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Data from: Mycorrhizal suppression and phosphorus addition influence the stability of plant community composition and function in a temperate steppe

Nutrient enrichment can reduce ecosystem stability, typically measured as the temporal stability of productivity that has multiple underlying mechanism including species resistance and resilience to nutrient pulses and the resulting compositional change. Moreover, nutrient enrichment can alter plant-soil interactions (e.g. mycorrhizal symbiosis) that determine plant productivity and diversity. Thus, it is likely that nutrient enrichment and interactions between plants and their soil communities co-determine the stability in plant community composition and productivity. Yet our understanding as to how nutrient enrichment affects the multiple facets of ecological stability and the role of above-belowground interactions are still lacking. We tested how mycorrhizal suppression and phosphorus (P) addition influenced functional and compositional stability of plant community in a three-year field study. Here functional stability is the temporal community variance in primary productivity; compositional stability is represented by compositional resistance, turnover, species extinction and invasion. Compared with mycorrhizal suppression, the intact AM fungal communities reduced community variance in primary productivity by reducing species synchrony at high levels of P addition. Species synchrony and population variance were linearly associated with community variance when mycorrhiza were not suppressed, while these relationships were decoupled or weakened by mycorrhizal suppression. The intact AM fungal communities promoted the compositional resistance of plant communities by reducing compositional turnover, but this effect was suppressed by P addition. P addition increased the number of species extinctions and thus promoted compositional turnover. Our study shows P addition and AM fungal communities can jointly and independently modify the various components of ecosystem stability in terms of plant community productivity and composition.

openother-openNov 2020View details →

Code and data for lake and stream fish species richness and composition

The code and data sets were used in the manuscript in press at the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, titled "Surface water connectivity affects lake and stream fish species richness and composition."

Data from: Mob and rotational grazing influence pasture biomass, nutritive value, and species composition

This is digital research data corresponding to a published manuscript, Mob and rotational grazing influence pasture biomass, nutritive value, and species composition, in Agronomy Journal, Vol. 112 p. 2866-2878. Mob grazing, which uses very high stocking densities for short durations followed by a relatively long rest period, was designed to mimic bison (Bison bison) grazing in western U.S. grassland. This project assessed the suitability of mob grazing for livestock production in the Northeast. Objectives were to compare the effects of mob and rotational grazing on dry matter (DM) mass, nutritive value, and botanical composition across four grazing seasons. Eight, 0.10‐ha paddocks were established in 2014 as a randomized complete block with four replications, and seeded with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), and tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort]. Mob‐grazed (MOB) paddocks were grazed by yearling beef cattle twice each year, (70–90–day interval), and rotationally grazed (ROT) paddocks were grazed four to six times each year (when sward height reached 25 cm).

Data from: Can variation in seed removal patterns of Neotropical pioneer tree species be explained by local ant community composition?

Many plants depend on animals for seed dispersal, and ants commonly fill this role. We examined if heterogeneity in ant community composition among sites, between above- and below-ground foraging guilds, or between seasons predicts observed variation in seed removal rates for 12 nonmyrmecochorous Neotropical pioneer tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We also investigated if ants associated with removing seeds differed in specific morphological characters from the larger ant community. We observed ant-seed interactions at caches to determine which ants removed seeds of 12 tree species. We also sampled ant community composition by placing 315 pitfall traps and 160 subterranean traps across the five sites where seed removal rates were quantified. Above-ground ant community composition varied by site but not season. Among-site variation in ant composition did not predict seed removal patterns at these same sites. Below-ground ant communities differed from above-ground ant communities but were not structured by either site or seed cache type. Finally, ants that removed seeds did not differ morphologically from the broader ant community. Overall, our results suggest ant communities vary over relatively small spatial scales but exhibit a high degree of functional redundancy in terms of seed removal services provided for Neotropical pioneer tree species.

