Ecological Applications最新文献

{"title":"Legume life history interacts with land use degradation of rhizobia: Implications for restoration success","authors":"Susan M. Magnoli,&nbsp;James D. Bever","doi":"10.1002/eap.70027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70027","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Restoration of soil microbial communities, and microbial mutualists in particular, is increasingly recognized as critical for the successful restoration of grassland plant communities. Although the positive effects of restoring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi during the restoration of these systems have been well documented, less is known about the potential importance of nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria, which associate with legume plant species that comprise an essential part of grassland plant communities, to restoration outcomes. In a series of greenhouse and field experiments, we examined the effects of disturbance on rhizobium communities, how plant interactions with these mutualists changed with disturbance, and whether rhizobia can be used to enhance the establishment of desirable native legume species in degraded grasslands. We found that agricultural disturbance alters rhizobium communities in ways that affect the growth and survival of legume species. Native legume species derived more benefit from interacting with rhizobia than did non-native species, regardless of rhizobia disturbance history. Additionally, slow-growing, long-lived legume species received more benefits from associating with rhizobia from undisturbed native grasslands than from associating with rhizobia from more disturbed sites. Together, this suggests that native rhizobia may be key to enhancing the restoration success of legumes in disturbed habitats.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/eap.70027","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143865789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of forest fragmentation on interactions between plants and their insect herbivores and fungal pathogens","authors":"Ashwin Viswanathan,&nbsp;Robert Bagchi,&nbsp;Jaboury Ghazoul,&nbsp;Ganesh Honwad,&nbsp;Owen T. Lewis","doi":"10.1002/eap.70025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70025","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Natural enemies of plants, including fungal pathogens and insect herbivores, can maintain plant diversity if their harmful effects on seeds and seedlings are density-dependent (the Janzen–Connell hypothesis). As insect and fungal communities can be modified by anthropogenic habitat fragmentation, we conducted a field experiment to understand how fragmentation might affect the ability of natural enemies to maintain diversity. In 21 rainforest fragments in the Western Ghats, India, we suppressed insects and fungi with biocides and examined consequent changes in the survival of naturally dispersed tree seedlings. Seedling survival decreased with the density of conspecific seedlings in the same plot. This effect was reduced by fungicide applications, especially in large forest fragments. Insecticide increased seedling survival, but its effects were independent of fragment area and conspecific density. The effects of conspecific density and fungicide were predominantly driven by the most abundant species, <i>Syzygium rubicundum</i>. Overall, these results indicate that forest fragmentation can alter biotic processes that regulate plant diversity. However, the overall impact of fragmentation through this pathway may be limited to relatively few species.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143861811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metapopulation distribution shapes year-round overlap with fisheries for a circumpolar seabird","authors":"Kalinka Rexer-Huber,&nbsp;Thomas A. Clay,&nbsp;Paulo Catry,&nbsp;Igor Debski,&nbsp;Graham Parker,&nbsp;Raül Ramos,&nbsp;Bruce C. Robertson,&nbsp;Peter G. Ryan,&nbsp;Paul M. Sagar,&nbsp;Andrew Stanworth,&nbsp;David R. Thompson,&nbsp;Geoffrey N. Tuck,&nbsp;Henri Weimerskirch,&nbsp;Richard A. Phillips","doi":"10.1002/eap.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although fisheries bycatch is the greatest threat to many migratory marine megafauna, it remains unclear how population exposure to bycatch varies across the global range of threatened species. Such assessments across multiple populations are crucial for understanding variation in impacts and for identifying the management bodies responsible for reducing bycatch. Here, we combine extensive biologging data from white-chinned petrel (<i>Procellaria aequinoctialis</i>) populations (representing &gt;98% of their global breeding population) with pelagic and demersal longline and trawl fishing effort to map the global distribution and fisheries-overlap hotspots for the most bycaught seabird in the Southern Hemisphere. We tracked the year-round movements of 132 adults in 2006–2018 and examined spatial overlap among seven populations comprising three genetically distinct groupings (metapopulations). Foraging areas during the nonbreeding season were more concentrated than during breeding, with birds from all populations migrating to continental shelf or