Ecosphere最新文献

{"title":"Bird and arthropod response to herbicide and grazing: Trade-offs and time lags in invasive plant management","authors":"Jaime J. Coon,&nbsp;Scott B. Maresh Nelson,&nbsp;Rachel C. Daughtridge,&nbsp;Diane M. Debinski,&nbsp;Walter H. Schacht,&nbsp;James R. Miller","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70355","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70355","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Managing ecologically harmful plant species requires an understanding of the impacts of complex spatial and temporal disturbances on ecological communities. Actions aimed at controlling non-native plants can have dynamic effects on patterns of succession, with lag effects and trade-offs possible. In grasslands, invasive plants can be reduced using intensive grazing during the peak growth of target species or applying herbicide when non-target plants are dormant. It is unclear how combining herbicide with grazing impacts fauna and whether there are lag effects as ecosystem recovery occurs. Using landscape-scale experiments, we studied how these techniques affect multiple trophic levels several years after management disturbance, focusing on grassland birds (2015–2018) and their arthropod prey (2015–2017). Our large study patches (<i>n</i> = 54, mean size = 10 ha) were invaded by tall fescue (<i>Schedonorus arundinaceus</i>), an ecologically harmful non-native grass. We first conducted a large-scale controlled experiment on a subset of 21 patches, which were grouped spatially into threes and treated with (1) herbicide (glyphosate), (2) herbicide and native seeding, or (3) no treatment (control). When examining the entire sample of 54 patches, we were able to explore the interactive effects of herbicide and (1) intensive-early stocking (double-stocking cattle April–June), (2) season-long stocking (moderate stocking April–September), or (3) no grazing. Birds and arthropods were monitored for 3–4 years post-treatment, allowing us to examine temporal shifts after these management disturbances. In our experiment, we found that herbicide-treated patches, in comparison with controls, had an increased abundance of several native bird species and arthropod orders in Year 2 or 3 after treatment, with some negative responses in Year 1. These lag times indicate that applying herbicide over broad areas without providing refugia may have short-term negative consequences, especially for arthropods. When examining the interactive effects of treatments, we found that herbicide in conjunction with grazing resulted in declines for several disturbance-sensitive bird species. Improved understanding of lag effects, trade-offs, and taxon-specific responses to treatment combinations can inform restoration that limits deleterious effects of treatments on native wildlife.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70355","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782712","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":"Life in a post-eelgrass world: Temporal compression of a spatial refuge from predation","authors":"Stephen T. Tettelbach,&nbsp;James R. Europe,&nbsp;Christian R. H. Tettelbach,&nbsp;Matthew Schwartz,&nbsp;Jason Havelin,&nbsp;Brigid Maloney,&nbsp;Dennis M. Bonal,&nbsp;Bradley T. Furman,&nbsp;Raymond E. Czaja Jr.","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70367","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70367","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Spatial refugia offered by structurally complex habitats mitigate high rates of predation for many aquatic and terrestrial prey species. These refuges are particularly important for small juvenile marine invertebrates, for which predation often represents the greatest cause of mortality. When the availability or quality of habitat landscapes and refugia are diminished by natural or anthropogenic forces, prey populations face further risk. In this study, we examined the utilization of alternative types of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) by juvenile bay scallops, <i>Argopecten irradians</i>, in a system where their historical habitat of eelgrass, <i>Zostera marina</i>, has largely disappeared. We found that scallops settled on and remained attached, above the bottom, to 9 species of macroalgae, 6 of which were fine filamentous or fleshy red algae. Macroalgae thus serve as suitable substrates for scallop larval settlement and early juvenile life, clearly important to successful population rebuilding that occurred following commencement of our restoration efforts. However, the much smaller maximum observed size (2–9 mm) and calculated duration of attachment (5–27 days) of scallops in the canopy of red macroalgae were considerably lower than those previously reported for eelgrass and the green macroalgae <i>Codium fragile</i>. With scallops dropping sooner to the bottom from red macroalgae, at smaller sizes, they are accessible to greater numbers of predator species/sizes and higher rates of predation (as shown in supporting laboratory experiments). Furthermore, this transition occurs well before scallops have undergone an ontogenetic shift to evasive swimming or have grown to reach a refuge in larger size. Fine filamentous red macroalgae, in which juvenile scallops demonstrated the highest frequency of attachment in this study and among the shortest duration in the canopy, now predominate in many areas of the Peconic Bays, New York, where eelgrass was formerly widespread. This apparent habitat degradation/replacement is thus acting to compress the length of time scallops are able to utilize a spatial refuge from predation at a critical life history stage, with potential cascading ontogenetic impacts on the use of a subsequent behavioral refuge and possible negative demographic consequences. Few prior studies have revealed such clear impacts of this kind resulting from habitat loss.