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publicJan 2021View details →

Changes in tree community structures in defaunated forests are not driven only by dispersal limitation

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publicJan 2021View details →

Data from: Demographic traits improve predictions of spatiotemporal changes in community resilience to drought

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publicJul 2020View details →

Data from: Plant community dynamics and carbon sequestration in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in the era of global change

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publicDec 2022View details →

Changes in microbial community structure and functioning with elevation are linked to local soil characteristics as well as climatic variables

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opencc-by-4.0Jun 2015View details →

Figure 4 in Temporal patterns of the calanoid copepod community in Veliko Jezero, an isolated marine lake (South Adriatic Sea): links to a larger-scale climate changes

Figure 4. Mean Margalef's species richness and Shannon–Wiener diversity index values per year; 90% confidence intervals are shown.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2015View details →

Figure 3 in Temporal patterns of the calanoid copepod community in Veliko Jezero, an isolated marine lake (South Adriatic Sea): links to a larger-scale climate changes

Figure 3. Seasonal and inter-annual patterns of total calanoid abundance (individuals per m3) (left scale and bars) and their contribution (%) to total mesozooplankton abundance (right scale and line) over the study period.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2015View details →

Figure 2 in Temporal patterns of the calanoid copepod community in Veliko Jezero, an isolated marine lake (South Adriatic Sea): links to a larger-scale climate changes

Figure 2. Seasonal and inter-annual patterns of hydrographic parameters (temperature and salinity) over the study period.

opencc-zeroOct 2020View details →

Changes in stream food web structure across a gradient of acid mine drainage increases local community stability

Understanding what makes food webs stable has long been a goal of ecologists. Topological structure and the distribution and magnitude of interaction strengths in food webs have been shown to confer important stabilizing properties. However, our understanding of how variable species interactions affect food web structure and stability is still in its infancy. Anthropogenic stress, such as acid mine drainage, is likely to place severe limitations on the food web structures possible due to changes in community composition and body mass distributions. Here, we used mechanistic models to infer food web structure and quantify stability in streams across a gradient of acid mine drainage. Multiple food webs were iterated for each community based on species pairwise interaction probabilities, in order to incorporate the variability of realistic food web structure. We found that food web structure was altered systematically with a 32-fold decrease in the number of links and a 2-fold increase in connectance across the gradient. Stability generally increased 6-fold with increasing acid mine drainage stress, regardless of how interaction strengths were estimated. However, the distribution of the stability measure, s, for some impacted communities separated into clusters of higher and lower magnitude depending on how interaction strengths were estimated. Management and restoration of impacted sites needs to consider their increased stability, as this may have important implications for the re-colonization of desirable species. Furthermore, active species introductions may be required to overcome the internal ecological inertia of affected communities.

opencc-zeroDec 2019View details →

Land use impacts poison frog chemical defenses through changes in leaf litter ant communities

Much of the world's biodiversity is held within tropical rainforests, which are increasingly fragmented by agricultural practices. In these threatened landscapes, there are many organisms that acquire chemical defenses from their diet and are therefore intimately connected with their local food webs. Poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) are one such example, as they acquire alkaloid-based chemical defenses from their diet of leaf litter ants and mites. It is currently unknown how habitat fragmentation impacts chemical defense across trophic levels, from arthropods to frogs. We examined the chemical defenses and diets of the Diablito poison frog (Oophaga sylvatica), and the diversity of their leaf litter ant communities in secondary forest and reclaimed cattle pasture. Notably, this research was performed in collaboration with two high school science classrooms. We found that the leaf litter of forest and pasture frog habitats differed significantly in ant community structure. We also found that forest and pasture frogs differed significantly in diet and alkaloid profiles, where forest frogs contained more of specific alkaloids and ate more ants in both number and volume. Finally, ant species composition of frog diets resembled the surrounding leaf litter, but diets were less variable. This suggests that frogs tend to consume particular ant species within each habitat. To better understand how ants contribute to the alkaloid chemical profiles of frogs, we chemically profiled several ant species and found some alkaloids to be common across many ant species while others are restricted to a few species. Our experiments are the first to link anthropogenic land use changes to dendrobatid poison frog chemical defenses through variation in leaf litter communities, which has implications for conservation management of these threatened amphibians.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Bacterial adaptation to sublethal antibiotic gradients can change the ecological properties of multitrophic microbial communities

