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440 results for “community changes”
Changes in arthropod community but not plant quality benefit a specialist herbivore on plants under reduced water availability
<p>Plants growing under reduced water availability can affect insect herbivores differently, in some instances benefitting them. However, the forces mediating these positive impacts remain mostly unclear. To identify how water availability impacts plant quality and multitrophic interactions, we conducted manipulative field studies with two populations of the specialist herbivore <i>Pieris rapae</i>, and its host plant, <i>Rorippa indica</i>. We found that <i>P. rapae </i>larvae experienced higher survival on <i>R. indica</i> growing under low water availability compared with plants grown under high water availability. Higher survival of eggs and larvae was related to the reduced abundance of other herbivores and natural enemies. Water availability had differential impacts on other members of the herbivore community by altering plant quality. Low water availability decreased the quality of <i>R. indica</i> to most herbivores, as indicated by reduced abundance in the field and decreased relative growth rate in laboratory feeding assays. In contrast, <i>P. rapae </i>larval performance was not affected by sympatric <i>R. indica </i>grown under different water availability. These results indicate that local <i>P. rapae</i> populations possess physiological adaptations to overcome fluctuations in host quality. Our findings illustrate that reduced water availability is beneficial to a specialist herbivore but detrimental to most other herbivores. Our work highlights the complex effects of the arthropod communities associated with plants in determining the impacts of water availability on insect herbivores.</p>
Data from: Estimating synchronous demographic changes across populations using hABC and its application for a herpetological community from northeastern Brazil
Many studies propose that Quaternary climatic cycles contracted and /or expanded the ranges of species and biomes. Strong expansion-contraction dynamics of biomes presume concerted demographic changes of associated fauna. The analysis of temporal concordance of demographic changes can be used to test the influence of Quaternary climate on diversification processes. Hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation (hABC) is a powerful and flexible approach that models genetic data from multiple species, and can be used to estimate the temporal concordance of demographic processes. Using available single-locus data we can now perform large-scale analyses, both in terms of number of species and geographic scope. Here we first compared the power of four alternative hABC models for a collection of single-locus data. We found that the model incorporating an a priori hypothesis about the timing of simultaneous demographic change had the best performance. Secondly, we applied the hABC models to a dataset of 7 squamate and 4 amphibian species occurring in the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (Caatinga) in Northeastern Brazil, which, according to paleoclimatic evidence, experienced an increase in aridity during the Pleistocene. If this increase was important for the diversification of associated xeric-adapted species, simultaneous population expansions should be evident at the community level. We found a strong signal of synchronous population expansion in the Late Pleistocene, supporting the expansion of the Caatinga during this time. This expansion likely enhanced the formation of communities adapted to high aridity and seasonality and caused regional extirpation of taxa adapted to wet forest.
Data from: Does warming by open-top chambers induce change in the root-associated fungal community of the arctic dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona (Ericaceae)?
Climate change may alter mycorrhizal communities, which impact ecosystem characteristics such as carbon sequestration processes. These impacts occur at a greater magnitude in Arctic ecosystems, where the climate is warming faster than in lower latitudes. Cassiope tetragona (L.) D. Don is an Arctic plant species in the Ericaceae family with a circumpolar range. C. tetragona has been reported to form ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) as well as ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbioses. In this study, the fungal taxa present within roots of C. tetragona plants collected from Svalbard were investigated using DNA metabarcoding. In light of ongoing climate change in the Arctic, the effects of artificial warming by open-top chambers (OTCs) on the fungal root community of C. tetragona were evaluated. We detected only a weak effect of warming by OTCs on the root-associated fungal communities that was masked by the spatial variation between sampling sites. The root fungal community of C. tetragona was dominated by fungal groups in the Basidiomycota traditionally classified as either saprotrophic or ECM symbionts, including the orders Sebacinales and Agaricales and the genera Clavaria, Cortinarius, and Mycena. Only a minor proportion of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) could be annotated as ErM-forming fungi. This indicates that C. tetragona may be forming mycorrhizal symbioses with typically ECM-forming fungi, although no characteristic ECM root tips were observed. Previous studies have indicated that some saprophytic fungi may also be involved in biotrophic associations, but whether the saprotrophic fungi in the roots of C. tetragona are involved in biotrophic associations remains unclear. The need for more experimental and microscopy-based studies to reveal the nature of the fungal associations in C. tetragona roots is emphasized.
