scholarly journals Environmental factors influencing fine-scale distribution of Antarctica’s only endemic insect

Oecologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 194 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-539
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Potts ◽  
J. D. Gantz ◽  
Yuta Kawarasaki ◽  
Benjamin N. Philip ◽  
David J. Gonthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractSpecies distributions are dependent on interactions with abiotic and biotic factors in the environment. Abiotic factors like temperature, moisture, and soil nutrients, along with biotic interactions within and between species, can all have strong influences on spatial distributions of plants and animals. Terrestrial Antarctic habitats are relatively simple and thus good systems to study ecological factors that drive species distributions and abundance. However, these environments are also sensitive to perturbation, and thus understanding the ecological drivers of species distribution is critical for predicting responses to environmental change. The Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, is the only endemic insect on the continent and has a patchy distribution along the Antarctic Peninsula. While its life history and physiology are well studied, factors that underlie variation in population density within its range are unknown. Previous work on Antarctic microfauna indicates that distribution over broad scales is primarily regulated by soil moisture, nitrogen content, and the presence of suitable plant life, but whether these patterns are true over smaller spatial scales has not been investigated. Here we sampled midges across five islands on the Antarctic Peninsula and tested a series of hypotheses to determine the relative influences of abiotic and biotic factors on midge abundance. While historical literature suggests that Antarctic organisms are limited by the abiotic environment, our best-supported hypothesis indicated that abundance is predicted by a combination of abiotic and biotic conditions. Our results are consistent with a growing body of literature that biotic interactions are more important in Antarctic ecosystems than historically appreciated.

An introduction to the 'micronet' of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs): cyanobacteria, zooplankton and microorganisms: a review

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Wilk-Woźniak
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Change Temperature ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are known all around the world. Climate change (temperature increase) and human activity (eutrophication) are factors that promote the proliferation of cyanobacteria, leading to the development of blooms and the release of toxins. Abiotic and biotic factors are responsible for the development of blooms and how long they last. Although the abiotic factors controlling blooms are well known, knowledge of biotic factors and their interactions is still lacking. This paper reviews five levels of biotic interactions, namely cyanobacteria–zooplankton, cyanobacteria–ciliates, cyanobacteria–bacteria, cyanobacteria–viruses and cyanobacteria–fungi, showing a more complex food web network than was previously thought. New findings published recently, such as the relationships between cyanobacteria and viruses or cyanobacteria and fungi, indicate that cyanobacterial blooms are not the end of the cycle of events taking place in water habitats, but rather the middle of them. As such, a new approach needs to consider mutual connections, genetic response, horizontal gene transfer and non-linear flow of carbon.

Influence of abiotic and biotic factors on two co-occurring species of Bolboschoenus

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Siebentritt ◽  
George G. Ganf
Keyword(s):  
Water Depth ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Depth Gradient ◽  
Shoot Height ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Net Assimilation ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors

Distribution of the emergent macrophytes Bolboschoenus medianus and Bolboschoenus caldwellii is dominated by the latter at regions higher on the elevation gradient, whereas the former is dominant further down the gradient. Monocultures and mixtures of plants were grown across a water-depth gradient in experimental ponds to determine whether distribution is due to abiotic factors, biotic factors, or a combination of both. Monocultures of each species tolerated exposure, showing little variation in relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR) or leaf area ratio (LAR). Survival when initially flooded was dependent on shoot height. Plants surviving inundation responded by increasing height through reallocation of biomass. The RGR of B. medianus was maintained across the water-depth gradient by increasing NAR as LAR declined. The RGR of B. caldwellii beyond a depth of −20 cm declined because reductions in LAR were not paralleled by increases in NAR. Mixtures of species growing at 20 cm and 0 cm indicated that biotic interactions occurred and that B. caldwellii was the dominant species. Neither species dominated at −60 cm, presumably because this was beyond the depth tolerated by both species. The study suggests that the zonation of B. medianus and B. caldwellii is attributable to a combination of both abiotic and biotic factors.

scholarly journals Commensal associations and benthic habitats shape macroevolution of the bivalve clade Galeommatoidea

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1834) ◽  
pp. 20161006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingchun Li ◽  
Diarmaid Ó Foighil ◽  
Ellen E. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Symbiotic Associations ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors

The great diversity of marine life has been shaped by the interplay between abiotic and biotic factors. Among different biotic interactions, symbiosis is an important yet less studied phenomenon. Here, we tested how symbiotic associations affected marine diversification, using the bivalve superfamily Galeommatoidea as a study system. This superfamily contains large numbers of obligate commensal as well as free-living species and is therefore amenable to comparative approaches. We constructed a global molecular phylogeny of Galeommatoidea and compared macroevolutionary patterns between free-living and commensal lineages. Our analyses inferred that commensalism/sediment-dwelling is likely to be the ancestral condition of Galeommatoidea and that secondary invasions of hard-bottom habitats linked to the loss of commensalism. One major clade containing most of the free-living species exhibits a 2–4 times higher diversification rate than that of the commensals, likely driven by frequent niche partitioning in highly heterogeneous hard-bottom habitats. However, commensal clades show much higher within-clade morphological disparity, likely promoted by their intimate associations with diverse hosts. Our study highlights the importance of interactions between different ecological factors in shaping marine macroevolution and that biotic factors cannot be ignored if we wish to fully understand processes that generate marine biodiversity.

