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3,583 results for “elevations”
Data from: Elevated temperature and acclimation time affect metabolic performance in the heavily exploited Nile perch of Lake Victoria
Increasing water temperatures due to anthropogenic climate change are predicted to negatively impact the aerobic metabolic performance of aquatic ectotherms. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that thermal increases result in reductions in aerobic scope (AS), which lead to decreases in energy available for essential fitness and performance functions. Consequences of warming are anticipated to be especially severe for warm-adapted tropical species as they are thought to have narrow thermal windows and limited plasticity for coping with elevated temperatures. In this study we test how predicted warming may affect the aerobic performance of Nile perch (Lates niloticus), a commercially-harvested fish species in the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa. We measured critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and key metabolic variables such as AS and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) across a range of temperatures, and compared responses between acute (3-day) exposures and 3-week acclimations. CTmax increased with acclimation temperature, however 3-week acclimated fish had higher overall CTmax than acutely-exposed individuals. Nile perch also showed the capacity to increase or maintain high AS even at temperatures well beyond their current range, however acclimated Nile perch had lower AS compared to acutely-exposed fish. These changes were accompanied by lower EPOC, suggesting that drops in AS may reflect improved energy utilization after acclimation, a finding that is supported by improvements in growth at high temperatures over the acclimation period. Overall, the results challenge predictions that tropical species have limited thermal plasticity, and that high temperatures will be detrimental due to limitations in AS.
Data from: Multi-trophic guilds respond differently to changing elevation in a subtropical forest
Negative relationships between species richness and elevation are common and attributed to changes in single environmental properties associated to elevation, such as temperature and habitat area. However, research has lacked taxonomic breadth and comprehensive elevation studies that consider multiple groups from different trophic levels are rare. We thus analysed 24 groups of plants, arthropods, and microorganisms grouped into six trophic guilds (predators, detritivores, herbivores, plants, bacteria and fungi) along a relatively short elevational gradient (~600 m) in a subtropical forest in south-east China. The total species richness of all organisms was not related to elevation, nor was the richness of plants, herbivores or microorganisms. However, species richness and abundance in two major trophic guilds of arthropods changed with elevation, which was mediated by changes in elevation-associated habitat properties. Specifically, deadwood mass increased with elevation, which increased detritivore richness indirectly via detritivore abundance, thus supporting the 'more individuals hypothesis'. In contrast, lower predator richness at higher elevations was directly related to lower mean temperatures, which had no effect on abundance. Our study demonstrates that even along relatively short gradients, elevation can have strong direct and abundance-mediated effects on species richness, but with effects varying from positive to negative signs depending on local resource availability and the characteristics of groups or trophic guilds. If elevation positively influences local environmental properties that benefit a given group, richness can increase towards higher elevations. Thus, the effect of global change in mountainous regions should be evaluated within the local environmental context using multi-taxon approaches.
Data from: Adaptation of diploid and tetraploid Chamerion angustifolium to elevation but not local environment
Polyploid organisms often have different geographic ranges than their diploid relatives. However, it is unclear whether this divergence is maintained by adaptation or results from historical differences in colonization. Here we conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment with diploid and autotetraploid Chamerion angustifolium to test for adaptation at the ploidy and population level. In the Rocky Mountains, pure diploid populations occur at high elevations and pure autotetraploid populations occur at low elevations with mixed-ploidy populations between. We planted 3134 seedlings in 2004 and 3890 juveniles (bolting) in 2005 among nine plots, three in each of the diploid, mixed-ploidy and tetraploid zones, and monitored survival until 2008. For both seedlings and juvenile plants, elevation significantly influenced survival. The juvenile plants also showed a significant ploidy by elevation interaction, indicating that diploids and tetraploids survived best at their native elevations. In contrast, we found no evidence of local adaptation to plot within elevation. This suggests that the current distribution of diploids and tetraploids across elevations is the result of adaptation and that genome duplication may have facilitated the invasion of lower elevation habitats by limiting the movement of maladapted alleles from diploid populations at higher elevations.
