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Data from: Interaction rewiring and the rapid turnover of plant-pollinator networks
Whether species interactions are static or change over time has wide-reaching ecological and evolutionary consequences. However, species interaction networks are typically constructed from temporally aggregated interaction data, thereby implicitly assuming that interactions are fixed. This approach has advanced our understanding of communities, but it obscures the timescale at which interactions form (or dissolve) and the drivers and consequences of such dynamics. We address this knowledge gap by quantifying the within-season turnover of plant–pollinator interactions from weekly censuses across 3 years in a subalpine ecosystem. Week-to-week turnover of interactions (1) was high, (2) followed a consistent seasonal progression in all years of study and (3) was dominated by interaction rewiring (the reassembly of interactions among species). Simulation models revealed that species' phenologies and relative abundances constrained both total interaction turnover and rewiring. Our findings reveal the diversity of species interactions that may be missed when the temporal dynamics of networks are ignored.
Data from: Acceleration or deceleration of litter decomposition by herbivory depends on nutrient availability through intraspecific differences in induced plant resistance traits
1. Herbivores often induce changes in plant defensive chemistry or nutrient content that may respectively inhibit or promote microbial decomposition of senesced litter. Often the directional impact of herbivores on decomposition is considered to be a property of a species or ecosystem. While rarely explored, intraspecific plasticity in the induction of defensive strategies across environmental gradients may also result in divergent impacts of herbivores on decomposition (deceleration vs. acceleration). 2. Here, we examined how soil nutrient conditions determine after-life effects of herbivory, using nine goldenrod (Solidago altissima) genotypes grown across four levels of nutrient supply and with or without grasshopper herbivory. In this species, herbivory induces defensive traits in genotypes grown in high soil nutrient conditions but induces tolerance (compensatory growth) in low nutrient conditions. We combined senesced litter from each treatment with a common soil inoculum in experimental microcosms and measured soil respiration and litter mass loss over 100 days as estimates of decomposition. 3. Plant genotype, nutrient environment, and herbivory all had significant effects on decomposition. The legacy effect of herbivory overwhelmed the positive effects of high soil nutrient supply on decomposition. This significant herbivory nutrient environment interaction meant that herbivore-induced plants grown in high nutrient environments produced litter that was more resistant to microbial breakdown than litter from the same genotype not exposed to herbivory. But the opposite occurred at low nutrient levels where litter from herbivore-induced plants was most readily decomposed. Further we mechanistically tie nutrient and herbivory legacy treatments to decomposition rates through predictable changes in leaf trait expression. Lastly, we demonstrate a significant correlation among herbivore growth rates on the living tissue and decomposition efficiencies by the microbial community of the senesced tissue, suggesting that herbivores and microbes perceive the "quality" of the induced substrate similarly. 4. Synthesis: Herbivore-induced changes in leaf palatability and trait expression due to defense induction or compensatory growth can cascade through to either promote or inhibit the decomposability of leaf litter within a single species. These findings offer mechanistic understanding of how spatial heterogeneity in ecosystem process rates can be generated by spatial variation in herbivory and nutrient availability.
Data from: Sensitivity to AMF species is greater in late-successional than early-successional native or non-native grassland plants
Sensitivity of plant species to individual arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal species is of primary importance to understanding the role of AM fungal diversity and composition in plant ecology. Currently, we do not have a predictive framework for understanding which plant species are sensitive to different AM fungal species. In two greenhouse studies, we tested for differences in plant sensitivity to different AM fungal species and mycorrhizal responsiveness across 17 grassland plant species of North America that varied in successional stage, native status, and plant family by growing plants with different AM fungal treatments including eight single AM fungal isolates, diverse mixtures of AM fungi, and non-inoculated controls. We found that late successional grassland plant species were highly responsive to AM fungi and exhibited stronger sensitivity in their response to individual AM fungal taxa compared to non-native or early successional native grassland plant species. We confirmed these results using a meta-analysis that included 13 experiments, 37 plant species, and 40 fungal isolates (from nine publications and two greenhouse experiments presented herein). Mycorrhizal responsiveness and sensitivity of response (i.e., variation in plant biomass response to different AM fungal taxa) did not differ by the source of fungal inocula (i.e., local or not local) or plant family. Sensitivity of plant response to AM fungal species was consistently correlated with the average mycorrhizal response of that plant species. This study identifies that AM fungal identity is more important to the growth of late successional plant species than early successional or non-native plant species, thereby predicting that AM fungal composition will be more important to plant community dynamics in late successional communities than in early successional or invaded plant communities.
