scholarly journals On the development of a trait-based approach for studying Neotropical bats

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. e20216124
Author(s):  
Dennis Castillo-Figueroa ◽  
Jairo Pérez-Torres
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Functional Relations

New World bats are involved in key ecological processes and are good indicators of environmental changes. Recently, trait-based approaches have been used in several taxa to better understand mechanisms underlying species assemblages, biotic interactions, environmental relationships and ecosystem functions. However, despite the relevance of bats on ecosystem dynamics, so far, there is no conceptual framework that relies on the measurement of bat traits to address functional studies. Here, we present a set of 50 bat biological traits, which are suitable to assess environmental stressors and can potentially affect ecological processes. Several examples were provided to show the applicability of this framework in the study of Neotropical bat ecology. We suggest some considerations regarding trait-based approach including the importance of intraspecific variation, correlations between traits, response-effect framework, global dataset, and future directions to assess the reliability of functional relations across species and Neotropical regions by using traits. This could be helpful in tackling ecological questions associated with community assembly and habitat filtering, species diversity patterns along environmental gradients, and ecological processes. We envision this paper as a first step toward an integrative bat functional trait protocol held up with solid evidence.

scholarly journals Why bats matters: A critical assessment of Bat-Mediated Ecological Processes in the Neotropics

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-101
Author(s):  
Dennis Castillo-Figueroa
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Ecosystem Integrity ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Functional Studies

New World bats play a significant role in ecosystem functioning and are imperative for maintaining environmental services. Nevertheless, human-caused environmental changes are jeopardizing bat communities, which results in the loss of functional roles provided by them. It is important, therefore, to assess ecological processes performed by bats in the Neotropics to define priorities in further research for better conservation planning. In this systematic review, I identify general trends, advances, bias, and knowledge gaps in bat-mediated ecological processes across Neotropical ecosystems. I conducted an extensive search on Google scholar, Scopus, Web of science, and Bat Eco–Interactions Database resulting in 538 references, of which 185 papers were included in the review. The papers were published in 76 peer-reviewed journals, with the highest peak between 2006-2010. From the six biomes recorded, Moist broadleaf tropical forest was the most researched, contrary to Montane biomes (<2000 m), where few studies have been conducted. Seed dispersal was the process with more studies (44%), followed by pollination (38%), nutrient cycling (10%) and arthropod suppression (8%). Seed dispersal and pollination displayed large bias on specific bat-plant systems and ecoregions, thus being important to explore other bat and plant species as well as other ecosystems. Arthropod suppression and nutrient cycling were largely overlooked despite to constitute essential functions in ecosystem resilience; particularly, more research is needed to know cascading effects on plant fitness in different agroforestry systems, but also is key the understanding of how bats can be pivotal mobile links in terrestrial ecosystems and cave environments. I highlight the importance to consider bats with multiple roles and functional trait-based approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of their functionality. Bat extirpations are likely to affect their ecological roles, therefore, mitigating major threats of bats are urgently needed to sustain ecosystem integrity in the Neotropics. Even though functional studies have increased in the last two decades, several aspects of bat roles are still obscured and is necessary to keep evaluating their ecological and economic importance to provide useful information for major decision-makings in Neotropical ecosystems' conservation.

scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity can reverse the relative extent of intra- and interspecific variability across a thermal gradient

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1953) ◽  
pp. 20210428
Author(s):  
Staffan Jacob ◽  
Delphine Legrand
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Thermal Gradient ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Interspecific Variability ◽  
Ciliate Species ◽  
Relative Extent ◽  
Trait Variability

Intra- and interspecific variability can both ensure ecosystem functions. Generalizing the effects of individual and species assemblages requires understanding how much within and between species trait variation is genetically based or results from phenotypic plasticity. Phenotypic plasticity can indeed lead to rapid and important changes of trait distributions, and in turn community functionality, depending on environmental conditions, which raises a crucial question: could phenotypic plasticity modify the relative importance of intra- and interspecific variability along environmental gradients? We quantified the fundamental niche of five genotypes in monocultures for each of five ciliate species along a wide thermal gradient in standardized conditions to assess the importance of phenotypic plasticity for the level of intraspecific variability compared to differences between species. We showed that phenotypic plasticity strongly influences trait variability and reverses the relative extent of intra- and interspecific variability along the thermal gradient. Our results show that phenotypic plasticity may lead to either increase or decrease of functional trait variability along environmental gradients, making intra- and interspecific variability highly dynamic components of ecological systems.

