Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology最新文献

{"title":"A new player in the Panamanian fig tree – fig wasp mutualism; a study on the effect of gall midges on Ficus citrifolia","authors":"H. Roberta Hedberg,&nbsp;Lovisa Dück,&nbsp;K. Charlotte Jandér,&nbsp;Lisette van Kolfschoten","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103975","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103975","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The mutualism between the fig tree and the pollinating fig wasps is a keystone interaction in tropical forests. However, many antagonistic interactions also occur in the system, taking advantage of the fig trees and the pollinator. One such example is an antagonistic gall midge (Cecidomyiidae) that develops inside figs. Gall midges inside figs have been documented in a few <em>Ficus</em> species around the world, but to our knowledge they have not previously been observed in Panama. In this study the newly observed Panamanian fig gall midge is documented, together with its parasitoid wasp. The fig gall midge was only found in <em>Ficus citrifolia</em> figs. We investigated the effect of fig gall midge presence on the number of seeds and the number of pollinating wasps (<em>Pegoscapus tonduzi</em>) in a fig and aimed to identify the species based on morphology and barcoding of the COI region. We found that the fig gall midge had no, or a negligible effect, on the reproduction of the fig tree - fig wasp mutualism. The fig gall midge most likely belongs to the genus <em>Ficiomyia</em>, close to <em>Ficiomyia perarticulata</em>. The parasitoid belongs to the genus <em>Physothorax,</em> close to <em>Physothorax russelli</em>. This study suggests that the potentially newly arrived fig gall midge currently has no major effect on the fig tree - fig wasp mutualism. However, should infestation rates increase, it is likely that the fig gall midge would affect the mutualism negatively as it has in other parts of the world. More studies on the fig gall midge species distributions in this region would be valuable and would connect these newly observed species to a larger community, adding yet another species to this complex but classic example of a mutualism.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X23000875/pdfft?md5=502bd39b2e1aeeefe055f88dd69e6d16&pid=1-s2.0-S1146609X23000875-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139082646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Thermal tolerance of monomorphic ants: The importance of body size","authors":"Mateusz Okrutniak ,&nbsp;Irena M. Grześ ,&nbsp;Julia Musiał","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.103981","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.103981","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The foraging behavior of ants may be linked to the body size of workers, which serves as an adaptation to suboptimal external temperatures. The relationship between foraging behavior and body size is especially noticeable in polymorphic species, which display a broad range of variation in worker body size. An increasing number of studies have found that body size plays an important role in the division of labor among monomorphic ants, which do not display physical subcastes of workers. This study aimed to investigate whether the workers of the monomorphic ant <em>Lasius niger</em> respond to temperature in a similar way to polymorphic species. Surprisingly, our findings indicate that the mean body size of workers foraging in high temperatures during the afternoon is significantly smaller than that of workers foraging in much lower temperatures during the morning. Our study supports the idea, proposed by other authors, that simple radiative heat transfer does not fully explain the significance of body size for thermal tolerance. We hypothesize that allocating smaller workers when the temperature is high protects the colony from overheating.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139714143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Sympatric munias in tropical areas segregate spatially through different nest site selections to achieve coexistence","authors":"Chen-Wei Guo ,&nbsp;Li-Li Li ,&nbsp;Chen-Yang Liu ,&nbsp;Ru-Chuan He ,&nbsp;Rui-Chang Quan","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.103982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.103982","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Competition for nest site resources among sympatric bird species leads to differences in occupying superior resources, which can directly influence their breeding performance. However, how sympatric congeneric bird species alleviate interspecific competition in nest site selection and achieve coexistence remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a long-term investigation on the nest site selection and breeding performance of two sympatric congeneric species, Scaly-breasted Munia (<em>Lonchura striata</em>) and White-rumped Munia (<em>Lonchura punctulata</em>) in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, southwest China, from 2017 to 2021. Our findings revealed that White-rumped Munia and Scaly-breasted Munia shared overlapped breeding period, but had significant spatial segregation. Regarding the impact of nest site selection on the breeding performance of these two bird species, we found that increasing nest concealment led to higher nestling numbers, fledgling numbers, and breeding success rate. Conversely, greater proximity to nests of heterologous species was correlated with reduced nestling numbers, hatching rates, and breeding success rates. Additionally, nests located in closer proximity to water edges exhibited reduced fledgling numbers, whereas choosing trees with larger diameter at breast height positively correlated with higher fledgling numbers. Compared to White-rumped Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia were inclined to occupy more concealed nests, tree with larger diameters, and closer to heterologous nests. Therefore, the nestling numbers, the fledgling rate, and the breeding success rate of the Scaly-breasted Munia were significantly higher than those of the White-rumped Munia. This study further showed that the increase of nest concealment and decrease of nearest distance to the nest of heterologous species decreased nest predation rate, therefore, increased the breeding success rate. Our study unveiled that, by spatial segregation and different nest site selection, two sibling bird species with highly overlapped breeding period can achieve coexistence in tropical areas.