scholarly journals Biogeomorphic feedbacks and the ecosystem engineering of recently deglaciated terrain

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah R Miller ◽  
Stuart N Lane
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Ecosystem Engineer ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering ◽  
Soil Development ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Successional Stage ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors

Matthews’ 1992 geoecological model of vegetation succession within glacial forefields describes how following deglaciation the landscape evolves over time as the result of both biotic and abiotic factors, with the importance of each depending on the level of environmental stress within the system. We focus in this paper on how new understandings of abiotic factors and the potential for biogeomorphic feedbacks between abiotic and biotic factors makes further development of this model important. Disturbance and water dynamics are two abiotic factors that have been shown to create stress gradients that can drive early ecosystem succession. The subsequent establishment of microbial communities and vegetation can then result in biogeomorphic feedbacks via ecosystem engineering that influence the role of disturbance and water dynamics within the system. Microbes can act as ecosystem engineers by supplying nutrients (via remineralization of organic matter and nitrogen fixation), enhancing soil development, either decreasing (encouraging weathering) or increasing (binding sediment grains) geomorphic stability, and helping retain soil moisture. Vegetation can act as an ecosystem engineer by fixing nitrogen, enhancing soil development, modifying microbial community structure, creating seed banks, and increasing geomorphic stability. The feedbacks between vegetation and water dynamics in glacial forefields are still poorly studied. We propose a synthesized model of ecosystem succession within glacial forefields that combines Matthews’ initial geoecological model and Corenblit's model to illustrate how gradients in environmental stress combined with successional time drive the balance between abiotic and biotic factors and ultimately determine the successional stage and potential for biogeomorphic feedbacks.

scholarly journals Biotic interactions are more important at species’ warm vs. cool range-edges: a synthesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Paquette ◽  
Anna L. Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Mixed Support ◽  
Species Being

ABSTRACTPredicting which ecological factors constrain species distributions is a fundamental question in ecology and critical to forecasting geographic responses to global change. Darwin hypothesized that abiotic factors generally impose species’ high-latitude and high-elevation (typically cool) range limits, whereas biotic interactions more often impose species’ low-latitude/low-elevation (typically warm) limits, but empirical support has been mixed. Here, we clarify three predictions arising from Darwin’s hypothesis, and show that previously mixed support is partially due to researchers testing different predictions. Using a comprehensive literature review (886 range limits), we find that biotic interactions, including competition, predation, and parasitism, influenced species’ warm limits more often than species’ cool limits. At cool limits, abiotic factors were consistently more important than biotic interactions, but temperature contributed strongly to cool and warm limits. Our results suggest that most range limits will be sensitive to climate warming, but warm limit responses will depend strongly on biotic interactions. “When we travel southward and see a species decreasing in numbers, we may feel sure that the cause lies quite as much in other species being favored, as in this one being hurt. (Whereas)… the number of species, and therefore of competitors, deceases northwards; hence in going northward or in ascending a mountain, we far oftener meet with stunted forms, due to the directly injurious action of climate” –Darwin 1859

scholarly journals Genomic variation, population history and within-archipelago adaptation between island bird populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 201146
Author(s):  
Claudia A. Martin ◽  
Claire Armstrong ◽  
Juan Carlos Illera ◽  
Brent C. Emerson ◽  
David S. Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Genomic Variation ◽  
Population History ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
A Genome

Oceanic island archipelagos provide excellent models to understand evolutionary processes. Colonization events and gene flow can interact with selection to shape genetic variation at different spatial scales. Landscape-scale variation in biotic and abiotic factors may drive fine-scale selection within islands, while long-term evolutionary processes may drive divergence between distantly related populations. Here, we examine patterns of population history and selection between recently diverged populations of the Berthelot's pipit ( Anthus berthelotii ), a passerine endemic to three North Atlantic archipelagos. First, we use demographic trees and f 3 statistics to show that genome-wide divergence across the species range is largely shaped by colonization and bottlenecks, with evidence of very weak gene flow between populations. Then, using a genome scan approach, we identify signatures of divergent selection within archipelagos at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes potentially associated with craniofacial development and DNA repair. We did not detect within-archipelago selection at the same SNPs as were detected previously at broader spatial scales between archipelagos, but did identify signatures of selection at loci associated with similar biological functions. These findings suggest that similar ecological factors may repeatedly drive selection between recently separated populations, as well as at broad spatial scales across varied landscapes.

