scholarly journals Micro-climatic effects on plant phenolics at the community level in a Mediterranean savanna

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xoaquín Moreira ◽  
Luis Abdala-Roberts ◽  
M. Dolores Hidalgo-Galvez ◽  
Carla Vázquez-González ◽  
Ignacio M. Pérez-Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Plant Phenolics ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Climatic Effects ◽  
Secondary Chemistry ◽  
Level Shifts ◽  
Annual Plant Species

Abstract Research has shown that warming and drought change plant phenolics. However, much of this work has centered on the effects of individual abiotic stressors on single plant species rather than the concurrent effects of multiple stressors at the plant community level. To address this gap, we manipulated rainfall and air temperature to test for their individual and interactive effects on the expression of leaf phenolics at the community level for annual plant species occurring in two habitat types (under oak tree canopies or in open grasslands) in a Mediterranean savanna. We found that augmented temperature had a significant positive effect on the community-weighted mean of total phenolics whereas reduced rainfall had no effect. In addition, we found no evidence of interactive effects between climatic stressors and these patterns remained consistent across habitat types. Overall, this study points at increasing efforts to investigate the linkages between climate change and community-level shifts in plant secondary chemistry.

scholarly journals Pollinator importance networks illustrate the crucial value of bees in a highly speciose plant community

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin Ballantyne ◽  
Katherine C. R. Baldock ◽  
Luke Rendell ◽  
P. G. Willmer
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Pollinator Effectiveness ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Pollinator Importance ◽  
Visitation Frequency ◽  
Pollinator Performance ◽  
Number Of Plant Species

AbstractAccurate predictions of pollination service delivery require a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between plants and flower visitors. To improve measurements of pollinator performance underlying such predictions, we surveyed visitation frequency, pollinator effectiveness (pollen deposition ability) and pollinator importance (the product of visitation frequency and effectiveness) of flower visitors in a diverse Mediterranean flower meadow. With these data we constructed the largest pollinator importance network to date and compared it with the corresponding visitation network to estimate the specialisation of the community with greater precision. Visitation frequencies at the community level were positively correlated with the amount of pollen deposited during individual visits, though rarely correlated at lower taxonomic resolution. Bees had the highest levels of pollinator effectiveness, with Apis, Andrena, Lasioglossum and Osmiini bees being the most effective visitors to a number of plant species. Bomblyiid flies were the most effective non-bee flower visitors. Predictions of community specialisation (H2′) were higher in the pollinator importance network than the visitation network, mirroring previous studies. Our results increase confidence in existing measures of pollinator redundancy at the community level using visitation data, while also providing detailed information on interaction quality at the plant species level.

scholarly journals STUDI KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS TUMBUHAN LIANA SEBAGAI SUMBER PAKAN PRIMATA DI STASIUN PENELITIAN CABANG PANTI TAMAN NASIONAL GUNUNG PALUNG

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
. Riduwan ◽  
Hari Prayogo ◽  
Lolyta Sisillia
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Alluvial Soil ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Forest Habitat ◽  
Swamp Forest ◽  
Peat Swamp Forest ◽  
Peat Swamp

Liana is a species of plant that has a way of growing by creeping, spreading, or hanging on its host, but its roots are still attached to the ground. Liana is one of the primate feeds in Cabang Panti Research Station. The riset was conducted from August 15 - September 15 2018 at the Cabang Panti Research Station-Gunung Palung National Park. This riset aims to obtain data on the diversity of liana species and is expected to provide data and information about the diversity of these plant species. The results showed in five habitat types namely the peat swamp forest habitat - freshwater swamps found 79 individuals, alluvial soil found 54 individuals, sandy rocks found 59 individuals, Lowland granite found 56 individuals and highland granite found 38 individuals. The total number of the five habitat types is 286 individuals from 21 genus/species. Keywords: Cabang Panti Research Station, Diversity, Lianas Plants.

scholarly journals Interactive effects of climate change and plant invasion on alpine biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Justyna Giejsztowt
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Plant Invasion ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Competition For Pollination