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140030294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Unraveling the effects of climate change on the Patagonian genus Onuris (Brassicaceae: Eudemeae) at different phylogenetic scales","authors":"Diego L. Salariato,&nbsp;Fernando O. Zuloaga","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.103983","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.103983","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Anthropogenic climate change has been identified as one of the main threats to current biodiversity, particularly for mountain species, which are especially sensitive to reductions of suitable habitat. Climate change impact assessments through correlative models have become a widely used tool for evaluating vulnerability of species to global warming. However, interpreting these results in an evolutionary context is essential to understand the phylogenetic structure of the predicted impact, as well as the potential evolutionary responses. The present study evaluates the impact of climate change on the Andean-Patagonian genus <em>Onuris</em>, interpreting the effect on its species and main phylogenetic groups. We first estimated a species phylogeny using both nuclear ribosomal and plastid data, which was then used to interpret the evolution of climatic niches and characterize the vulnerability of different species, evolutionary significant units (ESUs), and main lineages to climate change. Evaluations were conducted at the species level using species-specific metrics and at the genus level with emergent metrics such as richness, phylogenetic diversity, and shared response to local extirpation. Analyses showed that closely related species exhibit greater climatic niche similarity, suggesting a possible pattern of phylogenetic niche conservatism for divergence in the genus, with the greatest niche divergence recovered between lineages distributed in central-northern and southern Andean-Patagonian region. Species and ESUs of the lineage distributed in the southernmost portion of Patagonia (ca. 47°S–55°S) were most negatively affected under the different scenarios and models tested. The results also indicated a greater impact on richness than on phylogenetic diversity, mainly due to the establishment of the northern lineage in future projections over the range of the southern lineage. However, predictions show a pronounced negative effect of climate change for the entire genus. Likewise, results obtained suggest the high vulnerability of the current biota in the southern end of the Andean-Patagonian region.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140024175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"“Farming with alternative pollinators” provides benefits also in large-scale fields","authors":"Youssef Bencharki ,&nbsp;Denis Michez ,&nbsp;Oumayma Ihsane ,&nbsp;Sara Reverté ,&nbsp;Aden Aw-Hassan ,&nbsp;Moulay Chrif Smaili ,&nbsp;Axel Ssymank ,&nbsp;Pierre Rasmont ,&nbsp;Stefanie Christmann","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103978","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103978","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Insect pollinators are declining worldwide due to many challenges and several approaches have been implemented to mitigate their loss. Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP) uses marketable habitat enhancement plants (MHEP) that yield substantial benefits for farmers from the first year. Studies with small-scale farmers have shown that FAP sustains high diversity and abundance of flower visitors and natural enemies, resulting in significant increases in smallholders' incomes, on average 121% higher. For the first time, we analyzed this approach in large-scale fields. Trials were conducted in 16 farms in two regions of Morocco, Sidi Slimane and Ksar El-Kebir, in 2021. We used </span>melon<span> (Cucumis melo) as the main crop and coriander<span><span>, anise and sunflower as MHEP and selected in each farm 1 ha as trial area in larger </span>monocultures. We compared FAP and control fields regarding abundance and richness of flower visitors, natural enemies and pests as well as net income of the whole field (1 ha). Flower visitors and natural enemies were significantly more diverse and abundant in FAP fields and there were also fewer pests. Our economic results show 17% higher net income per ha in FAP fields versus control fields in the Ksar El-Kebir region, and 12% higher net income in FAP fields compared to control fields in Sidi Slimane region. Although the mean yield difference was statistically significant, the income difference was not. We suggest more FAP trials are needed in different large-scale fields systems.