upwelling zones, but with low spatial overlap among metapopulations. Fisheries overlap differed more among than within metapopulations, underlining that these should be considered separate management units. Overlap with pelagic longline fisheries was greatest for Indian Ocean populations, and from the fleets of South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, and Spain, off southern Africa and in the High Seas. Overlap with demersal longline and trawl fisheries was greatest for Indian and Atlantic Ocean populations, within the Exclusive Economic Zones of South Africa, Namibia, and Argentina, and with the South Korean demersal longline fleet in the High Seas. The high overlap with South Korean longliners in the southwest Atlantic Ocean is of particular concern as demersal fishing in this region is not covered by any Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO). We also identified fisheries-overlap hotspots within RFMOs where there are no seabird-bycatch mitigation requirements (1.5%–53.1% of total overlap within the area of competence of each RFMO), or where current mitigation regulations need to be strengthened. Our recommendations are that management bodies target the high-priority fisheries we have identified for improved bycatch monitoring, mandatory best-practice bycatch mitigation, and close monitoring of compliance, given the conservation concerns for white-chinned petrels and other threatened seabirds.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/eap.70019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143852674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Going with the flow: Leveraging reef-scale hydrodynamics for upscaling larval-based restoration","authors":"Marine Gouezo,&nbsp;Clothilde Langlais,&nbsp;Jack Beardsley,&nbsp;George Roff,&nbsp;Peter L. Harrison,&nbsp;Damian P. Thomson,&nbsp;Christopher Doropoulos","doi":"10.1002/eap.70020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Anthropogenic pressures are impacting coastal marine ecosystems, necessitating large-scale interventions to accelerate recovery. Propagule-based restoration holds the potential for restoring shallow coastal systems at hectare scales by harnessing natural dispersal. However, predicting propagule dispersal remains challenging due to the complex hydrodynamic nature of coastal marine ecosystems and the complex behaviors of marine propagules. To improve predictions of fine-scale larval dispersal patterns, we developed a 3D reef-scale (~30-m resolution) dispersal model for Lizard Island, Australia, with the aim to predict the effect of island-scale hydrodynamics on the distribution of coral spawn slicks and larvae. Using in situ field observations and dispersal simulations, we assessed the model's capability to (1) forecast hydrodynamic conditions, (2) predict coral spawn slick convergence zones for collection efforts, and (3) identify optimal locations and timeframes where high particle residence time may enhance local settlement following larval delivery to damaged reefs. Predictions of convergence zones in the upper water column aligned well with field observations of coral spawn slicks. At the reef benthos, the model captured variability in current speed and direction at ~58% of studied locations. At other locations, the model did not resolve hydrodynamic conditions due to sheltering effects and associated hydrodynamic processes occurring at a scale below 50 m. At locations where the model performed well, propagules could remain within a 1-ha area around the delivery site for 5–15 h depending on locations and the timing of larval release. These high retention conditions were infrequent but occurred at least once at 15 of the 25 studied sites. Observations of local currents a posteriori confirmed model predictions, showing periods of little water movement lasting from 6.5 to 15 h. Overall, our study highlights fine-scale dispersal modeling as a key tool for scaling up larval-based reef restoration, while also acknowledging the need for better predictions of local conditions in complex, shallow environments. Applications of fine-scale modeling, coupled with local knowledge of reproductive timing and larval behavioral ecology, assist with the mass collection of propagules upon release and in identifying areas and times of optimal larval deployment to achieve the greatest impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/eap.70020","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143786882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using dynamic foodscape models to assess bottom-up constraints on population performance of herbivores","authors":"Sierra L. Robatcek,&nbsp;Lisa A. Shipley,&nbsp;Craig White,&nbsp;Ryan A. Long","doi":"10.1002/eap.70015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Resource heterogeneity governs a multitude of ecological processes, but the mechanisms by which heterogeneity influences population performance are not fully resolved. Because optimizing behavior is challenging in heterogeneous landscapes, individual variation in foraging and movement strategies is common, and understanding the consequences of that variation is one of the most pressing challenges in modern ecology. In theory, such consequences should be modulated