<p>Drivers of global change have direct impacts on the structure of communities and functioning of ecosystems, and interactions between drivers may buffer or exacerbate these direct effects. Interactions among drivers can lead to complex non-linear outcomes for ecosystems, communities and species, but are infrequently quantified. Through a combination of experimental, observational and modelling approaches, I address critical gaps in our understanding of the interactive effects of climate change and plant invasion, using Tongariro National Park (TNP; New Zealand) as a model. TNP is an alpine ecosystem of cultural significance which hosts a unique flora with high rates of endemism. TNP is invaded by the perennial shrub Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. My objectives were to: 1) determine whether species-specific phenological shifts have the potential to alter the reproductive capacity of native plants in landscapes affected by invasion; 2) determine whether the effect of invasion intensity on the Species Area Relationship (SAR) of native alpine plant species is influenced by environmental stress; 3) develop a novel modelling framework that would account for density-dependent competitive interactions between native species and C. vulgaris and implement it to determine the combined risk of climate change and plant invasion on the distribution of native plant species; and 4) explore the possible mechanisms leading to a discrepancy in C. vulgaris invasion success on the North and South Islands of New Zealand. I show that species-specific phenological responses to climate warming increase the flowering overlap between a native and an invasive plant. I then show that competition for pollination with the invader decreases the sexual reproduction of the native in some landscapes. I therefore illustrate a previously undescribed interaction between climate warming and plant invasion where the effects of competition for pollination with an invader on the sexual reproduction of the native may be exacerbated by climate warming. Furthermore, I describe a previously unknown pattern of changing invasive plant impact on SAR along an environmental stress gradient. Namely, I demonstrate that interactions between an invasive plant and local native plant species richness become increasingly facilitative along elevational gradients and that the strength of plant interactions is dependent on invader biomass. I then show that the consequences of changing plant interactions at a local scale for the slope of SAR is dependent on the pervasion of the invader. Next, I demonstrate that the inclusion of invasive species density data in distribution models for a native plant leads to greater reductions in predicted native plant distribution and density under future climate change scenarios relative to models based on climate suitability alone. Finally, I find no evidence for large-scale climatic, edaphic, and vegetative limitations to invasion by C. vulgaris on either the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Instead, my results suggest that discrepancies in invasive spread between islands may be driven by human activity: C. vulgaris is associated with the same levels of human disturbance on both islands despite differences in the presence of these conditions between then islands. Altogether, these results show that interactive effects between drivers on biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics are frequently not additive or linear. Therefore, accurate predictions of global change impacts on community structure and ecosystems function require experiments and models which include of interactions among drivers such as climate change and species invasion. These results are pertinent to effective conservation management as most landscapes are concurrently affected by multiple drivers of global environmental change.</p>

scholarly journals Alien woody plants are more versatile than native, but both share similar therapeutic redundancy in South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260390
Author(s):  
Kowiyou Yessoufou ◽  
Annie Estelle Ambani ◽  
Hosam O. Elansary ◽  
Orou G. Gaoue
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Secondary Chemistry ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Medicinal Flora

Understanding why alien plant species are incorporated into the medicinal flora in several local communities is central to invasion biology and ethnobiology. Theories suggest that alien plants are incorporated in local pharmacopoeias because they are more versatile or contribute unique secondary chemistry which make them less therapeutically redundant, or simply because they are locally more abundant than native species. However, a lack of a comprehensive test of these hypotheses limits our understanding of the dynamics of plants knowledge, use and potential implications for invasion. Here, we tested the predictions of several of these hypotheses using a unique dataset on the woody medicinal flora of southern Africa. We found that the size of a plant family predicts the number of medicinal plants in that family, a support for the non-random hypothesis of medicinal plant selection. However, we found no support for the diversification hypothesis: i) both alien and native plants were used in the treatment of similar diseases; ii) significantly more native species than alien contribute to disease treatments particularly of parasitic infections and obstetric-gynecological diseases, and iii) alien and native species share similar therapeutic redundancy. However, we found support for the versatility hypothesis, i.e., alien plants were more versatile than natives. These findings imply that, although alien plant species are not therapeutically unique, they do provide more uses than native plants (versatility), thus suggesting that they may not have been introduced primarily for therapeutic reasons. We call for similar studies to be carried out on alien herbaceous plants for a broader understanding of the integration of alien plants into the pharmacopoeias of the receiving communities.

Restoration of pollination interactions in communities invaded by non-native plants.

