EcospherePub Date : 2026-06-05DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70645
N. Marinchel, S. Galli, J. Mifsud, M. Albanozzo, K. Camilleri, L. Ceriola, M. S. Labriola, G. Maiello, P. Carpentieri, S. Mariani, T. Russo
{"title":"Monitoring dolphinfish catches and diel assemblage fluctuations using eDNA at fish-aggregating devices","authors":"N. Marinchel, S. Galli, J. Mifsud, M. Albanozzo, K. Camilleri, L. Ceriola, M. S. Labriola, G. Maiello, P. Carpentieri, S. Mariani, T. Russo","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70645","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fish-aggregating devices (FADs) are man-made objects designed to attract fish, with the aim of facilitating spatially heterogeneous aggregations of marine species. These objects influence the structure of pelagic fisheries, consequently affecting fish distributions and interactions. One of the most iconic epipelagic species targeted using FADs is dolphinfish (<i>Coryphaena hippurus</i>), which has high commercial value in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the interactions between dolphinfish and FADs are still poorly understood, and the composition of fish assemblages attracted to these devices remains poorly characterized. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has emerged as a powerful tool for fisheries management. Here, we employed passive eDNA samplers (i.e., <i>metaprobes</i>) to collect information on the fish assemblages around five FADs in Maltese waters during a dolphinfish fishing day in January 2023. Samples were gathered during different diel phases: Three stations were sampled in the diurnal phase, while two were sampled during the crepuscular-evening phase. Through the amplification of the mitochondrial 12S gene region (Elas02 primers), we explored the relationship between <i>C. hippurus</i>-caught biomass and transformed read counts and investigated the composition of fish assemblages associated with FADs. A positive relationship was found between eDNA-transformed read counts of dolphinfish and their biomass (linear regression model, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.62, <i>p</i> < 0.05). Fish assemblages attracted by FADs were found to significantly change between diurnal and crepuscular-evening phases. Moreover, the indicator species analysis identified four species as being indicative of the crepuscular-evening phase (<i>Diaphus rafinesquii</i>, <i>Hygophum benoiti</i>, <i>Hygophum hygomii</i>, and <i>Lampanyctus pusillu</i>s). The similarity percentage (SIMPER) test identified seven species as the main contributors to variations in dolphinfish-caught biomass. Of these, four species (<i>Sardina pilchardus</i>, <i>Trachurus trachurus</i>, <i>Engraulis encrasicolus</i>, and <i>Chelon labrosus</i>) showed a significant relationship between their transformed read counts and dolphinfish-caught biomass. Despite the small number of samples, this study highlighted the potential of low-cost passive eDNA collection to assess the composition of pelagic fish assemblages around FADs. This improves our understanding of the ecological dynamics around these fishing gears and helps to optimize fishing efficiency, thereby promoting sustainable fisheries management strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70645","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174422","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 : 2026-06-05DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70640
Stefano Meucci, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Yanrong Zhang, Andrei A. Andreev, Konstantin V. Krutovsky, Boris K. Biskaborn, Inger G. Alsos, Laura Parducci, Kevin Nota, Sandra Garcés-Pastor, Petr Kuneš, Walter Finsinger, Eleonora Cagliero, Daniel Vondrák, Jaroslav Kukla, Darrell Kaufman, Barbara Wohlfarth, Heikki Seppä, Ulrike Herzschuh
{"title":"Glacial refugia, postglacial dynamics, and hybrid zones of Pinaceae in Eurasia captured from sedimentary ancient DNA","authors":"Stefano Meucci, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Yanrong Zhang, Andrei A. Andreev, Konstantin V. Krutovsky, Boris K. Biskaborn, Inger G. Alsos, Laura Parducci, Kevin Nota, Sandra Garcés-Pastor, Petr Kuneš, Walter Finsinger, Eleonora Cagliero, Daniel Vondrák, Jaroslav Kukla, Darrell Kaufman, Barbara Wohlfarth, Heikki Seppä, Ulrike Herzschuh","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70640","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70640","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Boreal forests cover nearly one-third of global forest area. Glacial cycles have shaped the distribution and connectivity of modern Pinaceae genera, yet species-level refugia, postglacial migrations, and hybridization patterns remain unclear due to limited high-resolution taxonomic and temporal data. We applied a hybridization capture approach targeting complete chloroplast genomes of <i>Abies</i>, <i>Larix</i>, <i>Picea</i>, and <i>Pinus</i> to sedimentary ancient DNA (<i>sed</i>aDNA) from 238 samples across 19 sediment records spanning the last 40,000 years from Europe, Asia, and Alaska. Methodological improvements enhanced sequencing depth and genome coverage, enabling detection of low-abundance taxa and the establishment of semiquantitative conifer time series. Population dynamics were inferred from single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP)-based species identification, admixture analysis, and haplotype network reconstruction. Previously undocumented glacial refugial Pinaceae populations were identified in western Taymyr, southern Yakutia, and Far East Siberia. Postglacial recolonization began with <i>Larix</i> as a pioneer during the Late Glacial, followed by <i>Picea</i> and <i>Pinus</i> in subsequent warming phases. On the eastern Tibetan Plateau, <i>Picea asperata</i> and <i>Picea purpurea</i> were dominant. Postglacial Pinaceae dynamics across Europe showed early dominance of <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> in high latitude (Kola Peninsula) and <i>Pinus cembra</i> and <i>Pinus mugo</i> in alpine regions (Swiss and