</span></span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139410269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Morphological and physiological adaptation of a desert shrub, Encelia farinosa, under drought stress","authors":"Ghadeer Mohammed Alkhedir ,&nbsp;Takeshi Taniguchi","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103976","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103976","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span><span>Water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions affects ecosystem development. Therefore, elucidation of the mechanisms by which </span>plant species in a given region respond to drought conditions may allow us to improve global vegetation. </span><span><em>Encelia</em></span><span><span> species are drought-tolerant and an important component of shrub communities in the arid and semi-arid regions of southern California, U.S.A.; these species are widely used for </span>vegetation restoration<span> in the region. This study aimed to investigate the morphological, and physiological responses in </span></span><em>E. farinosa</em><span> in relation to changes in soil properties<span><span> under drought conditions. Plants were subjected to two levels of soil water regimes, drought and well-watered conditions (5% and 12% of gravimetric water content, respectively). After 3 months, above-ground biomass, basal diameter, leaf area, leaf and root relative water content, and root length were measured. The shoot:root ratio in dry mass and </span>specific leaf area (SLA) were calculated. We also analyzed leaf and soil nutrients, including total C, N, and available P. In the drought treatment, </span></span><em>E. farinosa</em><span> showed significantly lower above-ground biomass, stem diameter, and shoot and root relative water content. Also, the drought treatment resulted in significantly lower leaf areas, while the SLA and root length were significantly higher. Leaf total C and N were higher in the drought treatment while leaf P was not affected by soil water content. The reduction in plant leaf area, root elongation and the increase in SLA under drought are known as drought avoidance strategies of plants, suggesting that </span><em>E. farinosa</em><span> hampers water loss<span> by morphological regulations. Additionally, higher leaf content of C and N seems to be important for metabolic drought adaptation. Further research on osmotic adjustment and antioxidant defense systems will clarify the detailed drought tolerance mechanisms of </span></span><em>E. farinosa</em> in relation to C and N accumulation under drought conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139433602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Strategies in growth and reproduction of the native endangered plant species Scripus mariqueter and the driving factors in a coastal salt marsh wetland, eastern China","authors":"Lingling Li ,&nbsp;Dezhi Li ,&nbsp;Rongpei Kong ,&nbsp;Zixing Ren ,&nbsp;Lu Liu ,&nbsp;Yingyang Zhu ,&nbsp;Yuming Sun ,&nbsp;Nana Peng ,&nbsp;Jing He ,&nbsp;Yangqing Ji ,&nbsp;Xiao Wang ,&nbsp;Ying Wang ,&nbsp;Jing Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.103979","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.103979","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Scripus mariqueter</em> is a native endangered plant species with both sexual and asexual reproduction in a coastal salt marsh wetland, eastern China. Understanding the patterns of growth and reproduction of <em>S</em>. <em>mariqueter</em> populations in different tidal flats and the main driving factors is necessary and urgent for the effective restoration of this species. The characteristics of growth and reproduction of <em>S. mariqueter</em> populations were investigated in the seaward, middle and landward habitats along the north, east and south directions of the Dongtan salt marsh wetland. Results showed that when individually and comprehensively analyzing the effect of soil physicochemical properties on the differentiation patterns of the growth and reproduction, based on the pairwise index analysis, SEM (structural equation model) and PCA (principal component analysis), soil salinity was the most important driving factor, and comprehensive factor (Y) played a major role than tidal levels and directions. Soil physicochemical factors independently explained 61.63% of the growth-reproduction variation, in which soil salinity explained 13.78% and the comprehensive factor explained 69.20%. Correlation between sexual and asexual reproduction was negative in series habitats in the north direction, and positive in series habitats in the east and south direction, where soil physicochemical properties in the series habitats in the south direction was relatively unfavorable or stressful than those in the east and north direction in term of sexual reproduction. Our results provided a theoretical and practical basis for the sustainable conservation and restoration of <em>S</em>. <em>mariqueter</em> population, which may further help enhance its ecological functions in protecting beaches, reducing waves, facilitating siltation and maintaining biodiversity in the coastal salt marsh wetland, eastern China.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139993419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"The role of nutrients, light, and litter in species loss in an alpine meadow community","authors":"Zhengwei Ren ,&nbsp;Wei Zhao ,&nbsp;Shaohao Bang ,&nbsp;Xiaolong Zhou ,&nbsp;Defei Liang ,&nbsp;Wanwan Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.103984","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.103984","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The decline in species diversity within nutrient-enriched grasslands is commonly explained by a single hypothesis that often overlooks the potential interconnected roles of soil nutrients, light, and plant productivity. In a 2-year field experiment involving multiple nutrient additions (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; NPK) conducted in an alpine meadow on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we investigated the simultaneous impact of three driving factors (soil nutrients, litter, and light) on species loss. Our findings show that the reduction in species richness can be attributed to belowground soil nutrient enrichment and aboveground light asymmetry. Specifically, the increase in soil nutrients following NPK addition directly contributed to the decline in species richness. Light limitation associated with an increase in the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) indirectly accelerates competitive exclusion, leading to species loss. The increased ANPP was primarily influenced by the greater proportion of the grass species <em>Elymus nutans</em> in the NPK-fertilized plots, highlighting the significant role of dominant species in restricting light availability.