Ecosystem Engineering Effects of Mongolian Marmots (Marmota sibirica) on Terrestrial Arthropod Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Suuri Buyandelger ◽  
◽  
Tojoo Enkhbayar ◽  
Baatargal Otgonbayar ◽  
Myagmar Zulbayar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Keystone Species ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Arthropod Communities ◽  
Flying Insects ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Nutrient Profiles ◽  
Marmota Sibirica

The Mongolian marmot (Marmota sibirica) is a large, endangered rodent species that ranges across the steppe regions of Mongolia, and parts of China and Russia. Marmot lives colonially and creates extensive burrow systems that change the soil nutrient profiles and influence plant and animal community composition and productivity. We examined the role of marmots on the diversity and abundance of ground-dwelling and flying insects. We hypothesize that the arthropod communities differ between marmot colonies and surrounding grasslands in diversity and abundance. We trapped 4765 individuals of arthropods representing 178 species of insects and 12 families of spiders. Marmot colony sites differed significantly from off colony sites by communities of ground-dwelling and flying insects. Our findings indicate that abundance and species richness of arthropods are largely associated with marmot burrows, which might be a reason for increased habitat heterogeneity, such as bare ground, specific vegetation structure, and thermoregulatory site by ecosystem engineering. Our results demonstrate that the marmots are keystone species in arid ecosystems, and have complementary, additive effects on steppe arthropod communities.

scholarly journals Biogeomorphic feedbacks and the ecosystem engineering of recently deglaciated terrain

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah R Miller ◽  
Stuart N Lane
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Ecosystem Engineer ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering ◽  
Soil Development ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Successional Stage ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors

Matthews’ 1992 geoecological model of vegetation succession within glacial forefields describes how following deglaciation the landscape evolves over time as the result of both biotic and abiotic factors, with the importance of each depending on the level of environmental stress within the system. We focus in this paper on how new understandings of abiotic factors and the potential for biogeomorphic feedbacks between abiotic and biotic factors makes further development of this model important. Disturbance and water dynamics are two abiotic factors that have been shown to create stress gradients that can drive early ecosystem succession. The subsequent establishment of microbial communities and vegetation can then result in biogeomorphic feedbacks via ecosystem engineering that influence the role of disturbance and water dynamics within the system. Microbes can act as ecosystem engineers by supplying nutrients (via remineralization of organic matter and nitrogen fixation), enhancing soil development, either decreasing (encouraging weathering) or increasing (binding sediment grains) geomorphic stability, and helping retain soil moisture. Vegetation can act as an ecosystem engineer by fixing nitrogen, enhancing soil development, modifying microbial community structure, creating seed banks, and increasing geomorphic stability. The feedbacks between vegetation and water dynamics in glacial forefields are still poorly studied. We propose a synthesized model of ecosystem succession within glacial forefields that combines Matthews’ initial geoecological model and Corenblit's model to illustrate how gradients in environmental stress combined with successional time drive the balance between abiotic and biotic factors and ultimately determine the successional stage and potential for biogeomorphic feedbacks.

scholarly journals Water-filled Asian elephant tracks serve as breeding sites for anurans in Myanmar

Mammalia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-289
Author(s):  
Steven G. Platt ◽  
David P. Bickford ◽  
Myo Min Win ◽  
Thomas R. Rainwater
Keyword(s):  
Loxodonta Africana ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Loxodonta Cyclotis ◽  
And Function

Abstract Elephants are widely recognized as ecosystem engineers. To date, most research on ecosystem engineering by elephants has focused on Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis, and the role of Elephas maximus is much less well-known. We here report observations of anuran eggs and larva in water-filled tracks (n=20) of E. maximus in Myanmar. Our observations suggest that water-filled tracks persist for >1 year and function as small lentic waterbodies that provide temporary, predator-free breeding habitat for anurans during the dry season when alternate sites are unavailable. Trackways could also function as “stepping stones” that connect anuran populations.

