scholarly journals Landscapes of fear: from trophic cascades to applied management and population ecology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonny S Bleicher
Keyword(s):  
Population Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Work Group ◽  
Stress Hormones ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Continuous Measure ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
Study Population

Predator-Prey dynamics, and their trophic impacts, have functioned as a focal point in both community and population biology for five decades. The work-group focusing on these dynamics has however largely changed the focus of their work from trophic effects to the study of non-consumptive effects of predation-- the “ecology of fear”. An increasing number of studies chose to spatially chart wildlife populations’ risk assessment and of those the majority use optimal patch-use (giving-up densities) as a continuous measure of fear. These charts, “landscapes-of-fear” (LOFs) originated in conservation literature and the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone. Today, they are used to study population habitat selection and venture into the evolutionary context with studies examining the mechanisms by which species coexist in the same physical space. This review predicts increase in, and encourages the use of, LOFs: as a conservation tool to assess species land-use; as a bridge between ecology and neurology with stress hormones as indicators fear; and as a tool to compare species’ evolutionary dynamics within a community context.

The future of research with carnivorous plants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Ellison ◽  
Lubomír Adamec
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Species Concept ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Carnivorous Plants ◽  
Assisted Migration ◽  
Transcriptomic Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework

The material presented in the chapters of Carnivorous Plants: Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution together provide a suite of common themes that could provide a framework for increasing progress in understanding carnivorous plants. All speciose genera would benefit from more robust, intra-generic classifications in a phylogenetic framework that uses a unified species concept. As more genomic, proteomic, and transcriptomic data accrue, new insights will emerge regarding trap biochemistry and regulation; interactions with commensals; and the importance of intraspecific variability on which natural selection works. Continued elaboration of field experiments will provide new insights into basic physiology; population biology; plant-animal and plant-microbe relationships; and evolutionary dynamics, all of which will aid conservation efforts and contribute to discussions of assisted migration as the climate continues to change.

scholarly journals Ecological Immunology of mosquito-malaria interactions: Of non-natural versus natural model systems and their inferences

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 136 (14) ◽  
pp. 1935-1942 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. TRIPET
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Ecological Immunology ◽  
Experimental Systems ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
And Function

SUMMARYThere has been a recent shift in the literature on mosquito/Plasmodium interactions with an increasingly large number of theoretical and experimental studies focusing on their population biology and evolutionary processes. Ecological immunology of mosquito-malaria interactions – the study of the mechanisms and function of mosquito immune responses to Plasmodium in their ecological and evolutionary context – is particularly important for our understanding of malaria transmission and how to control it. Indeed, describing the processes that create and maintain variation in mosquito immune responses and parasite virulence in natural populations may be as important to this endeavor as describing the immune responses themselves. For historical reasons, Ecological Immunology still largely relies on studies based on non-natural model systems. There are many reasons why current research should favour studies conducted closer to the field and more realistic experimental systems whenever possible. As a result, a number of researchers have raised concerns over the use of artificial host-parasite associations to generate inferences about population-level processes. Here I discuss and review several lines of evidence that, I believe, best illustrate and summarize the limitations of inferences generated using non-natural model systems.

The Role of Work Group in Individual Sickness Absence Behavior

2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ari Väänänen ◽  
Nuria Tordera ◽  
Mika Kivimäki ◽  
Anne Kouvonen ◽  
Jaana Pentti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sickness Absence ◽  
Work Group ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Municipal Employees ◽  
The Social ◽  
Liberal Attitude ◽  
Study Population ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Social Components

The purpose of our two-year follow-up study was to examine the effect of the social components of the work group, such as group absence norms and cohesion, on sickness absence behavior among individuals with varying attitudes toward work attendance. The social components were measured using a questionnaire survey, and data on sickness absence behavior were collected from the employers' records. The study population consisted of 19,306 Finnish municipal employees working in 1,847 groups (78% women). Multilevel Poisson regression modeling was applied. The direct effects of work group characteristics on sickness absence were mostly insignificant. In contrast, both of the social components of a work group had an indirect impact: The more tolerant the group absence norms (at both individual- and cross-level) and the lower the group cohesion (at the individual level), the more the absence behavior of an individual was influenced by his or her attitude toward work attendance. We conclude that work group moderates the extent to which individuals with a liberal attitude toward work attendance actually engage in sickness absence behavior.