Dinaric Alps) from the Late Glacial, later replaced primarily by <i>Picea abies</i>, which dominated in Czechia, southwestern Russia, and possibly southern Sweden, while <i>Pin. sylvestris</i> remained dominant in northern Germany. We also identified undocumented populations, including a potential hybrid spruce, possibly <i>Picea fennica</i>, expanding in the Kola Peninsula during the Early Holocene, and scattered <i>Larix decidua</i> populations across Europe in the Early and Middle Holocene. In the Dinaric Alps, <i>Picea</i> populations shifted from eastern to western lineages during the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition. In south-central Alaska, <i>Picea glauca</i> colonized early and expanded in the Late Holocene. Additionally, we documented potential hybridization zones across Europe between <i>Pic. abies</i> and <i>Picea obovata</i>, <i>Abies sibirica</i> and <i>Abies alba</i>, and <i>L. decidua</i> and <i>Larix sibirica</i>, as well as admixture among <i>Larix</i> species and between <i>Pinus sibirica</i> and <i>Pinus pumila</i> in Siberia. In conclusion, hybridization capture of <i>sed</i>aDNA provided high-resolution insights into past Pinaceae dynamics in Eurasia, supporting future paleogenomic research and forest restoration management.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70640","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174009","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 : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70646
Tobias Elsässer, Shawn J. Leroux, Ralf B. Schäfer, Jürg W. Spaak
{"title":"How dispersal and habitat quality shape aquatic–terrestrial metacommunities","authors":"Tobias Elsässer, Shawn J. Leroux, Ralf B. Schäfer, Jürg W. Spaak","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70646","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70646","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Current changes in land use, predominantly from agriculture and urbanization, affect both habitat quality and species dispersal ability. Understanding how these factors influence species distributions in aquatic–terrestrial metacommunities is critical for predicting community dynamics. In this study, we developed a spatially explicit metacommunity model that integrates generated landscapes with a simple four-species, two-trophic-level community consisting of an aquatic emerging prey, a terrestrial prey, and two predators with different prey preferences (aquatic vs. terrestrial). Habitat quality of local stream habitats was determined by upstream agricultural land use, while predator dispersal matrices were generated from simulated movement across heterogeneous landscapes. This framework allowed us to disentangle the relative and interacting roles of habitat quality and dispersal in shaping species abundances. Our simulations revealed that the relative importance of habitat quality and dispersal differed across species. By design, habitat quality only influenced the aquatic prey directly, and dispersal was possible only for predators. However, through ecological dynamics within the food web, habitat quality and dispersal also influenced the other species. Habitat quality had the strongest positive effect on the predator with aquatic preference, mediated through increases in aquatic prey. This, in turn, resulted in a decline in terrestrial prey, whereas the predator with terrestrial preference was largely unaffected. The effects of dispersal on the predator with aquatic preference were generally stronger than the effects of habitat quality, but exhibited a stronger variability, driven by landscape and community parameters. The dynamics of the predator with terrestrial preference were dominated by dispersal effects, whereas those of aquatic prey were shaped by habitat quality, and the terrestrial prey responded approximately equally to both processes. This study provides a framework for understanding how spatial processes interact with local habitat factors to shape ecological communities in fragmented landscapes. Our findings emphasize that dispersal dynamics need stronger consideration in empirical field studies, as context-specific dispersal mechanisms can strongly affect community composition.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70646","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174113","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 : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70670
John M. Hagan, Benjamin Shamgochian, Molly M. L. Taylor, J. Michael Reed
{"title":"Using LiDAR to quantify, map, and conserve late-successional and old-growth forest in Maine, USA","authors":"John M. Hagan, Benjamin Shamgochian, Molly M. L. Taylor, J. Michael Reed","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70670","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70670","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The world continues to lose late-successional and old-growth (LSOG) forest as the human population and demand for wood fiber grow. However, older forest age classes provide structural and compositional characteristics important to biodiversity that are often not present in forests managed for timber. LSOG forest conservation has been constrained by our inability to accurately and cost-effectively map it over large spatial scales. The advent of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides a potential solution to this problem. We used publicly available LiDAR to map LSOG forest for approximately 4.2 million ha of the unorganized territories of Maine, USA. We built a classification model using known-class forest types and eight canopy structure metrics derived from the LiDAR point cloud. The model was 93% accurate in distinguishing “Not LSOG” forest from three LSOG classes (transitioning late successional, late successional, and old growth). At a finer level, the model was also effective at distinguishing transitioning late successional from late-successional forest, but less effective at differentiating old growth from late-successional forest. We evaluated the amounts and rates of LSOG forest loss across landowner types, such as public lands, private commercial forests, and private conservation forests. Private commercial forest had the most LSOG forest of any owner type but it was losing it faster (−2.2%/year) than other owner types. Tens of thousands of distinct LSOG parcels were identified throughout the study area, the most common size between 1 and 5 ha. The advent of this precise, accurate, spatially explicit LSOG map is being used by conservation planners and facilitating a larger social conversation about how much LSOG to conserve and how it should be distributed across the landscape.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70670","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174402","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 : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70683
