Context dependency of biotic interactions and its relation to plant rarity

AbstractAimBiotic interactions can determine rarity and commonness of species, however evidence that rare and common species respond differently to biotic stress is scarce. This is because biotic interactions are notoriously context-dependent and traits leading to success in one habitat might be costly or unimportant in another. We aim to identify plant characteristics that are related to biotic interactions and may drive patterns of rarity and commonness, taking environmental context into account.LocationSwitzerlandMethodsIn a multi-species experiment, we compared the response to biotic interactions of 19 rare and 21 widespread congeneric plant species in Switzerland, while also accounting for variation in environmental conditions of the species’ origin.ResultsOur results restrict the long-standing hypothesis that widespread species are superior competitors to rare species to only those species originating from resource rich habitats, in which competition is usually strong. Tolerance to herbivory and ambient herbivore damage on the other hand, did not differ between widespread and rare species. In accordance to the resource-availability hypothesis, widespread species from resource rich habitats where more damaged by herbivores (less defended) than widespread species from resource poor habitats – such a growth-defense tradeoff was lacking in rare species. This indicates that the evolutionary important tradeoff between traits increasing competitive-ability and defence is present in widespread species but may have been lost in rare species.Main conclusionsOur results indicate that biotic interactions, above all competition, might indeed set range limits, and underlines the importance of including context-dependency in studies comparing traits of common and rare or invasive and non-invasive species.

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Increasing density of rare species of intertidal gastropods: tests of competitive ability compared with common species

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps09639 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 453 ◽

pp. 107-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

MG Matias ◽

MG Chapman ◽

AJ Underwood ◽

NE O’Connor

Keyword(s):

Rare Species ◽

Competitive Ability ◽

Common Species

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First data on plasmodial slime moulds (Myxomycetes = Myxogastrea) of Rdeysky Nature Reserve (Novgorod Region, Russia)

Novosti sistematiki nizshikh rastenii ◽

10.31111/nsnr/2021.55.2.361 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 55 (2) ◽

pp. 361-377

Author(s):

N. I. Borzov ◽

F. M. Bortnikov ◽

A. V. Matveev ◽

V. I. Gmoshinskiy

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Rare Species ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Common Species ◽

Slime Moulds ◽

State Nature Reserve ◽

Plasmodial Slime Moulds ◽

State Nature

The results of the first study of the species diversity of myxomycetes of the Rdeysky State Nature Reserve are presented. The 201 field specimens of sporophores belonging to 56 morphospecies from 27 genera, ten families, and six orders were collected from September 30 to October 5, 2020. Fifty-two species of these were new for the Novgorod Region. The most common species at the reserve were Arcyria affinis, Hemitrichia calyculata, Lycogala epidendrum, Metatrichia vesparia, Physarum album, Trichia decipiens, and T. varia. Additionally, detailed morphological descriptions of two rare species Amaurochaete trechispora and Trichia crateriformis are given.

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Locally rare species influence grassland ecosystem multifunctionality

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2015.0269 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 371 (1694) ◽

pp. 20150269 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Santiago Soliveres ◽

Peter Manning ◽

Daniel Prati ◽

Martin M. Gossner ◽

Fabian Alt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Rare Species ◽

Common Species ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Individual Species ◽

Conservation Priorities ◽

Below Ground ◽

Species Specific ◽

The Relationship ◽

Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Species diversity promotes the delivery of multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality). However, the relative functional importance of rare and common species in driving the biodiversity–multifunctionality relationship remains unknown. We studied the relationship between the diversity of rare and common species (according to their local abundances and across nine different trophic groups), and multifunctionality indices derived from 14 ecosystem functions on 150 grasslands across a land-use intensity (LUI) gradient. The diversity of above- and below-ground rare species had opposite effects, with rare above-ground species being associated with high levels of multifunctionality, probably because their effects on different functions did not trade off against each other. Conversely, common species were only related to average, not high, levels of multifunctionality, and their functional effects declined with LUI. Apart from the community-level effects of diversity, we found significant positive associations between the abundance of individual species and multifunctionality in 6% of the species tested. Species-specific functional effects were best predicted by their response to LUI: species that declined in abundance with land use intensification were those associated with higher levels of multifunctionality. Our results highlight the importance of rare species for ecosystem multifunctionality and help guiding future conservation priorities.

