scholarly journals Selecting species for restoration in foundational assemblages

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Madin ◽  
Michael McWilliam ◽  
Kate Quigley ◽  
Line Bay ◽  
David Bellwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Phenotypic Trait ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Local Loss ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Function Loss ◽  
Marginal Returns ◽  
Trait Space

Humans have long sought to restore species but little attention has been directed at how best to do so for rich assemblages of foundation species that support ecosystems, like rainforests and coral reefs that are increasingly threatened by environmental change. We developed a two-part triage process for selecting optimized sets of species for restoration. We demonstrated this process using phenotypic traits and ecological characteristics for reef building corals found along the east coast of Australia. Without clear linkages between phenotypic traits and ecosystem functions, the first part of the triage hedges against function loss by ensuring an even spread of life history traits. The second part hedges against future species losses by weighting species based on characteristics that are known to increase their ecological persistence to current environmental pressures--abundance, species range and thermal bleaching tolerance--as well as their amenability to restoration methods. We identified sets of ecologically persistent and restorable species most likely to protect against functional loss by examining marginal returns in occupancy of phenotypic trait space per restored species. We also compared sets of species with those from the southern-most accretional reef as well as a coral restoration program to demonstrate how trait space occupancy is likely to protect against local loss of ecosystem function. Synthesis and applications. A quantitative approach to selecting sets of foundational species for restoration can inform decisions about ecosystem protection to guide and optimize future restoration efforts. The approach addresses the need to insure against unpredictable losses of ecosystem functions by investing in a wide range of phenotypes. Furthermore, the flexibility of the approach enables the functional goals of restoration to vary depending on environmental context, stakeholder values, and the spatial and temporal scales at which meaningful impacts can be achieved.

scholarly journals The evolution of traits and functions in herbivorous coral reef fishes through space and time

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1897) ◽  
pp. 20182672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre C. Siqueira ◽  
David R. Bellwood ◽  
Peter F. Cowman
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Ecological Process ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Trait Space

Herbivory by fishes has been identified as a key ecological process shaping coral reefs through time. Although taxonomically limited, herbivorous reef fishes display a wide range of traits, which results in varied ecosystem functions on reefs around the world. Yet, we understand little about how these trait combinations and functions in ecosystems changed through time and across biogeographic realms. Here, we used fossils and phylogenies in a functional ecological framework to reveal temporal changes in nominally herbivorous fish assemblages among oceanic basins in both trait space and lineage richness among functions. We show that the trait space occupied by extant herbivorous fishes in the Indo-Pacific resulted from an expansion of traits from the ancestral Tethyan assemblages. By contrast, trait space in the Atlantic is the result of lineage turnover, with relatively recent colonization by lineages that arose in the east Tethys/Indo-Pacific. From an ecosystem function perspective, the Atlantic supports a depauperate fauna, with few extant herbivorous reef fish lineages performing each function. Indo-Pacific fishes support both more functions and more lineages within each function, with a marked Miocene to Pleistocene expansion. These disparities highlight the importance of history in explaining global variation in fish functional composition on coral reefs.

scholarly journals Normal approximation for mixtures of normal distributions and the evolution of phenotypic traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-188
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Bartoszek ◽  
Torkel Erhardsson
Keyword(s):  
Normal Distribution ◽  
Phenotypic Trait ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Normal Distributions ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Conditional Moments ◽  
Mixture Of Normal Distributions ◽  
Explicit Bounds ◽  
Mixtures Of Normal Distributions ◽  
Parameter Values

AbstractExplicit bounds are given for the Kolmogorov and Wasserstein distances between a mixture of normal distributions, by which we mean that the conditional distribution given some $\sigma$ -algebra is normal, and a normal distribution with properly chosen parameter values. The bounds depend only on the first two moments of the first two conditional moments given the $\sigma$ -algebra. The proof is based on Stein’s method. As an application, we consider the Yule–Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model, used in the field of phylogenetic comparative methods. We obtain bounds for both distances between the distribution of the average value of a phenotypic trait over n related species, and a normal distribution. The bounds imply and extend earlier limit theorems by Bartoszek and Sagitov.

scholarly journals Quantifying Understory Complexity in Unmanaged Forests Using TLS and Identifying Some of Its Major Drivers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1513
Author(s):  
Dominik Seidel ◽  
Peter Annighöfer ◽  
Christian Ammer ◽  
Martin Ehbrecht ◽  
Katharina Willim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Canopy Openness ◽  
Seasonal Precipitation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

