scholarly journals Shrub facilitation of tree establishment varies with ontogenetic stage across environmental gradients

2019 ◽  
Vol 223 (4) ◽  
pp. 1795-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra K. Urza ◽  
Peter J. Weisberg ◽  
Jeanne C. Chambers ◽  
Benjamin W. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Ontogenetic Stage ◽  
Tree Establishment

Drivers of diversity gradients of a highly mobile marine assemblage in a mesoscale seascape

2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. 149-164
Author(s):  
GM Svendsen ◽  
M Ocampo Reinaldo ◽  
MA Romero ◽  
G Williams ◽  
A Magurran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Thermal Front ◽  
Boosted Regression Tree ◽  
Diversity Gradients ◽  
Α Diversity ◽  
Bottom Depth

With the unprecedented rate of biodiversity change in the world today, understanding how diversity gradients are maintained at mesoscales is a key challenge. Drawing on information provided by 3 comprehensive fishery surveys (conducted in different years but in the same season and with the same sampling design), we used boosted regression tree (BRT) models in order to relate spatial patterns of α-diversity in a demersal fish assemblage to environmental variables in the San Matias Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina). We found that, over a 4 yr period, persistent diversity gradients of species richness and probability of an interspecific encounter (PIE) were shaped by 3 main environmental gradients: bottom depth, connectivity with the open ocean, and proximity to a thermal front. The 2 main patterns we observed were: a monotonic increase in PIE with proximity to fronts, which had a stronger effect at greater depths; and an increase in PIE when closer to the open ocean (a ‘bay effect’ pattern). The originality of this work resides on the identification of high-resolution gradients in local, demersal assemblages driven by static and dynamic environmental gradients in a mesoscale seascape. The maintenance of environmental gradients, specifically those associated with shared resources and connectivity with an open system, may be key to understanding community stability.

Vegetation structure and environmental gradients in the Sallum area, Egypt

2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fawzy M. Salama ◽  
Monier Abd El-Ghani ◽  
Salah El Naggar ◽  
Khadija A. Baayo
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Environmental Gradients

scholarly journals Environmental Variation and How its Spatial Structure Influences the Cross-Shelf Distribution of High-Latitude Coral Communities in South Africa

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean N. Porter ◽  
Michael H. Schleyer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Shelf Edge ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Coral Communities

Coral communities display spatial patterns. These patterns can manifest along a coastline as well as across the continental shelf due to ecological interactions and environmental gradients. Several abiotic surrogates for environmental variables are hypothesised to structure high-latitude coral communities in South Africa along and across its narrow shelf and were investigated using a correlative approach that considered spatial autocorrelation. Surveys of sessile communities were conducted on 17 reefs and related to depth, distance to high tide, distance to the continental shelf edge and to submarine canyons. All four environmental variables were found to correlate significantly with community composition, even after the effects of space were removed. The environmental variables accounted for 13% of the variation in communities; 77% of this variation was spatially structured. Spatially structured environmental variation unrelated to the environmental variables accounted for 39% of the community variation. The Northern Reef Complex appears to be less affected by oceanic factors and may undergo less temperature variability than the Central and Southern Complexes; the first is mentioned because it had the lowest canyon effect and was furthest from the continental shelf, whilst the latter complexes had the highest canyon effects and were closest to the shelf edge. These characteristics may be responsible for the spatial differences in the coral communities.

scholarly journals Effects of ontogenetic stage and leaf age on leaf functional traits and the relationships between traits in Pinus koraiensis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Ji ◽  
Guangze Jin ◽  
Zhili Liu
Keyword(s):  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Leaf Age ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Ontogenetic Stage ◽  
Pinus Koraiensis ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
N Content ◽  
Ontogenetic Stages ◽  
Leaf N Content ◽  
Leaf N

AbstractInvestigating the effects of ontogenetic stage and leaf age on leaf traits is important for understanding the utilization and distribution of resources in the process of plant growth. However, few studies have been conducted to show how traits and trait-trait relationships change across a range of ontogenetic stage and leaf age for evergreen coniferous species. We divided 67 Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc. of various sizes (0.3–100 cm diameter at breast height, DBH) into four ontogenetic stages, i.e., young trees, middle-aged trees, mature trees and over-mature trees, and measured the leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and mass-based leaf nitrogen content (N) and phosphorus content (P) of each leaf age group for each sampled tree. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to describe the variation in leaf traits by ontogenetic stage and leaf age. The standardized major axis method was used to explore the effects of ontogenetic stage and leaf age on trait-trait relationships. We found that LMA and LDMC increased significantly and N and P decreased significantly with increases in the ontogenetic stage and leaf age. Most trait-trait relationships were consistent with the leaf economic spectrum (LES) at a global scale. Among them, leaf N content and LDMC showed a significant negative correlation, leaf N and P contents showed a significant positive correlation, and the absolute value of the slopes of the trait-trait relationships showed a gradually increasing trend with an increasing ontogenetic stage. LMA and LDMC showed a significant positive correlation, and the slopes of the trait-trait relationships showed a gradually decreasing trend with leaf age. Additionally, there were no significant relationships between leaf N content and LMA in most groups, which is contrary to the expectation of the LES. Overall, in the early ontogenetic stages and leaf ages, the leaf traits tend to be related to a "low investment-quick returns" resource strategy. In contrast, in the late ontogenetic stages and leaf ages, they tend to be related to a "high investment-slow returns" resource strategy. Our results reflect the optimal allocation of resources in Pinus koraiensis according to its functional needs during tree and leaf ontogeny.

scholarly journals Combined Effects of Summer Water Temperature and Current Velocity on the Distribution of a Cold-Water-Adapted Sculpin (Cottus nozawae)

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 975
Author(s):  
Kaiji Suzuki ◽  
Nobuo Ishiyama ◽  
Itsuro Koizumi ◽  
Futoshi Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Current Velocity ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Water Abstraction

Clarifying the combined effects of water temperature and other environmental factors on the species distributions of cold-water fishes is the first step toward obtaining a better understanding of the complex impacts of climate warming on these species. In the present study, we examined the abundance and occurrence of the fluvial sculpin, Cottus nozawae, in response to water temperature along environmental gradients in northern Japan. The abundance survey was conducted in the Sorachi River catchment with two-pass electrofishing with a backpack electrofisher. For the occurrence survey, we carried out one-pass electrofishing in the Sorachi, Chitose, and Tokachi River catchments. Fish sampling was conducted once from July to August 2018 in the Sorachi River catchment, from May to June 2011 in the Chitose River catchment, and from July to September 2012 in the Tokachi River catchment. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and generalized linear models (GLMs) were used for the abundance and occurrence analyses, respectively. We found that the mean summer water temperature was the most influential factor on the distribution of C. nozawae; the abundance and occurrence were both negatively affected by increased water temperatures. In the occurrence model, occurrence probabilities of 0.9 and 0.5 for C. nozawae corresponded to mean summer temperatures of 12.0 and 16.1 °C, respectively. Furthermore, we identified a combined effect of water temperature and current velocity on the abundance of C. nozawae. The increased mean summer water temperature had a stronger negative effect on C. nozawae abundance under gentle flow conditions. While the precise mechanisms of this combined effect could not be determined in this study, stressors associated with low current velocities may increase their vulnerability to higher water temperatures. Our findings indicate that flow disturbances caused by human activities such as excessive water abstraction may exacerbate the negative impacts of climate warming on populations of C. nozawae in the future.

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