</p><p>Contrary to expectations, our results did not support the negative impact of litter on species richness. In summary, our findings indicate that interspecies competition for soil nutrients and light availability are the two primary drivers of species loss in alpine meadow communities. This insight has crucial implications for understanding the effects of nutrient enrichment on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and services in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139999411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Facilitation in Brazilian semiarid zone: remnant trees show a positive effect on caatinga regeneration","authors":"Givanildo Bernadino de Araújo ,&nbsp;Marcos V. Carneiro Vital ,&nbsp;João Vitor Campos-Silva ,&nbsp;Micheline Maria de Lima ,&nbsp;Gilberto Costa Justino ,&nbsp;Flávia Moura","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103977","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103977","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Arid and semiarid ecosystems display several environmental filters naturally restricting plant community composition. Such filters become more severe after some disturbance and may thus hamper the survival of young plants. The role of remnant trees in succession needs to be better understood to identify patterns and functional traits that might facilitate natural regeneration in drylands. This study evaluated the role of remnant trees in the succession process in the </span><span><em>caatinga</em></span> vegetation (Brazilian seasonally dry tropical forest), testing the effect of a typical tree, the juazeiro (<em>Ziziphus joazeiro</em> Mart.) in richness and abundance of seedlings in areas of abandoned pasture, in Northeastern Brazil. A perimeter was outlined around each plant (n = 20) with a diameter equivalent to each tree crown; all seedlings of woody species up to 0.5 m in height, within that perimeter, were collected and identified. Control areas with the same dimensions were delimited in adjacent locations (n = 20) without the influence of remnant trees, followed by the same data surveys. Mean species richness was of 7.8 ± 4.8 under the juazeiro canopies, compared to 2.3 ± 1.9 in the control areas. Species abundance was also greater under the presence of <em>Z. joazeiro</em><span>, with an average of 16.9 ± 4.8, against 4.1 ± 4.2 individuals in the controls. Among the abiotic factors evaluated, it is suggested that soil and air temperatures may show a greater influence on the recruitment of seedlings, benefiting natural regeneration under </span><em>Z. joazeiro</em>. <em>Z. joazeiro</em> ramnant trees appear to facilitate the natural regeneration of tropical drylands. We suggest considering the use of these plants as catalysts for the nucleation process in the restoration of the <em>caatinga.</em></p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139410158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Management practices of Cereus jamacaru DC in the Caatinga dry forest differentially affect its reproductive phenology, fruit set and nectar availability","authors":"Ailza Maria de Lima-Nascimento ,&nbsp;Jéssica Luiza S. Silva ,&nbsp;Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque ,&nbsp;Ariadna Valentina Lopes","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103974","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103974","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>The management of plants and landscapes can affect the reproductive cycle of species through changes in morphology, temporal distribution<span> of resources, and productivity, with ecological implications. In this study, we investigated the influence of management practices on the reproductive phenology and nectar availability of </span></span><span><em>Cereus</em><em> jamacaru</em></span><span> DC, a columnar cactus native to Brazil managed by local people in the Caatinga dry forest. Our results reveal that the traditional management practices alter the quantitative and spatiotemporal distribution of resources (flowers, fruits, and nectar) of individuals of </span><em>C. jamacaru</em><span> in the studied Caatinga. All populations exhibited annual patterns of flowering and fruiting. However, individuals of the </span><em>ex situ</em> managed population showed a distinct temporal distribution pattern of flowering, with flower buds and flowers more regularly distributed throughout the reproductive period, compared to individuals of the <em>in situ</em> and unmanaged populations. Management practices differentially affected the production of flower buds, flowers, and fruits with a positive effect on fruit set in the <em>in situ</em> managed population. In addition, individuals of managed populations presented anticipation in the average date of the emission peaks of flower buds and ripe fruits. Individuals from the <em>in situ</em> managed population had available a greater volume of nectar with a higher sugar concentration per flower (twice as high) compared to the <em>ex situ</em> managed population and unmanaged population. The management practices seem to provide advantageous conditions for individuals of <em>C. jamacaru</em><span> since they allow higher availability of resources (flowers, nectar, and fruits) for a longer period in the Caatinga dry forest. Thus, management practices can prolong the temporal distribution of flowers and fruits, providing more resources for specialized pollinators (Sphingids) and dispersers (birds, reptiles), which are groups vulnerable to anthropic disturbances and climate changes in the Caatinga dry forest. These practices ultimately contribute to the maintenance of key ecological interactions of other species dependent on these vectors, benefiting the whole plant and animal community in the Caatinga dry forest.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138770067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}