Data from: Between-year changes in community composition shape species' roles in an Arctic plant-pollinator network
Inter-annual turnover in community composition can affect the richness and functioning of ecological communities. If incoming and outgoing species do not interact with the same partners, ecological functions such as pollination may be disrupted. Here, we explore the extent to which turnover affects species' roles --as defined based on their participation in different motifs positions-- in a series of temporally replicated plant-pollinator networks from high-Arctic Zackenberg, Greenland. We observed substantial turnover in the plant and pollinator assemblages, combined with significant variation in species' roles between networks. Variation in the roles of plants and pollinators tended to increase with the amount of community turnover, although a negative interaction between turnover in the plant and pollinator assemblages complicated this trend for the roles of pollinators. This suggests that increasing turnover in the future will result in changes to the roles of plants and likely those of pollinators. These changing roles may in turn affect the functioning or stability of this pollination network.
Data from: Impacts of rainfall extremes predicted by climate-change models on major trophic groups in the leaf-litter arthropod community
1. Arthropods in the leaf-litter layer of forest soils influence ecosystem processes such as decomposition. Climate-change models predict both increases and decreases in average rainfall. Increased drought may have greater impacts on the litter arthropod community. In addition to affecting survival or behavior of desiccation-sensitive species, lower rainfall may indirectly lower abundances of consumers that graze drought-stressed fungi, with repercussions for higher trophic levels. 2. We tested the hypothesis that trophic structure will differ between the two rainfall scenarios. In particular, we hypothesized that densities of several broadly defined trophic groupings of arthropods would be lower under reduced rainfall. 3. To test this hypothesis we used sprinklers to impose two rainfall treatments during three growing seasons in roofed, fenced 14-m2 plots; and documented changes in abundance from initial, pre-treatment densities of 39 arthropod taxa. Experimental plots were subjected to either LOW (fortnightly) or HIGH (weekly) average rainfall based upon climate models and the previous 100 years of regional weekly averages. Unroofed open plots, our reference treatment (REF), experienced higher-than-average rainfall during the experiment. 4. The two rainfall extremes produced clear negative effects of lowered rainfall on major trophic groups. Broad categories of fungivores, detritivores and predators were more abundant in HIGH than LOW plots by the final year. Springtails (Collembola), which graze fungal hyphae, were 3x more abundant in the HIGH-rainfall treatment. Taxa of larger-bodied fungivores and detritivores, spiders (Araneae), and non-spider predators were 2x more abundant under HIGH rainfall. Densities of mites (Acari), which include fungivores, detritivores and predators, were 1.5x greater in HIGH rainfall plots. Abundances and community structure of arthropods were similar in REF and experimental plots, showing that effects of rainfall uncovered in the experiment are applicable to nature. 5. This pattern suggests that changes in rainfall will alter bottom-up control processes in a critical detritus-based food web of deciduous forests. Our results, in conjunction with other findings on the impact of desiccation on arthropods and fungal growth, suggest that drier conditions will depress densities of fungal consumers, causing declines in higher trophic levels, with possible impacts on soil processes and the larger forest food web.