Data from: Plant-soil feedback contributes to predicting plant invasiveness of 68 alien plant species differing in invasive status
<p>Understanding what species characteristics allow some alien plants to become invasive while others fail is critical to our understanding of community assembly processes. While many characteristics have been shown to predict plant invasiveness, the importance of plant-soil feedback (PSF) in invasions has been difficult to assess since individual studies include only a few species and use disparate methodology. We studied PSF of 68 invasive and non-invasive alien species in a single two-phase common garden experiment, and compared the relative importance of PSF, residence time, phylogenetic novelty and plant traits for plant invasiveness. Additionally, we explored relationships between PSF, residence time and phylogenetic novelty. PSF for seedling establishment, but not for biomass, was a significant predictor of invasive status, with invasive species having more positive PSF than non-invasive species. Its explanatory power was, however, much lower than that of specific leaf area, height, and residence time. Phylogenetically novel species experienced less negative PSF than species with native congeners, suggesting they benefit more from enemy release. PSF of non-invasive species, contrary to that of invasive species, was becoming more negative with increasing residence time. We demonstrated that PSF for seedling establishment plays a role in predicting plant invasiveness and is a better predictor than more commonly studied PSF for plant biomass. Other species traits, such as specific leaf area, however, predict plant invasiveness much better than the PSF.</p>
Data from: Testing genotypic variation of an invasive plant species in response to soil disturbance and herbivory
Herbivores, competitors, and predators can inhibit biological invasions ("biotic resistance" sensu Elton 1959), while disturbance typically promotes biological invasions. Although biotic resistance and disturbance are often considered separately in the invasion literature, these two forces may be linked. One mechanism by which disturbance may facilitate biological invasions is by decreasing the effectiveness of biotic resistance. The effects of both disturbance and biotic resistance may vary across invading genotypes, and genetic variation in the invasive propagule pool may increase the likelihood that some genotypes can overcome biotic resistance or take greater advantage of disturbance. We conducted an experimental field trial in which we manipulated soil disturbance (thatch removal and loosening soil) and the presence of insect herbivores and examined their effects on the invasion success of 44 Medicago polymorpha genotypes. As expected, insecticide reduced leaf damage and increased Medicago fecundity, suggesting that insect herbivores in this system provide some biotic resistance. Soil disturbance increased Medicago fecundity, but did not alter the effectiveness of biotic resistance by insect herbivores. We found significant genetic variation in Medicago in response to disturbance, but not in response to insect herbivores. These results suggest that the ability of Medicago to invade particular habitats depends on the amount of insect herbivory, the history of disturbance in the habitat, and how the specific genotypes in the invader pool respond to these factors.
Data from: Predatory lizards perceive plant-derived volatile odorants
Many lizards are olfactory foragers and prey upon herbivorous arthropods, yet their responses to common herbivore‐associated plant volatiles remain unknown. As such, their role in mediating plant indirect defenses also remains largely obscured. In this paper, we use a cotton‐swab odor presentation assay to ask whether lizards respond to two arthropod‐associated plant‐derived volatile compounds: 2‐(E)‐hexenal and hexanoic acid. We studied the response of two lizard species, Sceloporus virgatusand Aspidoscelis exsanguis, because they differ substantially in their foraging behavior. We found that the actively foraging A. exsanguisresponded strongly to hexanoic acid, whereas the ambush foraging S. virgatus responded to 2‐(E)‐hexenal—an herbivore‐associated plant volatile involved in indirect defense against herbivores. These findings indicate that S. virgatus may contribute to plant indirect defense and that a species' response to specific odorants is linked with foraging mode. Future studies can elucidate how lizards use various compounds to locate prey and how these responses impact plant‐herbivore interactions.