Allison M. Brehm, Vania R. Assis, Lynn B. Martin, John L. Orrock
{"title":"Individual characteristics, experience, and environmental conditions shape large-scale patterns of animal activity timing","authors":"Allison M. Brehm, Vania R. Assis, Lynn B. Martin, John L. Orrock","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70683","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The timing of an animal's activity affects its survival and reproduction because timing determines the nature of every interaction an organism has with its environment. Although the timing of activity may depend on aspects of the individual (e.g., body mass, reproductive status, experience) or the nature of the environment (e.g., temperature, precipitation, abundance of congeners), we lack studies that evaluate timing of large numbers of conspecifics spanning an array of environmental conditions. We quantified the timing of activity onset (measured as the time when an individual was captured) for 1749 capture events of 716 individual white-footed mice (<i>Peromyscus leucopus</i>) sampled in 2022 and 2023 at eight sites in the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) across the upper midwestern and eastern United States. We found strong effects of body mass, sex, and prior capture experience on activity onset. Larger individuals, reproductive females, and individuals with previous capture experience were all captured earlier in the night. Extrinsic factors also influenced activity onset: Animals were captured earlier when temperatures were warmer, later on nights with precipitation, and earlier as the density of congeners increased. Individual traits interacted with extrinsic factors to influence activity onset, as the shift to earlier capture with increasing capture experience was greatest for smaller individuals, and only reproductive females were active earlier (not males or nonreproductive females). Overall, our results indicated a strong role for individual and environmental factors on the timing of activity onset: Individuals modified the timing of activity onset in response to environmental conditions, used experience to potentially increase resource acquisition (earlier activity following initial capture), and shifted activity in more-competitive environments (earlier activity when density of conspecifics was high). Our results provide broad evidence of learning by wild rodents across a large extent of the species' geographic range, suggesting that use of experience to modify behavior is common for animals in natural environments. Moreover, our results indicate that traits that vary among individuals (e.g., sex, age) and within individuals (experience) are essential for predicting changes in individual behavior as well as potential changes in interactions mediated by individual activity (e.g., competition, predation, and disease dynamics).</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70683","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174114","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 : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70678
Noémie Friscourt, Andrea Walters, Simon Wotherspoon, Mia Wege, Christopher C. Chapman, Elizabeth A. Brewer, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, W. Chris Oosthuizen, Yves Cherel, Benjamin Arthur, Mary-Anne Lea
{"title":"Individual specialization and temporal changes in Antarctic fur seal trophic ecology from a multi-tracer approach","authors":"Noémie Friscourt, Andrea Walters, Simon Wotherspoon, Mia Wege, Christopher C. Chapman, Elizabeth A. Brewer, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, W. Chris Oosthuizen, Yves Cherel, Benjamin Arthur, Mary-Anne Lea","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70678","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70678","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Substantial individual variation in diet and foraging strategies can exist within populations. These differences can enhance individual foraging efficiency, reduce intraspecific competition, and provide fitness advantages that increase the resilience of a population. Understanding the extent and stability of individual variation, and its contribution to population niche dynamics, is therefore important for interpreting ecological responses, particularly under changing environmental conditions. We used bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses together with tracking data to assess individual- and population-level variation in the foraging strategies of adult female Antarctic fur seals (<i>Arctocephalus gazella</i>) from Marion Island (southern Indian Ocean), during the winter migration period, over a decade (2008–2018). We aimed to (1) determine the existence and degree of individual specialization within the population, (2) identify foraging strategies and assess potential influences of body size, and (3) evaluate the temporal stability of foraging strategies, trophic position, and the population isotopic niche, considering potential changes in isotopic baselines. Isotopic data from 129 whiskers from 80 individuals revealed four main foraging strategies, with individuals ranging from extreme specialists to generalists. Corresponding tracking data highlighted