Elevational contrast in predation and parasitism risk to caterpillars in a tropical rainforest
<p>Invertebrate predators and parasitoids are among the most important natural enemies of insect herbivores. Yet, the strength of natural enemy pressure along an altitudinal gradient and interactions between groups of natural enemies (such as predation on parasitized prey) are not well known. Various methods are used to reveal mortality factors of herbivores. Predation pressure is usually assessed through exposure of artificial prey. However, this method cannot provide information about the attacks of parasitoids, or their eventual interactions with predators. Further, artificial or dead prey might not attract predators because they do not show expected host behavior, and this method mostly cannot distinguish between predation and scavenging. For the first time in a tropical rainforest, we quantified mortality factors along an altitudinal gradient using exposure of live caterpillars. We exposed a total of 800 live caterpillars of <i>Talanga excelsalis moresbyensis</i> Strand (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on saplings of <i>Ficus copiosa</i> Steud. (Moraceae) at two elevations in primary tropical rain forest in Papua New Guinea (200 and 1 200 m a.s.l.). We exposed the caterpillars in two treatments: exposed to and protected from invertebrate predators and parasitoids. Disappearance of caterpillars was significantly higher in the exposed treatment. Further, caterpillar disappearance was significantly higher in lowlands than in highlands (43 vs. 12%). We consider the vast majority of the disappearance to be due to predation, as migration of the caterpillars from the focal trees was not observed (except one caterpillar). This estimate of invertebrate predation rate corresponds with studies which used artificial caterpillar models. No significant difference in parasitism rate between the two elevations was observed (12 vs. 13%). The combination of the disappearance and parasitism rate patterns means that larval parasitoids face stronger pressure from invertebrate predators through higher predation of their hosts in the lowlands than in the highlands.</p>
Data from: Metabolic traits of westslope cutthroat, introduced rainbow trout and their hybrids in an ecotonal hybrid zone along an elevation gradient
In the Upper Oldman River, Alberta, introduced non-native hatchery rainbow trout hybridize with native westslope cutthroat trout, resulting in a hybrid swarm. Rainbow trout dominate at low elevations (<1250 m) in the river mainstem, cutthroat in high elevation tributaries (>1400 m), and hybrids are numerically dominant in the mid-elevation range. We hypothesized that metabolism of rainbow trout would exceed that of cutthroat trout, and that the elevation gradient in genetic makeup would be mirrored by a gradient in metabolic traits, with intermediate traits in the hybrid dominated ecotone. Metabolic traits were measured and regressed against the genetic makeup of individuals and elevation. Rainbow trout had higher oxygen consumption rates (OCR), higher white muscle lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and citrate synthase (CS) activity, and higher plasma acetylcholinesterase (AchE) than cutthroat trout. Hybrids had intermediate OCR and AchE, but LDH activity as high as rainbow trout. While hybrid zones are usually modeled as a balance between cross species mating and selection against hybrids, ecotonal hybrid zones, where hybrids proliferate in intermediate habitats and have traits that appear well suited to ecotonal conditions, have been proposed for some plants and animals, and may have important implications for resource management and conservation.
Data from: Thermal evolution offsets the elevated toxicity of a contaminant under warming: a resurrection study in Daphnia magna
Synergistic interactions between temperature and contaminants are a major challenge for ecological risk assessment, especially under global warming. While thermal evolution may increase the ability to deal with warming, it is unknown whether it may also affect the ability to deal with the many contaminants that are more toxic at higher temperatures. We investigated how evolution of genetic adaptation to warming affected the interactions between warming and a novel stressor: zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) in a natural population of Daphnia magna using resurrection ecology. We hatched resting eggs from two D. magna subpopulations (old: 1955-1965, recent: 1995-2005) from the sediment of a lake that experienced an increase in average temperature and in recurrence of heat waves but was never exposed to industrial waste. In the old 'ancestral' subpopulation, exposure to a sublethal concentration of nZnO decreased the intrinsic growth rate, metabolic activity and energy reserves at 24°C but not at 20°C, indicating a synergism between warming and nZnO. In contrast, these synergistic effects disappeared in the recent 'derived' subpopulation that evolved a lower sensitivity to nZnO at 24°C, which indicates that thermal evolution could offset the elevated toxicity of nZnO under warming. This evolution of reduced sensitivity to nZnO under warming could not be explained by changes in the total internal zinc accumulation but was partially associated with the evolution of the expression of a key metal detoxification gene under warming. Our results suggest that the increased sensitivity to the sublethal concentration of nZnO under the predicted 4°C warming by the end of this century may be counteracted by thermal evolution in this D. magna population. Our results illustrate the importance of evolution to warming in shaping the responses to another anthropogenic stressor, here a contaminant. More general, genetic adaptation to an environmental stressor may ensure that synergistic effects between contaminants and this environmental stressor will not be present anymore.