Foliar summer frost resistance measured via electrolyte leakage approach as related to plant distribution, community composition and performance

1. Frost resistance (FR) is a fundamental process determining various aspects of plant life. Measurements of FR remain challenging as existing methods are time- and labour-intensive. 2. Here, we test the applicability of foliar summer FR measured via the 'electrolyte leakage' approach (FRPEL), a simple and inexpensive technique so far underused in ecological research to estimate FR. We tested the ability of this trait to predict i) species occurrence, ii) community composition along an elevational gradient, and iii) analysed its relationship to 9 other traits (SLA, Cmass, Nmass, Pmass, Camass, Mgmass, Kmass, canopy height and the ability to form rosettes) related to plant performance. We studied 183 vascular species occurring at 37 sites, which we also analysed in terms of species composition along an elevation gradient from 656 to 2363 m a.s.l. in the Bavarian Alps, Germany. 3. Species' FRPEL values correlated significantly with the species occurrence along the elevational gradient. However, this relationship was weak as it explained only 10% in the variation of the Landolt indicator values, a proxy for species geographic ranges. We found a strong positive relationship between community-weighted FRPEL values and elevation suggesting a strong environmental filtering of this trait that removes species with low FR from the local species pool at high elevations. The community functional diversity of FRPEL significantly increased with increasing elevation suggesting a higher trait divergence in harsher climates. We found significant negative relationships between FRPEL and specific leaf area, canopy height and the ability to form leaf rosettes, indicating a trade-off in plants between the investment in conservative strategies, in our case FR, and fast resource acquisition. 4. Our study highlights the potential of using FRPEL more frequently in ecological research as we were able to re-confirm three patterns inferred by more precise yet time-consuming and labour-intensive approaches. We demonstrate that FRPEL can be used to predict species occurrence and infer assembly rules along elevational gradients. Furthermore, we found that FRPEL is linked to plant functional traits associated with plant performance and morphological features of the plants. However, the trait's predictive power varied greatly among the study objectives and levels.

Permafrost thaw in boreal peatlands is rapidly altering forest community composition

Boreal peatlands are frequently underlain by permafrost, which is thawing rapidly. A common ecological response to thaw is the conversion of raised forested plateaus to treeless wetlands, but unexplained spatial variation in responses, combined with a lack of stand-level data, make it difficult to predict future trajectories of boreal forest composition and structure. We sought to characterize patterns and identify drivers of forest structure, composition, mortality, and recruitment in a boreal peatland experiencing permafrost thaw. To do this, we established a large (10 ha) permanent forest plot (completed in 2014), located in the Northwest Territories, Canada, that includes 40,584 mapped and measured trees. In 2018, we conducted a comprehensive mortality and recruitment recensus. We also measured frost table depth, soil moisture, soil humification, and organic layer thickness within the plot between 2012 and 2018, and used habitat association tests to link these variables to forest characteristics and dynamics. Forest composition and structure varied markedly throughout the plot and were strongly governed by patterns in permafrost presence and organic layer thickness. Overall, there was a net loss of trees from the plot at a rate of 0.7% yr-1. Mortality of black spruce, the dominant tree species, was more than double that of recruitment and was strongly associated with permafrost thaw. In contrast, recruitment of larch was over four times greater than mortality, and occurred primarily in low-lying, permafrost-free wetlands with mineral soil near the surface. The trends in tree demography and underlying drivers suggest that spruce-dominated permafrost plateaus will be converted into larch-dominated wetlands as permafrost thaw progresses in boreal peatlands, particularly in areas where mineral soil is near the surface. In the longer term, thaw could increase the hydrologic connectivity of the landscape, resulting in widespread drainage and re-vegetation by spruce, but we did not find evidence that this is occurring yet. Given the increasing rates of permafrost thaw, and positive feedbacks between thaw and forest change, we predict that larch abundance will continue to increase in boreal peatlands over the coming decades, leading to shifts in ecosystem function, wildlife habitat, albedo, and snow dynamics.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Data from: Plant community composition steers grassland vegetation via soil legacy effects

Soil legacy effects are commonly highlighted as drivers of plant community dynamics and species co-existence. However, experimental evidence for soil legacy effects of conditioning plant communities on responding plant communities under natural conditions is lacking. We conditioned 192 grassland plots using six different plant communities with different ratios of grasses and forbs and for different durations. Soil microbial legacies were evident for soil fungi, but not for soil bacteria, while soil abiotic parameters did not significantly change in response to conditioning. The soil legacies affected the composition of the succeeding vegetation. Plant communities with different ratios of grasses and forbs left soil legacies that negatively affected succeeding plants of the same functional type. We conclude that fungal-mediated soil legacy effects play a significant role in vegetation assembly of natural plant communities.