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70367","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782479","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":"Population response to extreme climate events depends on population spatial distribution","authors":"Martha Torstenson,&nbsp;Allison K. Shaw","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70369","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70369","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Extreme climate events, which are increasing in frequency and intensity with climate change, can cause mass mortality events in animal populations. Meanwhile, populations of migratory animals around the world are in decline. We illustrate how the spatial aggregation typical in many migratory populations can increase the likelihood of population declines in response to extreme climate events. Firstly, we demonstrate that high levels of spatial aggregation make it possible for higher levels of population mortality to result from spatially limited disturbances. This aligns with observations of mass mortality events due to extreme climate events in migratory animal populations. We go on to use a flow-kick model to demonstrate that because higher levels of spatial aggregation result in less frequent, but more severe impacts, population crashes in response to extreme events are more likely in highly aggregated populations. This provides a mechanism by which migratory populations may be especially vulnerable to climate change. We quantify what regimes of disturbance (with respect to frequency and severity) lead to population collapse versus resilience, and we show how our results depend on the form of disturbance (proportional vs. density-dependent). Finally, we compare results from an analytic approximation with those from a simulation and discuss differences. The results of our model can also be used to understand the interacting effects of shifting extreme climate event regimes and land use change. We predict that land use changes that increase the spatial aggregation of populations, such as habitat destruction or degradation of habitat corridors, will increase the likelihood of population declines due to extreme climate events. Conservation plans that increase the dispersion of populations across the landscape may increase population resilience to changing extreme climate event regimes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70369","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782481","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":"Elk personality and anthropogenic food subsidy: Managing conflict and migration loss","authors":"Gavin G. Cotterill,&nbsp;Eric K. Cole,&nbsp;Paul C. Cross,&nbsp;Sarah R. Dewey,&nbsp;Benjamin L. Wise,&nbsp;Tabitha A. Graves","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70344","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70344","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The continued decline of long-distance ungulate migrations threatens to decouple important ecological processes that increase biodiversity and wildlife abundance. Past research has focused on preserving migration paths where habitat fragmentation and loss disrupt movement corridors. However, shifting residency-migration trade-offs are the stronger driver of migration loss in some populations. Suburban residential developments may provide ungulates with anthropogenic food sources and refuge from predators, which can increase population growth among short-distance migrants relative to long-distance migrants. This trend can increase wildlife vehicle collisions and other human–wildlife conflicts while simultaneously reducing hunting opportunities. Yet, individual animals vary in their tolerance of human disturbance. We investigated how interindividual variation relative to conflict and human habituation influences elk migration and space use on shared winter range. We used a clustering algorithm applied to GPS collar data to identify elk use of anthropogenic food resources in suburban habitat. Cluster locations identified all known anthropogenic subsidy locations during the study period. Elk that used suburban anthropogenic food sources also migrated 60% shorter distances between summer and winter ranges than elk with no known use of these food subsidies. Elk use of protected wintering grounds was spatially structured such that conflict-prone, short-distance migrants disproportionately used areas with more human activity. Clustering algorithms applied to GPS collar data may allow managers to identify foci of concentrated use that generates human–wildlife conflict, and where prion deposition and environmental contamination facilitate the spread of chronic wasting disease, particularly in suburban areas with anthropogenic food subsidies. The apparent spatial structuring of shared winter range according to the conflict potential and migration strategy of individual elk may also permit managers to assess relative recruitment among cryptic population segments using different migration strategies and facilitate targeted, adaptive management actions. These associations between conflict, human habituation, and migration shed light on the urbanization of wildlife species, inform efforts to manage human–wildlife conflict and disease spread, and emphasize that a multipronged approach beyond maintaining habitat corridors may be necessary to conserve long-distance migrations for species that can become human-habituated.