Data from: Seasonal patterns in δ2H values of multiple tissues from Andean birds provide insights into elevational migration
Elevational migration is a widespread phenomenon in tropical avifauna but it is difficult to identify using traditional approaches. Hydrogen isotope (δ2H) values of precipitation decrease with elevation so δ2H analysis of multiple bird tissues with different isotopic incorporation rates may be a reliable method for characterizing seasonal elevational migration. Here we compare δ2H values in metabolically inert (feathers and claws) and metabolically active (whole blood) tissues to examine whether an upslope migration occurs prior to the breeding season in the Yungas Manakin (Chiroxiphia boliviana). We compare results from C. boliviana with data from a known elevational migrant, the Streak-necked Flycatcher (Mionectes striaticollis). Opposite to our expectations, tissue δ2H values increased over time, largely reflecting seasonal patterns in precipitation δ2H rather than elevational effects; linear mixed-effects models with strongest support included ordinal date, tissue type and elevation. This seasonal increase in precipitation δ2H is a general phenomenon in both tropical and temperate mountain ranges. We use these data to propose a hypothetical framework that predicts different patterns in tissue δ2H values collected in different seasons from residents and elevational migrants. This framework can serve as a reference for future studies that assess elevational migration in birds and other animals.
Data from: Short-term effects of elevated precipitation and nitrogen on soil fertility and plant growth in a Neotropical savanna
Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition and changing precipitation patterns in Neotropical savannas could alter plant growth, reproduction, and nutrients by altering soil nutrient and water availability. We examined the potential for simulated N deposition and increased dry season precipitation to have interactive effects on reproduction and growth of two abundant native Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) grasses – Loudetiopsis chrysothrix and Tristachya leiostachya – via feedbacks with soil nutrient status. Plant growth and reproduction responses consistently varied by species. Water addition led to more consistent increases in both growth and reproduction than nitrogen addition and the two treatments did have significant interactive effects. We expected that both treatments would affect plant growth and reproduction via positive effects on soil and plant N. Instead, we found that plant responses were linked to species-specific treatment effects on soil and foliar phosphorus (P). Structural equation models (SEM) confirmed that changes in soil P - rather than changes in soil N or increasing soil acidity - explained plant response to treatments. Our results imply that N deposition and precipitation change could impact Cerrado plant growth and reproduction via subtle effects on plant and soil phosphorus.
Data from: Local plant adaptation across a subarctic elevational gradient
Predicting how plants will respond to global warming necessitates understanding of local plant adaptation to temperature. Temperature may exert selective effects on plants directly, and also indirectly through environmental factors that covary with temperature, notably soil properties. However, studies on the interactive effects of temperature and soil properties on plant adaptation are rare, and the role of abiotic versus biotic soil properties in plant adaptation to temperature remains untested. We performed two growth chamber experiments using soils and Bistorta vivipara bulbil ecotypes from a subarctic elevational gradient (temperature range: ±3°C) in northern Sweden to disentangle effects of local ecotype, temperature, and biotic and abiotic properties of soil origin on plant growth. We found partial evidence for local adaption to temperature. Although soil origin affected plant growth, we did not find support for local adaptation to either abiotic or biotic soil properties, and there were no interactive effects of soil origin with ecotype or temperature. Our results indicate that ecotypic variation can be an important driver of plant responses to the direct effects of increasing temperature, while responses to covariation in soil properties are of a phenotypic, rather than adaptive, nature.