opencc-zeroMay 2020View details →

Data from: Shifts in plant community composition weaken the negative effect of nitrogen addition on community-level arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization

Nitrogen addition affects plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) association greatly. However, although the direct effect of nitrogen addition on AMF colonization has received investigation, its indirect effect through shifts in plant community composition has never been quantified. Based on a 7-year nitrogen addition experiment in an alpine meadow of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, we investigated the effects of nitrogen addition on both plant community, AMF diversity and colonization, and disentangled the direct and indirect effects of nitrogen addition on community AMF colonization. At plant species level, nitrogen addition significantly decreased root colonization rate and altered AMF community composition, but with no significant effect on AMF richness. At plant community level, plant species richness and AMF colonization rate decreased with nitrogen addition. Plant species increasing in abundance after nitrogen addition were those with higher AMF colonization rates in natural conditions, resulting in an increased indirect effect induced by alternation in plant community composition with nitrogen addition, whereas the direct effect was negative and decreased with nitrogen addition. Overall, we illustrated the effect of nitrogen addition and plant species in influencing the AMF diversity, and demonstrated how shifts in plant community composition (indirect effect) weakened the negative direct effect of nitrogen addition on community-level AMF colonization rate, and emphasized the importance of plant community-mediated mechanisms in regulating ecosystem functions.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Nitrogen isotope composition of amino acids reveals trophic partitioning in two sympatric amphipods

According to ecological theory two species cannot occupy the same niche. We tested the extent to which two sympatric deposit-feeding amphipods, Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata, partition trophic resources by applying nitrogen isotope analyses (δ15N) of amino acids. We found that trophic position (TP), and resynthesis index (∑V; a proxy for degradation status of ingested material prior to assimilation by the consumer) differ between species. The surface-feeding M. affinis had higher TP and intermediate ∑V; both pointing to a large contribution of metazoans in its diet. P. femorata, which feeds in the sub-surface layers, had lower TP and a bimodal distribution of the ∑V values, supporting previous experimental evidence of a larger feeding niche. We also evaluated whether TP and ∑V values have consequences for amphipod fecundity and embryo viability and found that embryo viability in M. affinis was negatively linked to TP. Our results indicate that the amino acid-δ15N data paired with information about reproductive status are useful for detecting differences in the trophic ecology of sympatric amphipods. Key words: Compound-specific stable nitrogen isotope analyses, amino acids, trophic level, resynthesis index, reproductive status, Baltic Sea.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2020View details →

Optimized composite microspheres containing spinosad and an attractant for control of a fruit fly pest

These original data and analysis graph are for the manuscript titled "Optimized composite microspheres containing spinosad and an attractant for control of a fruit fly pest". If readers are interested in this paper, you can email to me and discuss the result. Also, we wecolme the coopertion on the fruit fly control program and techniques.

opennotspecifiedOct 2020View details →

FIGURES 7–10 in A new species of the genus Celebesia Bolívar, 1917 (Orthoptera: Acrididae Catantopinae) from Sulawesi Island with notes on composition of the tribe Mesambriini

FIGURES 7–10. Celebesia linduensis sp. nov., male (holotype). 7. Apex of abdomen, dorsal view. 8. Epiphallus, dorsal view. 9. Phallic complex (epiphallus removed), dorsal view. 10. The same, lateral view.

opennotspecifiedOct 2020View details →

FIGURES 1–6 in A new species of the genus Celebesia Bolívar, 1917 (Orthoptera: Acrididae Catantopinae) from Sulawesi Island with notes on composition of the tribe Mesambriini

FIGURES 1–6. Celebesia linduensis sp. nov., male (holotype). 1. Body, lateral view. 2. Head and pronotum, dorsal view. 3. Head and sternal plate, ventral view. 4. Head, frontal view. 5. Apex of abdomen, ventral view. 6. The same, lateral view.