Data from: Ecosystem context illuminates conflicting roles of plant diversity in carbon storage
Plant diversity can increase biomass production in plot‐scale studies, but applying these results to ecosystem carbon (C) storage at larger spatial and temporal scales remains problematic. Other ecosystem controls interact with diversity and plant production, and may influence soil pools differently from plant pools. We integrated diversity with the state‐factor framework, which identifies key controls, or 'state factors', over ecosystem properties and services such as C storage. We used this framework to assess the effects of diversity, plant traits and state factors (climate, topography, time) on live tree, standing dead, organic horizon and total C in Québec forests. Four patterns emerged: (1) while state factors were usually the most important model predictors, models with both state and biotic factors (mean plant traits and diversity) better predicted C pools; (2) mean plant traits were better predictors than diversity; (3) diversity increased live tree C but reduced organic horizon C; (4) different C pools responded to different traits and diversity metrics. These results suggest that, where ecosystem properties result from multiple processes, no simple relationship may exist with any one organismal factor. Integrating biodiversity into ecosystem ecology and assessing both traits and diversity improves our mechanistic understanding of biotic effects on ecosystems.
Soil inoculation alters leaf metabolic profiles in genetically identical plants
<p> Abiotic and biotic properties of soil can influence growth and chemical composition of plants. Although it is well-known that soil microbial composition can vary greatly spatially, how this variation affects plant chemical composition is poorly understood. We grew genetically identical <em>Jacobaea vulgaris</em> in sterilized soil inoculated with live soil collected from four natural grasslands and in 100% sterilized soil. Within each grassland we sampled eight plots, totalling 32 different inocula. Two samples per plot were collected, leading to three levels of spatial variation: within plot, between and within grasslands. The leaf metabolome was analysed with <sup>1</sup>H Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to investigate if inoculation altered the metabolome of plants and how this varied between and within grasslands. Inoculation led to changes in metabolomics profiles of J. vulgaris in two out of four sites. Plants grown in sterilized and inoculated soils differed in concentrations of malic acid, tyrosine, trehalose and two pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). Metabolomes of plants grown in inoculated soils from different sites varied in glucose, malic acid, trehalose, tyrosine and in one PA. The metabolome of plants grown in soils with inocula from the same site was more similar than with inocula from distant sites. We show that soil influences leaf metabolomes. Performance of aboveground insects often depends on chemical composition of plants. Hence our results imply that soil microbial communities, via affecting aboveground plant metabolomes, can impact aboveground plant-insect food chains but that it is difficult to make general predictions due to spatial variation in soil microbiomes.</p> <div> <div> <div class="msocomtxt"> </div> </div> </div>
Data from: Herbivory and climate as drivers of woody plant growth: Do deer decrease the impacts of warming?
<p>Vegetation at ecotone transitions between open and forested areas is often heavily affected by two key processes: climate change and management of large herbivore densities. These both drive woody plant state-shifts, determining the location and the nature of the limit between open and tree or shrub-dominated landscapes. In order to adapt management to prevailing and future climate, we need to understand how browsing and climatic factors together affect the growth of plants at biome borders. To disentangle herbivory and climate effects, we combined long-term tree growth monitoring and dendroecology to investigate woody plant growth under different temperatures and red deer (<i>Cervus elaphus</i>) herbivory pressures at forest-moorland ecotones in the Scottish highlands. Reforestation and deer densities are core and conflicting management concerns in the area, and there is an urgent need for additional knowledge. We found that deer herbivory and climate had significant and interactive effects on tree growth: in the presence of red deer, pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>) growth responded more strongly to annual temperature than in the absence of deer, possibly reflecting differing plant-plant competition and facilitation conditions. As expected, pine growth was negatively related to deer density and positively to temperature. However, at the tree population level, warming decreased growth when more than 60% of shoots were browsed. Heather (<i>Calluna vulgaris</i>) growth was negatively related to temperature and the direction of the response to deer switched from negative to positive when mean annual temperatures fell below 6.0°C. In addition, our models allow estimates to be made of how woody plant growth responds under specific combinations of temperature and herbivory, and show how deer management can be adapted to predicted climatic changes in order to more effectively achieve reforestation goals. Our results support the hypothesis that temperature and herbivory have interactive effects on woody plant growth, and thus accounting for just one of these two factors is insufficient for understanding plant growth mechanics at biome transitions. Furthermore, we show that climate-driven woody plant growth increases can be negated by herbivory.</p>
Data from: Insect pollinators show constancy for different flower traits between the most‐ and less‐preferred plants: a case study of the long‐proboscid tangle‐veined fly