scholarly journals Biotic interactions are more important at species’ warm vs. cool range-edges: a synthesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Paquette ◽  
Anna Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Mixed Support

Predicting which ecological factors constrain species distributions is a fundamental question in ecology and critical to forecasting geographic responses to global change. Darwin hypothesized that abiotic factors generally impose species’ high-latitude and high-elevation (typically cool) range limits, whereas biotic interactions more often impose species’ low-latitude/low-elevation (typically warm) limits, but empirical support has been mixed. Here, we clarify three predictions arising from Darwin’s hypothesis, and show that previously mixed support is partially due to researchers testing different predictions. Using a comprehensive literature review (886 range limits), we find that biotic interactions, including competition, predation, and parasitism, influenced species’ warm limits more often than species’ cool limits. At cool limits, abiotic factors were consistently more important than biotic interactions, but temperature contributed strongly to cool and warm limits. Our results suggest that most range limits will be sensitive to climate warming, but warm limit responses will depend strongly on biotic interactions.

scholarly journals The Influence of the Interaction between Climate and Competition on the Distributional Limits of European Shrews

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Tomé Neves ◽  
Luís Borda-de-Água ◽  
Maria da Luz Mathias ◽  
Joaquim T. Tapisso
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Presence Data ◽  
Geographical Scale ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Distributional Limits

It is known that species’ distributions are influenced by several ecological factors. Nonetheless, the geographical scale upon which the influence of these factors is perceived is largely undefined. We assessed the importance of competition in regulating the distributional limits of species at large geographical scales. We focus on species with similar diets, the European Soricidae shrews, and how interspecific competition changes along climatic gradients. We used presence data for the seven most widespread terrestrial species of Soricidae in Europe, gathered from GBIF, European museums, and climate data from WorldClim. We made use of two Joint Species Distribution Models to analyse the correlations between species’ presences, aiming to understand the distinct roles of climate and competition in shaping species’ distributions. Our results support three key conclusions: (i) climate alone does not explain all species’ distributions at large scales; (ii) negative interactions, such as competition, seem to play a strong role in defining species’ range limits, even at large scales; and (iii) the impact of competition on a species’ distribution varies along a climatic gradient, becoming stronger at the climatic extremes. Our conclusions support previous research, highlighting the importance of considering biotic interactions when studying species’ distributions, regardless of geographical scale.

scholarly journals Exploring the Interplay Between Local and Regional Drivers of Distribution of a Subterranean Organism

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Mammola ◽  
Shlomi Aharon ◽  
Merav Seifan ◽  
Yael Lubin ◽  
Efrat Gavish-Regev
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Distribution Models

Caves are excellent model systems to study the effects of abiotic factors on species distributions due to their selective conditions. Different ecological factors have been shown to affect species distribution depending on the scale of analysis, whether regional or local. The interplay between local and regional factors in explaining the spatial distribution of cave-dwelling organisms is poorly understood. Using the troglophilic subterranean spider Artema nephilit (Araneae: Pholcidae) as a model organism, we investigated whether similar environmental predictors drive the species distribution at these two spatial scales. At the local scale, we monitored the abundance of the spiders and measured relevant environmental features in 33 caves along the Jordan Rift Valley. We then extended the analysis to a regional scale, investigating the drivers of the distribution using species distribution models. We found that similar ecological factors determined the distribution at both local and regional scales for A. nephilit. At a local scale, the species was found to preferentially occupy the outermost, illuminated, and warmer sectors of caves. Similarly, mean annual temperature, annual temperature range, and solar radiation were the most important drivers of its regional distribution. By investigating these two spatial scales simultaneously, we showed that it was possible to achieve an in-depth understanding of the environmental conditions that governs subterranean species distribution.

scholarly journals Negative biotic interactions drive predictions of distributions for species from a grassland community

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 20180426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip P. A. Staniczenko ◽  
K. Blake Suttle ◽  
Richard G. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Interspecific Relationship ◽  
Grassland Community ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Model Predictions

Understanding the factors that determine species' geographical distributions is important for addressing a wide range of biological questions, including where species will be able to maintain populations following environmental change. New methods for modelling species distributions include the effects of biotic interactions alongside more commonly used abiotic variables such as temperature and precipitation; however, it is not clear which types of interspecific relationship contribute to shaping species distributions and should therefore be prioritized in models. Even if some interactions are known to be influential at local spatial scales, there is no guarantee they will have similar impacts at macroecological scales. Here we apply a novel method based on information theory to determine which types of interspecific relationship drive species distributions. Our results show that negative biotic interactions such as competition have the greatest effect on model predictions for species from a California grassland community. This knowledge will help focus data collection and improve model predictions for identifying at-risk species. Furthermore, our methodological approach is applicable to any kind of species distribution model that can be specified with and without interspecific relationships.

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