scholarly journals Evidence for large-scale effects of competition: niche displacement in Canada lynx and bobcat

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1773) ◽  
pp. 20132495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. L. Peers ◽  
Daniel H. Thornton ◽  
Dennis L. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Lynx Canadensis ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Canada Lynx

Determining the patterns, causes and consequences of character displacement is central to our understanding of competition in ecological communities. However, the majority of competition research has occurred over small spatial extents or focused on fine-scale differences in morphology or behaviour. The effects of competition on broad-scale distribution and niche characteristics of species remain poorly understood but critically important. Using range-wide species distribution models, we evaluated whether Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ) or bobcat ( Lynx rufus ) were displaced in regions of sympatry. Consistent with our prediction, we found that lynx niches were less similar to those of bobcat in areas of sympatry versus allopatry, with a stronger reliance on snow cover driving lynx niche divergence in the sympatric zone. By contrast, bobcat increased niche breadth in zones of sympatry, and bobcat niches were equally similar to those of lynx in zones of sympatry and allopatry. These findings suggest that competitively disadvantaged species avoid competition at large scales by restricting their niche to highly suitable conditions, while superior competitors expand the diversity of environments used. Our results indicate that competition can manifest within climatic niche space across species’ ranges, highlighting the importance of biotic interactions occurring at large spatial scales on niche dynamics.

scholarly journals A framework to bridge scales in distribution modeling of soil microbiota

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas J Lembrechts ◽  
L Broeders ◽  
J De Gruyter ◽  
D Radujković ◽  
I Ramirez-Rojas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Environmental Niche ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Soil Microbiota ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Species Specific

ABSTRACT Creating accurate habitat suitability and distribution models (HSDMs) for soil microbiota is far more challenging than for aboveground organism groups. In this perspective paper, we propose a conceptual framework that addresses several of the critical issues holding back further applications. Most importantly, we tackle the mismatch between the broadscale, long-term averages of environmental variables traditionally used, and the environment as experienced by soil microbiota themselves. We suggest using nested sampling designs across environmental gradients and objectively integrating spatially hierarchic heterogeneity as covariates in HSDMs. Second, to incorporate the crucial role of taxa co-occurrence as driver of soil microbial distributions, we promote the use of joint species distribution models, a class of models that jointly analyze multiple species’ distributions, quantifying both species-specific environmental responses (i.e. the environmental niche) and covariance among species (i.e. biotic interactions). Our approach allows incorporating the environmental niche and its associated distribution across multiple spatial scales. The proposed framework facilitates the inclusion of the true relationships between soil organisms and their abiotic and biotic environments in distribution models, which is crucial to improve predictions of soil microbial redistributions as a result of global change.

On large-scale dynamics and community structure in forest birds: lessons from some eucalypt forests of southeastern Australia

1995 ◽  
Vol 350 (1334) ◽  
pp. 369-379 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Individual Bird ◽  
Southeastern Australia

Models of ecological communities, including coevolved patterns of resource use among sympatric species (for example, ‘resource partitioning’), are poor or inadequate representations of natural systems despite intense theoretical effort for many years. Some of these difficulties are due to a failure to recognize the necessary conditions for community patterns to develop, which are largely controlled by the dynamic characteristics of individual species. In continental bird communities — examples of which are considered here - these necessary conditions often will not be met owing to the mobility of most species. Here I document the degrees to which the large-scale dynamics (over hundreds of km) of individual bird species are expressed in community terms in five forest-habitat types throughout the year. These data demonstrate that continental bird communities are so dynamic that the conditions for the development of definite structure are unlikely to be met in either proximate or evolutionary time. The failure of community theories to account for and predict structure probably reflects too much concentration on mechanisms at inappropriate spatial scales.

scholarly journals Historical distributions of bobcats (Lynx rufus) and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) suggest no range shifts in British Columbia, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (12) ◽  
pp. 1299-1308 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Gooliaff ◽  
K.E. Hodges
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Lynx Lynx ◽  
Lynx Canadensis ◽  
Range Margin ◽  
Canada Lynx ◽  
Range Dynamics