Antibiotics leak constantly into environments due to widespread use in agriculture and human therapy. Although sublethal concentrations are well known to select for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, little is known about how bacterial evolution cascades through food webs, having indirect effect on species not directly affected by antibiotics (e.g. via population dynamics or pleiotropic effects). Here, we used an experimental evolution approach to test how temporal patterns of antibiotic stress, as well as migration within metapopulations, affect the evolution and ecology of microcosms containing one prey bacterium, one phage and two protist predators. We found that environmental variability, autocorrelation and migration had only subtle effects for population and evolutionary dynamics. However, unexpectedly, bacteria evolved greatest fitness increases to both antibiotics and enemies when the sublethal levels of antibiotics were highest, indicating positive pleiotropy. Crucially, bacterial adaptation cascaded through the food web leading to reduced predator-to-prey abundance ratio, lowered predator community diversity and increased instability of populations. Our results show that the presence of natural enemies can modify and even reverse the effects of antibiotics on bacteria, and that antibiotic selection can change the ecological properties of multitrophic microbial communities by having indirect effects on species not directly affected by antibiotics.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Data from: Achieving a step change in the tuberculosis epidemic through comprehensive community-wide intervention: A model-based analysis

Background: Global progress towards reducing tuberculosis (TB) incidence and mortality has consistently lagged behind World Health Organization targets leading to a perception that large reductions in TB burden cannot be achieved. However, several recent and historical trials suggest that intervention efforts that are comprehensive and focused can have substantial epidemiological impact. We aimed to quantify the potential epidemiological impact of an intensive but realistic, community-wide campaign utilizing existing tools, and designed to achieve a "step change" in TB burden. Methods: We developed a compartmental model of tuberculosis transmission in a mid-sized city in India, the country with the greatest absolute burden of TB worldwide. We modeled the impact of a campaign comprising one-time community-wide screening with treatment for TB disease and preventive therapy for latent TB infection (LTBI). This one-time intervention was followed by strengthening of tuberculosis-related health system achieved by leveraging the one-time campaign. We estimated the tuberculosis cases and deaths that could be averted over 10 years using this comprehensive approach and assessed the contributions of individual components of the intervention. Results: A campaign that successfully screened 70% of the adult population for active and latent tuberculosis and subsequently reduced diagnostic and treatment delays and unsuccessful treatment outcomes by 50% was projected to avert 7,800 (95% range: 5,450 – 10,200) cases and 1,710 (1,290 – 2,180) tuberculosis-related deaths per 1 million population over 10 years. Of the total averted deaths, 33.5% (28.2 – 38.3) were attributable to inclusion of preventive therapy and 52.9% (48.4 - 56.9) to health system strengthening. Conclusions: A one-time, community-wide mass campaign, comprehensively designed to detect, treat, and prevent tuberculosis with currently existing tools can have meaningful and long-lasting epidemiological impact. Successful treatment of LTBI is critical to achieving this result. Health system strengthening is essential to any effort to transform the TB response.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Abrupt changes in the composition and function of fungal communities along an environmental gradient in the High Arctic

Fungi play a key role in soil-plant interactions, nutrient cycling, and carbon flow and are essential for the functioning of arctic terrestrial ecosystems. Some studies have shown that the composition of fungal communities is highly sensitive to variations in environmental conditions, but little is known about how the conditions control the role of fungal communities (i.e. their ecosystem function). We used DNA metabarcoding to compare taxonomic and functional composition of fungal communities along a gradient of environmental severity in Northeast Greenland. We analysed soil samples from fell fields, heaths, and snowbeds, three habitats with very contrasting abiotic conditions. We also assessed within-habitat differences by comparing three widespread microhabitats (patches with high cover of Dryas, Salix, or bare soil). The data suggest that, along the sampled mesotopographic gradient, the greatest differences in both fungal richness and community composition are observed among habitats, while the effect of microhabitat is weaker, although still significant. Furthermore, we found that richness and community composition of fungi are shaped primarily by abiotic factors and to a lesser, though still significant extent, by floristic composition. Along this mesotopographic gradient, environmental severity is strongly correlated with richness in all fungal functional groups: positively in saprotrophic, pathogenic, and lichenised fungi, and negatively in ectomycorrhizal and root-endophytic fungi. Our results suggest complex interactions amongst functional groups, possibly due to nutrient limitation or competitive exclusion, with potential implications on soil carbon stocks. These findings are important in light of the environmental changes predicted for the Arctic.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Data for: Development of a learning community focused on sea-level rise and coastal habitat change

Rapid habitat changes are occuring in salt marshes located in the Northeastern United States, including expansion of ponded areas on the marsh platform, die off of coastal forests, and subsequent colonization of 'ghost forests' by marsh vegetation. This work focuses on two main areas: (1) environmental conditions along the marsh forest border undergoing rapid transitions; and (2) environmental conditions and plant stress in marsh platforms with extensive ponding, with three study sites: in Long Island and Southern New England, where there are often significant slope breaks along the upland (slope ~0.01), and in southern New Jersey on the Atlantic Coastal plan (slope ~0.003). To better understand drivers of environmental change in marsh-forest borders undergoing rapid transitions, we measured shallow groundwater levels, soil salinity, and forest health and structure along the salt marsh-upland border at three sites with varying slopes using installation of shallow groundwater wells, drone imagery and associated image processing, and geophysical methods. To better understand drivers of environmental change on the marsh platform, we measured used piezometers to understand vertical gradients in marsh groundwater levels, and measured photosynthesis and plant biomass and used drone imagery to map plant stress indices, as indicators of plant stress. While we anticipate that this data will be published in journal articles of the next 2 years, we archive collected data to facilitated data sharing, as required by NSF.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Gendered narratives and cultural shifts: A qualitative study on decadal changes in community alcohol consumption