The structural complexity of the understory layer of forests or shrub layer vegetation in open shrublands affects many ecosystem functions and services provided by these ecosystems. We investigated how the basal area of the overstory layer, annual and seasonal precipitation, annual mean temperature, as well as light availability affect the structural complexity of the understory layer along a gradient from closed forests to open shrubland with only scattered trees. Using terrestrial laser scanning data and the understory complexity index (UCI), we measured the structural complexity of sites across a wide range of precipitation and temperature, also covering a gradient in light availability and basal area. We found significant relationships between the UCI and tree basal area as well as canopy openness. Structural equation models (SEMs) confirmed significant direct effects of seasonal precipitation on the UCI without mediation through basal area or canopy openness. However, annual precipitation and temperature effects on the UCI are mediated through canopy openness and basal area, respectively. Understory complexity is, despite clear dependencies on the available light and overall stand density, significantly and directly driven by climatic parameters, particularly the amount of precipitation during the driest month.

scholarly journals Temporal Variations of the Turbulence Profiles at the Sayan Solar Observatory Site

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artem Shikhovtsev ◽  
Pavel Kovadlo ◽  
Vladimir Lukin
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Turbulence ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Solar Observatory ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Atmospheric Disturbances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mean

The paper focuses on the development of the method to estimate the mean characteristics of the atmospheric turbulence. Using an approach based on the shape of the energy spectrum of atmospheric turbulence over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, the vertical profiles of optical turbulence are calculated. The temporal variability of the vertical profiles of turbulence under different low-frequency atmospheric disturbances is considered.

scholarly journals Land–atmosphere interactions in the tropics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Gentine ◽  
Adam Massmann ◽  
Benjamin R. Lintner ◽  
Sayed Hamed Alemohammad ◽  
Rong Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Shallow Clouds ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The continental tropics play a leading role in the terrestrial water and carbon cycles. Land–atmosphere interactions are integral in the regulation of surface energy, water and carbon fluxes across multiple spatial and temporal scales over tropical continents. We review here some of the important characteristics of tropical continental climates and how land–atmosphere interactions regulate them. Along with a wide range of climates, the tropics manifest a diverse array of land–atmosphere interactions. Broadly speaking, in tropical rainforests, light and energy are typically more limiting than precipitation and water supply for photosynthesis and evapotranspiration; whereas in savanna and semi-arid regions water is the critical regulator of surface fluxes and land–atmosphere interactions. We discuss the impact of the land surface, how it affects shallow clouds and how these clouds can feedback to the surface by modulating surface radiation. Some results from recent research suggest that shallow clouds may be especially critical to land–atmosphere interactions as these regulate the energy budget and moisture transport to the lower troposphere, which in turn affects deep convection. On the other hand, the impact of land surface conditions on deep convection appear to occur over larger, non-local, scales and might be critically affected by transitional regions between the climatologically dry and wet tropics.

Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Functions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oswald J. Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter reflects on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Drawing connections between ecosystem functions and ecosystem services can make the concept of sustainability less nebulous. It offers tangible ways to translate science into practice by revealing the intricacies of nature and the many threads that link humans to nature through such intricacies. Establishing such connections illustrates why it is important to ensure that ecosystem functions endure. The chapter shows how the New Ecology is helping us appreciate how and why the complex ways that species that have evolved and forged interdependencies with each other matter to sustainability. It argues that maintaining diversity within ecosystems ensures that a wide range of options is available for adapting to environmental change.

European Forest Management Portfolios Optimized for Uncertain Future Climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Gregor ◽  
Thomas Knoke ◽  
Andreas Krause ◽  
Mats Lindeskog ◽  
Anja Rammig
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Climate Scenarios ◽  
Wide Range

<p>Forests are considered a major player in climate change mitigation since they influence local and global climate through biogeochemical and biogeophysical feedbacks. However, they are themselves vulnerable to future environmental changes. Thus, forest management needs to focus on both mitigation and adaptation. The special challenge is that decisions on management strategies must be taken today while still a broad range of emission pathways is possible, and a good decision regarding one assumed pathway might turn out to be a bad decision when a different one materializes.</p><p>With our study we try to aid this decision-making process by finding management portfolios that provide relevant ecosystem functions such as local and global climate regulation, water availability, flood protection, and timber production for a wide range of future climate scenarios. To simulate according ecosystem processes and functions, we run the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS for the most relevant forest types across Europe for four different RCPs and five different management options. We analyze our simulation outputs using robust optimization techniques to determine optimal forest management portfolios for each 0.5° grid cell in Europe that ensure a balanced provision of all considered ecosystem functions in the future under any of the four RCPs.</p><p>Generally, our simulations and optimizations show that diversified management portfolios are most suitable to provide the set of considered ecosystem functions in all climate scenarios everywhere in Europe. While the portfolios show different compositions in different regions, they are quite similar in adjacent grid cells. The suggested future forest composition in Europe tends to be fairly close to present day values except for Northern Europe where a much higher proportion of deciduous types is proposed.</p><p>Management as high forest (trees emerging from seeds) remains the most important form of management. The proposed share of coppice management is much higher in Central and Northern Europe (~20%) than in Southern Europe, where its disadvantages (e.g., high water consumption and its non-suitability to provide long-lived wood products) are more pronounced.</p><p>A succession of ~30% of managed forest to natural forest is proposed by the optimization as it provides highest carbon storage and surface roughness values. However, this infeasibly high share is reduced if the provision of wood harvest is valued higher in the optimization compared to the other ecosystem functions.</p><p>Current public focus on forests lies often on their potential for carbon sequestration, but future forest management must also address the other services that they provide. This work gives insights on how this may be done.</p>

