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opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Get a grip - evolution of claw shape in relation to microhabitat use in intertidal arthropods (Acari, Oribatida)

Claws may be the most common biological attachment devices in animals but relatively few studies have examined the ecological and evolutionary significance of their morphology. We performed the first geometric morphometric investigation of arthropod claws ever using 15 intertidal oribatid mite species from two different families living in three different habitat types to determine if claw shape is correlated with ecology. Our results show that species living on rocky shores show remarkably high and strongly curved claws while species from mangrove habitats show significantly lower and less curved claws. Euryoecious species being able to dwell in a wide range of habitats show an intermediate claw type. These results indicate a strong relationship between claw shape and microhabitat whereas the best predictors of microhabitat use seem to be claw height and curvature. Claw length varied to some degree between the species but without any noticeable ecological pattern. A comparison with terrestrial and freshwater aquatic oribatid mite species, on the other hand, confirms that their claws are only half as long as that of intertidal mites and it is suggested that tidal flooding and wave action strongly selects for long claws. The present results indicate that claw morphology may play an important role in niche separation and hence demonstrate the importance of ecomorphological studies, especially in the microarthropod group which occupies a vast array of microhabitats.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

Lying deadwood retention affects microhabitat use of martens (Martes spp.) in European mountain forests

Biodiversity loss due to intensive timber production is a ubiquitous conservation issue across temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. Retention forestry, the retention of deadwood and old-growth features within production forest, is one management strategy that has been implemented in various countries around the world to conserve a wide range of taxa within managed forests. The success and ecological implications of retention forestry are currently subject to intensive investigation and while some taxa like birds and insects have already been studied frequently, larger mammals have obtained less attention. Pine martens are one of the few larger mammals in central Europe preferring older forest and potentially profiting directly from deadwood retention as a consequence of implemented retention forestry. The goal of our study was to assess the response of European marten species to deadwood retention in montane mixed forests. Using marten detection rates from camera traps on 135 research plots we assessed the response of martens to deadwood on three different spatial scales using generalized linear mixed models. We found no effect of lying deadwood on marten detections on the plot scale (one-hectare) or in a ten-meter radius around the camera traps. However, we found a significant increase in marten detections if logs (>10 cm) were directly in front and in view of the camera trap. Our results show that deadwood retention as a measure of retention forestry does affect microhabitat use of martens, but not stand selection during the growing season. Logs directly in view of the camera trap increase marten detection rates as martens choose to move and forage along fallen trees when they are available. When using camera trapping to collect data on martens, trap positioning in front of logs can heavily bias trapping results when unaccounted for.

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Data from: Continuous variation in an aposematic pattern affects background contrast, but is not associated with differences in microhabitat use

Variation in aposematic signals was once predicted to be rare, yet in recent years it has become increasingly well-documented. Despite increases in the frequency with which polytypism and polymorphism have been suggested to occur, population-wide variance is rarely quantified. We comprehensively sampled a subpopulation of the poison frog Oophaga sylvatica, a species which is polytypic across its distribution and also shows considerable within-population polymorphism. On one hand, color pattern polymorphism could be the result of multifarious selection acting to balance different signaling functions and leading to the evolution of discrete sub-morphs which occupy different fitness peaks. Alternatively, variance could simply be due to relaxed selection, where variation would be predicted to be continuous. We used visual modeling of conspecific and heterospecific observers to quantify the extent of within-population phenotypic variation and assess whether this variation produced distinct signals. We found that, despite considerable color pattern variation, variance could not be partitioned into distinct groups, but rather all viewers would be likely to perceive variation as continuous. Similarly, we found no evidence that frog color pattern contrast was either enhanced or diminished in the frogs' chosen microhabitats compared to alternative patches in which conspecifics were observed. Within population phenotypic variance therefore does not seem to be indicative of strong selection towards multiple signaling strategies, but rather pattern divergence has likely arisen due to weak purifying selection, or neutral processes, on a signal that is highly salient to both conspecifics and predators.

opencc-by-nc-4.0Aug 2021View details →

Figure 3 in Living in a cold tropical mountain: do the microhabitat use and activity pattern change with elevation in the high-Andean lizard Stenocercus trachycephalus (Squamata: Tropiduridae)?

Figure 3. Activity patterns density curve along the three localities. Guanentá in dark gray, Las Moyas in light gray and La Chacua in gray.

opencc-by-nc-4.0Aug 2021View details →

Figure 1 in Living in a cold tropical mountain: do the microhabitat use and activity pattern change with elevation in the high-Andean lizard Stenocercus trachycephalus (Squamata: Tropiduridae)?

Figure 1. Study locations in the Andes eastern mountain range. (A) Guanentá, 3,750-3,950 m; (B) Las Moyas Páramo, 3,200 m; (C) La Chacua, 2,670 m.

Figure 4 in Use of microhabitats affects butterfly assemblages in a rural landscape

Figure 4. Results of integrated coverage-based rarefaction-extrapolation (Chao & Jost, 2012) of butterfly richness between 18 sampled points in a rural landscape in Southern Brazil (confidence interval = 95%). Continuous lines (rarefaction), dotted lines (extrapolation).

Figure 5 in Use of microhabitats affects butterfly assemblages in a rural landscape

Figure 5. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), plots representing butterfly assemblages composition measured in distinct types of microhabitats (abandoned edge, road edge, farmland edge and forest interior) in a rural landscape in Southern Brazil. a) Including forest interior sampled sites (Stress = 0.11); b) Excluding forest interior sampled sites (Stress = 0.14). Forest interior butterfly communities are distinct from all edge communities, but all edge habitats support similar butterfly communities despite microhabitat differences (even when interior samples are removed from the data analysis).

Figure 3 in Use of microhabitats affects butterfly assemblages in a rural landscape

Figure 3. Results of integrated coverage-based rarefaction-extrapolation (Chao & Jost, 2012) of butterfly richness between microhabitat types in a rural landscape in Southern Brazil (confidence interval = 95%). Continuous lines (rarefaction), dotted lines (extrapolation).

Figure 2 in Use of microhabitats affects butterfly assemblages in a rural landscape

Figure 2. Characterization of the sampled microhabitats in a rural landscape in Southern Brazil. (a, b) forest interior; (c, d) abandoned edge; (e, f) farmland edge; (g, h) road edge.

Figure 1 in Use of microhabitats affects butterfly assemblages in a rural landscape

Figure 1. Location of the study area in the Joaçaba Municipality, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. (a) Fragments sampled; (b-c) Distribution of collection points of A, B and C fragments.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2011View details →

Fig. 1 in Microhabitat use by Phalloceros harpagos Lucinda (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae) from a coastal stream from Southeast Brazil

Fig. 1. Mato Grosso fluvial system with indication of the sample site (grey square).