Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Specialist fig-consuming lepidopterans can inflict costs to plant reproductive success that are mitigated by ant bodyguards","authors":"Lisette van Kolfschoten ,&nbsp;Miriam Adu Asantewaa ,&nbsp;Lovisa Dück ,&nbsp;Simon T. Segar ,&nbsp;K. Charlotte Jandér","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Insect herbivores can inflict substantial costs on plant reproductive success. Seed herbivory impacts directly by reducing the number of seeds and therefore the dispersal and reproductive potential of the plant. Fig trees, <em>Ficus</em>, provide keystone resources for tropical forests. The pollinating fig wasps develop inside figs, so consumption of unripe figs results in trees not only losing seeds but also their pollen dispersers. Selection to defend figs should therefore be strong. Seed herbivory is understudied in tropical forests and most data has been collected from fallen fruits. Here we use canopy sampling to identify fig-consuming larvae in central Panama and quantify both their consequences for the fig trees’ reproductive success and the defensive value that ants provide against these larvae. Field surveys of 46 crops from nine fig species revealed that larvae could destroy up to 80% of figs on a tree. From seven <em>Ficus</em> species we barcoded (using COI) 51 individual fig consuming larvae (mainly Lepidoptera) that grouped into seven molecular operational taxonomic units. Lepidopteran larvae formed two feeding strategies, either stationary within a fig or tunneling between figs. Within the context of our study, stationary larvae were specialists whereas tunneling larvae were either specialists or generalists found on different <em>Ficus</em> species. Trees with ants had significantly fewer figs consumed by larvae (9% ± 17% (mean ± SD) for trees with azteca ants and 16% ± 24% for trees with other ants) than did trees without ants (51% ± 27%). Our results corroborate earlier findings that hosting ants can be an effective defensive mechanism for trees against seed herbivores or other antagonistic insects. Our study contributes to a wider body of research around the networks of insects associated with figs that highlights the importance of a multitrophic approach for understanding mutualism stability and persistence in the face of antagonism.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104016"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X24000389/pdfft?md5=106eac5507d7099117b61d40b81bdc8d&pid=1-s2.0-S1146609X24000389-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141485006","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":"Predator movements are impacted by anthropogenic disturbance in a managed, forested landscape of East Texas","authors":"Courtney J. Marneweck,&nbsp;W Maartin Strauss ,&nbsp;Kerry Slater,&nbsp;Haemish I. Melville","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104013","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104013"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X24000353/pdfft?md5=68795c5dd00914fd07a0cec8c0b8ddec&pid=1-s2.0-S1146609X24000353-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141434107","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":"Landscape factors affecting the amphibian occurrence on roads: An assessment focusing on differences between live and dead animals","authors":"Eiki Aikawa ,&nbsp;Masayuki U. Saito","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Amphibians are one of the taxa that are particularly vulnerable to roads and traffic. To mitigate amphibian roadkill, previous studies have used dead animal data to identify road segments with high risk of roadkill. However, the estimation using dead animal data may be spatially biased by traffic and scavenging. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the factors affecting occurrence of both live and dead amphibians on roads. We conducted a comprehensive route census and counted the occurrence of live and dead amphibians on road between July and October 2022 and May and October 2023. Additionally, we investigated the change of traffic and removal of dead animals along landscape gradient. We constructed joint species distribution models to explain the occurrence of live and dead animals by landscape factors. From these analyses, we compared the landscape factor affecting amphibian occurrence between live and dead animals. We observed 755 live and 483 dead animals of 11 species during all surveys. Effects of proportion of surrounding paddy fields differed between live and dead animals for many of target species. Dead animals were more likely to be detected in the intermediate landscape than live animals. Traffic volume was the highest in the intermediate landscape, which have caused many dead animals there. Differences in occurrence between live and dead animals for some species could not be sufficiently explained by traffic and removal of dead animals. We emphasized the importance to consider obtaining information not only from dead animals, but live animals to mitigate amphibian roadkill.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104015"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141434106","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":"Plant nutrient stoichiometry appears out of sync from soil: Increasing influences of changing climate on the grassland in inner Mongolia, China","authors":"Xiang Li ,&nbsp;Qiang Deng ,&nbsp;Lili Chen ,&nbsp;Guiyao Liu ,&nbsp;Xinrong Shi ,&nbsp;Thomas Ryan Lock ,&nbsp;Robert L. Kallenbach ,&nbsp;Zhiyou Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Extremes in weather episodes seem to be the new normal. We need to better understand how changing climatic conditions alter plant growth in grasslands, especially macro nutrient uptake and stoichiometry. However, few studies have examined how warmer/colder or wetter/drier climates influence the nutrient coupling between plants and soils at the ecosystem level. Here, we investigated the changes in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and their stoichiometric ratios in plants and soils from 65 grassland sites along a geographic gradient in northern China. Results showed that soil C, N and P were negatively correlated with temperature and aridity. Plant N was positively correlated with temperature and aridity, but plant P was negatively correlated with temperature and aridity. Plant C had no significant relationship with either aridity or temperature. Both temperature and aridity were positively correlated with C:N, but negatively correlated with C:P and N:P in soils. The ratio of plant C:N was negatively correlated with aridity, while plant C:P was positively correlated with temperature. Plant N:P was positively correlated with temperature and aridity. Our findings imply that the often-found positive relationships between plant and soil nutrients at one site might not apply to a broad geographic scale with varying climatic conditions, likely because of the “dilution effect” and disparate plant nutrient utilization strategies. It is conceivable that rapid climate shifts and the resulting changes in element availability, turnover rates, absorption, and use efficiency might cause desynchrony of C, N, and P cycles between plants and soils.