scholarly journals Drifting Phenologies Cause Reduced Seasonality of Butterflies in Response to Increasing Temperatures

Insects ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gezon ◽  
Rebekah Lindborg ◽  
Anne Savage ◽  
Jaret Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Ecological Changes

Climate change has caused many ecological changes around the world. Altered phenology is among the most commonly observed effects of climate change, and the list of species interactions affected by altered phenology is growing. Although many studies on altered phenology focus on single species or on pairwise species interactions, most ecological communities are comprised of numerous, ecologically similar species within trophic groups. Using a 12-year butterfly monitoring citizen science data set, we aimed to assess the degree to which butterfly communities may be changing over time. Specifically, we wanted to assess the degree to which phenological sensitivities to temperature could affect temporal overlap among species within communities, independent of changes in abundance, species richness, and evenness. We found that warming winter temperatures may be associated with some butterfly species making use of the coldest months of the year to fly as adults, thus changing temporal co-occurrence with other butterfly species. Our results suggest that changing temperatures could cause immediate restructuring of communities without requiring changes in overall abundance or diversity. Such changes could have fitness consequences for individuals within trophic levels by altering competition for resources, as well as indirect effects mediated by species interactions across trophic levels.

scholarly journals The importance of species interactions in eco-evolutionary community dynamics under climate change

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Åkesson ◽  
Alva Curtsdotter ◽  
Anna Eklöf ◽  
Bo Ebenman ◽  
Jon Norberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

AbstractEco-evolutionary dynamics are essential in shaping the biological response of communities to ongoing climate change. Here we develop a spatially explicit eco-evolutionary framework which features more detailed species interactions, integrating evolution and dispersal. We include species interactions within and between trophic levels, and additionally, we incorporate the feature that species’ interspecific competition might change due to increasing temperatures and affect the impact of climate change on ecological communities. Our modeling framework captures previously reported ecological responses to climate change, and also reveals two key results. First, interactions between trophic levels as well as temperature-dependent competition within a trophic level mitigate the negative impact of climate change on biodiversity, emphasizing the importance of understanding biotic interactions in shaping climate change impact. Second, our trait-based perspective reveals a strong positive relationship between the within-community variation in preferred temperatures and the capacity to respond to climate change. Temperature-dependent competition consistently results both in higher trait variation and more responsive communities to altered climatic conditions. Our study demonstrates the importance of species interactions in an eco-evolutionary setting, further expanding our knowledge of the interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes.

Predator–prey interactions and climate change

2019 ◽  
pp. 199-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Bretagnolle ◽  
Julien Terraube
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Generalist Predators ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Key Topics ◽  
Available Information

Climate change is likely to impact all trophic levels, although the response of communities and ecosystems to it has only recently received considerable attention. Further, it is expected to affect the magnitude of species interactions themselves. In this chapter, we summarize why and how climate change could affect predator–prey interactions, then review the literature about its impact on predator–prey relationships in birds, and provide prospects for future studies. Expected effects on prey or predators may include changes in the following: distribution, phenology, population density, behaviour, morphology, or physiology. We review the currently available information concerning particular key topics: top-down versus bottom-up control, specialist versus generalist predators, functional versus numerical responses, trophic cascades and regime shifts, and lastly adaptation and selection. Finally, we focus our review on two well-studied bird examples: seabirds and raptors. Key future topics include long-term studies, modelling and experimental studies, evolutionary questions, and conservation issues.

scholarly journals Trait-mediated trophic cascade creates enemy-free space for nesting hummingbirds

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
pp. e1500310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold F. Greeney ◽  
M. Rocio Meneses ◽  
Chris E. Hamilton ◽  
Eli Lichter-Marck ◽  
R. William Mannan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Trophic Cascade ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Enemy Free Space

The indirect effects of predators on nonadjacent trophic levels, mediated through traits of intervening species, are collectively known as trait-mediated trophic cascades. Although birds are important predators in terrestrial ecosystems, clear examples of trait-mediated indirect effects involving bird predators have almost never been documented. Such indirect effects are important for structuring ecological communities and are likely to be negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation, climate change, and other factors that reduce abundance of top predators. We demonstrate that hummingbirds in Arizona realize increased breeding success when nesting in association with hawks. An enemy-free nesting space is created when jays, an important source of mortality for hummingbird nests, alter their foraging behavior in the presence of their hawk predators.