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2020View details →

Temperature control on high-resolution SIMS oxygen isotopic compositions in Porites coral skeletons

The dataset includes all data for "Temperature control on high-resolution SIMS oxygen isotopic compositions in Porites coral skeletons" by Zou et al. from Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Data for Hydrogeochemical constraints shape hot spring microbial community compositions: Evidence from acidic, moderate-temperature springs and alkaline, high-temperature springs, southwestern Yunnan geothermal areas, China

Original data for Hydrogeochemical constraints shape hot spring microbial community compositions: Evidence from acidic, moderate-temperature springs and alkaline, high-temperature springs, southwestern Yunnan geothermal areas, China.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Ternary lipid composition in a curved geometry

Simulations of ternary DLiPC/DPPC/cholesterol membranes in a budded geometry with Gaussian curvature. Five replicas. Simulations were performed using GROMACS simulation engine (DOI: 10.1016/j.softx.2015.06.001 ) and the Martini 2 force field ( DOI:10.1021/jp071097f ). The geometries, generated using BUMPy ( DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00765 ), are maintained using restrained dummy particles that repel lipid acyl chains All input and output files are provided for each simulation, and the cpt files allow to extend the simulations. The top, itp (in TOP.tar archive), mdp, and ndx files are common for each simulation. The simulations have been used in DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.23.310086.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Determination of complex refractive indices and optical properties of volcanic ashes in the thermal infrared based on generic petrological compositions: supplementary material

This dataset contains supplementary material to the paper "Determination of complex refractive indices and optical properties of volcanic ashes in the thermal infrared based on generic petrological compositions", doi: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.107174 It contains a set of volcanic ash refractive indices and optical properties derived for certain microphysical properties. For more information please consider the manuscript or contact the authors.

FIGURE 19 in Composition and organization of highly speciose Empidoidea (Diptera) communities in tropical montane forests of northern Thailand

FIGURE 19. Species abundance distributions of Empidoidea (Empididae, Hybotidae, Dolichopodidae & Brachystomatidae combined) in dry lowland forest (DL), mid elevation evergreen forest (EM) and moist hill evergreen (MHE) communities as delimited by cluster analysis in Figure 17. Main figure. Rank / abundance plots of log10 of abundance as a percentage of the most abundant species plotted against species rank (from highest to lowest). Inset. k-dominance plots of relative cumulative abundance plotted against log10 species rank (from highest to lowest).

FIGURES 17–18 in Composition and organization of highly speciose Empidoidea (Diptera) communities in tropical montane forests of northern Thailand

FIGURES 17–18. Cluster analysis of Empidoidea (Empididae, Hybotidae, Dolichopodidae & Brachystomatidae combined) using unweighted pair-group average and Sorensen similarity. Bootstrapping was performed with 1000 resamples; the percentage of replicates where each of the major clusters is still supported is shown at nodes. 17, Clustering of data for a full year for each individual trap on Doi Inthanon during 2014. Individual traps are identified at termini and clusters designated as A, B, C and D are indicated. Communities defined by the major clusters A, C and D are assigned names broadly consistent with the forest biotopes and elevations they occupy; MHE, moist hill evergreen; EM, evergreen mid-elevation; DL, dry lowland; 18, Clustering of data for each trap during a four month period during the early-monsoon (April–July) and late-monsoon (September–December). Individual traps are identified at the termini with a suffix "early" of "late". E and F indicate major clusters.

FIGURE 16 in Composition and organization of highly speciose Empidoidea (Diptera) communities in tropical montane forests of northern Thailand

FIGURE 16. Variation in taxonomic distinctness (J*) of Empidoidea (Empididae, Hybotidae, Dolichopodidae & Brachystomatidae combined) with elevation on Doi Inthanon (solid line). Values of J* were calculated for Empidoidea sampled throughout 12 months in all traps operated at each 500 m elevation zone (<500, 500–1000, 1000–1500, 1500–2000, 2000–2500, &>2500 m) and were plotted against the mean elevation of all traps in each zone. Data were fitted to a linear regression model in PAST (solid line; r2 = 0.8804, p = 0.0056) and 95% confidence intervals (dashed line) were computed from 1000 random replicates taken from the pooled data set.

FIGURE 15 in Composition and organization of highly speciose Empidoidea (Diptera) communities in tropical montane forests of northern Thailand

FIGURE 15. Spatiotemporal variation in Mean Local Turnover (βwL) of species of Empidoidea through 12 months sampling over six 500m elevation zones at Doi Inthanon in 2014. Values of βwL are plotted on a grid of elevation zone (vertical axis) and months (horizontal axis) using the multiquadric gridding algorithm in PAST. Values of βwL (indicated by colour scale bar) vary between 0 (complete identity) and 1.0 (complete non-identity). Data are not available for January and February at <500 m and 500–1000 m.