Metabolic impacts of climate change on marine fish communities and fisheries - Dataset and figure plot script
<p>Here we provide the MATLAB functions, model forcing data (net primary production and temperature), and model output required to generate the figures and perform calculations from the manuscript "Metabolic impacts of climate change on marine fish communities and fisheries", which is currently in submission as a research article. The figures plot script (plot_figures_climate_fish_deconstruction.m) is written in MATLAB version R2012a.</p>
Data from: Mammal communities of primeval forests as sentinels of global change
<p>Understanding the drivers and consequences of global environmental change is crucial to inform predictions of effects on ecosystems. We used the mammal community of Białowieża Forest, the last lowland near-primeval forest in temperate Europe, as a sentinel of global change. We analyzed changes in stable carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C) and nitrogen (δ<sup>15</sup>N) isotope values of hair in 687 specimens from 50 mammal species across seven decades (1946–2011). We classified mammals into four taxonomic-dietary groups (herbivores, carnivores, insectivores, bats). We found a significant negative trend in hair δ<sup>15</sup>N for the mammal community, particularly strong for herbivores. This trend is consistent with temporal patterns in nitrogen deposition from (<sup>15</sup>N depleted) industrial fertilizers and fossil fuel emissions. It is also in line with global-scale declines in δ<sup>15</sup>N reported in forests and other unfertilized, non-urban terrestrial ecosystems and with local decreases in N foliar concentrations. The global depletion of <sup>13</sup>C content in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> due to fossil fuel burning (Suess effect) was detected in all groups. After correcting for this effect, the hair δ<sup>13</sup>C trend became non-significant for both community and groups, except for bats, which showed a strong decline in δ<sup>13</sup>C. This could be related to an increase in the relative abundance of freshwater insects taken by bats or increased use of methane-derived carbon in food webs used by bats. This work is the first broad-scale and long-term mammal isotope ecology study in a near-primeval forest in temperate Europe. Mammal communities from natural forests represent a unique benchmark in global change research; investigating their isotopic temporal variation can help identify patterns and early detections of ecosystem changes and provide more comprehensive and integrative assessments than single-species approaches.</p>
Season-specific impacts of climate change on canopy-forming seaweed communities
<p><span>Understory assemblages associated with canopy-forming species such as trees, kelps, and rockweeds should respond strongly to climate stressors due to strong interaction strengths. Climate change can directly and indirectly modify these assemblages, particularly during more stressful seasons and climate scenarios. </span><span>However, fully understanding the seasonal impacts of different climate conditions on canopy-reliant assemblages is difficult due to a continued emphasis on studying single species responses to a single future climate scenario during a single season. To examine these more complex interactions, we used mesocosm experiments to expose intertidal assemblages associated with the canopy-forming golden rockweed, <em>Silvetia compressa</em>, to elevated temperature and pCO<sub>2 </sub>conditions reflecting two projected greenhouse emission scenarios [RCP 2.6 (low) & RCP 4.5 (moderate)]. Assemblages were grown in the presence and absence of <em>Silvetia</em>, and in two seasons. Relative to ambient conditions, predicted climate scenarios generally suppressed <em>Silvetia</em> biomass and photosynthetic efficiency. However, these effects varied seasonally - both future scenarios reduced <em>Silvetia</em> biomass in summer, but only the moderate scenario did so in winter. These reductions shifted the assemblage, with more extreme shifts occurring in summer. Contrarily, future scenarios did not shift assemblages within <em>Silvetia </em>Absent treatments, suggesting that climate primarily affected assemblages indirectly through changes in <em>Silvetia</em>. Mesocosm experiments were coupled with a field <em>Silvetia</em>-removal experiment to simulate the effects of climate-mediated <em>Silvetia</em> loss on natural assemblages. Consistent with the mesocosm experiment, <em>Silvetia</em> loss resulted in season-specific assemblage shifts, with weaker effects observed in winter. Together,</span><span> our study supports the hypotheses that climate-mediated changes to canopy-forming species can indirectly affect the associated assemblage, and that these effects vary seasonally. Such seasonality is important to consider as it may provide periods of recovery when conditions are less stressful, especially if we can reduce the severity of future climate scenarios. </span></p>
Data from: navigating uncertainty: managing herbivore communities enhances savanna ecosystem resilience under climate change