Data from: Seed predation increases from the Arctic to the Equator and from high to low elevations
Species interactions have long been predicted to increase in intensity toward the tropics and low elevations because of gradients in climate, productivity, or biodiversity. Despite their importance for understanding global ecological and evolutionary processes, plant-animal interaction gradients are particularly difficult to test systematically across large geographic gradients, and evidence from smaller, disparate studies is inconclusive. By systematically measuring postdispersal seed predation using 6995 standardized seed depots along 18 mountains in the Pacific cordillera, we found that seed predation increases by 17% from the Arctic to the Equator and by 17% from 4000 meters above sea level to sea level. Clines in total predation, likely driven by invertebrates, were consistent across treeline ecotones and within continuous forest and were better explained by climate seasonality than by productivity, biodiversity, or latitude. These results suggest that species interactions play predictably greater ecological and evolutionary roles in tropical, lowland, and other less seasonal ecosystems.
Data from: Elevated pCO2 affects tissue biomass composition, but not calcification, in a reef coral under two light regimes
Ocean acidification (OA) is predicted to reduce reef coral calcification rates and threaten the long-term growth of coral reefs under climate change. Reduced coral growth at elevated pCO2 may be buffered by sufficiently high irradiances; however, the interactive effects of OA and irradiance on other fundamental aspects of coral physiology, such as the composition and energetics of coral biomass, remain largely unexplored. This study tested the effects of two light treatments (7.5 versus 15.7 mol photons m−2 d−1) at ambient or elevated pCO2 (435 versus 957 µatm) on calcification, photopigment and symbiont densities, biomass reserves (lipids, carbohydrates, proteins), and biomass energy content (kJ) of the reef coral Pocillopora acuta from Kāne'ohe Bay, Hawai'i. While pCO2 and light had no effect on either area- or biomass-normalized calcification, tissue lipids gdw−1 and kJ gdw−1 were reduced 15% and 14% at high pCO2, and carbohydrate content increased 15% under high light. The combination of high light and high pCO2 reduced protein biomass (per unit area) by approximately 20%. Thus, under ecologically relevant irradiances, P. acuta in Kāne'ohe Bay does not exhibit OA-driven reductions in calcification reported for other corals; however, reductions in tissue lipids, energy content and protein biomass suggest OA induced an energetic deficit and compensatory catabolism of tissue biomass. The null effects of OA on calcification at two irradiances support a growing body of work concluding some reef corals may be able to employ compensatory physiological mechanisms that maintain present-day levels of calcification under OA. However, negative effects of OA on P. acuta biomass composition and energy content may impact the long-term performance and scope for growth of this species in a high pCO2 world.
Data from: Biomass responses to elevated CO2, soil heterogeneity and diversity: an experimental assessment with grassland assemblages
While it is well-established that the spatial distribution of soil nutrients (soil heterogeneity) influences the competitive ability and survival of individual plants, as well as the productivity of plant communities, there is a paucity of data on how soil heterogeneity and global change drivers interact to affect plant performance and ecosystem functioning. To evaluate the effects of elevated CO2, soil heterogeneity and diversity (species richness and composition) on productivity, patterns of biomass allocation and root foraging precision, we conducted an experiment with grassland assemblages formed by monocultures, two- and three-species mixtures of Lolium perenne, Plantago lanceolata and Holcus lanatus. The experiment lasted for 90 days, and was conducted on microcosms built out of PVC pipe (length 38 cm, internal diameter 10 cm). When nutrients were heterogeneously supplied (in discrete patches), assemblages exhibited precise root foraging patterns, and had higher total, above- and belowground biomass. Greater aboveground biomass was observed under elevated CO2. Species composition affected the below:aboveground biomass ratio and interacted with nutrient heterogeneity to determine belowground and total biomass. Species richness had no significant effects, and did not interact with either CO2 or nutrient heterogeneity. Under elevated CO2 conditions, the two- and three-species mixtures showed a clear trend towards underyielding. Our results show that differences among composition levels were dependent on soil heterogeneity, highlighting its potential role in modulating diversity–productivity relationships.