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opencc-by-4.0Apr 2024View details →

Step Change - CSI 3 – Energy Communities in Germany – Infographic

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opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Assessing the trajectories of local plant community change: a literature review

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opencc-by-4.0Oct 2021View details →

Extreme droughts in oligotrophic mountain grasslands cause substantial species abundance changes and amplify community filtering

Questions Mountain grasslands can be strongly affected by extreme droughts such as those related to climate change. What are the impacts of extreme droughts on community composition, diversity, Ellenberg indicator scores and species groups in oligotrophic montane Nardus grasslands, and what are the associated mechanisms of vegetation change? Location Rhön Mountains, Germany Methods In three consecutive years, we investigated the effects of yearly droughts (April-August) in an experimental setup with rainout shelters. Due to the coincidence of ambient extreme dry conditions in those years and our artificial rainfall reduction, we evaluated the contribution to community change of ambient drought conditions and the treatments. We analysed community composition changes by applying redundancy analysis to species differences in comparison with the pre-treatment year, and used mixed-effects models to test for changes in community-weighted means of Ellenberg indicator scores, sociological, and functional groups. Results We found significant changes in species abundances and community structures in response to drought. Evenness increased, but species richness remained rather stable over time. Ellenberg indicator scores for temperature and nitrogen increased, while the score for moisture decreased. Simultaneously, dominant species declined and subdominants increased. Changes occurred with a time lag and were largely driven by the high ambient drought level and less by the artificial treatments. Conclusions Our results show that drought-related community composition changes in Nardus grasslands occur across community structures, characteristic species, and species groups. The post-drought recovery of the community is shaped by community filters, which particularly allow subdominants to take advantage of newly available niches in the matrix, even if they lack strong drought tolerance. Our findings indicate a certain resilience of the community to climate-change-related droughts, which suggests that the observed changes should not lead to an accelerated short-term decline of these grasslands, but that this cannot be excluded in the long term.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

Urbanization buffers seasonal change in composition of bird communities: a multi-continental meta-analysis

Aim: Urbanization buffers the seasonality of climate conditions and food availability and, therefore, may cause a seasonal homogenization of animal communities. However, the global effect of urbanization on the seasonal dynamics of animal communities remains unexplored. Our aim was to study the multi-continental relationship between urbanization and the seasonal change in bird composition and explore the influence of climatic factors on the urban-induced reduction of seasonality of bird composition. Location: Multi-continental Methods: We performed a literature review and a meta-analysis. The risk ratio effect size (here referred to as urban seasonality index, USI) was used, considering the number of species seen either in the breeding (spring and/or summer) or the non-breeding (autumn and/or winter) season, and the number of species seen during both seasons between urban and less urbanized sites. Low USI values indicated a decrease in the seasonal change in bird composition in urban areas. Results: A total of 38 USIs were obtained from 34 cities of six continents. Multi-continentally, there are fewer differences in bird composition between seasons in urban than in less urbanized areas, indicating seasonal homogenization due to urbanization. The USI decreased in areas with the lowest maximum temperature and the highest latitude, suggesting the highest decrease in the seasonality of bird composition in urban areas located in regions near the poles and with high seasonal change in temperature. Moreover, studies in the Northern Hemisphere and those that compared suburban versus natural and urban versus rural habitats had a significant decrease of seasonality of bird community in urban areas. Main conclusions: Urbanization induces a seasonal homogenization of bird composition, and this impact seems more pronounced in temperate areas with broad annual temperature range, and located in the Northern Hemisphere. Results indicate that efforts to restore seasonal dynamics in habitats and resources should be made in urban areas of temperate regions.

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Shape of species climate performance curves affects community response to climate change

Understanding how community composition is reshaped by changing climate is important for interpreting and predicting patterns of community assembly through time or across space. Community composition often does not perfectly correspond to expectations from current environmental conditions, leading to community-climate mismatches. Here, we combine data analysis and theory development to explore how species climate response curves affect the community response to climate change. We show that strong mismatches between community and climate can appear in the absence of demographic delays or limited species pools. Communities simulated using species response curves showed temporal changes of similar magnitude to those observed in natural communities of fishes and plankton, suggesting no overall delays in community change despite substantial unexplained variation from community assembly and other processes. Our approach can be considered as a null model that will be important to use when interpreting observed community responses to climate change and variability.