Austral Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Opossums as opportunistic visitors of chiropterophilous flowers: Interaction between Didelphis albiventris (Marsupialia) and Hymenaea cangaceira (Fabaceae)","authors":"Arthur Domingos-Melo,&nbsp;Sinzinando Albuquerque-Lima,&nbsp;Isabel C. Machado,&nbsp;Paulo Milet-Pinheiro","doi":"10.1111/aec.13587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13587","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bat-pollinated plants feature open flowers, facilitating easy access to their abundant nectar for various animal groups. The Caatinga, a Brazilian Seasonally Tropical Dry Forest, stands out globally as a hotspot for bat-pollinated plants. This study presents the first documentation of the opossum <i>Didelphis albiventris</i> (Marsupialia) engaging in the consumption of nectar on flowers of <i>Hymenaea cangaceira</i> (Fabaceae), a bat-pollinated tree species within the Caatinga. The observation spanned five nights and occurred unexpectedly during an experiment involving bagged flowers to assess nectar dynamics. Initially, torn bags were discovered containing flowers, which nectar had been consumed. Subsequent nights revealed the opossum actively exploring bagged flowers, likely guided by the fragrant nectar of <i>H. cangaceira</i>, and unmanipulated flowers located in the canopy's upper reaches. Given the opossum's contact with reproductive structures during these visits, it emerges as a potential pollinator. Following this observation, a comprehensive literature review on <i>Didelphis</i> interactions with other plants was conducted, leading to the construction of a meta network. This network unequivocally illustrates that the majority of plants visited by <i>Didelphis</i> indeed have bats as their primary pollinators. Owing to the nocturnal, arboreal and stealthy nature of opossums, documenting their interactions with flowers proves highly challenging. Consequently, our record highlights significant knowledge gaps in comprehending the interplay between opossums and chiropterophilous flowers. These gaps include the under-sampling of this process in the Caatinga, the role of olfactory signalling and the broader consequences of this unique interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142170105","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":"Where should I perch? The effects of body size, height, and leaf surface on the vertical perching position of dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in an Amazonian area","authors":"Leonardo Vilas-Bôas M. P. de Cerqueira,&nbsp;Liara de Azevedo Cassiano,&nbsp;Lucas Liesak Sant’ Ana Santos,&nbsp;Jorge Ari Noriega,&nbsp;Mario Cupello,&nbsp;Fernando Vaz-de-Mello,&nbsp;Renato Portela Salomão","doi":"10.1111/aec.13588","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13588","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Among dung beetles, ‘sit and wait’ comprise a common strategy, in which individuals perch on leaves. The goal of this study was to assess the spatial dynamics of dung beetle perching in a region of the Amazon. We analysed the intra- and interspecific relationships between individual body size, leaf area, leaf shape, and the height at which beetles perched. When analysing intraspecifically, the larger individuals of <i>Canthidium bicolor</i> perched higher than the small ones. When considering the three most abundant species, the smallest species (<i>C. bicolor</i>) perches lower, the intermediate species (<i>Canthidium deyrollei</i>) perches higher, and the largest species (<i>Canthon triangularis</i>) perches at an intermediate height. The leaf area also explained the vertical distribution, both when considering all individuals and intraspecific for <i>C. bicolor</i>, where there is a positive relationship between leaf area and perch height. Our results suggest that intra- and interspecific perching dynamics also depend on species life history, which could be further analysed under functional group approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13588","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158616","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":"The importance of competition theme in reducing taxonomic bias in the Threatened Species Bake Off","authors":"Eliza J. T. Middleton,&nbsp;Elroy Au,&nbsp;Anna-Lisa Hayes,&nbsp;Caitlyn Y. Forster","doi":"10.1111/aec.13590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13590","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In 2023, Forster et al. published an article on the effectiveness of social media in conservation messaging for the Threatened Species Commissioner's Threatened Species Bake Off. The research of species represented in cakes revealed persistent biases favouring charismatic mammals and birds over less charismatic taxa like plants. The authors recommended future iterations of the Bake Off focus on less popular threatened species to address these biases, whilst highlighting the utility of the data available