scholarly journals The Coupled Influence of Thermal Physiology and Biotic Interactions on the Distribution and Density of Ant Species along an Elevational Gradient

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 456
Author(s):  
Lacy D. Chick ◽  
Jean-Philippe Lessard ◽  
Robert R. Dunn ◽  
Nathan J. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Observational Data ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Elevational Range ◽  
Stressful Environments

A fundamental tenet of biogeography is that abiotic and biotic factors interact to shape the distributions of species and the organization of communities, with interactions being more important in benign environments, and environmental filtering more important in stressful environments. This pattern is often inferred using large databases or phylogenetic signal, but physiological mechanisms underlying such patterns are rarely examined. We focused on 18 ant species at 29 sites along an extensive elevational gradient, coupling experimental data on critical thermal limits, null model analyses, and observational data of density and abundance to elucidate factors governing species’ elevational range limits. Thermal tolerance data showed that environmental conditions were likely to be more important in colder, more stressful environments, where physiology was the most important constraint on the distribution and density of ant species. Conversely, the evidence for species interactions was strongest in warmer, more benign conditions, as indicated by our observational data and null model analyses. Our results provide a strong test that biotic interactions drive the distributions and density of species in warm climates, but that environmental filtering predominates at colder, high-elevation sites. Such a pattern suggests that the responses of species to climate change are likely to be context-dependent and more specifically, geographically-dependent.

Causes and consequences of deer browsing on red trillium (Trillium erectum) along an elevational gradient

Botany ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 469-478
Author(s):  
Diane Auberson-Lavoie ◽  
Mark Vellend
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Relative Growth Rates ◽  
Deer Herbivory ◽  
One Year ◽  
Elevational Range

Models of ecological responses to climate warming predict species’ migration towards higher latitudes or elevations. However, models often neglect nonclimatic factors, such as herbivory, which could slow down or prevent geographic range expansion. A previous study in Mont Mégantic National Park (Quebec) found that in one year (2016), browsing by white-tailed deer on Trillium erectum L. was substantially higher at high elevations than low elevations. Under the hypothesis that deer herbivory could limit the upper elevational range expansion of T. erectum, here we ask (i) whether herbivory increased with elevation during two additional years (2017 and 2018), (ii) whether the rate of deer visitation increases with elevation, and (iii) whether the effect of herbivory on relative growth rates increases with elevation. Contrary to the earlier study, we did not find a significant trend of herbivory with elevation, although there was a weak positive relationship between deer visitation and elevation. We found a strong negative impact of browsing on relative growth rates, but the magnitude of this effect did not vary with elevation. Our results thus do not support the hypothesis that herbivory limits the range of T. erectum at high elevation, but herbivory could have a negative impact on populations in general if the browsing rate remains high.

scholarly journals Limited tolerance by insects to high temperatures across tropical elevational gradients and the implications of global warming for extinction

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 680-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos García-Robledo ◽  
Erin K. Kuprewicz ◽  
Charles L. Staines ◽  
Terry L. Erwin ◽  
W. John Kress
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Elevational Gradients ◽  
Leaf Beetles ◽  
Species Complexes ◽  
Elevational Range ◽  
Rolled Leaf

The critical thermal maximum (CTmax), the temperature at which motor control is lost in animals, has the potential to determine if species will tolerate global warming. For insects, tolerance to high temperatures decreases with latitude, suggesting that similar patterns may exist along elevational gradients as well. This study explored how CTmax varies among species and populations of a group of diverse tropical insect herbivores, the rolled-leaf beetles, across both broad and narrow elevational gradients. Data from 6,948 field observations and 8,700 museum specimens were used to map the elevational distributions of rolled-leaf beetles on two mountains in Costa Rica. CTmax was determined for 1,252 individual beetles representing all populations across the gradients. Initial morphological identifications suggested a total of 26 species with populations at different elevations displaying contrasting upper thermal limits. However, compared with morphological identifications, DNA barcodes (cytochrome oxidase I) revealed significant cryptic species diversity. DNA barcodes identified 42 species and haplotypes across 11 species complexes. These 42 species displayed much narrower elevational distributions and values of CTmax than the 26 morphologically defined species. In general, species found at middle elevations and on mountaintops are less tolerant to high temperatures than species restricted to lowland habitats. Species with broad elevational distributions display high CTmax throughout their ranges. We found no significant phylogenetic signal in CTmax, geography, or elevational range. The narrow variance in CTmax values for most rolled-leaf beetles, especially high-elevation species, suggests that the risk of extinction of insects may be substantial under some projected rates of global warming.

scholarly journals The Internal Structure of Metacommunities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew A. Leibold ◽  
Javiera Rudolph ◽  
F. Guillaume Blanchet ◽  
Luc De Meester ◽  
Dominique Gravel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Metacommunity Structure ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Analytical Frameworks