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104011"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141438049","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":"Relationships between reproduction, growth, and tolerance to herbivory for the endangered plant clay phacelia (Phacelia argillacea)","authors":"Michael T. Stevens,&nbsp;Sydney O.H. McGovern ,&nbsp;Laine S. Smith,&nbsp;Hailey E. Sermersheim,&nbsp;Joseph S. Fife","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The endangered plant clay phacelia (<em>Phacelia argillacea</em>) is endemic to Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah, USA. In addition to habitat loss and abiotic stressors, herbivory is one of clay phacelia's major threats, but negative effects of herbivory have not been quantified. To examine the effects of simulated herbivory by small mammals, we grew 300 clay phacelia plants in a greenhouse (20 replicates of 15 half-sibling families). After six months of growth, half of the plants were randomly assigned to a defoliation treatment that mimicked herbivory from ground squirrels. After providing additional time for growth and natural pollination, we collected seeds and harvested shoots and roots from a subset of the plants. Among the 15 half-sibling families, we found significant genetic variation in shoot mass and a significant correlation between total mass when defoliated and undefoliated, suggesting a strong genetic component to growth. Defoliation significantly reduced seed production, shoot production and root production by 29%, 32%, and 35%, respectively. For these traits, interactions between family (F) and defoliation (D) were not statistically significant, suggesting fixation for tolerance to herbivory. In contrast, for root-to-shoot ratio, there was a statistically significant F × D interaction, revealing genetic variation for tolerance to herbivory. Depending on the type, intensity, and timing of herbivory, clay phacelia may benefit from either increased allocation to shoots or to roots. In fact, tolerance in terms of reproduction was correlated with shoot mass when defoliated, while tolerance in terms of growth was correlated with root mass when defoliated.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104014"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141434105","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":"Anthropogenic features are the most important drivers of striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) space use in a human-dominated Midwestern landscape","authors":"Nathan J. Proudman ,&nbsp;Maximilian L. Allen","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Striped skunks (<em>Mephitis mephitis</em>) are widespread generalist mesocarnivores that occur in a variety of habitats and are often associated with anthropogenic environments. They are also highly persecuted by humans, however, due to their noxious smell and propensity to carry disease. Consequently, the species is relatively understudied and there is still much unknown about the factors that affect their occurrences. To determine the probability of use patterns of striped skunks at the local (within 100 m) and landscape (within 1 km) scales, we deployed 46 and 54 motion-activated cameras between Dec 2021–Jun 2022 and Nov 2022–May 2023, respectively, across sites throughout the state of Illinois. We used an <em>a priori</em>, hypothesis-based approach to model striped skunk occupancy. The best local-scale probability of use model included road density and urban edge (<em>w</em> = 0.79), suggesting an avoidance of roads and selection for the interfaces of urban environments by skunks. The best model at the landscape scale included the interaction of housing density and coyote (<em>Canis latrans</em>) relative abundance (<em>w</em> = 0.31), describing a spatial niche differentiation among coyotes and skunks in urban settings compared to rural environments. Overall, our results suggest the primary drivers of striped skunk use in Illinois are anthropogenic features, but there exists a nuanced relationship, confirming the species’ designation as synanthropic misanthrope. Meanwhile, humans may mediate shifts in space-use patterns among sympatric mesocarnivores due to an expansion and divergence of ecological niches, resulting in reduced spatial overlap and competitive pressures among species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104012"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X24000341/pdfft?md5=91986e6d5ea76dcf9ba38c8e77ca162b&pid=1-s2.0-S1146609X24000341-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141323594","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":"Circadian pattern in attendance of aphid colonies by ants","authors":"Łukasz Depa","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Ant-attendance of aphids is one of the subjects of interest in ecological studies as a reciprocal service providing benefits to both groups involved. The behavioural patterns in this relation depend on many factors, e.g. biology of the species involved, aphid host plants, activity of natural enemies and abiotic factors. In this respect, the circadian pattern of ant-attendance was almost unknown. The paper presents the results of the pattern of such circadian activity of ants <em>Lasius niger</em> and <em>L. emarginatus</em> attending six aphid species (<em>Panaphis juglandis</em>, <em>Aphis grossulariae</em>, <em>A. urticata</em>, <em>A. umbrella</em>, <em>Myzus persicae</em> and <em>Aphis fabae</em>) feeding on various types of plants and having various dependence of trophobiosis. The highest number of ant workers in aphid colonies was observed at night and dawn, while the lowest was just after solar noon. The circadian pattern of ant activity strongly depends on the weather, especially temperature and relative humidity, with the highest abundance of ants during humid and cool weather. The possible interconnection between the temperature-dependent activity of ants and the water-dependent physiological condition of certain plants is discussed and indicated as an explanation. The issue of possible work division among ant workers attending aphids as an explanation of the observed pattern of activity remains open.