<p>1. The coevolution of insect pollinators and their host plants is a typical example of natural selection; however, it remains unclear as to how insect pollinators avoid overdependence on one peculiar plant. As most insect pollinators exhibit a diet breadth when showing flower constancy, to determine the difference and similarity of most and less-preferred flowers by insect pollinators may be helpful to understand their trade-off between flower constancy and overdependence.</p> <p>2. We addressed this question in the long-proboscid tangle-veined fly (<i>Nemetrinus spp.</i>). Dietary investigation indicates that the flies show constancy for the morphological characteristic of the <i>Delphinium caeruleum</i>, which is the most preferred plant for this Nemestrinidae fly that has blue, long-tubed flowers.</p> <p>3. In a colour selection experiment, focal individuals showed obvious preference for white, which is the colour of less-preferred flowers by the fly in the natural environment. In a scent selection experiment, focal individuals showed obvious preference for <i>D. caeruleum </i>and <i>Dracocephalum heterophyllum</i>, but avoidance to <i>Dasiphora</i><i> fruticosa</i> and <i>Dasiphora davurica</i>. This indicates that long-proboscid tangle-veined flies can forage on other flowers, even the existing of constancy for <i>D. caeruleum</i>, as long as they do not hate the scent. It seems that long-proboscid tangle-veined flies can maximize foraging efficiency by showing constancy for the morphological characteristic of the most preferred plant and for the scent and colour of less-preferred plants.</p> <p>4. The tradeoff of long-proboscid tangle-veined fly in selection of nectar sources may be an adaptation to the risk of overdependence on one plant in evolution.</p>
Data from: Contrasting per-gram competitive and soil resource effects in grasses and woody plants
1. Plant species differ in their competitive effects by decreasing resource availability via uptake, but in some cases may increase resource availability via non-uptake pathways. Here we explore differences between grasses and woody plants in their competitive effects, and relate these to differences in resource effects. 2. We grew five species each of grasses and woody plants in monocultures for eight years. In the final two growing seasons, competitive effects were measured by growing transplants in all monocultures and in plots without neighbours. 3. Total competitive effects were significantly greater for woody plants than grasses. In contrast, the competitive effect per gram of grasses was about 17 times greater than that of woody plants. 4. For grasses, soil water and soil available N decreased significantly with increasing biomass. In contrast, for woody plants, soil water and soil available N increased significantly with increasing biomass. The results suggest that the intense per-gram competitive effects in grasses is related to the uptake of soil resources, and that the significantly lower per-gram competitive effects of woody plants may be related to their positive effects on soil resources. 5. Synthesis. The results link differences in competitive effects between grasses and woody plants to differences in the direction of their effects on soil resources. These differences may contribute to the entrainment of negative feedback in grasslands, excluding trees by means of strong competition, and the entrainment of positive feedback beneath woody plants establishing in grasslands, resulting in a state change from grassland to woody vegetation.
Parasitoids of leaf herbivores enhance plant fitness and do not alter caterpillar-induced resistance against seed beetles
<p>1. Organisms of the third trophic level can indirectly interact with plants. However, whether parasitoids of herbivores have a positive effect on plant fitness has been controversial. In addition to possible effects on plant fitness, parasitoid-mitigated herbivory can modify plant physiological responses and thereby alter the plant-mediated indirect interactions between different herbivore species. These types of indirect multitrophic interactions remain largely unexplored. Thus, to understand the full effect of the third trophic level on plants, it is necessary to consider the context of the community of interacting species, both herbivores and their enemies.</p> <p>2. Here, we investigated if parasitoids of leaf-feeding caterpillars affect plant fitness (seed quantity and quality) and the consequences for seed-dwelling insects at the second and third trophic levels through plant mediated effects. To test this, we exposed lima bean plants (<i>Phaseolus lunatus</i>), under controlled field conditions, to unparasitized caterpillars (<i>Spodoptera latifascia</i>) or caterpillars that were parasitized by the parasitoid species <i>Cotesia marginiventris</i>. Later in the season, we measured seed production and infestation by seed beetles and their parasitoids.</p> <p>3. We found that parasitoids significantly reduced the leaf damage inflicted by the caterpillars, such that the plants suffered no loss in seed production. Yet, parasitoids had no effect on the emergence of seed beetles (<i>Zabrotes subfasciatus</i> and <i>Acanthoscelides obtectus</i>), which was equally reduced in plants attacked by unparasitized and by parasitized caterpillars. Seeds from undamaged plants were significantly more attacked by <i>Z. subfasciatus</i> beetles. Parasitism rates of seed beetle larvae were similar for all treatments.</p> <p>4. Although parasitized caterpillars did not damage the plants enough to reduce seed production (unlike unparasitized caterpillars), the damage they inflicted induced resistance against other herbivores. Taken together, these results reveal how parasitoids can indirectly enhance plant fitness in the context of the local ecological networks. These findings have significant implications for natural and agricultural systems since they reveal that the indirect interaction between plants and parasitoids can be beneficial in communities with multiple herbivore species.</p>