New Horizons of Nanotechnology in Agriculture and Food Processing Industry

2017 ◽  
pp. 230-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabir Ahmad Mir ◽  
Manzoor Ahmad Shah ◽  
Mohammad Maqbool Mir ◽  
Umar Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
Food Processing ◽  
Food Processing Industry ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Processing Industry ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Food Processing Sector ◽  
Agriculture And Food ◽  
And Control

This chapter addresses the potential application of nanotechnology in various areas of agriculture and food processing sector. Nanotechnology is an exciting and fast developing field which aims to generate new materials and devices with wide range of applications. Nanotechnology is capable to solve the very complex set of engineering and scientific challenges in the agriculture and processing industry. Nanotechnology has great potential in providing novel and improved solutions to many challenges facing agriculture and food sector. Nanotechnology based products and its applications in agriculture include nano-fertilizers, nano-herbicides, nano-pesticides, recalcitrant contaminants from water, nano-scale carriers, nan-osensors, veterinary care, fisheries and food processing etc. Nanotechnology revolutionized the agriculture and food industry by innovation new techniques such as: precision farming techniques, more efficient and targeted use of inputs, disease detection and control, withstand environmental pressures and effective systems for processing and packaging.

scholarly journals Network Analysis Provides Insight into Tomato Lipid Metabolism

Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Kuhalskaya ◽  
Micha Wijesingha Ahchige ◽  
Leonardo Perez de Souza ◽  
José Vallarino ◽  
Yariv Brotman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Volatile Compounds ◽  
Tomato Fruit ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Solanum Pennellii ◽  
Metabolic Network Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Insight Into

Metabolic correlation networks have been used in several instances to obtain a deeper insight into the complexity of plant metabolism as a whole. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), metabolites have a major influence on taste and overall fruit quality traits. Previously a broad spectrum of metabolic and phenotypic traits has been described using a Solanum pennellii introgression-lines (ILs) population. To obtain insights into tomato fruit metabolism, we performed metabolic network analysis from existing data, covering a wide range of metabolic traits, including lipophilic and volatile compounds, for the first time. We provide a comprehensive fruit correlation network and show how primary, secondary, lipophilic, and volatile compounds connect to each other and how the individual metabolic classes are linked to yield-related phenotypic traits. Results revealed a high connectivity within and between different classes of lipophilic compounds, as well as between lipophilic and secondary metabolites. We focused on lipid metabolism and generated a gene-expression network with lipophilic metabolites to identify new putative lipid-related genes. Metabolite–transcript correlation analysis revealed key putative genes involved in lipid biosynthesis pathways. The overall results will help to deepen our understanding of tomato metabolism and provide candidate genes for transgenic approaches toward improving nutritional qualities in tomato.

scholarly journals Variation of Phenotypic Traits in Twelve Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) Genotypes and Two F2 Bi-Parental Segregating Populations

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1451
Author(s):  
Xiuqing Gao ◽  
Aliyu Siise Abdullah Bamba ◽  
Aloyce Callist Kundy ◽  
Kumbirai Ivyne Mateva ◽  
Hui Hui Chai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Bambara Groundnut ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Phenotypic Trait ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Vigna Subterranea ◽  
East West

Underutilised species such as bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) have the potential to contribute significantly to meeting food and nutritional needs worldwide. We evaluated phenotypic traits in twelve bambara groundnut genotypes from East, West and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia and two F2 bi-parental segregating populations derived from IITA-686 ×Tiga Nicuru and S19-3 ×DodR to determine phenotypic trait variation and their potential contribution to the development of improved crop varieties. All phenotypic traits in twelve genotypes were significantly influenced (p < 0.01) by genotypes. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that PC1 accounted for 97.33% variation and was associated with four genotypes collected from East and Southern Africa. PC2 accounted for 2.48% of the variation and was associated with five genotypes collected from East, West and Southern Africa. Transgressive segregation for a number of traits was observed in the two F2 bi-parental populations, as some individual lines in the segregating populations showed trait values greater or less than their parents. The variability between twelve genotypes and the two F2 bi-parental segregating populations and the negative relationship between plant architectural traits and yield related traits provide resources for development of structured populations and breeding lines for bambara groundnut breeding programme.

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