at least in part by nutrition, which directly influences discretionary energy available for growth and reproduction. We developed a series of linked dynamic models for predicting (1) spatiotemporal variation in the foodscapes available to seven distinct populations of elk (<i>Cervus canadensis</i>) in Idaho, USA, and (2) variation in pregnancy rates among those populations as a function of foodscape use and availability. Foodscape models, which predicted variation in suitable forage biomass (biomass of forage that met or exceeded requirements of female elk at peak lactation), generally performed well, with adjusted <i>R</i>² values ranging from 0.34 to 0.51. Patterns of foodscape use differed among populations and years, with some populations showing selection for the foodscape and others exhibiting indifference or even avoidance of high-quality forage resources. Pregnancy rates ranged from 66% to 100%, and our top model relating pregnancy to metrics of forage availability explained 41% of the variation among 20 elk population-years. Our top model relating pregnancy to foodscape use by elk explained 57% of the variation in pregnancy rates among 12 population-years. Pregnancy rates were influenced more strongly by heterogeneity in foodscape use and availability than by differences in mean or maximum suitable biomass among populations. Our results suggest that population performance of elk was modulated both by the availability of high-quality forage and by factors that constrained use of the foodscape by elk. The dynamic modeling approach we developed for linking nutritional resources to herbivore performance is generalizable to many other species and systems and can be used by wildlife managers to assess whether herbivore populations might be limited by bottom-up factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143689809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deciduous forests hold conservation value for birds within South Andaman Island, India","authors":"Arpitha Jayanth,&nbsp;Zankhna Patel,&nbsp;Mohammed Mubeen,&nbsp;Karthikayan M.,&nbsp;Rohit Naniwadekar","doi":"10.1002/eap.70014","DOIUrl":"10.1002/eap.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Greater diversity of habitats on islands is often correlated with higher species richness (including endemic and threatened taxa), implying the need to understand species–habitat associations. Such habitat associations could also point toward the role of abiotic filtering and competition in structuring species communities, necessitating the examination of the role of species traits and phylogenetic relationships in intra-island community organization, an aspect poorly examined in the literature. We investigated the composition and structuring of forest bird communities in closely co-occurring evergreen and deciduous forests within South Andaman Island (Indian Ocean), wherein the importance of deciduous forests for birds is undervalued. We sampled 27 transects over 2 years and compared bird species composition and diversity across the two habitats. We examined species-specific associations with habitat (forest) type, basal area, and distance from human settlements, and tested whether these associations were explained by species functional traits and tested for phylogenetic signal after factoring in the effects of environmental predictors. Bird species compositions were markedly distinct across the two habitat types, with deciduous forests having greater taxonomic and functional, but not greater phylogenetic, diversity of forest birds. The distribution of forest birds, including several endemic and threatened species within the island, was largely explained by habitat type (with 39% of the bird species analyzed showing higher occurrence probabilities in deciduous forests), followed by distance from human settlements and basal area. We did not find evidence of species traits or phylogenetic relationships mediating these habitat preferences, perhaps due to a relatively impoverished species pool, as is typical on islands. Nevertheless, our results underscore the value of deciduous forests in harboring high islandic species diversity and being the preferred habitat of several endemic and threatened bird species. Given the historic focus on evergreen forests and the increasing anthropogenic pressure on the forests of the Andamans, we highlight the critical need to include rapidly diminishing deciduous forests in existing conservation plans.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143665409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from reference, restored, and disturbed estuarine wetlands in Pacific Northwest, USA","authors":"Trevor Williams,&nbsp;Christopher N. Janousek,&nbsp;Maggie A. McKeon,&nbsp;Heida L. Diefenderfer,&nbsp;Craig E. Cornu,&nbsp;Amy B. Borde,&nbsp;Jude Apple,&nbsp;Laura S. Brophy,&nbsp;Matthew Norwood,&nbsp;Matthew A. Schultz,&nbsp;Scott D. Bridgham","doi":"10.1002/eap.