ABSTRACTMetacommunity ecology has become an important subdiscipline of ecology, but it is increasingly evident that its foundational theoretical and analytical frameworks do not adequately incorporate a realistic continuum of environmental and biotic process at play. We propose an approach that develops stronger links between theoretical and statistical frameworks to shift the focus towards the study of the ‘internal structure’ of metacommunities by dissecting how different species and different sites contribute to overall metacommunity structure. To illustrate this, we simulate data from a model that includes environmental variation, dispersal, biotic interactions, and stochasticity as the basic ecological processes that influence species’ (co)-distributions. We analyze the simulated data with hierarchical community models and propose a new method to visualize and analyze the simultaneous role of species co-distribution, environment, space, and stochasticity in this emerging statistical approach. We focus in particular on quantifying how species affect the overall structure of the metacommunity via differences in their dispersal and niche traits, and how environmental filtering, dispersal and species interactions varies from site to site in relation to environmental conditions and connectivity. Although there are still challenges ahead, this framework provides a roadmap for a more comprehensive approach by jointly developing more mechanistic theory based on community assembly processes and the analytical tools needed to map these concepts onto data in diverse landscapes and systems.

scholarly journals Habitat Islands on the Aegean Islands (Greece): Elevational Gradient of Chasmophytic Diversity, Endemism, Phytogeographical Patterns and need for Monitoring and Conservation

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kontopanou ◽  
Maria Panitsa
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
Aegean Islands ◽  
Habitat Islands ◽  
Elevational Range ◽  
Natural Laboratory

The Aegean archipelago, characterized as a natural laboratory for research concerning plant species diversity and phytogeography has a complex geological and paleogeographical history that varies among its phytogeographical areas. A different combination of factors of variable intensity and duration time drives patterns of its impressive plant species richness and endemism. Cliffs, a conspicuous feature of the Aegean landscape, consist of biologically closed communities that serve as refugia for obligate chasmophytes, the majority of which are Greek or Aegean endemics, and for this reason, they are also considered as habitat islands on the Aegean islands. A synoptic analysis is presented concerning chasmophytic plant diversity focusing on endemic obligate chasmophytes. Phytogeographical patterns of obligate chasmophytes, and especially the endemic ones as well as their elevational range and distribution and zeta diversity, are analyzed and discussed in the frame of climatic change, mentioning that the most threatened endemic obligate chasmophytes are those specialized in high elevation areas, and focusing on the need for monitoring and conservation.

scholarly journals Annual precipitation predicts the phylogenetic signal in bat–fruit interaction networks across the Neotropics

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick J. Corro ◽  
Fabricio Villalobos ◽  
Andrés Lira-Noriega ◽  
Roger Guevara ◽  
Paulo R. Guimarães ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Trophic Resources

Closely related species tend to be more similar than randomly selected species from the same phylogenetic tree. This pattern, known as a phylogenetic signal, has been extensively studied for intrinsic (e.g. morphology), as well as extrinsic (e.g. climatic preferences), properties but less so for ecological interactions. Phylogenetic signals of species interactions (i.e. resource use) can vary across time and space, but the causes behind such variations across broader spatial extents remain elusive. Here, we evaluated how current and historical climates influence phylogenetic signals of bat–fruit interaction networks across the Neotropics. We performed a model selection relating the phylogenetic signals of each trophic level (bats and plants) with a set of current and historical climatic factors deemed ecologically important in shaping biotic interactions. Bat and plant phylogenetic signals in bat–fruit interaction networks varied little with climatic factors, although bat phylogenetic signals positively covaried with annual precipitation. These findings indicated that water availability could increase resource availability, favouring higher niche partitioning of trophic resources among bat species and hence bat phylogenetic signals across bat–fruit interaction networks. Overall, our study advances our understanding of the spatial dynamics of bat–fruit interactions by highlighting the association of current climatic factors with phylogenetic patterns of biotic interactions.

scholarly journals Disentangling the importance of ecological niches from stochastic processes across scales

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1576) ◽  
pp. 2351-2363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Chase ◽  
Jonathan A. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Processes ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Site Variation ◽  
The Face ◽  
Regional Species Pool

