scholarly journals Mapping trait versus species turnover reveals spatiotemporal variation in functional redundancy in a plant-pollinator network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoife Cantwell-Jones ◽  
Keith Larson ◽  
Alan Ward ◽  
Olivia K Bates ◽  
Tara Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Functional Redundancy ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Functional Loss ◽  
Spatial Gradients ◽  
Interaction Partners ◽  
Size Groups ◽  
Plant Pollinator

Functional overlap between species (redundancy) shapes competitive and mutualistic interactions, determining community responses to perturbations. Most studies view functional redundancy as static, even though individuals within species vary in traits over seasonal or spatial gradients. Consequently, we lack knowledge on trait turnover within species, how functional redundancy spatiotemporally varies, and when and where interaction networks are vulnerable to functional loss. Studying an Arctic bumblebee community, we investigated how body-size turnover with elevation and over a season shapes their host-plant interactions, and test how sensitive networks are to sequentially losing body-size groups. With trait turnover being larger than species, we found: i) late-season networks were less specialised when nodes comprised functionally similar bumblebees; ii) removal of bumblebee-body-size groups over species accelerated coextinction of host plants, with the magnitude varying in space and time. We demonstrate functional redundancy can vary spatiotemporally, and functional loss impacts interaction partners more than expected from species loss alone.

scholarly journals The developmental variations of the sagitta otolith in the young and mature male of a hermaphrodite polynemidae fish, Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw, 1804)

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. e20216178
Author(s):  
Soumen Roy ◽  
Itika Bardhan
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Groups ◽  
Protandrous Hermaphrodite ◽  
Ultrastructural Characteristics ◽  
Developmental Variations ◽  
The One ◽  
First Time ◽  
One Way Anova

The Eleutheronema tetradactylum is a protandrous, hermaphrodite, marine perciformes fish. The body length of this fish acts as an important diagnostic marker for male and female discrimination. The present study describes for the first time the ultrastructural characteristics on the medial surface of the sagitta otolith in different body size groups of males of E. tetradactylum (Polynemidae: Perciformes) using scanning electron microscopy. The sagitta is a spindle-shaped structure that includes a well-developed rostrum and a poorly developed antirostrum. The sulcus is ostio-pseudocaudal type, almost straight and devoid of the collum. The ostium is a well-developed, vase-shaped structure. The cauda includes the colliculum and a well-developed caudal bulb with several distinct growth stripes. The length of the caudal bulb is significantly correlated to the growth of the body size of the fish. The excisura major is indistinct and the excisura minor is absent. The cristae are distinct on both sides of the sulcus. The one-way ANOVA test revealed that the development of several sagitta features shows significant differences in various body size groups of E. tetradactylum. The growth of the sagitta length is more closely related to the fork length than the sagitta width. Therefore, the sagitta length and the caudal bulb length can be used as important predictors to evaluate the fish size. The cauda region of the sagitta in E. tetradactylum is unique as well as more decorative than those of another Polynemidae fish and other hermaphrodite, marine perciformes fishes. The sagitta characteristics of E. tetradactylum might be advantageous in the identification of the sex and the taxonomy of the hermaphrodite fish species.

scholarly journals Dodder-transmitted mobile signals prime host plants for enhanced salt tolerance

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 1171-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalan Li ◽  
Jingxiong Zhang ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Nian Liu ◽  
Guojing Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Stress ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Physiological Function ◽  
The Other ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Plant Signaling ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Salt Treatment ◽  
Systemic Signals

Abstract The dodders (Cuscuta spp.) are a genus of shoot parasites. In nature, a dodder often simultaneously parasitizes two or more neighboring hosts. Salt stress is a common abiotic stress for plants. It is unclear whether dodder transmits physiologically relevant salt stress-induced systemic signals among its hosts and whether these systemic signals affect the hosts’ tolerance to salt stress. Here, we simultaneously parasitized two or more cucumber plants with dodder. We found that salt treatment of one host highly primed the connected host, which showed strong decreases in the extent of leaf withering and cell death in response to subsequent salt stress. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that 24 h after salt treatment of one cucumber, the transcriptome of the other dodder-connected cucumber largely resembled that of the salt-treated one, indicating that inter-plant systemic signals primed these dodder-connected cucumbers at least partly through transcriptomic reconfiguration. Furthermore, salt treatment of one of the cucumbers induced physiological changes, including altered proline contents, stomatal conductance, and photosynthetic rates, in both of the dodder-connected cucumbers. This study reveals a role of dodder in mediating salt-induced inter-plant signaling among dodder-connected hosts and highlights the physiological function of these mobile signals in plant–plant interactions under salt stress.