scholarly journals Experimental evidence of the importance of multitrophic structure for species persistence

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. e2023872118
Author(s):  
Ignasi Bartomeus ◽  
Serguei Saavedra ◽  
Rudolf P. Rohr ◽  
Oscar Godoy
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Mathematical Approach ◽  
Species Persistence ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Plant Pollinator

Ecological theory predicts that species interactions embedded in multitrophic networks shape the opportunities for species to persist. However, the lack of experimental support of this prediction has limited our understanding of how species interactions occurring within and across trophic levels simultaneously regulate the maintenance of biodiversity. Here, we integrate a mathematical approach and detailed experiments in plant–pollinator communities to demonstrate the need to jointly account for species interactions within and across trophic levels when estimating the ability of species to persist. Within the plant trophic level, we show that the persistence probability of plant species increases when introducing the effects of plant–pollinator interactions. Across trophic levels, we show that the persistence probabilities of both plants and pollinators exhibit idiosyncratic changes when experimentally manipulating the multitrophic structure. Importantly, these idiosyncratic effects are not recovered by traditional simulations. Our work provides tractable experimental and theoretical platforms upon which it is possible to investigate the multitrophic factors affecting species persistence in ecological communities.

scholarly journals Food-web dynamics under climate change

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1867) ◽  
pp. 20171772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai Zhang ◽  
Daisuke Takahashi ◽  
Martin Hartvig ◽  
Ken H. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Thermal Niche ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Food Web Model

Climate change affects ecological communities through its impact on the physiological performance of individuals. However, the population dynamic of species well inside their thermal niche is also determined by competitors, prey and predators, in addition to being influenced by temperature changes. We use a trait-based food-web model to examine how the interplay between the direct physiological effects from temperature and the indirect effects due to changing interactions between populations shapes the ecological consequences of climate change for populations and for entire communities. Our simulations illustrate how isolated communities deteriorate as populations go extinct when the environment moves outside the species' thermal niches. High-trophic-level species are most vulnerable, while the ecosystem function of lower trophic levels is less impacted. Open communities can compensate for the loss of ecosystem function by invasions of new species. Individual populations show complex responses largely uncorrelated with the direct impact of temperature change on physiology. Such complex responses are particularly evident during extinction and invasion events of other species, where climatically well-adapted species may be brought to extinction by the changed food-web topology. Our results highlight that the impact of climate change on specific populations is largely unpredictable, and apparently well-adapted species may be severely impacted.

Differentiating in the Community

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. McPeek
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Intraguild Predation ◽  
General Model ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Ecological Differentiation ◽  
Neutral Species ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Coexisting Species

This chapter explores the evolutionary dynamics that arise when different types of species mix together in a community either by invasion or by perturbation, as well as community mixing caused by climate change. In particular, it considers the features that promote or retard ecological differentiation of species. The chapter first describes a general model of evolutionary and ecological dynamics in a community before discussing adaptive differentiation at multiple trophic levels. It then examines differentiation of species with identical underlying parameters vs. different underlying parameters, along with intraguild predation and how ecological opportunity evolves within biological communities. It also investigates when neutral species will initially differentiate from one another to convert them into a set of coexisting species, and when differentiated species will initially converge to become ecologically more similar. The chapter shows that, when differentiation occurs, the type of traits underlying species interactions determine the ecological structure of the resulting community.

scholarly journals The impacts of different management strategies and environmental forcing in ecological communities

2006 ◽  
Vol 273 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2491-2499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Enberg ◽  
Mike S Fowler ◽  
Esa Ranta
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Population Management ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Environmental Forcing

Understanding the effects of population management on the community a target species belongs to is of key importance for successful management. It is known that the removal or extinction of a single species in a community may lead to extinctions of other community members. In our study, we assess the impacts of population management on competitive communities, studying the response of both locally stable and unstable communities of varying size (between four and 10 species) to three different management strategies; harvesting of a target species, harvesting with non-targeted catch, and stocking of the target species. We also studied the consequences of selecting target species with different relative abundances, as well as the effects of varying environmental conditions. We show here how the effects of management in competitive communities extend far beyond the target population. A crucial role is played by the underlying stability properties of the community under management. In general, locally unstable communities are more vulnerable to perturbation through management. Furthermore, the community response is shown to be sensitive to the relative density of the target species. Of considerable interest is the result that even a small (2.5%) increase in the population size of the target species through stocking may lead to extinction of other community members. These results emphasize the importance of considering and understanding multi-species interactions in population management.