on social media platforms. In this follow-up article, we examine the impact of the theme choice by the Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner which was directly influenced by the previous publication's findings. The 2023 theme, ‘Loving the unlovely and getting to know the unknown’, aimed to increase participation by focusing on plants and the under-represented. Results indicated a notable increase in representation of these groups compared with previous years, suggesting theme selection significantly influences public engagement. The study emphasizes the potential of social media platforms in raising awareness and fostering pro-conservation behaviours, highlighting their role in shaping public perceptions and supporting policy changes for species conservation, and lists recommendations for future iterations of such campaigns.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13590","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158658","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":"Ecological constraints and trait conservatism drive functional and phylogenetic structure of amphibian larvae communities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest","authors":"Thiago A. Leão-Pires,&nbsp;Amom M. Luiz,&nbsp;Ricardo J. Sawaya","doi":"10.1111/aec.13580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13580","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ecologists strive to untangle the complex interplay of current and historical factors, along with evolutionary history of species, to understand communities’ structure. However, this can be achieved by integrating different approaches to expanding our knowledge about the underlying processes connecting assemble rules of ecological communities. In order to better understand how ecological and/or evolutionary factors may affect the structure of communities, we assessed the phylogenetic and functional structure of 33 tadpole communities in the Atlantic Forest Southeastern Brazil and tested whether phylogenetic conservatism drives tadpole traits. We identified 19 communities which were significantly phylogenetic clustered and 10 which were significantly functional clustered. Trait diversity was skewed towards the root, indicating phylogenetic trait conservatism as an important driver of the structure of tadpole communities. The best explanatory model of the phylogenetic diversity included, in order of importance, presence of potential fish predators, water conductivity, external diversity of vegetation structure, canopy cover, internal diversity of vegetation structure and dissolved oxygen. Most variables were negatively correlated with phylogenetic diversity, but the presence of potential fish predators was positively correlated. For functional structure, external diversity of vegetation structure, canopy cover, area, dissolved oxygen and presence of potential fish predators were selected as the best explanatory model (presented in order of importance). Furthermore, of the 10 functionally structured communities, eight were also phylogenetically structured. In this sense, environmental variables could be filtering tadpole lineages interacting with phylogenetically conserved species traits, thus driving anura tadpole species’ occurrence on communities. Our study provides evidence that anuran communities structure results from interacting ecological and evolutionary processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158555","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":"Palaeoendemic invertebrates weakly reflect palaeoendemic plants across a 52-year-old fire boundary","authors":"Shasta C. Henry,&nbsp;Jamie B. Kirkpatrick,&nbsp;Peter B. McQuillan","doi":"10.1111/aec.13576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13576","url":null,"abstract":"<p>If palaeoendemic invertebrates depend on palaeoendemic plants, and the latter are threatened by an increase in fire incidence, there is a possibility of an extinction cascade. We test whether there is co-occurrence of palaeoendemic plants and invertebrates in the proximity of a 52-year-old fire boundary in subalpine Tasmania, Australia. We used 2 × 2 m quadrats to record the incidence and cover of vascular plants and trapped invertebrates at each of these 33 sites in six time periods using an alpine Malaise trap and a CD sticky trap. The number of co-occurrences of palaeoendemic plant taxa with palaeoendemic invertebrate taxa was greater than expected by chance (<i>p</i> = 0.020), but many palaeoendemic invertebrates co-occurred with non-palaeoendemic plants. Some of the palaeoendemic invertebrate taxa that were associated with palaeoendemic plants were monophagous, while others were associated with environmental conditions created by a long absence of fire. Many may be threatened if increasing fire incidence destroys vegetation dominated by palaeoendemic plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13576","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158592","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":"The Jewel Box: How moths illuminate nature's hidden rules By Blackburn, Tim, 1st edition, Washington: Island Press. 