Species across the planet are shifting their ranges in response to climate change and habitat loss. However, range shifts may vary, with populations moving in some areas but remaining stable in others; the conditions that encourage range stability rather than range shifts are poorly known. Bobcats (Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)) and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792) are congeneric mesocarnivores with wide ranges across North America and range overlap in southern boreal and montane forests (the southern edge for lynx and the northern edge for bobcat). The ranges of both species are shifting in some parts of North America, in most cases resulting in a northward expansion for bobcats and a northward contraction for lynx. However, their range dynamics in the Pacific Northwest, which contains the northwestern range margin for bobcats and the southwestern range margin for lynx, have not been thoroughly documented. Here, we examine whether the range of each species has shifted in British Columbia (BC), Canada, provincially during 1983–2013 or in central BC during 1935–2013. Trapping records indicated that ranges have remained stable, and surveys from trappers supported these findings. Our findings are consistent with previous work showing that many wide-ranging species do not shift their range uniformly across their entire range edge. For bobcats and lynx, their range stability in BC contrasts with their range dynamics in other parts of North America.

scholarly journals Microclimate and resource quality determine resource use in a range-expanding herbivore

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 20210175
Author(s):  
James E. Stewart ◽  
Ilya M. D. Maclean ◽  
Alice J. Edney ◽  
Jon Bridle ◽  
Robert J. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Resource Condition ◽  
Range Dynamics

The consequences of climate change for biogeographic range dynamics depend on the spatial scales at which climate influences focal species directly and indirectly via biotic interactions. An overlooked question concerns the extent to which microclimates modify specialist biotic interactions, with emergent properties for communities and range dynamics. Here, we use an in-field experiment to assess egg-laying behaviour of a range-expanding herbivore across a range of natural microclimatic conditions. We show that variation in microclimate, resource condition and individual fecundity can generate differences in egg-laying rates of almost two orders of magnitude in an exemplar species, the brown argus butterfly ( Aricia agestis ). This within-site variation in fecundity dwarfs variation resulting from differences in average ambient temperatures among populations. Although higher temperatures did not reduce female selection for host plants in good condition, the thermal sensitivities of egg-laying behaviours have the potential to accelerate climate-driven range expansion by increasing egg-laying encounters with novel hosts in increasingly suitable microclimates. Understanding the sensitivity of specialist biotic interactions to microclimatic variation is, therefore, critical to predict the outcomes of climate change across species' geographical ranges, and the resilience of ecological communities.

scholarly journals Emergent Behavior and Uncertainty in Multimodel Climate Projections of Precipitation Trends at Small Spatial Scales

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (21) ◽  
pp. 5554-5569 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Good ◽  
J. Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Emergent Behavior ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Precipitation Trends

Abstract Aspects of model emergent behavior and uncertainty in regional- and small-scale effects of increasing CO2 on seasonal (June–August) precipitation are explored. Nineteen different climate models are studied. New methods of comparing multiple climate models reveal a clearer and more impact-relevant view of precipitation projections for the current century. First, the importance of small spatial scales in multimodel projections is demonstrated. Local trends can be much larger than or even have an opposing sign to the large-scale regional averages used in previous studies. Small-scale effects of increasing CO2 and natural internal variability both play important roles here. These small-scale features make multimodel comparisons difficult for precipitation. New methods that allow information from small spatial scales to be usefully compared across an ensemble of multiple models are presented. The analysis philosophy of this study works with statistical distributions of small-scale variations within climatological regions. A major result of this work is a set of emergent relationships coupling the small- and regional-scale effects of CO2 on precipitation trends. Within each region, a single relationship fits the ensemble of 19 different climate models. Using these relationships, a surprisingly large part of the intermodel variance in small-scale effects of CO2 is explainable simply by the intermodel variance in the regional mean (a form of pattern scaling). Different regions show distinctly different relationships. These relationships imply that regional mean results are still useful, as long as the interregional variation in their relationship with impact-relevant extreme trends is recognized. These relationships are used to present a clear but rich picture of an aspect of model uncertainty, characterized by the intermodel spread in seasonal precipitation trends, including information from small spatial scales.

scholarly journals The application of science to the management of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): integration across scales

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (S1) ◽  
pp. 303-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D Armstrong ◽  
James WA Grant ◽  
Harvey L Forsgren ◽  
Kurt D Fausch ◽  
Richard M DeGraaf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Broad Scale ◽  
The Way

The need for integration across spatial and temporal scales in applying science to the management of Atlantic salmon is considered. The factors that are currently believed to affect the production of anadromous adult Atlantic salmon (synthesized from recent reviews) are arranged in a hierarchy in which any given process overrides those processes at lower levels. There is not a good correlation between levels in the process hierarchy and levels in hierarchies of scale. This demonstrates the importance of integrating across scales in identifying the optimum foci for targeting management action. It is not possible to generalize on the need for integration across scales within management plans. This is because of the complex ecology of salmon, the broad range of characteristics of the systems of which they are a part, and the fact that both local scale and broad scale management can have broad scale effects. Many uncertainties remain regarding the large-scale components of the ecology of salmon, the way that small-scale mechanisms interact with life histories, and the way that different factors interact to limit production of fish. When more is understood of these processes, it is likely that generalized rules might be developed to predict the management requirements for stream systems. In the meantime, it is essential that there is good integration among managers working at different scales and it is important that management systems operating at all spatial scales include high-calibre expertise to compensate for the present paucity of general rules.

