts. We observed population-specific differences in growth rates in one species, but found no evidence that resource competition generated stabilizing effects. By contrast, fish predation imposed strong frequency-dependent mortality generating stabilization, and the occurrence and magnitude of this effect differed between local and nonlocal populations. However, the direction and strength of these differences varied between species: In one species, frequency-dependent predation effects were marginally reduced, whereas in the other, they were effectively absent. These asymmetries suggest that population-specific responses to predators, potentially driven by local adaptation, may influence coexistence outcomes, even under similar ecological settings. A laboratory experiment revealed no differences in predation rates imposed by fish on local versus nonlocal damselfly prey, indicating that observed field patterns are unlikely to arise from predator local adaptation to prey alone. Collectively, our results highlight how spatial variation in species interactions can generate heterogeneity in stabilizing processes, while underscoring the challenges of disentangling ecological and evolutionary mechanisms in natural systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70703","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389185","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}