Data from: Historical reconstruction of climatic and elevation preferences and the evolution of cloud forest-adapted tree ferns in Mesoamerica
Background. Cloud forest, characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover and a fragmented distribution, is one of the most threatened habitats especially in the Neotropics. Tree ferns are among the most conspicuous elements in these forests and ferns are restricted to regions in which minimum temperatures rarely drop below freezing and rainfall is high and evenly distributed around the year. Current phylogeographic data suggest that some of the cloud forest-adapted species remained in situ or expanded to the lowlands during glacial cycles and contracted allopatrically during the interglacials. Although the observed genetic signals of population size changes of cloud forest-adapted species including tree ferns correspond to predicted changes by Pleistocene climate change dynamics, the observed patterns of intraspecific lineage divergence showed temporal incongruence. Methods. Here we combined phylogenetic analyses, ancestral area reconstruction, and divergence time estimates with climatic and altitudinal data (environmental space) for phenotypic traits of tree fern species to make inferences about evolutionary processes in deep time. We used phylogenetic Bayesian inference and geographic and altitudinal distribution of tree ferns to investigate the ancestral area and elevation and environmental preferences of Mesoamerican tree ferns. The phylogeny was then used to estimate divergence times and ask whether the ancestral area and elevation and environmental shifts were linked to climatic events and historical climatic preferences. Results. Bayesian trees retrieved Cyathea, Alsophila, Gymnosphaera and Sphaeropteris in monophyletic clades. Splits for species in these genera found in the Mesoamerican cloud forests are recent, from the Neogene to the Quaternary. Australia was identified as the ancestral area for the clades of these genera, except for Gymnosphaera that was Mesoamerica. Climate tolerance was not divergent from hypothesized ancestors for the four most significant variables or elevation. For elevational shifts we found repeated changes from low to high elevations. Conclusions. Our data suggest that representatives of Cyatheaceae main lineages migrated from Australia to Mesoamerican cloud forests in different times and have persisted in these environmentally unstable areas but extant species diverged recently from their ancestors.
Data from: Thermal tolerance patterns across latitude and elevation
Linking variation in species' traits to large-scale environmental gradients can lend insight into the evolutionary processes that have shaped functional diversity and future responses to environmental change. Here, we ask how heat and cold tolerance vary as a function of latitude, elevation and climate extremes, using an extensive global dataset of ectotherm and endotherm thermal tolerance limits, while accounting for methodological variation in acclimation temperature, ramping rate and duration of exposure among studies. We show that previously reported relationships between thermal limits and latitude in ectotherms are robust to variation in methods. Heat tolerance of terrestrial ectotherms declined marginally towards higher latitudes and did not vary with elevation, whereas heat tolerance of freshwater and marine ectotherms declined more steeply with latitude. By contrast, cold tolerance limits declined steeply with latitude in marine, intertidal, freshwater and terrestrial ectotherms, and towards higher elevations on land. In all realms, both upper and lower thermal tolerance limits increased with extreme daily temperature, suggesting that different experienced climate extremes across realms explain the patterns, as predicted under the Climate Extremes Hypothesis. Statistically accounting for methodological variation in acclimation temperature, ramping rate and exposure duration improved model fits, and increased slopes with extreme ambient temperature. Our results suggest that fundamentally different patterns of thermal limits found among the earth's realms may be largely explained by differences in episodic thermal extremes among realms, updating global macrophysiological 'rules'.