scholarly journals The Evolutionary Dynamics of Cooperation in Collective Search

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan N. Tump ◽  
Charley M. Wu ◽  
Imen Bouhlel ◽  
Robert L. Goldstone
Keyword(s):  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Search Efficiency ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Interaction Structure ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
Evolutionary Simulations

AbstractHow does cooperation arise in an evolutionary context? We approach this problem using a collective search paradigm where interactions are dynamic and there is competition for rewards. Using evolutionary simulations, we find that the unconditional sharing of information can be an evolutionary advantageous strategy without the need for conditional strategies or explicit reciprocation. Shared information acts as a recruitment signal and facilitates the formation of a self-organized group. Thus, the improved search efficiency of the collective grants byproduct benefits to the original sharer by altering the interaction structure. A key mechanism is a visibility radius, where individuals have access to information about neighbors within a limited distance. Our results show that for a variety of initial conditions and across both static and dynamic fitness landscapes, there is strong selection pressure for unconditional sharing.

scholarly journals Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a disturbed world: implications for the maintenance of ecological networks

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Loeuille
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Ecological Networks ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
Genotype Frequencies ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
Fast Evolution ◽  
Management Issues

Past management of exploited species and of conservation issues has often ignored the evolutionary dynamics of species. During the 70s and 80s, evolution was mostly considered a slow process that may be safely ignored for most management issues. However, in recent years, examples of fast evolution have accumulated, suggesting that time scales of evolutionary dynamics (variations in genotype frequencies) and of ecological dynamics (variations in species densities) are often largely comparable, so that complex feedbacks commonly exist between the ecological and the evolutionary context (“eco-evolutionary dynamics”). While a first approach is of course to consider the evolution of a given species, in ecological communities, species are interlinked by interaction networks. In the present article, I discuss how species (co)evolution in such a network context may alter our understanding and predictions for species coexistence, given the disturbed world we live in. I review some concepts and examples suggesting that evolution may enhance the robustness of ecological networks and then show that, in many situations, the reverse may also happen, as evolutionary dynamics can harm diversity maintenance in various ways. I particularly focus on how evolution modifies indirect effects in ecological networks, then move to coevolution and discuss how the outcome of coevolution for species coexistence depends on the type of interaction (mutualistic or antagonistic) that is considered. I also review examples of phenotypes that are known to be important for ecological networks and shown to vary rapidly given global changes. Given all these components, evolution produces indirect eco-evolutionary effects within networks that will ultimately influence the optimal management of the current biodiversity crisis.

scholarly journals Evolutionary ecology of microorganisms: from the tamed to the wild

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay T Lennon ◽  
Vincent J Denef
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Evolutionary Ecology ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Rates Of Evolution ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Managed Ecosystems ◽  
Microbial Systems ◽  
Empirical Approaches

An overarching goal of biology is to understand how evolutionary and ecological processes generate and maintain biodiversity. While evolutionary biologists interested in biodiversity tend to focus on the mechanisms controlling rates of evolution and how this influences the phylogenetic relationship among species, ecologists attempt to explain the distribution and abundance of taxa based upon interactions among species and their environment. Recently, a more concerted effort has been made to integrate some of the theoretical and empirical approaches from the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. This integration has been motivated in part by the growing evidence that evolution can happen on “rapid” or contemporary time scales, suggesting that eco-evolutionary feedbacks can alter system dynamics in ways that cannot be predicted based on ecological principles alone. As such, it may be inappropriate to ignore evolutionary processes when attempting to understand ecological phenomena in natural and managed ecosystems. In this chapter, we highlight why it is particularly important to consider eco-evolutionary feedbacks for microbial populations. We emphasize some of the major processes that are thought to influence the strength of eco-evolutionary dynamics, provide an overview of methods used to quantify the relative importance of ecology and evolution, and showcase the importance of considering evolution in a community context and how this may influence the dynamics and stability of microbial systems under novel environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Evolutionary ecology of microorganisms: from the tamed to the wild

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay T Lennon ◽  
Vincent J Denef
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Evolutionary Ecology ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Rates Of Evolution ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Managed Ecosystems ◽  
Microbial Systems ◽  
Empirical Approaches