Data from: Disentangling evolutionary, environmental and morphological drivers of plant anatomical adaptations to drought and cold in Himalayan graminoids
Understanding what determine plants ability to survive drought and cold is crucial for predicting how plants may respond to ongoing climate change. Plant survival strategies are usually characterized by morphological and physiological adaptations, while their underlying anatomical settings are largely unknown. Woody angiosperms and herbaceous dicots have repeatedly evolved small water transporting conduits and large storage parenchyma tissues at colder or drier places to cope with freezing- and drought-induced damages. However, whether these adaptations are also valid for graminoids remains unclear. Here we show that stem anatomical variations in grasses, sedges and rushes dominating in western Himalayan grasslands are driven by elevation and soil moisture via control over aboveground plant stature and belowground clonal growth, while phylogenetic constraints have only a weak effect. Phylogenetic comparative analyses controlling for confounding factors showed that the elevation-related cooling controls the conductive system through reduced vessel diameter and extended assimilatory and storage tissues with more chlorenchyma and less sclerenchyma around vessels. The soil moisture deficit, on the other hand, determines stabilization structures by promoting short-rhizomatous turf graminoids with hollow stems, thicker epidermis and deep adventitious roots in dry steppes and semi-deserts. Saline wetlands and moist alpine pastures promote long-rhizomatous short-stature plants with lower need for mechanical support (absence of hollow stem) and exposure to high evaporative forcing (thinner epidermis). Observed trends of decreasing vessel sizes and lignification rate with elevation supports the existing knowledge that narrower vessels and extensive parenchyma assist plants to grow in cold environments by avoiding freezing-induced cavitation. Our results bring novel information on ecological drivers influencing the evolution of anatomical adaptations in high mountain graminoids. Distinct grassland types, covering elevations from 2650 to 6150 m, harbor unrelated species with different evolutionary histories that have converged towards similar anatomical structures.
Bottom-up when it is not top-down: Predators and plants control biomass of grassland arthropods
1) We investigate where bottom-up and top-down control regulates ecological communities as a mechanism linking ecological gradients to the geography of consumer abundance and biomass. We use standardized surveys of 54 North American grasslands to test alternate hypotheses predicting 100-fold shifts in the biomass of four common grassland arthropod taxa—Auchenorrhyncha, sucking herbivores, Acrididae, chewing herbivores, Tettigoniidae, omnivores, and Araneae, predators. 2) Bottom-up models predict that consumer biomass tracks plant quantity (e.g. productivity and standing biomass) and quality (nutrient content) and that ectotherm access to food increases with temperature. Each of the focal trophic groups responded differently to these drivers: the biomass of sucking herbivores and omnivores increased with plant biomass; that of chewing herbivores tracked plant quality; and predator biomass did not depend on plant quality, plant quantity, or temperature. 3) The exploitation ecosystem hypothesis (EEH) is a top-down hypothesis that predicts a shift from resource limitation of herbivores when plant production is low, to predator limitation when plant production is high. In grasslands where spider biomass was low, herbivore biomass increased with plant biomass, whereas bottom-up structuring was not evident when spiders were abundant. Furthermore, neither predator biomass nor trophic position (via stable isotope analysis) increased with plant biomass, suggesting predators themselves are top-down limited. 4) Stable isotope analysis revealed that trophic position of the chewing herbivore and omnivore increased significantly with plant biomass, suggesting these groups increased scavenging and meat consumption in grasslands with higher carbohydrate availability. 5) Taken together, our snapshot sampling documents gradients of food web structure across 54 grasslands, consistent with multiple hypotheses of bottom-up and top-down regulation. 10-Jan-2020
Data from: Plasticity of plant defense and its evolutionary implications in wild populations of Boechera stricta
Phenotypic plasticity is thought to impact evolutionary trajectories by shifting trait values in a direction that is either favored by natural selection ("adaptive plasticity") or disfavored ("nonadaptive" plasticity). However, it is unclear how commonly each of these types of plasticity occurs in natural populations. To answer this question, we measured glucosinolate defensive chemistry and reproductive fitness in over 1,500 individuals of the wild perennial mustard Boechera stricta, planted in four common gardens across central Idaho, USA. Glucosinolate profiles—including total glucosinolate concentration as well as the relative abundances and overall diversity of different compounds—were strongly plastic both among habitats and within habitats. Patterns of glucosinolate plasticity varied greatly among genotypes. Plasticity among sites was predicted to affect fitness in 27.1% of cases; more often than expected by chance, glucosinolate plasticity increased rather than decreased relative fitness. In contrast, we found no evidence for within-habitat selection on glucosinolate reaction norm slopes (i.e., plasticity along a continuous environmental gradient). Together, our results indicate that glucosinolate plasticity may improve the ability of B. stricta populations to persist after migration to new habitats.