<p>Savannas are characterized by water scarcity and degradation, making them highly vulnerable to increased uncertainties in water availability resulting from climate change. This poses a significant threat to ecosystem services and rural livelihoods that depend on them. In addition, the lack of consensus among climate models on precipitation change makes it difficult for land managers to plan for the future. Therefore, savanna rangeland management needs to develop strategies that can sustain savanna resilience and avoid tipping points under an uncertain future climate. Our study aims to analyze the impacts of climate change and rangeland management on degradation in savanna ecosystems of southern Africa, providing insights for the management of semi-arid savannas under uncertain conditions worldwide. To achieve this, we simulated the effects of projected changes in temperature and precipitation, as predicted by ten global climate models, on water resources and vegetation (cover, functional diversity, tipping points (transition from grass-dominated to shrub-dominated vegetation)). We simulated three different rangeland management options (herbivore community dominated by grazers, by browser and by mixed-feeders), each with low and high animal densities using the ecohydrological model EcoHyD. Our results identified intensive grazing as the primary contributor to the increased risk of degradation in response to changing climatic conditions across all climate change scenarios. This degradation encompassed a reduction in available water for plant growth within the context of predicted climate change. It also entails a decline in the overall vegetation cover, the loss of functionally important plant species, and the inefficient utilization of available water resources, leading to earlier tipping points. Our findings underscore that in the face of climate uncertainty, farmers' most effective strategy for securing their livelihoods and ecosystem stability is to integrate browsers and apply management of mixed herbivore communities. This management approach not only significantly delays or averts tipping points but also maintained greater plant functional diversity, fostering a more robust and resilient ecosystem that acts as a vital buffer against adverse climatic conditions.</p>
Community-science reveals delayed fall migration of waterfowl and spatiotemporal effects of a changing climate
<p>Climate change has well-documented, yet variable, influences on the annual movements of migratory birds. The effects of climate change on fall migration remains understudied compared to spring, but appears to be less consistent among species, regions, and years. Changes in the pattern and timing of waterfowl migration in particular may result in cascading effects on ecosystem function, and socioeconomic and cultural outcomes. We investigated changes in the migration of 15 waterfowl species along a major flyway corridor of continental importance in northeastern North America using 43 years of community-science data. We built spatially- and temporally-explicit hierarchical generative additive models for each species and demonstrated that climate, specifically the interaction between minimum temperature and precipitation, significantly influences migration phenology for most species. Certain species' migratory movements responded to specific temperature thresholds (climate migrants) and others reacted more to the interaction of temperature and precipitation (extreme event migrants). There are already significant changes in the fall migration phenology of common waterfowl species with high ecological and economic importance, which may simply increase in the context of a changing climate. If not addressed, climate change could induce mismatches in management, regulations, and population surveys which would negatively impact the hunting industry. Our findings highlight the importance of considering species-specific spatiotemporal scales of effect on climate on migration and our methods can be widely adapted to quantify and forecast climate-driven changes in wildlife migration.</p>
Digital appendix: Microbial communities as sentinels of environmental changes in Svalbard (MicroSIOS)
<p>This is supplementary material for chapter 6 (MicroSIOS) in the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2024 (<span><span><a href="https://sios-svalbard.org/SESS_Issue7)%E2%80%9D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://sios-svalbard.org/SESS_Issue7)”</a></span></span></p>
Changes in community-weighted trait mean, functional diversity, soil chemical properties and temperature along an elevational gradient in Tenerife, Canary Islands
<p>This dataset comprises community-weighted trait means and functional diversity of leaf traits, chemical soil properties and temperature recorded in roadside (disturbed) and interior (less disturbed) plots, along an elevational gradient of 2,300 m in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The leaf traits measured were specific leaf area (SLA), nitrogen, nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and carbon to phosphorus ratio. The soil chemical properties measured were pH, nitrogen, nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, carbon to phosphorus ratio, calcium, potassium, magnesium and cation exchange capacity. Also the scores of the three first axes derived from a PCA analysis including the soil chemical properties are included. The temperature variables consist of bioclimatic variables Bio10 (mean temperature of the warmest quarter) and Bio11 (mean temperature of the coldest quarter). This dataset has been used for the analysis presented in Ratier Backes et al. (2021).</p>