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70344","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782480","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":"Seasonal patterns of habitat use by a mesopredator in boreal forest landscapes fragmented by fire","authors":"Derek A. Arnold,&nbsp;Greg A. Breed,&nbsp;Jared S. Laufenberg,&nbsp;Nathan D. Berg,&nbsp;Mark R. Bertram,&nbsp;Bradley D. Scotton,&nbsp;Knut Kielland","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70357","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70357","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wildfire is the most impactful disturbance regime in the North American boreal region, driving the structure and composition of forests across the region. Recent climate models predict that increasing fire intensity and frequency will result in a shift from a largely coniferous forest to one with a greater dominance by deciduous species. We investigated how an iconic predator of the boreal system, the Canada lynx (<i>Lynx canadensis</i>), moves through a range of burn scars (4–73 years old). Using GPS collars at 4-h fix rates, we fitted integrated step selection models to lynx movements across an 80-year post-fire chronosequence to assess habitat selection in both deciduous and coniferous forests. We predicted that lynx would primarily select intermediately aged spruce and young deciduous stands, mirroring previous research on the habitat selection of their main prey, snowshoe hares (<i>Lepus americanus</i>). We found, however, that lynx habitat selection peaked at intermediately aged stands in both forest types, with selection for younger deciduous stands in the winter months. There was no seasonal change in coniferous stands as they experience little change in cover across seasons. We hypothesize that lynx select for habitats that maximize capture probability as opposed to simply habitats with the highest hare density. Together, these results show that lynx can be resilient to short-term shifts toward intermediate-aged stands. However, these benefits will likely diminish in the longer term as the decrease in fire return interval may reduce the prevalence of intermediate-aged stands.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70357","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782661","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":"Marine animal forest formed by gorgonians Subergorgia on near-shore mesophotic ecosystems in Reunion Island","authors":"Ludovic Hoarau,&nbsp;Lucie Penin,&nbsp;Emilie Boissin,&nbsp;Héloïse Rouzé,&nbsp;Hendrik Sauvignet,&nbsp;Sophie Bureau,&nbsp;Perrine Mangion,&nbsp;Priscille Labarrère,&nbsp;Lionel Bigot,&nbsp;Pascale Chabanet,&nbsp;Francisco Otero-Ferrer,&nbsp;Lorenzo Bramanti,&nbsp;Mehdi Adjeroud","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70362","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70362","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), occurring between 30 and 150 m depth, are increasingly recognized for their ecological importance, yet they remain underexplored, particularly in the southwestern Indian Ocean. During benthic surveys conducted at depths ranging from 15 to 75 m off northwestern Reunion Island, we documented a dense and extensive marine animal forest (MAF) dominated by large arborescent octocorals <i>Subergorgia</i> cf. <i>suberosa</i>. This monospecific community formed a complex three-dimensional habitat spanning a substantial area at mesophotic depths over the northwestern abrupt slopes of Reunion Island. Colonies reached over 1.5 m in height, providing structural habitat for diverse fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages. A total of 53 fish species from 22 families were recorded in association with this MAF, alongside numerous epibionts and understory anthozoans. Despite its ecological value, this habitat faces significant anthropogenic pressures, particularly from fishing activities. Nearly 25% of photographed <i>S</i>. cf. <i>suberosa</i> colonies were entangled in fishing lines, with visible damage including tissue necrosis and polyp loss affecting up to 47% of colonies. These impacts, along with sedimentation from runoff, raise concerns for the long-term persistence of this mesophotic habitat-forming community, as long-lived, slow-growing organisms like gorgonians may be more impacted by these types of disturbances and take longer to recover than fast-growing organisms. Our findings represent the first quantitative assessment of <i>Subergorgia</i> dominance and associated biodiversity in this region and highlight its role as a potential refuge for shallow reef taxa. The ecological significance, spatial extent, and fragility of this MAF underscore the urgent need for spatially replicated surveys, targeted conservation strategies, and regulation of damaging activities such as fishing. We advocate for increased research efforts focused on mesophotic