scholarly journals Spatial segregation and habitat partitioning of bobcat and Canada lynx

FACETS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 503-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robby R. Marrotte ◽  
Jeff Bowman ◽  
Samantha J. Morin
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Lynx Lynx ◽  
Lynx Canadensis ◽  
Sympatric Populations ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Canada Lynx ◽  
North Shore ◽  
The North ◽  
The Common

Harvest records suggest that the abundance of bobcats ( Lynx rufus) has increased and the leading edge of their distribution has spread northward, while the trailing edge of the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis) range has contracted in Ontario, Canada. There has been a debate about whether these closely related felids might compete in areas of sympatry, but there is little research on sympatric populations of bobcat and lynx. Both species are found on the north shore of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada, which provided an opportunity to investigate their spatial patterns and habitat use. We surveyed snowmobile routes for snow tracks over three winters and estimated probability of occupancy for the two felid species while accounting for detectability. Bobcat and lynx tracks were never found on the same survey route. Bobcat occupancy increased with habitat heterogeneity, whereas lynx occupancy increased with homogeneity. Our results fit with the common assumption of the generalist and specialist natures of bobcat and lynx, respectively. Our findings suggest that bobcats invaded former lynx territory after these areas became vacant. The story of the bobcat and the lynx is one of the loss of a unique, boreal specialist due to anthropogenic change, and eventual replacement by an adaptable generalist.

Loss of potential bat habitat following a severe wildfire: a model-based rapid assessment

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Bosso ◽  
Leonardo Ancillotto ◽  
Sonia Smeraldo ◽  
Sara D'Arco ◽  
Antonello Migliozzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Fire Event ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Potential Habitat ◽  
Animal Activity

Fire is a major disturbance that affects ecological communities, and when fire events increase in frequency or extent, they may jeopardise biodiversity. Although long-term studies are irreplaceable to understand how biological communities respond to wildfires, a rapid, efficient assessment of the consequences of wildfire is paramount to inform habitat management and restoration. Although Species Distribution Models (SDMs) may be applied to achieve this goal, they have not yet been used in that way. In summer 2017, during an extended drought that affected Italy, a severe wildfire occurred in the Vesuvius National Park (southern Italy). We applied SDMs to assess how much potential habitat was lost by the 12 bat species occurring in the area because of the wildfire, and whether habitat fragmentation increased following the event. Our analysis supported the hypotheses we tested (i.e. that the fire event potentially affected all species through habitat reduction and fragmentation) and that the bat species potentially most affected were those adapted to foraging in cluttered habitat (forest). We show that SDMs are a valuable tool for a first, rapid assessment of the effects of large-scale wildfires, and that they may help identify the areas that need to be monitored for animal activity and phenology, and to assist in saving human and financial resources.

scholarly journals Small to large-scale patterns of ground-dwelling spider (Araneae) diversity across northern Canada

FACETS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 880-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Loboda ◽  
Christopher M. Buddle
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Sampling Design ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Longitudinal Patterns ◽  
Northern Canada ◽  
Multiple Spatial Scales ◽  
Spatial Influence ◽  
Total Species

We examined how Arctic spider (Araneae) biodiversity is distributed at multiple spatial scales in northern Canada using a standardized hierarchical sampling design. We investigated which drivers, environmental or spatial, influence the patterns observed. Spatial patterns of Arctic spider species richness and composition were assessed in 12 sites located in arctic, subarctic, and north boreal ecoclimatic regions, spanning 30 degrees of latitude and 80 degrees of longitude. Variation in diversity was partitioned in relation to multiple environmental and spatial drivers of diversity patterns. Over 23 000 adult spiders, representing 306 species in 14 families, were collected in northern Canada, with 107 species (35% of the total species collected) representing new territorial or provincial records. Spider diversity was structured at the regional scale across ecoclimatic regions but was not structured with latitude. Longitudinal patterns of spider diversity across Canada may be explained by post-glacial dispersal. At local scales, diversity was non-randomly distributed and possibly limited by biotic interactions. We recommend the use of ecoclimatic regions as a framework for conservation of biodiversity in northern Canada and spiders as useful bioindicators that can help us understand the effects of climate change across ecoclimatic regions of northern Canada.

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