Data from: Cushion plant morphology controls biogenic capability and facilitation effects of Silene acaulis along an elevation gradient
The stress-gradient hypothesis (SGH) predicts that the balance of plant–plant interactions shifts along abiotic environmental gradients, with facilitation becoming more frequent under stressful conditions. However, recent studies have challenged this perspective, reporting that positive interactions are, in some cases, more common at the intermediate level of environmental severity gradients. Here, we test whether and how neighbour effects by Silene acaulis cushions vary along a 700 m wide altitudinal transect, in relation to cushion morphological traits and environmental severity. Field measurements along the gradient, within and outside cushions, included (i) species richness and cover of coexisting vascular plants; (ii) cushion morphology; (iii) above- and below-ground microclimate; and (iv) soil quality. We used the relative interaction index to decouple neighbour trait effects and environmental severity effects on plant diversity at different elevations. The ability of the cushion plant to facilitate heterospecifics shifts considerably along the elevation gradient, being greatest at the intermediate level. On the other hand, Silene morphological traits steadily change along the gradient, from lax, soft and flat-shaped cushion habits at low elevation to tightly knit and dome-shaped habits at high elevation. Cushion morphological changes are associated with mitigating effects on microclimate, indicating that cushions effectively act as a heat-trap at medium and high elevations, while at low elevations the soft and flat cushions avoid excessive heat accumulation by tight coupling with the surrounding atmosphere. At the upper end of the gradient, cushion cespitose–pulvinate compactness and high stem density appear to be critical traits in modulating the net effect of plant–plant interaction, since the space available for hosting other vascular species is considerably reduced. In conclusion, this work provides a mechanistic link between plant morphological traits, associated biogenic microclimate changes and variation in net plant–plant interactions along the explored severity gradient. Our findings support an alternative conceptual model to SGH, with plant facilitation collapsing at the upper extreme of the abiotic stress gradient.
Data from: Elevated CO2 induces substantial and persistent declines in forage quality irrespective of warming in mixedgrass prairie
Increasing atmospheric [CO2] and temperature are expected to affect the productivity, species composition, biogeochemistry, and therefore the quantity and quality of forage available to herbivores in rangeland ecosystems. Both elevated CO2 (eCO2) and warming affect plant tissue chemistry through multiple direct and indirect pathways, such that the cumulative outcomes of these effects are difficult to predict. Here, we report on a 7-year study examining effects of CO2 enrichment (to 600 ppm) and infrared warming (+1.5°C day/3°C night) under realistic field conditions on forage quality and quantity in a semiarid, mixedgrass prairie. For the 3 dominant forage grasses, warming effects on in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and tissue [N] were detected only in certain years, varied from negative to positive, and were relatively minor. In contrast, eCO2 substantially reduced IVDMD (2 most abundant grasses) and [N] (all 3 dominant grass species) in most years, except the two wettest years. Furthermore, eCO2 reduced IVDMD and [N] independent of warming effects. Reduced IVDMD with eCO2 was related both to reduced [N] and increased acid detergent fiber (ADF) content of grass tissues. For the 6 most abundant forage species (representing 96% of total forage production), combined warming+eCO2 increased forage production by 38% and reduced forage [N] by 13% relative to ambient climate. Although the absolute magnitude of the decline in IVDMD and [N] due to combined warming+eCO2 may seem small (e.g. from 63.3 to 61.1% IVDMD and 1.25 to 1.04% [N] for Pascopyrum smithii), such shifts could have substantial consequences for the rate at which ruminants gain weight during the primary growing season in the largest remaining rangeland ecosystem in North America. With forage production increases, declining forage quality could potentially be mitigated by adaptively increasing stocking rates, and through management such as prescribed burning, fertilization at low rates, and legume interseeding to enhance forage quality.