Species body size distribution patterns of marine benthic macrofauna assemblages from contrasting sediment types

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 793-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Parry ◽  
Michael A. Kendall ◽  
Ashley A. Rowden ◽  
Stephen Widdicombe
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Benthic Macrofauna ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Size Spectra ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Sediment Types ◽  
Geometric Size

Species body size spectra have been constructed for macrofauna assemblages from four sites with contrasting sediment granulometry and heterogeneity in and around Plymouth Sound. The number of species and species turnover (β diversity) were higher on coarse sediment. While the fauna were distinct between sites, the median geometric size-class was conservative (class 14; 0.153–0.305 mg dry blotted weight). Only one site had significantly lower heterogeneity within the species size spectrum, yet this was the most heterogeneous sediment. As such, we were unable to reject the null hypothesis that species body size distribution patterns are conservative despite differences in sediment granulometry and heterogeneity.

scholarly journals Learning may help pollinators find their host plants in polluted landscapes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brynn Cook ◽  
Alexander Haverkamp ◽  
Bill S. Hansson ◽  
T’ai Roulston ◽  
Manuel Lerdau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Ozone Exposure ◽  
Nicotiana Alata ◽  
Elevated Ozone ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Plant Pollinator ◽  
Ozone Levels

AbstractPollination strongly contributes to food production, and often relies on pollinating insects. However, atmospheric pollution may interfere with pollination by disrupting floral plumes that pollinators use to navigate to flowers.In this study, we examine the impacts of pollution-induced elevated ozone levels on the composition of a floral blend of Nicotiana alata and examine the response of innate and trained Manduca sexta to the ozone-altered blend.Ozone exposure altered the floral blend of N. alata, and disrupted the innate attraction of naïve M. sexta to the altered blend. However, associative learning can offset this disruption in attraction. Moths that were enticed with visual cues to an artificial flower emitting an ozonated blend learned to associate this blend with a nectar reward after just one rewarded experience. More importantly, moths that were rewarded while experiencing the unozonated floral blend of their host subsequently found the ozonated floral blend of the same host attractive, most likely due to experience-based reinforcement of ozone-insensitive cues in the blend.The attraction of moths to both unaltered and ozonated plumes is critical for tolerating polluted landscapes. At the host plant, where moths feed, floral emissions are relatively pure. As floral odors travel away from the host, however, they become degraded by pollution. Therefore, targeting the flower requires recognizing both conditions of the odor. The ability to generalize between the pure and ozone-altered scents may enable pollinators like M. sexta to maintain communication with their flowers and reduce the impact anthropogenic oxidants may have on plant-pollinator systems.

scholarly journals Body Size and Behaviour Traits of Dogs in Czech Households

2009 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Baranyiová ◽  
Antonín Holub ◽  
Mojmír Tyrlík
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
The Body ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Size Groups ◽  
Working Dogs ◽  
Average Body Mass ◽  
Household Members ◽  
Giant Size