An overarching goal of biology is to understand how evolutionary and ecological processes generate and maintain biodiversity. While evolutionary biologists interested in biodiversity tend to focus on the mechanisms controlling rates of evolution and how this influences the phylogenetic relationship among species, ecologists attempt to explain the distribution and abundance of taxa based upon interactions among species and their environment. Recently, a more concerted effort has been made to integrate some of the theoretical and empirical approaches from the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. This integration has been motivated in part by the growing evidence that evolution can happen on “rapid” or contemporary time scales, suggesting that eco-evolutionary feedbacks can alter system dynamics in ways that cannot be predicted based on ecological principles alone. As such, it may be inappropriate to ignore evolutionary processes when attempting to understand ecological phenomena in natural and managed ecosystems. In this chapter, we highlight why it is particularly important to consider eco-evolutionary feedbacks for microbial populations. We emphasize some of the major processes that are thought to influence the strength of eco-evolutionary dynamics, provide an overview of methods used to quantify the relative importance of ecology and evolution, and showcase the importance of considering evolution in a community context and how this may influence the dynamics and stability of microbial systems under novel environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Transient local adaptation and source–sink dynamics in experimental populations experiencing spatially heterogeneous environments

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1905) ◽  
pp. 20190738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Bisschop ◽  
Frederik Mortier ◽  
Rampal S. Etienne ◽  
Dries Bonte
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Heterogeneous Landscapes ◽  
Time Migration ◽  
Challenging Environment ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Experimental Populations ◽  
Source Sink

Local adaptation is determined by the strength of selection and the level of gene flow within heterogeneous landscapes. The presence of benign habitat can act as an evolutionary stepping stone for local adaptation to challenging environments by providing the necessary genetic variation. At the same time, migration load from benign habitats will hinder adaptation. In a community context, interspecific competition is expected to select against maladapted migrants, hence reducing migration load and facilitating adaptation. As the interplay between competition and spatial heterogeneity on the joint ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations is poorly understood, we performed an evolutionary experiment using the herbivore spider mite Tetranychus urticae as a model. We studied the species's demography and local adaptation in a challenging environment that consisted of an initial sink (pepper plants) and/or a more benign environment (cucumber plants). Half of the experimental populations were exposed to a competitor, the congeneric T. ludeni . We show that while spider mites only adapted to the challenging pepper environment when it was spatially interspersed with benign cucumber habitat, this adaptation was only temporary and disappeared when the populations in the benign cucumber environment were expanding and spilling-over to the challenging pepper environment. Although the focal species outcompeted the competitor after about two months, a negative effect of competition on the focal species’s performance persisted in the benign environment. Adaptation to challenging habitat in heterogeneous landscapes thus highly depends on demography and source–sink dynamics, but also on competitive interactions with other species, even if they are only present for a short time span.

scholarly journals Evolutionary dynamics and population biology of a polymorphic insect

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1503-1514 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. I. SVENSSON ◽  
J. ABBOTT
Keyword(s):  
Population Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics

scholarly journals Augmenting the City: The Photo-Realistic Animation of a Historic Building and its influence on spatial perception and meaning

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-128
Author(s):  
Moritz Schweiger ◽  
◽  
Jeffrey Wimmer ◽  
Gregor Nagler ◽  
Ruben Schlagowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Aesthetic Perception ◽  
Historical Building ◽  
Thinking Aloud ◽  
Before And After

Augmented Reality (AR), defined as the holographic overlay of physical space with virtual objects in real time (Azuma, 1997), can be considered a prime example of mediatization. This development is particularly evident in the public space of the “mediatised city” (Hepp, Simon & Sowinska, 2018), being a focal point of the latest media technologies already overlaid with a multitude of AR content. But how does AR change the perception and meaning of urban space? And how can researchers capture methodically the appropriation of complex, large-scaled AR content experienced via high-tech AR glasses? To answer these questions, a historical building, that had been destroyed during the Second World War, was reconstructed as a holographic animation on a public city square. In order to resurrect this building in AR, old photographs, paintings and postcards were evaluated and used to create a virtual model in the original size and place it at its original location. The test subjects were then able to view the hologram from various different angles using AR glasses (Microsoft HoloLens 2), move freely around the square and even enter it. Combining quantitative, before-and-after questionnaires and qualitative thinking-aloud protocols, our results show that the holographic animation of a historical building can influence both the sensual-aesthetic perception and the personal meaning of a public square for city dwellers. Specifically, our test subjects perceived differences in its accessibility, coherence and aesthetics, simplicity, atmosphere and legibility. The meaning of the square was altered with regard to personal memories (= the self), typical groups of people (= others) and certain opportunities (= environment) associated with it by city dwellers.

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