Changes in forest structure drive temperature preferences of boreal understory plant communities
<p>1. The local climate in forest understories can deviate substantially from ambient conditions. Moreover, forest microclimates are often characterized by cyclic changes driven by management activities such as clear-cutting and subsequent planting. To understand how and why understory plant communities change, both ambient climate change and temporal variation in forest structure has to be considered. 2. We used inventories from 11436 productive forest sites in Sweden repeated every 10th year 1993 - 2017 to examine how variation in forest structure influences changes in the average value of minimum and maximum temperature preferences of all species in a community, i.e. community temperature indices (CTI). We then evaluated to what extent these changes were driven by local extinctions and colonizations, respectively, and to what extent the difference in CTI value between two inventories were related to changes in forest density and in macroclimate. Lastly, we tested whether effects on CTI change by these two drivers were modified by topography, soil moisture and tree species composition. 3. CTI values of the understory plant communities increased after clear-cutting, and decreased during periods when the forest grew denser. During the period immediately after clear-cutting, changes were predominately driven by colonizations of species with a preference for higher temperatures. During the forest regeneration phase, both colonization by species preferring lower temperatures and local extinctions of species preferring higher temperatures increased. The change in understory CTI over 10-year periods was explained more by changes in forest density, than by changes in macroclimate. Soil moisture, topography and forest tree species composition modified to some extent the effects of changes in forest density and in macroclimate on understory CTI values. 4. Synthesis. Via stand manipulation, forest management impacts the effects of regional climate on understory plant communities. This implies that forest management by creating denser stands locally even can counterbalance the effects of regional changes in climate by creating denser stands locally. Consequently, interpretations of changes in the mean temperature preference of species in forest understory communities should take forest management regimes into account. </p>
Data for A first-year melon/cowpea intercropping system improves soil nutrients and changes the soil microbial community
<p>A first-year melon/cowpea intercropping system improves soil nutrients and changes the soil microbial community data</p>
Grazing changes the direction of direct effect of shrubs on nematode communities but suppresses indirect effects through microbial pathways
<p>It is well established that dominant plants shape belowground communities, which in turn influence ecosystem functioning. Similarly, herbivores affect belowground communities through physical disturbance and redistribution of organic inputs, but also through their interactions with the plants themselves. However, we know little about how grazing moderates effects of dominant plants on belowground organisms. We established a three-year removal experiment in a grazed and an ungrazed alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau to explore how grazing mediates the effects of the dominant shrub, <em>Dosiphora fruticosa</em>, on nematode communities. We applied structural equation modelling to assess how grazing moderates the effects of <em>D. fruticosa</em> on nematode communities both directly and indirectly via changes in soil physicochemical properties<span>, root biomass and microbial communities</span>. We found that 1) grazing changed the direction of the direct effect of shrub on nematode communities as indicated by the shift from a negative to a positive path coefficient; 2) shrub affected nematode richness mainly through microbial richness. Accordingly, nematode community composition was more closely related to microbial community composition in the ungrazed alpine meadow, while edaphic properties were stronger predictors of nematode community composition responses to shrubs in the grazed meadow; and 3) grazing suppressed the indirect effects of shrub on nematode communities via microbial communities. Our study shows that grazing plays an important role in regulating dominant plant's effects on belowground community composition and interactions in alpine meadows.</p>
Data from: Foliar herbivory creates subtle soil legacy effects that alter future herbivores via changes in plant community biomass allocation