The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of body size of dogs on their coexistence with humans in Czech households. For this purpose we used questionnaire data on 246 dogs indicating the breed. The dogs were divided into five body size groups, i.e. toy (T, up to 5 kg body mass, n = 32), small (S, 5 - 10 kg body mass, n = 52), medium size (M, 10 - 17 kg body mass, n = 39), large (L, 17 - 33 kg body mass, n = 70), giant (G, over 33 kg body mass, n = 53). The largest dogs surpassed the body mass of the smallest dogs at least seven times, and giant dogs weighed at least one half and toy dogs less than one tenth of the average body mass of people in the Czech human population. Despite this the majority of the studied traits regardless of body mass of the dogs showed no significant differences. In the vast majority of Czech households all dogs were considered household members, taken on travels or vacations, photographed and their birthdays were celebrated. Aggressiveness of the dogs did not correlate with their body size. Among the 84 traits of the behaviour of dogs and their owners, which were analysed, only 23, i.e. 27.4% traits were significantly related to their body mass. Larger and heavier dogs were more frequently kept in houses with yards and gardens, in rural environments. Toy and small dogs prevailed in urbanised environments, in apartments. They were allowed to use furniture, sleep in beds of household members. Moreover, toy dogs predominated in one-person households. Large dogs were more often trained, sometimes by professional trainers, obeyed commands better and were more often described as obedient. They were considered not only as companions but also as working dogs. Giant size dogs were also more often trained to be protective. These data show that the differences in the body size of dogs modified their co-existence with humans only to a limited extent.

scholarly journals Facilitation between plants shapes pollination networks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianalberto Losapio ◽  
Miguel A. Fortuna ◽  
Jordi Bascompte ◽  
Bernhard Schmid ◽  
Richard Michalet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Additive Effects ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Antagonistic Effects ◽  
Pollinator Community ◽  
Local Plant ◽  
Plant Pollinator

SignificanceAlthough it is known that plant–plant and plant–pollinator interactions can strongly influence biodiversity and its effects on ecosystem functioning, the details of how competition and facili-tation among plants scale up to mutualistic interactions with pollinators and thus affect pollina-tion networks are poorly understood. We introduce a simple experimental system in which we control local plant interactions, measure pollinator responses and characterize plant–pollinator networks. We find that facilitation among plants produces synergistic and antagonistic effects on the pollinator community affecting the architecture and robustness of plant–pollinator net-works. Our results provide evidence for bottom-up non-additive effects of plant interactions on pollination networks and have implications for the way we study and manage ecosystems.

scholarly journals DNA metabarcoding unveils the effects of habitat fragmentation on pollinator diversity, plant-pollinator interactions, and pollination efficiency in tropical islands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Tommasi ◽  
PAOLO BIELLA ◽  
Davide Maggioni ◽  
Luca Fallati ◽  
Giulia Agostinetto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Green Area ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Plant Pollinator

Habitat fragmentation is known to affect biodiversity, but the impact on pollinators and their interactions with plants is still unclear in anthropized landscapes. Islands are open-air laboratories for ecological studies with simplified communities and interactions, suitable to disentangle how land-use alteration impacts pollination ecology and its ecosystem service. Here, we used Maldives islands as model systems to investigate how pollinator richness, their mutualistic interactions with plants, and pollination efficiency are shaped by the degree of green area fragmentation (i.e., gardens, parks and semi-natural green covered patches), by considering both community- and species-level responses. To do this, we surveyed pollinators from 11 islands showing a gradient of green area fragmentation. In order to characterize the interactions between plants and pollinators and obtain a novel and comprehensive view of the key ecological dynamics, a DNA metabarcoding approach was adopted to identify the pollen carried by pollinators. We found that green area fragmentation at intermediate levels played positive effects on pollinator richness. However, fragmentation decreased interaction network complexity. Intriguingly, body size mediated the effect of landscape alteration on plant-pollinator interactions, as only the largest bee species expanded the foraging breath in terms of transported pollen richness at increasing fragmentation. In parallel, the pollination efficiency increased with pollinator species richness in two sentinel plants. This study shows that moderate landscape fragmentation of green areas shapes the ecosystem service of pollination, where in spite of interactions being less complex and mediated by pollinator body size, pollinator biodiversity and potential plant reproduction are supported.

scholarly journals Differences in Mobility and Dispersal Capacity Determine Body Size Clines in Two Common Alpine-Tundra Arthropods

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beckers ◽  
Hein ◽  
Anneser ◽  
Vanselow ◽  
Löffler
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Alpine Tundra ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Dispersal Capacity ◽  
Spatial Gradients ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Possible Cause