Data from: Escape of spring frost and disease through phenological variations in oak populations along elevation gradients
1. The timing of tree flushing follows strong phenotypic and genetic clines across environmental gradients. It may be seen as an adaptive response to abiotic (escape of spring frost and maximizing growing season length) and biotic (escape of pest and disease) hazards. However, few studies have investigated jointly both types of hazards. 2. We assessed exposure to both abiotic (spring frost) and biotic (powdery mildew) hazards within and between sessile oak populations along elevation gradients, during the flushing period in several years. For each population and phenological phenotype (early- vs. late-flushing trees), we estimated safety margins, defined as the time period separating budburst from the hazard occurrence (spore emission, spring frost). 3. We observed that powdery mildew phenology (initiation of spore release in spring) was less responsive to the elevation gradient than oak phenology (budburst) and that it was not correlated with tree phenology within populations. The spring frost and disease safety margins varied considerably between oak populations as a function of elevation and within populations in relation to tree phenological phenotype. For both hazards, safety margins decreased significantly with increasing elevation. The safety margin for spring frost was mostly positive (i.e. escape), whereas the safety margin for powdery mildew was mostly negative (i.e. exposure), leading to infection. The abiotic and biotic hazards interact in opposite directions with phenology, especially at low elevations (< 500 m) where early flushing enabled trees to escape disease while late flushing provided a higher safety margin against late frost. 4. Synthesis. The observed patterns suggest that oak populations are better adapted to escape spring frost than pathogen exposure all along the elevation gradient. The combination of the biotic and abiotic selective pressures may have contributed to the maintenance of phenological diversity within low-elevation tree populations. As tree and pathogen respond differently to environmental cues, climate change is likely to affect the phenological (a)synchrony between host and parasite, both within and between populations.
Data from: Divergent plant–soil feedbacks could alter future elevation ranges and ecosystem dynamics
Plant–soil feedbacks (PSF) are important interactions that may influence range dynamics in a changing world. What remains largely unknown is the generality of plant–soil biotic interactions across populations and the potential role of specific soil biota, both of which are key for understanding how PSF might change future communities and ecosystems. We combined landscape-level field observations and experimental soil treatments to test whether a dominant tree alters soil environments to impact its own performance and range shifts towards higher elevations. We show: (1) soil conditioning by trees varies with elevation, (2) soil biota relate to PSF, (3) under simulated conditions, biotic PSF constrain range shifts at lower elevations but allow for expansions at higher elevations, and (4) differences in soil conditioning predict feedback outcomes in specific range-shift scenarios. These results suggest that variable plant–soil biotic interactions may influence the migration and fragmentation of tree species, and that models incorporating soil parameters will more accurately predict future species distributions.
Data from: Variable effects on growth and defence traits for plant ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity along elevation gradients
Along ecological gradients, phenotypic differentiation can arise through natural selection on trait diversity and magnitude, and environment-driven plastic changes. The magnitude of ecotypic differentiation versus phenotypic plasticity can vary depending on the traits under study. Using reciprocal transplant-common gardens along steep elevation gradients, we evaluated patterns of ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of several growth and defence-related traits for two coexisting but unrelated plant species, Cardamine pratensis and Plantago major. For both species, we observed ecotypic differentiation accompanied by plasticity in growth related traits. Plants grew faster and produced more biomass when placed at low elevation. In contrast, we observed fixed ecotypic differentiation for defence and resistance traits. Generally, low elevation ecotypes produced higher chemical defences regardless of the growing elevation. Yet, some plasticity was observed for specific compounds, such as indole glucosinolates. The results of this study may suggest that ecotypic differentiation in defence traits is maintained by costs of chemical defence production, while plasticity in growth traits is regulated by temperature driven growth response maximization.
Data from: Network reorganization and breakdown of an ant–plant protection mutualism with elevation
Both the abiotic environment and the composition of animal and plant communities change with elevation. For mutualistic species, these changes are expected to result in altered partner availability, and shifts in context-dependent benefits for partners. To test these predictions, we assessed the network structure of terrestrial ant-plant mutualists and how the benefits to plants of ant inhabitation changed with elevation in tropical forest in Papua New Guinea. At higher elevations, ant-plants were rarer, species richness of both ants and plants decreased, and the average ant or plant species interacted with fewer partners. However, networks became increasingly connected and less specialized, more than could be accounted for by reductions in ant-plant abundance. On the most common ant-plant, ants recruited less and spent less time attacking a surrogate herbivore at higher elevations, and herbivory damage increased. These changes were driven by turnover of ant species rather than by within-species shifts in protective behaviour. We speculate that reduced partner availability at higher elevations results in less specialized networks, while lower temperatures mean that even for ant-inhabited plants, benefits are reduced. Under increased abiotic stress, mutualistic networks can break down, owing to a combination of lower population sizes, and a reduction in context-dependent mutualistic benefits.
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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.