Deterministic theories in community ecology suggest that local, niche-based processes, such as environmental filtering, biotic interactions and interspecific trade-offs largely determine patterns of species diversity and composition. In contrast, more stochastic theories emphasize the importance of chance colonization, random extinction and ecological drift. The schisms between deterministic and stochastic perspectives, which date back to the earliest days of ecology, continue to fuel contemporary debates (e.g. niches versus neutrality). As illustrated by the pioneering studies of Robert H. MacArthur and co-workers, resolution to these debates requires consideration of how the importance of local processes changes across scales. Here, we develop a framework for disentangling the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes in generating site-to-site variation in species composition (β-diversity) along ecological gradients (disturbance, productivity and biotic interactions) and among biogeographic regions that differ in the size of the regional species pool. We illustrate how to discern the importance of deterministic processes using null-model approaches that explicitly account for local and regional factors that inherently create stochastic turnover. By embracing processes across scales, we can build a more synthetic framework for understanding how niches structure patterns of biodiversity in the face of stochastic processes that emerge from local and biogeographic factors.

scholarly journals Ecotones and gradient as determinants of herpetofaunal community structure in the primary forest of Mount Kupe, Cameroon

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Hofer ◽  
Louis-Félix Bersier ◽  
Daniel Borcard
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Variation Partitioning ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Minor Importance ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Physiological Tolerance ◽  
The Individual

The relative effects of the elevational gradient and of environmental discontinuities (ecotones) on the structure of a herpetofaunal assemblage in a tropical upland forest were contrasted by means of canonical correspondence analysis. Qualitative descriptors were used to define the elevational positions of the ecotones of interest, namely transitions in forest type and presence/absence of water bodies. The elevational gradient was coded in a form that accommodated different types of community response. Analyses were run for four subsets of the entire assemblage: (1) reptiles, (2) amphibians, (3) amphibians dependent on streams for reproduction, and (4) amphibians that do not use streams for reproduction. All subsets showed a significant relationship with the gradient, which suggested that most species respond to the physical continuum associated with the change in elevation. A response to ecotones was revealed for the amphibian subset only and associated with the presence or absence of watercourses. However, this response disappeared within subsets 3 and 4. A variation partitioning analysis was used to assess the individual and common contributions of gradient and ecotone descriptors to the elevational variation in the structure of subsets 1 and 2. The gradient descriptors explained more variation in the reptile subset than did ecotones, while the reverse was found in the amphibian subset. The dependence of most amphibians on aquatic breeding sites that were not available at all elevations reduced the relative importance of the gradient on the species distributions in subset 2 and accounted for the difference to the reptiles. In all, these findings add to the results of previous null model tests on the same four subsets, where competitive interactions were assigned a minor importance in limiting elevational distributions. The response patterns revealed by the present approach, with ecotones and gradient contrasted in a single analysis, emphasised the role of individual responses to the gradient according to the species' physiological tolerance limits.

scholarly journals Solutions in microbiome engineering: prioritizing barriers to organism establishment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaeline B. N. Albright ◽  
Stilianos Louca ◽  
Daniel E. Winkler ◽  
Kelli L. Feeser ◽  
Sarah-Jane Haig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Restoration Ecology ◽  
Propagule Pressure ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Engineering Research

AbstractMicrobiome engineering is increasingly being employed as a solution to challenges in health, agriculture, and climate. Often manipulation involves inoculation of new microbes designed to improve function into a preexisting microbial community. Despite, increased efforts in microbiome engineering inoculants frequently fail to establish and/or confer long-lasting modifications on ecosystem function. We posit that one underlying cause of these shortfalls is the failure to consider barriers to organism establishment. This is a key challenge and focus of macroecology research, specifically invasion biology and restoration ecology. We adopt a framework from invasion biology that summarizes establishment barriers in three categories: (1) propagule pressure, (2) environmental filtering, and (3) biotic interactions factors. We suggest that biotic interactions is the most neglected factor in microbiome engineering research, and we recommend a number of actions to accelerate engineering solutions.

Insect Herbivory on the Plant Rhinanthus minor over its Elevational Range in the Canadian Rockies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Falk
Keyword(s):  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Pesticide Treatment ◽  
Rhinanthus Minor ◽  
Elevational Range

All species of plants and animals occur over a finite area of the Earth’s surface. This is referred to as the species range, and many species ranges have shifted or are predicted to shift with climate change. Scientific models have predicted how these shifts are expected to change and what proportion of the implicated species will go extinct in the process. Most models assume that climatic variables such as temperature and rainfall are solely responsible for these range shifts. However, we know that the success of a species is strongly influenced by both their positive and negative interactions with other species, such as competition, mutualism, predation and herbivory. But how these biotic factors affect species ranges is poorly understood. I am using a field experiment on a species in its native habitat to better understand these interactions.  My study took place in the Canadian Rocky Mountains on populations of the plant Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor). I studied two transects, each with plant populations at low, mid and high elevations. Insect herbivory on plant populations was observed, as well as manipulated, via a pesticide treatment to reduce insect herbivory, and a clipping treatment to simulate natural insect herbivory. Understanding herbivory and herbivore-plant interactions over an elevational gradient may help give us a clearer idea of the complex relationship between the climatic and biotic factors that affect plant species ranges.

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