2023. 288 pages. Price AUD $45 (hardback, also available as e-book). ISBN: −13: 9781474624527","authors":"Tessa R Smith","doi":"10.1111/aec.13586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13586","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158593","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":"Flood resilience: Response of an Australian sub-tropical riparian rainforest to catastrophic flooding","authors":"Léandra Martiniello,&nbsp;Andrew G. Baker,&nbsp;John Campbell Grant,&nbsp;Graeme Palmer","doi":"10.1111/aec.13585","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13585","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Riparian taxa are subject to dynamic, intense, flood-related stressors, and have evolved traits to persist in this environment. Climate change-induced intensification of flood regimes pose a threat to these ecosystems, and little is understood about their resilience to this intensification. Following two consecutive major floods (the first flood record-breaking) along the subtropical coast of eastern Australia in March 2022, we used methods based on persistence (resprouting, seedling recruitment), and floristic structure (height, DBH) and assemblage, to assess the resilience of an old growth riparian rainforest to severe flooding in the 12-month post-flooding window. Smallerwoody plants (stems &lt;10 m tall, &lt;30 cm DBH) were the most impacted and were significantly impacted by flooding. Native species richness and plant density (plants/m⁻²) significantly decreased between before and 3 months post-flooding, after which they continued to significantly increase to surpass pre-flood values. Overall, ~35% of taxa exhibited resprouting, ~28% of taxa exhibited seedling recruitment, and ~11% exhibited both resprouting and recruitment. An additional ~21% native taxa were introduced to the site via seedling recruitment, along with 65 invasive species. Model-based multivariate analysis showed flooding significantly altered community floristics (<i>p</i> = 0.026) at 3 months. At 12 months post-flooding the community was recovering, becoming more floristically similar to its pre-flood composition. The riparian rainforest exhibited high resilience to intense flooding. Impact, persistence, and resilience varied amongplots, and the community took 12 months to move into recovery. We found that persistence, and floristic structure and composition weighted against impact were effective measures of ecosystem resilience. In the absence of further consecutive events, mature-phase riparian rainforests are likely to be structurally and floristically resilient to climate change-induced amplification of flood regimes. Further studies should build on this framework to include invasive weed species impacts, for a more accurate assessment of impacts.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13585","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142089797","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":"Microclimate, soil nutrients and stable isotopes in relation to elevation in the Australian Wet Tropics","authors":"Arun Singh Ramesh,&nbsp;Alexander W. Cheesman,&nbsp;William J. F. McDonald,&nbsp;Darren M. Crayn,&nbsp;Lucas A. Cernusak","doi":"10.1111/aec.13584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13584","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microclimate, such as soil and surface air temperatures, and edaphic factors, such as soil organic matter content and nutrient availability, are important parameters of the below-canopy environment that shape vegetation communities. Yet, the literature examining how microclimate and edaphic properties vary along elevation gradients in tropical rainforests is limited, hindering our understanding of key ecological processes in the forest understory. Here we present an analysis of high-resolution (15-min frequency) microclimate data spanning approximately 3 years (December 2019–September 2022) across 20 rainforest sites, ranging from 40 to 1550 meters above sea level (a.s.l.). We also present analyses of soil chemical properties, including δ¹⁵N isotope composition from the same study sites. Our study found soils were consistently cooler than air during the day and warmer than air during the night across all sites. The difference in mean temperature between the wettest (summer) and the driest (winter) quarter for both soil and air also increased with elevation, as did the annual temperature range. Soil organic matter content and C:N ratio increased with elevation, in concert with a decline in soil pH. Together, edaphic factors displayed a strong correlation with climatic factors, suggesting temperature as an important driver of soil properties across elevation. Finally, soil δ¹⁵N was found to decline with increasing elevation, suggesting a tighter N cycle in high elevation, higher organic matter soils. These observations highlight the existing elevational trends in both microclimate and edaphic variables in the Australian Wet Tropics; understanding how these trends may shift with climate change could be important for predicting impacts on species distributions.