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is substantial interest in restoring tidal wetlands because of their high rates of long-term soil carbon sequestration and other valued ecosystem services. However, these wetlands are sometimes net sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) that may offset their climate cooling potential. GHG fluxes vary widely within and across tidal wetlands, so it is essential to better understand how key environmental drivers, and importantly, land management, affect GHG dynamics. We measured methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes at 26 reference and restored tidal wetland sites and eight nontidal pastures (mostly diked former tidal wetlands) in five estuaries in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), USA. We measured fluxes 7–8 times over one year to assess the effects of environmental drivers, wetland type, and land management on CH₄ and N₂O fluxes. Linear relationships between CH₄ fluxes and environmental drivers were poor, but a machine-learning approach with boosted regression trees provided strong predictability for fluxes based upon wetland surface elevation, water-table level, and salinity. Less important variables were groundwater pH, wetland type, and temperature. Under oligohaline conditions, CH₄ fluxes were variable and sometimes very high, but fluxes at salinities above 2 ppt were relatively low on an annual basis. Fluxes of CH₄ were higher in restored tidal marshes and wet pastures than in reference tidal marshes, tidal swamps, and dry pastures. The N₂O model had lower predictive power than the CH₄ model, with wetland type as the most important factor, although N₂O fluxes across all wetland types were low (median of zero). Our results indicate that estuarine hydrologic gradients are a key driver of CH₄ fluxes and that wetland land use impacts on CH₄ fluxes are largely mediated by their varying environmental conditions. In the PNW, estuarine wetlands that have low salinity, lower elevation, and have high water tables are more likely to have increased CH₄ emissions that may offset their carbon sequestration benefits until they gain enough elevation through accretion. This study also provides a transferrable modeling approach to predict the consequences of coastal wetland management on GHG fluxes using monitoring data from a limited set of key environmental drivers.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143602497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel associations among insect herbivores and trees: Patterns of occurrence and damage on pines and eucalypts","authors":"Leonel Stazione,&nbsp;Juan C. Corley,&nbsp;Jeremy D. Allison,&nbsp;Brett P. Hurley,&nbsp;Simon A. Lawson,&nbsp;M. Victoria Lantschner","doi":"10.1002/eap.70018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70018","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Globalization has led to a significant increase in the establishment of forest plantations with exotic species and to the accidental introduction of forest insects worldwide. Cumulatively, these factors contribute to the increased occurrence of novel associations between phytophagous insects and trees, leading to new interactions between species that have not historically co-occurred. Here, we reviewed the patterns of novel associations between herbivorous insects and pines and eucalypts at a global scale and identified factors that could favor the occurrence of novel associations and their impacts on forestry. We recorded 766 novel associations of insects with pines and 356 with eucalypts, involving 852 species of herbivorous insects. Most of the novel associations occurred in the Neotropic, Austro-Pacific, and Palearctic regions. In all biogeographic regions, novel associations involved mostly native insects on exotic trees, except for the Nearctic, where exotic insects were dominant. Generalist insects were more frequently involved in novel associations, but specialist ones caused higher damage levels. Foliage feeders and wood and phloem feeders were the most frequent feeding guilds involved in new associations, while sap feeders, shoot feeders, and fruit and seed feeders were rare. For pines, non-native insects were more frequently associated with trees phylogenetically related to hosts in their native range, and native insects were more frequently associated with unrelated hosts. However, for both exotic and native insects, novel associations with eucalypts primarily involved hosts that are unrelated to hosts in their native range. The significance of extensive forest plantations with non-native species and the biogeographic context are emphasized as factors associated with the occurrence of novel associations between insects and trees. This study highlights the importance of international collaboration in forest insect monitoring and surveillance programs to facilitate the early detection of novel associations as an important first step toward minimizing their impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143602498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fall and rise of a threatened raptor: Unraveling long-term population dynamics with spatially explicit integrated models","authors":"Jaume A. Badia-Boher,&nbsp;Antonio Hernández-Matías,&nbsp;Santi Mañosa,&nbsp;Francesc Parés,&nbsp;Josep Maria Bas,&nbsp;Diego J. Arévalo-Ayala,&nbsp;Joan Real","doi":"10.1002/eap.70013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Population dynamics are governed by the so-called four BIDE processes: birth, immigration, death, and emigration. However, most