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High-resolution 3D forest structure explains ecomorphological trait variation in assemblages of saproxylic beetles

Climate, topography, and the 3D structure of forests are major drivers affecting local species communities. However, little is known about how the specific functional traits of saproxylic (wood-living) beetles, involved in the recycling of wood, might be affected by those environmental characteristics. Here we combine ecological and morphological traits available for saproxylic beetles and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in Bayesian trait-based joint species distribution models to study how traits drive the distributions of more than 230 species in temperate forests of Europe. We found that elevation (as a proxy for temperature and precipitation) and the proportion of conifers played important roles in species occurrences while variables related to habitat heterogeneity and forest complexity were less relevant. Further, we showed that local communities were shaped by environmental variation primarily through their ecological traits whereas morphological traits were involved only marginally. As predicted, ecological traits influenced species' responses to forest structure, and to other environmental variation, with canopy niche, wood decay niche, and host preference as the most important ecological traits. Conversely, no links between morphological traits and environmental characteristics were observed. Both models, however, revealed strong phylogenetic signal in species' response to environmental characteristics. These findings imply that alterations of climate and tree species composition have the potential to alter saproxylic beetle communities in temperate forests. Additionally, ecological traits help explain species' responses to environmental characteristics and thus should prove useful in predicting their responses to future change. It remains challenging, however, to link simple morphological traits to species' complex ecological niches.

Greater functional similarity in mobile compared to sessile assemblages colonizing artificial coastal habitats

Among anthropogenic habitats built in the marine environment, floating and non-floating structures can be colonized by distinct assemblages. However, there is little knowledge whether these differences are also reflected in the functional structure. This study compared the functional diversity of sessile and mobile invertebrate assemblages that settle over 3 months on floating vs. non-floating artificial habitats, in two Chilean ports. Using morphological, trophic, behavioral, and life history traits, we found differences between mobile and sessile assemblages regarding the effect of the type of habitat on the functional diversity. Compared to sessile assemblages, a greater functional similarity was observed for mobile assemblages, which suggests that their dispersal capacity enables them to balance the reduced connectivity between settlement structures. No traits, prevailing or selected in one or the other habitat type, were however clearly identified; a result warranting further studies focusing on more advanced stages of community development.

Dietary data of an anuran assemblage from Yasuní National Park

This dataset describes the diet of a highly diverse tropical anuran assemblage. We report the diet composition of 35 species collected at Yasuní National Park, based on the examination of the gastrointestinal contents of 396 frog specimens available in the Museo de Zoología (QCAZ) of Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Anuran species belong to six families: Aromobatidae, Bufonidae, Dendrobatidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, and Strabomantidae. We were able to identify 4,085 prey items that were classified into 71 categories. We present information on anuran-prey interactions, prey-items volume, and anuran specimens' associated data. This data set contributes to understanding the trophic ecology of anuran species and their role in tropical ecosystems.

Climate and land-use effects on dung beetle assemblages

This dataset contains data from a field study conducted in 2019 and described in the paper "Dung beetle diversity is mainly affected by land use, while community specialization is driven by climate" by Englmeier et al. To test the effects of land use and climate on α-diversity, local community specialization (H2'), and γ-diversity of dung beetles, we used pitfall traps baited with four different dung types at 114 study sites, distributed over a spatial extent of 300 km x 300 km and 1000 m in elevation. Study sites were established in four local land-use types: forests, grasslands, arable sites, and settlements, embedded in near-natural, agricultural, or urban landscapes. We used negative-binomial generalized linear models for alpha-diversity, calculated community specialization on dung resources by using the standardized two-dimensional Shannon entropy (H2'), and assessed γ-diversity by Hill-numbers. Our results show that intensive land use i.e., agriculture and urban areas, strongly reduced dung beetle α- and γ-diversity, respectively. Dung beetle abundance and species density were strongly affected by agricultural land use on both spatial scales, whereas γ-diversity on a local scale was mainly affected by settlements and on a landscape scale equally by agricultural and urban land use. Increasing precipitation diminished dung beetle abundance, and higher temperatures reduced community specialization and γ-diversity. These results indicate that intensive land use and higher temperatures may cause a loss in dung beetle diversity and alter community networks of dung beetle assemblages. A decrease in dung beetle diversity may disturb decomposition processes at both local and regional scales and alter ecosystem functioning, which leads to drastic ecological and economic damage.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Phytoplankton assemblage shifts with dissolved organic matter properties: a functional perspective for sentinel lakes