scholarly journals The role of patch size in ecosystem engineering capacity: a case study of aquatic vegetation

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Licci ◽  
Heidi Nepf ◽  
Cécile Delolme ◽  
Pierre Marmonier ◽  
Tjeerd J. Bouma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patch Size ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering

scholarly journals Molecular Hydrogen, a Neglected Key Driver of Soil Biogeochemical Processes

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Piché-Choquette ◽  
Philippe Constant
Keyword(s):  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Atp Synthesis ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
C Cycling ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThe atmosphere of the early Earth is hypothesized to have been rich in reducing gases such as hydrogen (H2). H2has been proposed as the first electron donor leading to ATP synthesis due to its ubiquity throughout the biosphere as well as its ability to easily diffuse through microbial cells and its low activation energy requirement. Even today, hydrogenase enzymes enabling the production and oxidation of H2are found in thousands of genomes spanning the three domains of life across aquatic, terrestrial, and even host-associated ecosystems. Even though H2has already been proposed as a universal growth and maintenance energy source, its potential contribution as a driver of biogeochemical cycles has received little attention. Here, we bridge this knowledge gap by providing an overview of the classification, distribution, and physiological role of hydrogenases. Distribution of these enzymes in various microbial functional groups and recent experimental evidence are finally integrated to support the hypothesis that H2-oxidizing microbes are keystone species driving C cycling along O2concentration gradients found in H2-rich soil ecosystems. In conclusion, we suggest focusing on the metabolic flexibility of H2-oxidizing microbes by combining community-level and individual-level approaches aiming to decipher the impact of H2on C cycling and the C-cycling potential of H2-oxidizing microbes, via both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, to give us more insight into the role of H2as a driver of biogeochemical processes.

scholarly journals Soil moisture dominates dryness stress on ecosystem production globally

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laibao Liu ◽  
Lukas Gudmundsson ◽  
Mathias Hauser ◽  
Dahe Qin ◽  
Shuangcheng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Vapor Pressure Deficit ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Ecosystem Responses ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Ecosystem Production ◽  
Valid Data

Abstract Dryness stress can limit vegetation growth and is often characterized by low soil moisture (SM) and high atmospheric water demand (vapor pressure deficit, VPD). However, the relative role of SM and VPD in limiting ecosystem production remains debated and is difficult to disentangle, as SM and VPD are coupled through land-atmosphere interactions, hindering the ability to predict ecosystem responses to dryness. Here, we combine satellite observations of solar-induced fluorescence with estimates of SM and VPD and show that SM is the dominant driver of dryness stress on ecosystem production across more than 70% of vegetated land areas with valid data. Moreover, after accounting for SM-VPD coupling, VPD effects on ecosystem production are much smaller across large areas. We also find that SM stress is strongest in semi-arid ecosystems. Our results clarify a longstanding question and open new avenues for improving models to allow a better management of drought risk.

scholarly journals Keystone species and food webs

2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1524) ◽  
pp. 1733-1741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferenc Jordán
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Interaction Structure ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Rich Interaction ◽  
Natural Communities

Different species are of different importance in maintaining ecosystem functions in natural communities. Quantitative approaches are needed to identify unusually important or influential, ‘keystone’ species particularly for conservation purposes. Since the importance of some species may largely be the consequence of their rich interaction structure, one possible quantitative approach to identify the most influential species is to study their position in the network of interspecific interactions. In this paper, I discuss the role of network analysis (and centrality indices in particular) in this process and present a new and simple approach to characterizing the interaction structures of each species in a complex network. Understanding the linkage between structure and dynamics is a condition to test the results of topological studies, I briefly overview our current knowledge on this issue. The study of key nodes in networks has become an increasingly general interest in several disciplines: I will discuss some parallels. Finally, I will argue that conservation biology needs to devote more attention to identify and conserve keystone species and relatively less attention to rarity.

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