Data from: Herbivores and plant defenses affect selection on plant reproductive traits more strongly than pollinators
Pollinators and herbivores can both affect the evolutionary diversification of plant reproductive traits. However, plant defenses frequently alter antagonistic and mutualistic interactions and therefore variation in plant defenses may alter patterns of herbivore- and pollinator-mediated selection on plant traits. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a common garden field experiment using 50 clonal genotypes of white clover (Trifolium repens) that varied in a Mendelian inherited chemical antiherbivore defense—the production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN). To evaluate whether plant defenses alter herbivore- and/or pollinator-mediated selection, we factorially crossed chemical defense (25 cyanogenic and 25 acyanogenic genotypes), herbivore damage (herbivore suppression) and pollination (hand-pollination). We found that herbivores weakened selection for increased inflorescence production, suggesting that large displays are costly in the presence of herbivores. In addition, herbivores weakened selection on flower size but only among acyanogenic plants, suggesting that plant defenses reduce the strength of herbivore-mediated selection. Pollinators did not independently affect selection on any trait, although pollinators weakened selection for later flowering among cyanogenic plants. Overall, cyanogenic plant defenses consistently increased the strength of positive directional selection on reproductive traits. Herbivores and pollinators both strengthened and weakened the strength of selection on reproductive traits, although herbivores imposed ~2.7× stronger selection than pollinators across all traits. Contrary to the view that pollinators are the most important agents of selection on reproductive traits, our data show that selection on reproductive traits is driven primarily by variation in herbivory and plant defenses in this system.
Data from: Direct effects of a non-native invader erode native plant fitness in the forest understory
1. The direct role of non-native plant invaders in driving negative population- and community-level processes of native species has been recently questioned. Addressing this controversy requires determining quantitatively if invaders negatively affect native population fitness. Because the invasion of non-natives often coincides with other anthropogenic stressors, experiments that partition the putative impact of non-natives from other known stressors and assess their potential synergies are required. While many studies have examined the effects of non-natives on components of native plant performance, studies that decompose the net fitness effects of non-natives from other anthropogenic stressors on population growth rate are lacking. 2. We used six years of detailed demographic data to parameterize a size-dependent integral projection model to examine the individual and combined effects of an allelochemical-producing invader (Alliaria petiolata) and an overabundant ungulate herbivore (Odocoileus virginianus) on the population dynamics of an understory perennial (Trillium erectum). 3. We show that Alliaria consistently and negatively affects the population dynamics of Trillium. Specifically, this invader reduces native population growth rate and alters the size distribution of the population at equilibrium. Alliaria also works in concert with the known negative impacts of overabundant white-tailed deer, illustrating the additive effects of anthropogenic stressors on native plant dynamics. 4. Synthesis. Alliaria's effects on vital rates differed in magnitude and sign across the native's lifecycle, highlighting the importance of detailed demographic analyses. Globally, our study provides novel empirical support for the claim that non-native invasive species can significantly and directly reduce the fitness of native plants.