<p>Plants leave legacy effects in the soil they grow in, which can drive important vegetation processes, including productivity, community dynamics and species turnover. Plants at the same time also face continuous pressure posed by insect herbivores. Given the intimate interactions between plants and herbivores in ecosystems, plant identity and herbivory are likely to interactively shape soil legacies. However, the mechanisms that drive such legacy effects on future generations of plants and associated herbivores are little known.<br> In a greenhouse study, we exposed ten common grasses and non-leguminous forbs individually to insect herbivory by two closely related noctuid caterpillars, <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> and <i>Trichoplusia ni</i> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) or kept them free of herbivores. We then used the soil legacies created by these plant individuals to grow a plant community composed of all ten plant species in each soil, and exposed these plant communities to <i>M. brassicae</i>. We measured conditioning plant biomass, soil respiration and chemistry of the conditioned soils, as well as individual plant, plant community and herbivore biomass responses.</p> <p>At the end of the conditioning phase, soils with herbivore legacies had higher soil respiration, but only significantly so for <i>M. brassicae</i>. Herbivore legacies had minimal impacts on community productivity. However, path models reveal that herbivore-induced soil legacies affected responding herbivores through changes in plant community shoot: root ratios. Soil legacy effect patterns differed between functional groups. We found strong plant species and functional group-specific effects on soil respiration parameters, which in turn led to plant community shifts in grass: forb biomass ratios. Soil legacies were negative for the growth of plants of the same functional group. </p> <p><strong>Synthesis:</strong><i> </i>We show that insect herbivory, plant species and their functional groups, all incur soil microbial responses that lead to subtle (herbivory) or strong (plants and their functional group) effects in response plant communities and associated polyphagous herbivores. Hence, even though typically ignored, our study emphasizes that legacies of previous insect herbivory in the soil can influence current soil-plant-insect community interactions.</p>
Data from: Price equations for understanding the response of ecosystem function to community change
<p>Biodiversity-ecosystem function research in natural ecosystems would benefit from new theoretical and analytical tools that match common characteristics of observational community data. To this end, we developed a novel, abundance-based version of the ecological Price equation in both discrete and continuous forms. As part of the presentation of this new method, we conducted two demonstration analyses.</p> <p>The first analysis focuses on pollination of watermelon by wild bees. We net-collected wild pollinator specimens from standard areas of flowering watermelon crop at 16 replicated farms in 2012. We also measured how many pollen grains each bee species deposited per visit. These per-visit pollen deposition rates were estimated as a genus-level property, as is common for landscape pollination studies. To determine total pollination for each bee species at each site, we multiplied pollinator visitation rates and per-visit pollen deposition. The attached data includes site by species matrices for the abundance (watermelon_com.csv) and per-capita pollen deposition (watermelon_fun.csv) of bee species.</p> <p>The second analysis focuses on changes in total community biomass of stream invertebrates collected from 25 sites along a strong, continuous pollution gradient. These data were previously published by Pomeranz et al. (2019), accessible at the Dryad link given below. Specimens were individually measured and assigned to one of six functional groups. Finer taxonomic resolution is available in the original study, but we use functional groups here to get enough data to effectively model. The attached data includes site by functional group matrices for the abundance (stream_inverts.csv) and per-capita biomass (stream_invert_size.csv) of stream invertebrate functional groups, and a third .csv which describes the level of pollution at each site (steam_data.csv).</p> <p>The code is a single R code file which produces the results and figures found in the manuscript. We have also included a README and several .csv files (those described above) that need to be read in.</p> <p>These data may be useful for other analyses of variation in ecosystem function across sites. We stress that the stream invertebrate data were collected by Pomeranz et al. (2019) and they should be cited for any use those data. The relevant link to access their data is: https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.v6g985s</p>
Divergent climate change effects on widespread dryland plant communities driven by climatic and ecohydrological gradients
<p><span>Plant community response to climate change will be influenced by individual plant responses that emerge from competition for limiting resources that fluctuate through time and vary across space. Projecting these responses requires an approach that integrates </span><span>environmental conditions and species interactions that result from future climatic variability. Dryland plant communities are being substantially affected by climate change because their structure and function are closely tied to precipitation and temperature, yet impacts vary substantially due to environmental heterogeneity, especially in topographically complex regions. Here, we quantified the effects of climate change on big sagebrush (<em>Artemisia tridentata </em>Nutt.) plant communities that span </span><span>76 million ha </span><span>in the western United States. We used an individual-based plant simulation model that represents intra- and inter-specific competition for water availability, which is represented by a process-based soil water balance model. For dominant plant functional types, we quantified changes in biomass