The Arctic is projected to be severely impacted by changes in temperature and precipitation. Species react to these changes by shifts in ranges, phenology, and body size. In ectotherms, the patterns of body size clines and their underlying mechanisms are often hard to untangle. Mountains provide a space-for-time substitute to study these shifts along multiple spatial gradients. As such, mobility and dispersal capacity might conceal reactions with elevation. We test this influence on body size clines by comparing two common arthropods of the alpine tundra. We find that high mobility in the lycosid spider Pardosa palustris blurs elevational effects. Partially low mobility at least during development makes the carabid beetle Amara alpina more susceptible to elevational effects. Specific life-history mechanisms, such as brood care in lycosid spiders and holometabolic development in carabid beetles, are the possible cause.

The influence of size on the trophic interactions between juveniles of two syntopic Trachinotus species

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-605
Author(s):  
Joice Silva de Souza ◽  
Luciano Neves dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trophic Interactions ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Trophic Resources ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
Size Groups ◽  
Food Partitioning

AbstractSyntopic species with similar anatomic configuration may face strong competition for trophic resources, thus relying on developed mechanisms to ensure coexistence. The present study investigated the influence of body size on trophic interactions between juveniles of two closely related fish species at three sandy beaches in south-eastern Brazil. A total of 150 fish were sampled, where 103 were identified as Trachinotus carolinus (mean ± SE: weight = 9 g ± 1.13) and 47 as Trachinotus goodei (weight = 46.7 g ± 3.34). A significant size-difference between juvenile Trachinotus was detected by a null-model analysis (P = 0.04), with T. carolinus (TL = 79.6 mm ± 2.4) presenting a smaller body size than T. goodei (TL = 147.7 mm ± 4.2). The main prey items consumed by T. carolinus were Perna perna (IAi = 0.76) and Emerita brasiliensis (IAi = 0.18), whereas the latter was the major T. goodei dietary prey (IAi = 0.71). Both prey were correlated with larger-sized juveniles of each pompano species, whereas smaller fish shared non-preferred trophic items. Such opportunistic behaviour of smaller juveniles may account for the dietary overlap detected between the Trachinotus species (P = 0.09). Size-related dietary partitioning was observed for the largest T. goodei juveniles, which displayed only a slight overlap with T. carolinus, and between juveniles belonging to the small and medium size groups of each pompano species. Therefore, food partitioning related to pompano body size seems to be especially important for the smallest juveniles, as they present the highest vacuity (particularly T. carolinus) in the sampled beaches, suggesting that these individuals are under intra- and interspecific competitive pressure, which may affect local coexistence.

scholarly journals Should I Eat or Should I Go? Acridid Grasshoppers and Their Novel Host Plants: Potential for Biotic Resistance

Plants ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Avanesyan
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Biotic Resistance ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Grasshopper Species ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
Introduced Plants

Novel, non-coevolved associations between introduced plants and native insect herbivores may lead to changes in trophic interactions in native communities, as well as to substantial economic problems. Although some studies in invasion ecology demonstrated that native herbivores can preferentially feed on introduced plants and therefore contribute to the biotic resistance of native communities to plant invasions, the role of acridid grasshoppers as native generalist insect herbivores is largely overlooked. This systematic review aimed to identify patterns of grasshopper feeding preferences for native versus introduced plants and, consequently, a potential of grasshoppers to provide biotic resistance of native communities. The analysis of 63 records of feeding preference trials for 28 North-American grasshopper species (retrieved from 2146 studies published during 1967–2017) has demonstrated a preference of grasshoppers for introduced host plants, and identified 12 preferred introduced plants with high or middle invasive ranks. A significant effect of the life stage (p < 0.001), but not the experimental environment, plant material, and measurements, on grasshopper preferences for introduced plants was also detected. Overall, results suggest a potential of acridid grasshoppers to contribute to the biotic resistance of native communities. The review also provides methodological recommendations for future experimental studies on grasshopper-host plant interactions.

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