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13584","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142045315","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":"Size distribution and proportion of stages of Cyrtograpsus species in Playa Cangrejales, Argentina","authors":"M. Andrea Onorato,&nbsp;Pablo D. Cochia,&nbsp;J. G. Loreley Oviedo","doi":"10.1111/aec.13579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13579","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Crabs are fundamental in coastal ecosystems due to their role in nutrient cycling, habitat structuring, population control and as indicators of environmental health. Investigating the size distribution and life stages of these species is crucial for understanding their ecology and designing effective conservation strategies. This study provides data on the distribution and stage ratios of two populations of local species of the genus <i>Cyrtograpsus</i> (Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae) in the Playa Cangrejales intertidal. These endemic species had not been previously described in the study area, highlighting the need for further research in the future. Three surveys were conducted from December 2019 to February 2020, following a transect perpendicular to the coast, obtaining two series of data (C-I and C-II). Specimens were identified, sexed and measured in situ for subsequent release. A total of 1099 individuals were counted, identifying <i>Cyrtograpsus affinis</i> (C-I = 278; C-II = 332) and <i>Cyrtograpsus angulatus</i> (C-I = 215; C-II = 277), with a higher proportion of <i>C. affinis</i>. The presence of these species at Playa Cangrejales coincides with the geographical distribution reported in the literature, although the proportions differ from those reported for other Argentinean beaches. The most frequent lengths were equal to or less than 10 mm cephalothorax length (±1 mm). The maximum lengths reported in the literature for each species were not recorded. For <i>C. angulatus</i>, juveniles always predominated over adults and recruits. <i>C. affinis</i> showed fluctuations between adult and juvenile proportions in the upper and middle zones, with adults predominating in the lower zone during December and February. Juveniles occupied all mesolittoral floors, whereas adults were more frequent in the middle and lower floors. This information is essential to develop management tools to protect these species and their environment. The division between stages was realized following criteria from the literature. Analyses and interpretations were made using data distribution and frequency graphs.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142013651","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":"Abundance and movement of gastropods in response to vegetation and cover in a southeastern Australian saltmarsh","authors":"Arda Poda,&nbsp;Jasmine Glencross,&nbsp;Livian Yen Lai,&nbsp;Simon Um,&nbsp;Pauline M. Ross","doi":"10.1111/aec.13583","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13583","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Southeast Australian saltmarshes are endangered ecological communities under threat from various anthropogenic factors including climate change. As climate change drives sea-level rise mangrove encroachment and saltmarshes are squeezed at their landward edge, our lack of knowledge of the ecological interactions and any associations between saltmarsh vegetation and fauna becomes concerning, especially given the importance of saltmarsh for fisheries and as a blue carbon habitat. This study investigated the association of saltmarsh vegetation and the abundance and movement of gastropods in a typical coastal saltmarsh at Patonga, New South Wales, Australia. Densities of the gastropods including <i>Phallomedusa solida, Ophicardelus</i> spp. and <i>Littoraria luteola</i> were significant in vegetated <i>Salicornia quinqueflora</i> and least in unvegetated saltmarsh and areas where mangroves had encroached. Experiments that translocated <i>Ophicardelus</i> spp. and manipulated cover revealed that these patterns were actively maintained by <i>Ophicardelus</i> spp., which dispersed up to 40 cm and 1.4 m after 3 and 24 h, respectively, away from unvegetated saltmarsh and mangroves. The results of this study suggest that both habitat and cover influence the abundance and movement of gastropod dynamics in southeastern saltmarsh. Given future anticipated saltmarsh loss, further investigations are needed on the unknown functional role of gastropods in saltmarsh ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13583","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142013652","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}