habitats, with particular attention to the population dynamics and ecological functions of large gorgonians, to better understand the role of MCEs in reef resilience under accelerating environmental changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70362","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782716","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":"Different topographic and climatic contexts associated carbon hotspots in a carbon-dense ecoregion","authors":"Trevor A. Carter,&nbsp;Brian Buma","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70363","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70363","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Forested landscapes have the potential to help offset global carbon emissions. However, current global models do not, nor are they intended to, capture the fine-scale variability of the distributions of carbon in aboveground or belowground stocks or their simultaneous variability. Regional investigations are necessary to resolve patterns in carbon that can guide policy and planning, but regional maps that quantify multiple carbon pools are scarce. We quantified the spatial relationships of aboveground and belowground carbon stocks to understand their simultaneous variability across the forested area of the perhumid ecoregion of the Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest. Further, we identified topo-climatic contexts associated with unique patterns in both aboveground and belowground carbon stocks by conducting an overlay analysis across the entire ecoregion. We utilized previously published estimates of carbon stocks based on extensive governmental data and machine learning techniques to model simultaneous spatial relationships of aboveground and belowground carbon stocks and generate a map for a high carbon region. We employed Pearson's correlations as well as ANOVA and Tukey honestly significant difference (HSD) tests for comparisons of topography and climate. Approximately 25% (2.6 million ha) of the area across the perhumid ecoregion had similar trends in aboveground and belowground stocks (convergence). Likewise, 20% of the ecoregion had opposite trends of aboveground and belowground stocks (divergence), and 56% of the ecoregion experienced no relationship (moderate conditions) between aboveground and belowground stocks. Convergence areas consist of carbon hotspots associated with 1.3 million ha and 794 Mg C ha⁻¹ on average, or carbon cold spots associated with 1.2 million ha and 224 Mg C ha⁻¹. Areas with convergence, divergence, and moderate carbon stocks all had unique associations with slope, elevation, aspect, mean annual precipitation, and annual mean temperature. High levels of aboveground carbon were associated with steeper slopes, while high levels of belowground carbon were associated with high levels of precipitation. The interactions between slope, precipitation, and temperature correspond with carbon convergence and divergence, likely due to water accumulation which impacts the decomposition of organic matter in soil. These data are critical to regional planning and carbon policy and inform expectations for future carbon storage as the climate changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70363","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144782715","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":"Habitat attributes mediate top-down and bottom-up drivers of community development in temperate and tropical algae","authors":"Griffin Srednick,&nbsp;Stephen E. Swearer","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70345","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70345","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Global threats to ecosystems have galvanized ecologists to better understand the anthropogenic impacts of biotic and abiotic homogenization on ecological trajectories. However, contemporary understanding of spatiotemporal trajectories in ecosystems composed of competitive and consumptive interactions is largely observational or, if more mechanistic, based on simplified models or select aspects of ecological function (e.g., stability of primary production). Here, we describe a pair of 9-month experiments that explore the influence of top-down versus bottom-up drivers of temporal variation within consumer-resource assemblages in tropical and temperate marine ecosystems. Specifically, we examine the trajectories of tropical and temperate algal communities and metacommunities in response to nutrient and herbivory gradients to assess the drivers of spatiotemporal heterogeneity in ecological dynamics. We find that temporal variation (i.e., spatiotemporal asynchrony) in both tropical and temperate algal communities and metacommunities is largely driven by nutrient gradients (i.e., bottom-up effects), whereas herbivory gradients (i.e., top-down effects) appear to have a weaker influence only on tropical algal assemblages. Importantly, we find that the interactive effects of habitat heterogeneity, herbivory levels, and nutrient levels are strongest early (i.e., within 150 days) in algal successional dynamics at the metacommunity scale and that algal communities appear to converge on greater similarity, regardless of environmental conditions, within 300 days. These findings support the notion that temporal dynamics within a trophic level are partially determined by adjacent trophic levels, highlighting the