differences in the use of oceanographic features niches among these groups, notably in the time spent south or north of the Polar Front. Observed foraging patterns were not explained by body size but instead likely reflect a combination of intrinsic (e.g., energetic costs, experience, genetic legacy) and extrinsic factors (e.g., intra- and interspecific competition and environmental variability). Interannual fluctuations in the population's isotopic niche were also detected, potentially linked to changes in environmental conditions, highlighting the population's adaptability to ecosystem changes. Foraging strategies appear to be temporally stable, as 61% of the 31 females sampled over multiple years showed fidelity to foraging areas, and 74% in their resource use. This suggests that while the population exhibits adaptability to environmental variability, individual seals may consistently employ specific foraging behaviors to limit the potential costs of shifting foraging area and diet. Given the accelerating impacts of climate change on the Southern Ocean, this study underscores the value of stable isotope analysis of whiskers as a powerful, minimally invasive tool for long-term ecological monitoring.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70678","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174401","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 : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70679
Guang-Cheng Cheng, Qing He, Quan-Xing Liu
{"title":"Creek-imposed gradients reshape plant allometric traits and sediment retention in a salt marsh","authors":"Guang-Cheng Cheng, Qing He, Quan-Xing Liu","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70679","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70679","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tidal creeks impose strong hydrological and geomorphic gradients that shape plant traits and sediment dynamics in salt marshes. However, how creek-imposed gradients reorganize plant allometric strategies and how these trait shifts regulate sediment retention remain poorly quantified. We conducted field surveys and sediment measurements along cross-creek transects in the Chongming Dongtan salt marshes (Yangtze River Estuary) to examine spatial variation in vegetation traits, environmental conditions, and sediment processes. Using generalized linear models (GLMs), non-parametric local regression (LOESS), and Gaussian nonlinear fitting, we quantified relationships between plant allometry, vegetation density, and suspended sediment concentration, net sediment deposition, and sediment retention rate. Plant traits varied systematically with distance from tidal creeks: aboveground biomass of the pioneer species <i>Scirpus mariqueter</i> near creek edges was approximately 2.6-fold higher than at 30 m inland, while stem height–diameter relationships shifted from structural reinforcement near creeks to height investment farther from creeks, reflecting allometric trade-offs along hydrodynamic stress gradients. Sediment retention exhibited a clear nonlinear response to vegetation density, peaking at intermediate densities (~1000–1500 shoots/m<sup>2</sup>). These results demonstrate that tidal creeks act as trait-based filters that generate emergent, nonlinear sediment retention patterns, providing mechanistic insight into biogeomorphic self-organization and quantitative guidance for nature-based salt marsh conservation and restoration.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70679","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174112","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 : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.70652
Shulin Wang, Fujiang Hou
{"title":"The seed bank created by the dung of large herbivores drives seed circulation in an alpine meadow","authors":"Shulin Wang, Fujiang Hou","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.70652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70652","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Seed circulation (i.e., sexual reproduction) is vital for the regeneration of aboveground grassland vegetation (AGV). It occurs in several steps: seed production (seed rain, SR), dispersal (endozoochory, i.e., dung seed bank, DSB), formation of the soil seed bank (SSB), germination, seedling growth, and establishment of adult plants. However, the effects of seasonal rotational grazing on these seed circulation components and their interactions remain unclear, particularly in alpine regions. We found that AGV, SR, SSB, and DSB were analyzed during seasonal (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) grazing by yaks (<i>Poephagus grunniens</i>) in an alpine meadow on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to address this issue. AGV species richness gradually decreased from 2020 to 2022 in all seasonal paddocks, and species density was significantly greater in warm-season paddocks (summer and autumn) than in cold-season paddocks (spring and winter). Grazing during the flowering and seed-setting periods (mid-June to early August) reduced both the richness and density of SR species and interrupted SSB supplementation. The density of DSB species in the warm-season paddocks was significantly greater than that in the cold-season paddocks. AGV → SR → SSB and AGV → DSB → SSB were two essential seed circulation pathways of alpine meadows under seasonal grazing, and the contribution of DSB to grassland renewal should not be ignored. Seasonal grazing affects the circulation of grassland seeds through livestock, particularly regarding phenology. Grazing during seed maturation (mid-August to late September) promoted the renewal and development of grassland vegetation by driving seed circulation through DSB. We recommend that proper rotation of seasonal grazing pastures are effective grazing managements as well as plant diversity conservation strategies in alpine regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.70652","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148174111","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}