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104009"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141243093","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":"Valley bottoms increase bird species richness in Atlantic Forest fragments","authors":"Luiz dos Anjos ,&nbsp;Helon Simões Oliveira ,&nbsp;Edson Varga Lopes ,&nbsp;Hugo Reis Medeiros","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The increase of size and connectivity of forest fragments positively affect bird species number. Here we investigated if variations in the topography, which create valley bottoms and upland areas within the forest fragment, could be also a driving factor. We argue that topography has implications for conservation because forest fragments with higher proportion of valley bottoms could harbor higher bird species number, independently of fragment size. We estimated the number of bird species in 25 forest fragments of Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. We also mapped the area of valley bottoms in each forest fragment to calculate the percentage of the valley bottom area in relation to the total area of each forest fragment. The results indicate: (1) the percentage of valley bottom area is not correlated with the total area of the forest fragments; and (2) the number of bird species increase with increasing the proportion of bottom valley area and did not respond to total area. These findings suggest the proportion of valley bottoms in a forest fragment is relevant and important for higher species number. Also, high humidity levels in valley bottoms may contribute to enhancing the resilience of forest fragments against the mounting challenges posed by the increasing incidence of forest fires and prolonged dry seasons, a trend intensified by the ongoing effects of climate change. Conservation actions in the studied region should focus on the expansion of the current network of protected areas by combining the inclusion of forest remnants with high proportion of valley bottoms and the restoration of valley bottoms in existing protected areas. Indeed, creating of corridors to connect valley bottoms of forest fragments via riparian forest can improve overall habitat quality.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104008"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141243094","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":"Thermal-metabolic relationships in hatchling snapping turtles during simulated seasonal cooling","authors":"Christopher L. Rowe","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.104007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>There is limited information available regarding metabolic rates (MR) in many species or life stages of turtles. I measured MR (as O₂ consumption) in fasted hatchling snapping turtles (<em>Chelydra serpentina</em>) at 5–25 °C. The relationships between temperature and MR (per capita and per gram wet body mass) were exponential and linearized by Log₁₀ transformations. The relative change in MR over a 10 °C range (Q₁₀) varied with the ranges of temperatures compared and ranged from Q_{10, 15 to 5} = 3.6 to Q_{10, 25 to 15} = 9.6 to 9.9, for per capita and per gram values, respectively. The high Q₁₀ values observed here demonstrate reductions in metabolic activity with declining temperatures that typically exceeded predicted values. Such a strong thermal dependence of MR suggests a rapid response to seasonal changes, facilitating energy conservation during cooling periods and growth during warmer periods in this temperate reptile.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 104007"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141084642","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":"Temporal changes in spatial scale and autocorrelation structure of forest openings based on taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional turnover","authors":"David F. Barfknecht ,&nbsp;Alice A. Heikens ,&nbsp;David J. Gibson","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2024.103998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.103998","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><p>During European settlement, Illinois grasslands were converted for agricultural purposes. Remaining natural areas in southern Illinois include natural xeric forest openings, with communities representative of remnant grasslands and adjacent hardwood forests. Previous research in these openings shows plant communities are driven by edaphic conditions.</p></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>The first objective aimed to characterize spatial scale and autocorrelation structure of these openings based on climatic, environmental, and diversity variables. The second objective was to predict taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional turnover between 1988 and 2019, using climatic and environmental variables.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Surveys were conducted to calculate taxonomic, phylogenetics and functional trait metrics and analyses of these dimensions of diversity. Randomization tests were used to assess phylogenetic and functional clustering and over-dispersion at each site. Spatially-explicit climatic and environmental variables were included from earlier surveys and data repositories. Global Moran's I and spatial autocorrelograms were used to assess spatial structure of climatic, environmental, and diversity variables and generalized dissimilarity modeling was used to characterize taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional turnover based on environmental variables.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Soil depth was the only environmental variable which exhibited significant global spatial autocorrelation. Overall, sandstone sites were phylogenetically over-dispersed while loess sites were phylogenetically clustered. Climate variables and diversity metrics exhibited significant spatial structure during surveys. Generalized dissimilarity models showed that geographic distance between openings was the most influential driver of turnover across surveys.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Previous glacial events explained the spatial structure of soil depth across sites, due to Quaternary loess deposition in loess sites. High diversity values were clustered in the southeastern portions of the study area. Functional generalized dissimilarity models best predicted turnover in these openings compared to taxonomic and phylogenetic models.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 103998"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140807684","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}