2020 ◽  
pp. 377-390
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Kaiser-Bunbury ◽  
◽  
Benno I. Simmons ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Restoration Ecology ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Ecosystem Processes ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
And Function ◽  
Network Metrics ◽  
The Impact

Invasive plant species degrade and homogenize ecosystems worldwide, thereby altering ecosystem processes and function. To mitigate and reverse the impact of invasive plants on pollination, a key ecosystem function, conservation scientists and practitioners restore ecological communities and study the impact of such management interventions on plant-pollinator communities. Here, we describe opportunities and challenges associated with restoring pollination interactions as part of a holistic ecosystem-based restoration approach. We introduce a few general concepts in restoration ecology, and outline best planning and evaluation practices of restoring pollination interactions on the community level. Planning involves the selection of suitable plant species to support diverse pollinator communities, which includes considerations of the benefits and disadvantages of using native vs exotic, and bridge and framework plant species for restoration. We emphasize the central role of scientific- and community-level approaches for the planning phase of pollination restoration. For evaluation purposes, we argue that appropriate network indicators have the advantage of detecting changes in species behaviour with consequences for ecosystem processes and functions before these changes show up in altered species communities. Suitable network metrics may include interaction diversity and evenness, and network measures that describe the distribution of species, such as network and species-level specialization, modularity and motifs. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of the network approach in evaluating the benefits of restoration interventions for pollination interactions, and propose that applied network ecologists take a central role in transferring theory into practice.

Can Indirect Herbicide Exposure Modify the Response of the Colorado Potato Beetle to an Organophosphate Insecticide?

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 2316-2323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aigi Margus ◽  
Miia Rainio ◽  
Leena Lindström
Keyword(s):  
Colorado Potato Beetle ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Oxidative Status ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Invasive Pest ◽  
Lipid Hydroperoxides ◽  
Organophosphate Insecticide ◽  
Potato Beetle

AbstractOrganisms live in complex multivariate environments. In agroecosystems, this complexity is often human-induced as pest individuals can be exposed to many xenobiotics simultaneously. Predicting the effects of multiple stressors can be problematic, as two or more stressors can have interactive effects. Our objective was to investigate whether indirect glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) exposure of the host plant has interactive effects in combination with an insecticide (azinphos-methyl) on an invasive pest Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say). We tested the effects of GBH and insecticide on the survival, insecticide target genes expression (acetylcholinesterase genes) and oxidative status biomarkers (glutathione S-transferase [GST], glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PDH], glutathione reductase homolog [GR], glutathione peroxidase homolog [GPx], total glutathione [totGSH], glutathione reduced-oxidized [GSH: GSSG], catalase [CAT], superoxide dismutase [SOD], lipid hydroperoxides). We found that exposure to indirect GBH has no single or interactive effects in combination with the insecticide on larval survival. However, prior exposure to GBH inhibits Ldace1 gene expression by 0.55-fold, which is the target site for the organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. This difference disappears when individuals are exposed to both GBH and insecticide, suggesting an antagonistic effect. On the other hand, oxidative status biomarker scores (PCAs of GPx, GR, and CAT) were decreased when exposed to both stressors, indicating a synergistic effect. Overall, we found that indirect GBH exposure can have both antagonistic and synergistic effects in combination with an insecticide, which should be considered when aiming for an ecologically relevant risk assessment of multiple human-induced stressors.

Can transgenerational plasticity contribute to the invasion success of annual plant species?

Oecologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annamária Fenesi ◽  
Andrew R. Dyer ◽  
Júliánna Geréd ◽  
Dorottya Sándor ◽  
Eszter Ruprecht
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Annual Plant ◽  
Transgenerational Plasticity ◽  
Annual Plant Species

The Diets of the Large Rock-Rat, Zyzomys Woodwardi, and the Common Rock-Rat, Z. Argurus (Rodentia: Muridae).

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Begg ◽  
CJ Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Food Store ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Reference Collection ◽  
The Common

The diets of Zyzomys woodwardi from two habitat types and Z, argurus from one of them were investigated by microanalysis of faecal samples which were collected over a 12-month period. Forty-three species of food plants were identified. Differences were found in the diets of Z. woodwardi from the two habitat types, according to the different food plants available; the two species living sympatrically shared 52% of plant species identified. Both species ate a wide range of seed sizes, according to what was available seasonally. Hard-shelled seeds remained on the ground as a ready food store for much of the year but grasses were utilized only in the dry season, as they rotted or germinated during the wet. The technique used produced fragments that were identifiable, when the reference collection was sufficiently extensive, but was not suitable for detailed quantitative comparisons and was extremely time-consuming.

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