scholarly journals Assessing the predation function via quantitative and qualitative interaction components

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Martínez-Núñez ◽  
Pedro J. Rey
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Qualitative Interaction ◽  
Qualitative Component ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences

AbstractInteractions among organisms can be defined by two main features: a quantitative component (i.e. frequency of occurrence) and a qualitative component (i.e. success of the interaction).Measuring properly these two components at the community level, can provide a good estimate of the ecosystem functions mediated by biotic interactions. Although this approach has been frequently applied to evaluate the eco-evolutionary consequences of mutualistic relationships, it has never been extended to the predation function and the associated pest control ecosystem service.Here, we introduce a simple measure that accounts for the quantitative and the qualitative components of predation interactions, and facilitates a precise characterization of this ecosystem function at the community level, while accounting for variations at species and individual levels.This measure arises as a fine indicator of predation pressure, and provides great opportunities to better understand how different components of predation and pest control potential vary across environmental gradients.

Evolutionary Dynamics of Metacommunities in Urbanized Landscapes

2020 ◽  
pp. 175-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristien I. Brans ◽  
Lynn Govaert ◽  
Luc De Meester
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Biological Responses ◽  
Genetic Responses

As urbanization leads to repeated, marked environmental gradients in space, it provides an ideal ‘natural’ experiment to study how evolving metacommunities, in which evolutionary and community ecological processes interact in a landscape context, respond to anthropogenic disturbances. An integrated approach that combines community data with data on genetic responses of focal taxa to urbanization is still lacking, notwithstanding the likely importance of eco-evolutionary feedbacks on urban ecosystem functions and services. Such a joint analysis is most easily achieved by focusing on shifts in trait values and their interspecific (cf. community ecology) and intraspecific components. The latter involves both non-genetic and genetic responses, and should be quantified for all dominant, abundant, or ecologically important species in the (meta)community. This chapter introduces the evolving metacommunity framework and discusses the use of cities to study how this framework can contribute to our insight into population and community responses to anthropogenic change. It discusses how this framework can enhance our capacity to predict responses to contemporary and future urbanization as well as its possible consequences for ecosystem functioning. It predicts that evolutionary trait change contributes substantially to observed trait shifts at the community level. Conversely, genetic adaptation might often be constrained by rapid changes in species composition. It explores eco-evolutionary partitioning metrics that quantify the evolutionary and ecological contributions to responses to urbanization. Finally, it provides guidelines for experimental studies on urban evolving metacommunities, and suggests directions on research that will build towards a fully integrated evolving metacommunity framework addressing biological responses to urbanization.

scholarly journals Why Do We Need to Document and Conserve Foundation Species in Freshwater Wetlands?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Marazzi ◽  
Evelyn Gaiser ◽  
Maarten Eppinga ◽  
Jay Sah ◽  
Lu Zhai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Benthic Algae ◽  
Freshwater Wetlands ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Bald Cypress ◽  
Primary Producer

Foundation species provide habitat to other organisms and enhance ecosystem functions, such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage and sequestration, and erosion control. We focus on freshwater wetlands because these ecosystems are often characterized by foundation species; eutrophication and other environmental changes may cause the loss of some of these species, thus severely damaging wetland ecosystems. To better understand how wetland primary producer foundation species support other species and ecosystem functions across environmental gradients, we reviewed ~150 studies in subtropical, boreal, and temperate freshwater wetlands. We look at how the relative dominance of conspicuous and well-documented species (i.e., sawgrass, benthic diatoms and cyanobacteria, Sphagnum mosses, and bald cypress) and the foundational roles they play interact with hydrology, nutrient availability, and exposure to fire and salinity in representative wetlands. Based on the evidence analyzed, we argue that the foundation species concept should be more broadly applied to include organisms that regulate ecosystems at different spatial scales, notably the microscopic benthic algae that critically support associated communities and mediate freshwater wetlands’ ecosystem functioning. We give recommendations on how further research efforts can be prioritized to best inform the conservation of foundation species and of the freshwater wetlands they support.