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GENETIC VARIATION IN RARE AND WIDESPREAD LOMATIUM SPECIES (APIACEAE): A COMPARISON OF AFLP AND SSCP DATA

Edinburgh Journal of Botany ◽

10.1017/s0960428601000671 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 347-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. A. GITZENDANNER ◽

P. S. SOLTIS

Keyword(s):

Rare Species ◽

Nucleotide Diversity ◽

Nuclear Dna ◽

Allelic Variation ◽

Plant Conservation ◽

Single Copy ◽

Small Populations ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Widespread Species ◽

Low Levels

Plant conservation genetics has been hampered by a lack of markers for studies of levels and patterns of variation in rare species. We investigated the levels of variation in several rare and widespread species of the western North American genus Lomatium Raf. (Apiaceae) using two relatively new molecular markers: AFLPs and single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCPs). For each species, approximately 150 AFLP loci have been scored, yielding estimates of species-level percent polymorphic loci in rare species ranging from near zero to over 80%. Levels of AFLP diversity were similar in two of the rare species, L. bradshawii (Rose ex Mathias) Mathas & Constance and L. ochocense Helliwell & Constance, and the widespread species. The third rare species, L. cookii Kagan, which has small populations, has low levels of diversity based on AFLPs. We also examined nucleotide diversity at the single-copy nuclear-DNA locus glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gap-C). PCR-amplified segments were analysed for allelic variation using SSCPs, and intrapopulational nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in both L. bradshawii and L. cookii. In the 211bp segment of Gap-C analysed, five nucleotide sites were segregating within populations of L. bradshawii and two in L. cookii.

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Ecology of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a restricted focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis en Northern Venezuela: I. Description of the study area, catching methods and species composition

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz ◽

10.1590/s0074-02761987000100019 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 119-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

M. Dora Feliciangeli

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ◽

Relative Abundance ◽

Rare Species ◽

Common Species ◽

Term Study ◽

Phlebotomine Sandfly ◽

Phlebotomine Sandflies ◽

The Common ◽

Catching Methods

A study on the ecology of phlebotomine sandfly fauna in a restricted focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northern Venezuela was undertaken in order to investigate the species responsible for the transmission. The study area and catching methods for phlebotomine sandflies are described. A total of 9,061 females and 1,662 males were collected during a year-term study. 12 species of Lutzomya and 1 species of Brumptomya sp. were identified. Absolute and relative abundance and ocurrence for each species were determined. The rel ative occurrence allowed to distinguish the common species, viz. L. panamensis, L. ovallesi, L. gomezi, L. tinidadensis, L. atroclavata, L. cayennensis, L. shannoni and L. olmeca bicolor from the rare species vis., L. punctigeniculata, L. rangeliana, L. evansi and L. dubitans. General comments on the species composition of the sandfly fauna in this locality are made.

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Status, Distribution, and Conservation of Native Freshwater Fishes of Western North America

Status, Distribution, and Conservation of Native Freshwater Fishes of Western North America ◽

10.47886/9781888569896.ch16 ◽

2007 ◽

Keyword(s):

Conservation Biology ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Common Species ◽

Model System ◽

Future Research ◽

Evolutionary Processes ◽

Widespread Species ◽

Key Points ◽

Management Priorities ◽

Conservation And Management

ABSTRACT The fundamental charge of conservation biology is to preserve biological diversity. Yet, efforts to accomplish this goal have focused too narrowly on reversing the slide toward extinction in already threatened or endangered species. In this review, we argue that conservation biologists and fisheries managers should broaden their vision to include efforts to preserve the ecological and evolutionary processes that ultimately give rise to new biodiversity. Our view is based upon the simple observation that biological diversity is a function of both the rate at which new taxa originate as well as the rate at which established taxa are lost to extinction. Efforts to stem extinction that fail to maintain the ecological and evolutionary processes of speciation are ultimately unsustainable. We suggest that common, widespread species are particularly important to the origin of new diversity and argue that conservation biologists should pay particular attention to the evolution of diversity within such species. We illustrate several key points to this argument using the desert minnow, Utah chub <em>Gila atraria</em>, as a model system. In particular, we show that conservation efforts in common species must focus on clearly delineating conservation unit boundaries and that particular care should be paid to unique ecological and evolutionary diversity within such species.We also show the importance of understanding and conserving the range of ecological and evolutionary interactions that are common hallmarks of abundant and widespread taxa.We conclude our review by suggesting several specific areas of future research in Utah chub that would help more clearly define conservation and management priorities in this species.

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The Biology of Schistomysis Kervillei [Crustacea, Mysidacea]

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315400015022 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 653-658 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

J. Mauchline

Keyword(s):

Rare Species ◽

Common Species ◽

North West ◽

Summer Generation

Schistomysis kervillei (G. O. Sars) is a common species in Loch Ewe, Gairloch and Gruinard Bay in north-west Scotland and a rare species in the Firth of Clyde. It breeds throughout the year but most intensely in the spring and summer, to produce a spring and summer generation of young. The maximum number of young found in a marsupium was 47. The species is omnivorous. Its biology is briefly compared with that of S. spiritus (Norman) and S. ornata (G. O. Sars).

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