Data from: Plant demographic and functional responses to management intensification: a long-term study in a Mediterranean rangeland
1. Understanding how functional traits, which are key for plant functioning, relate to demographic parameters of populations is central to tackle pending issues in plant ecology such as the forecast of the fate of populations and communities in a changing world, the quantification of community assembly processes or the improvement of species distribution models. We addressed this question in the case of species from a Mediterranean rangeland of southern France. 2. Changes in species abundance in response to management intensification (fertilization and increased grazing pressure) were followed over a 28-year period. Probabilities of presence, and elasticities of the changes in the probability of space occupancy to colonization and survival, which are analogues of demographic parameters, were calculated for 53 species from the time series of abundance data using a space occupancy model. Nine quantitative traits pertaining to resource use, plant morphology, regeneration and phenology were measured on these species and related to demographic parameters. 3. The long-term dynamics of species in response to management intensification was associated with major changes in functional traits and strategies. Changes in the probability of occurrence – analogous to population growth rate - were correlated with traits describing the fast-slow continuum of leaf functioning. The elasticity of population growth rate to colonization was significantly related to reproductive plant height and seed mass, and to a lower extent, to leaf carbon isotopic ratio. 4. Synthesis. The functional response of species to management intensification corresponds to a shift along the second axis of a recently identified global spectrum of plant form and function, which maps, to some extent, onto the fast-slow continuum of life-history strategies. By contrast, the elasticity of colonization relates to the global spectrum axis capturing the size of organs. Seed mass contributes to this axis and is assumed to relate to one of the important traits structuring the reproductive strategy axis of life histories as well, namely net reproductive rate. While this mapping between functional and life-history traits is appealing, further tests in contrasting types of communities are required to assess its degree of generality.
Dryness, wetness and temporary flooding reduce floral resources of plant communities with adverse consequences for pollinator attraction
1. Climate change alters precipitation regimes worldwide and is regarded as a major threat for pollinators and pollination services. Yet, not much is known on how wetter as well as drier conditions affect food resources for pollinators and pollinator attraction in a multi-species community context. It is unclear how community shifts under changed hydrological conditions might affect pollinators. 2. This mesocosm study addresses existing research gaps by investigating effects of drought, wetness and temporary flooding on floral resources and pollinator attraction within a plant community, initially including nine insect- and six wind-pollinated species. Floral resources were assessed over three growing seasons monitoring community descriptors (percentage of herbs and herbaceous species richness, presence of flowering insect-pollinated individuals), floral traits (flower height, size and weight, floral sugar content of one key species) and proxies for plant fitness (pollinator attraction, seed and flower weight of one key species). 3. Wetness and especially dryness decreased the species richness and biomass proportion of insect-pollinated herbaceous species and flowering herbaceous plant individuals occurred less frequently. Permanent wetness decreased the floral sugar content of the key species Trifolium pratense. Consequently, wet, temporary flooded and especially dry communities were visited by pollinators less often, and active pollinators spent less time within wet and flooded communities, while not at all visiting dry communities. Seed and flower weight of the obligate xenogamous T. pratense in flooded and dry communities was decreased, indicating negative consequences for plant fitness caused by a lack of pollination. 4. Synthesis: While dryness had negative effects for floral resources when looking at both, community descriptors and floral traits, negative effects of wetness and temporary flooding were mostly caused by a decrease of insect-pollinated herbaceous species. The study thus indicates that shifts in plant community composition are decisive for a predictive understanding of plant-pollinator interactions under environmental change, but have been neglected in past research. Changing precipitation patterns will adversely affect floral resources and pollinator attraction in agriculturally used temperate grassland, which might have widespread negative consequences for pollination services and food security in coming decades.
Data from: Effects of arthropod inquilines on growth and reproductive effort among metacommunities of the purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea var. montana)
<p>Many plant species harbor communities of symbionts that release nutrients used by their host plants. However, the importance of these nutrients to plant growth and reproductive effort is not well understood. Here, we evaluate the relationship between the communities that colonize pitcher plant phytotelmata and the pitcher plants' vegetative growth and flower production to better understand the symbiotic role played by phytotelma communities. We focus on the mountain variety purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea var. montana), which occurs in small and isolated populations in Western North Carolina. We found that greater symbiont community diversity is associated with higher flower production the following season. We then examined geographic variation in communities and found that smaller plant populations supported less diverse symbiont communities. We relate our observations to patterns of community diversity predicted by community ecology theory.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.