scholarly journals Importance of biotic predictors in estimation of potential invasive areas: the example of the tortoise beetleEurypedus nigrosignatus, in Hispaniola

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna V.P. Simões ◽  
A. Townsend Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Model Complexity ◽  
Spatial Distributions ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Niche Models

Climatic variables have been the main predictors employed in ecological niche modeling and species distribution modeling, although biotic interactions are known to affect species’ spatial distributions via mechanisms such as predation, competition, and mutualism. Biotic interactions can affect species’ responses to abiotic environmental changes differently along environmental gradients, and abiotic environmental changes can likewise influence the nature of biotic interactions. Understanding whether and how to integrate variables at different scales in ecological niche models is essential to better estimate spatial distributions of species on macroecological scales and their responses to change. We report the leaf beetleEurypedus nigrosignatusas an alien species in the Dominican Republic and investigate whether biotic factors played a meaningful role in the distributional expansion of the species into the Caribbean. We evaluate ecological niche models built with an additive gradient of unlinked biotic predictors—host plants, using likelihood-based model evaluation criteria (Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion) within a range of regularization multiplier parameter values. Our results support the argument that ecological niche models should be more inclusive, as selected biotic predictors can improve the performance of models, despite the increased model complexity, and show that biotic interactions matter at macroecological scales. Moreover, we provide an alternative approach to select optimal combination of relevant variables, to improve estimation of potential invasive areas using global minimum model likelihood scores.

scholarly journals Interspecific plant competition mediates the metabolic and ecological signature of a plant-herbivore interaction under warming and elevated CO2

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Van De Velde ◽  
Hamada AbdElgawad ◽  
Han Asard ◽  
Gerrit T. S. Beemster ◽  
Samy Selim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Plantago Lanceolata ◽  
Plant Competition ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Increased Temperature ◽  
Model Community

AbstractBiotic interactions shape community evolution, but we lack mechanistic insights on how metabolic and ecological processes under climate change are altered by biotic interactions.We used a two-trophic model community consisting of the aphidDysaphis plantagineafeeding on the forbPlantago lanceolata, and a grass competitorLolium perennethat does not experience herbivory by the aphid. Monocultures and mixtures were exposed to the herbivory treatment and to three relevant simulated environmental changes as prevalent under current climate change (increased temperature, CO2, and increased temperature and CO2)Elevated CO2reduced the nitrogen content ofP. lanceolata, while simultaneous increases of CO2and temperature modified the plant metabolic component and the magnitude of these responses in different directions. Elevated CO2enhanced defence systems inP. lanceolata, but these effects were not altered by warming. Interspecific plant competition did, however, neutralise these responses. There were no indirect effects of climate change on aphid population growth despite changes in plant defense, nutritional quality and biomass induced by our environmental change scenarios.We thus demonstrate interactions between abiotic and biotic processes on plant metabolite profiles, but more importantly, that climate change effect on a selection of the metabolic pathways are altered by herbivory and competition. Our experiment under semi-natural conditions thus demonstrates the non-additive and often neutralizing effects of biotic interactions on plant metabolism and species performance under climate-associated environmental change.

Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia Kathleen Baum
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Ecosystem Valuation ◽  
Species Abundances

Biodiversity and ecosystem function are often correlated, but there are multiple hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Ecosystem functions such as primary or secondary production may be maximized by species richness, evenness in species abundances, or the presence or dominance of species with certain traits. Here, we combined surveys of natural fish communities (conducted in July and August, 2016) with morphological trait data to examine relationships between diversity and ecosystem function (quantified as fish community biomass) across 14 subtidal eelgrass meadows in the Northeast Pacific (54° N 130° W). We employed both taxonomic and functional trait measures of diversity to investigate if ecosystem function is driven by species diversity (complementarity hypothesis) or by the presence or dominance of species with particular trait values (selection or dominance hypotheses). After controlling for environmental variation, we found that fish community biomass is maximized when taxonomic richness and functional evenness is low, and in communities dominated by species with particular trait values – those associated with benthic habitats and prey capture. While previous work on fish communities has found that species richness is positively correlated with ecosystem function, our results instead highlight the capacity for regionally prevalent and locally dominant species to drive ecosystem function in moderately diverse communities. We discuss these alternate links between community composition and ecosystem function and consider their divergent implications for ecosystem valuation and conservation prioritization.

scholarly journals A research framework for projecting ecosystem change in highly diverse tropical mountain ecosystems

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Bendix ◽  
Nicolay Aguire ◽  
Erwin Beck ◽  
Achim Bräuning ◽  
Roland Brandl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Mountain Ecosystems ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Research Framework ◽  
Tropical Mountain

AbstractTropical mountain ecosystems are threatened by climate and land-use changes. Their diversity and complexity make projections how they respond to environmental changes challenging. A suitable way are trait-based approaches, by distinguishing between response traits that determine the resistance of species to environmental changes and effect traits that are relevant for species' interactions, biotic processes, and ecosystem functions. The combination of those approaches with land surface models (LSM) linking the functional community composition to ecosystem functions provides new ways to project the response of ecosystems to environmental changes. With the interdisciplinary project RESPECT, we propose a research framework that uses a trait-based response-effect-framework (REF) to quantify relationships between abiotic conditions, the diversity of functional traits in communities, and associated biotic processes, informing a biodiversity-LSM. We apply the framework to a megadiverse tropical mountain forest. We use a plot design along an elevation and a land-use gradient to collect data on abiotic drivers, functional traits, and biotic processes. We integrate these data to build the biodiversity-LSM and illustrate how to test the model. REF results show that aboveground biomass production is not directly related to changing climatic conditions, but indirectly through associated changes in functional traits. Herbivory is directly related to changing abiotic conditions. The biodiversity-LSM informed by local functional trait and soil data improved the simulation of biomass production substantially. We conclude that local data, also derived from previous projects (platform Ecuador), are key elements of the research framework. We specify essential datasets to apply this framework to other mountain ecosystems.

scholarly journals Current understanding on the Cambrian Explosion: questions and answers

PalZ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingliang Zhang ◽  
Degan Shu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Cambrian Explosion ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Questions And Answers ◽  
Evolutionary Event ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe Cambrian Explosion by nature is a three-phased explosion of animal body plans alongside episodic biomineralization, pulsed change of generic diversity, body size variation, and progressive increase of ecosystem complexity. The Cambrian was a time of crown groups nested by numbers of stem groups with a high-rank taxonomy of Linnaean system (classes and above). Some stem groups temporarily succeeded while others were ephemeral and underrepresented by few taxa. The high number of stem groups in the early history of animals is a major reason for morphological gaps across phyla that we see today. Most phylum-level clades achieved their maximal disparity (or morphological breadth) during the time interval close to their first appearance in the fossil record during the early Cambrian, whereas others, principally arthropods and chordates, exhibit a progressive exploration of morphospace in subsequent Phanerozoic. The overall envelope of metazoan morphospace occupation was already broad in the early Cambrian though it did not reach maximal disparity nor has diminished significantly as a consequence of extinction since the Cambrian. Intrinsic and extrinsic causes were extensively discussed but they are merely prerequisites for the Cambrian Explosion. Without the molecular evolution, there could be no Cambrian Explosion. However, the developmental system is alone insufficient to explain Cambrian Explosion. Time-equivalent environmental changes were often considered as extrinsic causes, but the time coincidence is also insufficient to establish causality. Like any other evolutionary event, it is the ecology that make the Cambrian Explosion possible though ecological processes failed to cause a burst of new body plans in the subsequent evolutionary radiations. The Cambrian Explosion is a polythetic event in natural history and manifested in many aspects. No simple, single cause can explain the entire phenomenon.

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