importance of considering biotic and abiotic drivers of spatiotemporal asynchrony both within and across trophic levels within communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70345","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144773477","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 oribatid mites of tropical montane rainforests respond to nitrogen and phosphorus additions?","authors":"Laura M. Sánchez-Galindo,&nbsp;Dorothee Sandmann,&nbsp;Franca Marian,&nbsp;Mark Maraun,&nbsp;Stefan Scheu","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70348","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70348","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) depositions worldwide are increasing the risks of biodiversity and functionality loss in terrestrial ecosystems, particularly in tropical regions. However, the effects of increased nutrient inputs on soil biodiversity in tropical regions remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the response of one of the most diverse groups of soil invertebrates, oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida), to the long-term input of moderate rates of N and P into montane rainforests along an altitudinal gradient (1000, 2000, and 3000 m) in Ecuador. The response of oribatid mites to nutrient additions was investigated after 1, 3, and 10 years. Overall, variations in oribatid mite diversity and richness due to nutrient additions were low and restricted to the 1000-m site, where the combined addition of N and P resulted in significantly reduced density and richness of oribatid mites after 10 years. In general, oribatid mite community compositions differed strongly between the altitudinal sites and remained remarkably stable across the study period. Changes in oribatid mite community composition during the study period were driven by changes in temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity rather than by the addition of N and P. Our results suggest that oribatid mites in tropical montane rainforests are rather insensitive to moderate additional input of N and P, pointing to an outstanding stability of these soil animal communities. Shifts in climatic factors, rather than changes in resource-associated factors such as nutrients, may pose a more significant threat to oribatid mite communities of tropical montane rainforests.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70348","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144714916","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":"Suppression of Australian savanna ants shows “the little rulers” do not rule over spider or beetle assemblages","authors":"Sarah N. Bonney,&nbsp;Benjamin D. Hoffmann,&nbsp;Alan N. Andersen","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70354","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ecs2.70354","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ants are often referred to as “the little things that rule the world” because of the critical roles they play as ecosystem engineers and through trophic and non-trophic interactions. We describe an experimental test of the influence of ants on spiders and beetles in an Australian tropical savanna. We experimentally suppressed ant abundance through baiting in six plots, each matched with adjacent reference plots, across two sites (Territory Wildlife Park [TWP] and Tropical Ecosystem Research Centre [TERC]), and documented the impact on ground and arboreal spider and beetle communities. At the TWP site, ants were highly abundant and diverse, dominated by species of aggressive <i>Iridomyrmex</i>. Ant diversity was lower and <i>Iridomyrmex</i> low in abundance at the TERC site. At the TWP site, suppression treatment predominantly affected species of <i>Iridomyrmex</i>, reducing overall ant abundance on the ground by 52%–77%, but because few <i>Iridomyrmex</i> forgage arboreally, there was no change on vegetation. Suppression treatment had little effect on ant abundance on both the ground and vegetation at the TERC site. Despite marked ant suppression on the ground at TWP, we observed little response from either spiders or beetles after two years. Among spiders, the only response was a decrease (by 50%) in abundance of the ant-associated family Prodidomidae. One beetle family (Scarabaeidae) also declined after ant suppression but was a suspected nontarget casualty of baiting. No spider or beetle family showed the increase in abundance that we predicted. Curiously, an increase was shown by the spider family Clubionidae at TERC despite minimal ant suppression. At both sites, experimental treatment had little influence on spiders and beetles on vegetation, consistent with the lack of suppression of ants on plants. The general lack of effect of ant suppression implies that there is surprisingly limited regulation of arthropod communities by ants in our study system. This contrasts with findings from other ant manipulation experiments and is particularly surprising as ant abundance is so high in Australian savannas. While our experiment involved ant suppression rather than elimination, our results suggest that Australian savannas are resilient to large reductions of a ubiquitous faunal group.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"16 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70354","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144714746","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}