scholarly journals Quantifying Early Indicators of Global Climate Change

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 97-99
Author(s):  
Diane Debinski
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
The North ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Montane Meadows ◽  
Associated Species

One of the more significant voids remaining in our scientific understanding of global climate change is the relationship between climate change and the resulting changes expected in ecological communities. Because a large proportion of the North American landscape has been modified by human activities, it is difficult to assess whether ecological changes are being caused by human activities or climate change. Thus, we must look to landscapes where the modification has been less severe. One of the most pristine landscapes in North America where scientists can study natural processes is that of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Within this system some of the more sensitive habitats are the montane meadows. These habitats exist along a continuum from very dry (xeric) sagebrush meadows, to flowering (mesic) meadows, to wet (hydric) sedge meadows. Because of the relatively short growing season, species in these meadows can exhibit quick changes in distribution and abundance relative to climatic changes. My research uses satellite images and field surveys to evaluate how meadow habitats and their associated species respond to interannual changes in precipitation and soil moisture. I am examining the plant and butterfly communities to measure the response. Over 100 species of butterflies occur in this area and many are closely associated with specific types of meadows. This research is significant because it will provide an early warning system for assessing the effects of climate change. Documenting changes in montane meadows will assist in understanding how climate change may affect more highly managed areas of the globe.

scholarly journals Information arms race explains plant-herbivore chemical communication in ecological communities

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 368 (6497) ◽  
pp. 1377-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengjuan Zu ◽  
Karina Boege ◽  
Ek del-Val ◽  
Meredith C. Schuman ◽  
Philip C. Stevenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Communication ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Conflicting Information ◽  
Plant Herbivore

Plants emit an extraordinary diversity of chemicals that provide information about their identity and mediate their interactions with insects. However, most studies of this have focused on a few model species in controlled environments, limiting our capacity to understand plant-insect chemical communication in ecological communities. Here, by integrating information theory with ecological and evolutionary theories, we show that a stable information structure of plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can emerge from a conflicting information process between plants and herbivores. We corroborate this information “arms race” theory with field data recording plant-VOC associations and plant-herbivore interactions in a tropical dry forest. We reveal that plant VOC redundancy and herbivore specialization can be explained by a conflicting information transfer. Information-based communication approaches can increase our understanding of species interactions across trophic levels.

scholarly journals Thermal acclimation of interactions: differential responses to temperature change alter predator–prey relationship

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1744) ◽  
pp. 4058-4064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica S. Grigaltchik ◽  
Ashley J. W. Ward ◽  
Frank Seebacher
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Thermal Sensitivity ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Thermal Acclimation ◽  
Interspecific Difference ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Eastern Mosquitofish ◽  
Species Performance

Different species respond differently to environmental change so that species interactions cannot be predicted from single-species performance curves. We tested the hypothesis that interspecific difference in the capacity for thermal acclimation modulates predator–prey interactions. Acclimation of locomotor performance in a predator (Australian bass, Macquaria novemaculeata ) was qualitatively different to that of its prey (eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki ). Warm (25°C) acclimated bass made more attacks than cold (15°C) acclimated fish regardless of acute test temperatures (10–30°C), and greater frequency of attacks was associated with increased prey capture success. However, the number of attacks declined at the highest test temperature (30°C). Interestingly, escape speeds of mosquitofish during predation trials were greater than burst speeds measured in a swimming arena, whereas attack speeds of bass were lower than burst speeds. As a result, escape speeds of mosquitofish were greater at warm temperatures (25°C and 30°C) than attack speeds of bass. The decline in the number of attacks and the increase in escape speed of prey means that predation pressure decreases at high temperatures. We show that differential thermal responses affect species interactions even at temperatures that are within thermal tolerance ranges. This thermal sensitivity of predator–prey interactions can be a mechanism by which global warming affects ecological communities.

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