and characterized agreement among 52 future climate scenarios. We then used a multivariate matching algorithm to generate fine-scale interpolated surfaces of functional type biomass for our study area. </span>Results suggest geographically divergent responses of big sagebrush to climate change (changes in biomass of -20% to +27%), declines in perennial C<sub>3</sub> grass and perennial forb biomass in most sites, and widespread, consistent, and sometimes large increases in perennial C<sub>4</sub> grasses. The largest declines in big sagebrush, perennial C<sub>3</sub> grass and perennial forb biomass were simulated in warm, dry sites. In contrast, we simulated no change or increases in functional type biomass in cold, moist sites. There was high agreement among climate scenarios on climate change impacts to functional type biomass, except for big sagebrush. Collectively, these results suggest divergent responses to warming in moisture-limited vs. temperature-limited sites and potential shifts in the relative importance of some of the dominant functional types that result from competition for limiting resources.</p>
Flexible diets enable pollinators to cope with changes in plant community composition
<p><span>Switching plant species visited by pollinators (partner flexibility), has been proposed as a behavioural mechanism able to attenuate the negative impacts of shifts in plant communities on pollination. However, it is unclear if the magnitude of such response is generalizable or depends on the environmental context. Moreover, the ability of pollinators to exploit plants with dissimilar traits (trait flexibility) has been overlooked, even though it can affect the spectrum of new partners available. </span></p> <p><span>To shed some light on this problem, we quantified partner and trait flexibility in five communities from four different environments, from Alpine to semi-arid. We evaluated if the rate at which pollinators incorporated new plant species throughout the flowering season was similar across communities or context-dependent. Then, we assessed if pollinators changed the type of flowers visited and if such trait flexibility was related to their capacity to visit new plant species. Finally, we developed an agent-based model to explore if diet flexibility can protect pollination when the plant community changes. To this end, we used scenarios of phenological decoupling.</span></p> <p><span>In general, pollinators switched interaction partners to cope with the temporal replacement of plant species. Yet, the magnitude of such behaviour varied across communities, probably in response to differences in the number of floral resources available. Also, pollinators were able to visit plant species with dissimilar traits, though both components of diet flexibility (partner identity and traits) did not necessarily covary. Thus, to have a full picture of pollinators' diet flexibility we need to consider the floral traits of partners. Finally, our theoretical model shows that diet flexibility can protect pollination after shifts in plant communities; but that such positive effects are limited by trait-matching between co-occurring species.</span></p> <p><span><span>Overall, our study highlights the importance of incorporating plant traits when evaluating the ability of pollinators to find new interaction partners. Besides, our simulation results suggest that diet flexibility may not unequivocally protect pollination against changes in plant communities, especially if they entail shifts in the characteristics of the floral assemblage, and hence, the ability of pollinators to find new interaction partners can be compromised.</span></span></p>
Quantifying the impacts of 166 years of land cover change on lowland bird communities
<p><span>Land cover change for agriculture is thought to be a major threat to global biodiversity</span><span>. </span><span>However, </span><span>its ecological impact </span><span>has rarely been quantified in the Northern Hemisphere, as broad-scale conversion to farmland mainly occurred until the 1400s-1700s in the region, limiting the availability of sufficient data.</span><span> </span><span>The Ishikari Lowland in Hokkaido, Japan offers an excellent opportunity to address this issue, as hunter–gatherer lifestyles dominated in this region until the mid-19th century and land cover maps are available for the period of land cover changes, i.e., 1850-2016.</span> <span>Using these maps and a hierarchical community model of relationships between breeding bird abundance and land cover types, we estimated that broad-scale land cover change over a 166 year period was associated with more than 70% decline in both potential species-richness and abundance of avian communities.</span> <span>We estimated that the abundance of wetland and forest species declined by >88%, whereas that of bare-ground species increased by >50%. Our results suggest that broad-scale land cover change for agriculture has led to drastic reductions in wetland and forest species and promoted changes in community composition in large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. This study provides potential baseline information that could inform future conservation policies.</span></p>
ScienceDex guides
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These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
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.