population models fail to explicitly consider all four processes, which may hinder a comprehensive understanding of how and why populations change over time. The advent of Integrated Population Models (IPMs) and recent developments in spatial mark–recapture models have enabled deeper insights into demography and dispersal. In this study, we merged both kinds of models into a spatially explicit IPM. By integrating count, reproduction, mark–recapture, and dispersal data, this framework permitted the separate modeling of all BIDE processes, which subsequently allowed (1) a fine-scale estimation of population dynamics and (2) the estimation of central population parameters and stages that have traditionally been elusive in demographic studies but are key to applied conservation, such as the long-term dynamics of floaters (sexually mature non-breeders), sink–source status, and dispersal processes. Using this approach, we carried out a fine-scale assessment of the long-term dynamics and demographic drivers of one long-lived Bonelli's eagle population from Western Europe (1986–2020). Our results illustrated a considerable population decline and subsequent recovery alongside multiple demographic insights scarcely documented to date in long-lived species. First, we reported a decrease and subsequent increase in floater numbers probably associated with parallel changes in the breeding population, hence contributing to the scarce empirical knowledge available about the role and dynamics of floaters. Second, we detected a change in average population functioning from a sink to a neutral contributor, thus shedding light on the flexibility and drivers of sink-source dynamics. Third, we underscored the central role of non-breeder survival for population recovery, suggesting that long-lived species conservation action should not only focus on adult or breeding populations, as is typically the case. Fourth, we quantified the magnitudes and variations of local and dispersal processes in the long term and discussed their potential implications in terms of management implementation. Overall, our study highlights the potential of spatially explicit IPMs to build more complete assessments of population dynamics, contribute to better-informed conservation action, and help fill knowledge gaps in ecological sciences.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143602774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Restored streams recover food web properties but with different scaling relationships when compared with natural streams","authors":"Minyoung Lee,&nbsp;Yongeun Kim,&nbsp;Dougu Nam,&nbsp;Kijong Cho","doi":"10.1002/eap.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite extensive studies revealing differences in the composition of aquatic assemblages between restored streams and natural or pre-restoration states, understanding the ecological consequences and trajectories of stream restoration remains challenging. Food webs are an important way of mapping biodiversity to ecosystem functioning by describing feeding linkages and energy transfer pathways. Describing food webs can provide ecological insights into stream restoration. This study analyzed an unprecedented large quantity of food web data (more than 1700 webs) based on long-term (2008–2018) biomonitoring data in South Korea using a feeding link extrapolation. By doing so, we aimed to describe general patterns for the reassembly of aquatic food webs in restored streams. Specifically, we analyzed 12 indices related to the food web structure and robustness of restored streams and compared them with those of natural streams. First, the species richness, link numbers, link density, and connectance of the restored streams were all lower than those of the natural streams, indicating smaller food webs with less complexity. Second, the scaling relationship analyses between the other food web indices and species richness and connectance showed different mechanisms for structuring food webs in restored streams compared with natural streams. In particular, greater generalist feeding by consumers was identified as a major mechanism that increased the connectance of restored streams, which may increase their robustness against external disturbances. The fractions of the top, intermediate, and basal nodes in the restored streams changed rapidly as species richness increased compared with those of natural streams. Food web connectance and robustness in the restored streams tended to increase over time, reaching a level similar to that of natural streams. This suggests that the long-term ecological recovery of the restored food webs is underway. Overall, our findings indicate that restored stream food webs have ecological features distinct from those of natural streams, suggesting high compositional flexibility, and that consumers with a broad diet are the major driving forces behind these differences. Our food web analyses provide a greater understanding of restored streams and help support sustainable stream management through restoration strategies. These results provide new insights into the ecological potential of stream restoration.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143581504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}