1. Climate change is altering both dissolved organic matter (DOM) properties and phytoplankton dynamics in lakes. High-altitude lakes are good sentinels of global change. However, their value as sentinels depends on how well we understand their functioning. This study analyzed physical, chemical, and biological data during three pre-defined periods running from complete ice-cover right to the end of the ice-free season, in a high-altitude oligotrophic lake. A functional approach was used to assess how relationships between DOM and the planktonic community vary over time. 2. Phytoplankton functional change was found to occur with shifts in dissolved organic matter. During the ice-influenced period, from February to the end of the thaw, the phytoplankton community was dominated by small autotrophs and mixotrophic flagellates and DOM from sediment and terrestrial origin dominated the DOM pool of the lake. Phytoplankton diversity and richness increased during the post-snowmelt overturn period, when terrestrial DOM dominated the DOM pool. Finally, large siliceous autotrophs, competitive under low nitrogen concentrations and high temperature, dominated almost exclusively during the late summer period. Increased phytoplankton biomass meant that phytoplankton-derived DOM was dominant during the late summer period. 3. These phenological changes in the phytoplankton community resulted in functional shifts at the base of the food web. Based on the relationships between the variables in the study, it can be deduced that the nature of the relationship between phytoplankton and bacteria progressively shifted from strong top-down control exerted by phytoplankton over bacteria toward predominantly bottom-up control at the end of the ice-free season. 4. Synthesis. Using a field survey starting from complete ice-cover and lasting right to the end of the ice-free season in a sentinel lake, we show seasonal shifts in the link between dissolved organic matter properties and plankton community traits. Differences in environmental conditions and DOM origin explained variation in phytoplankton community structure and function, pointing to seasonal shifts in microbial food web interactions. Our research suggests that, under climate change, the balance between mixotrophy and autotrophy and the control exerted by phytoplankton over bacterioplankton will change in oligotrophic high-altitude lakes with large, vegetated catchments.

opencc-zeroMay 2024View details →

Out of shape: Ocean acidification simplifies coral reef architecture and reshuffles fish assemblages

Climate change stressors are progressively simplifying biogenic habitats in the terrestrial and marine realms, and consequently altering the structure of associated species communities. Here, we used a volcanic CO2 seep in Papua New Guinea to test in situ if altered reef architecture due to ocean acidification reshuffles associated fish assemblages. We observed replacement of branching corals by massive corals at the seep, with simplified coral architectural complexity driving abundance declines between 60-86% for an assemblage of damselfishes associated with branching corals. An experimental test of habitat preference for a focal species indicated that acidification does not directly affect habitat selection behaviour, with changes in habitat structural complexity consequently appearing to be the stronger driver of assemblage reshuffling. Habitat health affected anti-predator behaviour, with P. moluccensis becoming less bold on dead branching corals relative to live branching corals, irrespective of ocean acidification. We conclude that coral reef fish assemblages are likely to be more sensitive to changes in habitat structure induced by increasing pCO2 than any direct effects on behaviour, indicating that changes in coral architecture and live cover may act as important mediators of reef fish community structures in a future ocean.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2023View details →

The spatial extent and the dispersal strategy of species shape the occupancy frequency distribution of stream insect assemblages

This is the datasets and R script for our  manuscript titled "The spatial extent and the dispersal strategy of species shape the occupancy frequency distribution of stream insect assemblages." Study area and sampling of Mecsek_species_Szivaketal.xlsx data The study area is situated in the Mecsek Mountains in Hungary. Stream insects were collected using the kick and sweep sampling technique. A hand net with a frame width of 25 cm and a mesh size of 1000 µm was employed. The collection involved disturbing an area of 0.25 × 0.25 m. We employed a stratified random multihabitat sampling procedure. We collected 20 sample units from the major microhabitats in proportion to their occurrence within the reaches. Each sample unit was individually processed and sorted in the laboratory to ensure thorough and accurate analysis. Disperse_trait_Szivaketal.xlsx data is based on DISPERSE database (Sarremejane et al., 2020) Methods for microhabitat_coverage_reach_transect.xlsx: Prior to sampling, we divided each 100 m long reach into 20 transects of comparable length and created microhabitat coverage maps. Using these maps, we assessed the proportionate coverage of different microhabitat types within each reach References: Sarremejane, R., Cid, N., Stubbington, R., Datry, T., Alp, M., Cañedo-Argüelles, M., Cordero-Rivera, A., Csabai, Z., Gutiérrez-Cánovas, C., Heino, J., Forcellini, M., Millán, A., Paillex, A., Pařil, P., Polá&scaron;ek, M., Tierno de Figueroa, J. M., Usseglio-Polatera, P., Zamora-Muñoz, C., & Bonada, N. (2020). DISPERSE, a trait database to assess the dispersal potential of European aquatic macroinvertebrates. Scientific Data, 7(1), 386. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-00732-7

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2024View details →

Latest Eocene to mid-late Oligocene calcareous nannoplankton assemblage relative abundance counts and coccolith size measurements: IODP Site U1553

Calcareous nannoplankton are a major group of calcifying marine phytoplankton. Their distribution, productivity and cellular morphological traits are important factors in the role of calcareous nannoplankton in marine ecosystem functions, including the production and export of organic and inorganic carbon.  Using morphometric and assemblage data collected from latest Eocene to mid-late Oligocene sediments International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1553, Campbell Plateau in the high latitude southwestern Pacific Ocean, we reconstructed the size structure and associated biogeochemical traits (size-fractionated and total community particulate organic and inorganic carbon) of the community through the Oligocene to investigate the impact of climate-driven changes in community composition on calcareous nannoplankton biogeochemistry.   The datasets presented in this data record are associated with the manuscript: Sheward, R. M., Herrle, J. O., Fuchs, J., Gibbs, S. J., Bown, P. R. and Eibes, P. M. Biogeochemical traits of a high latitude South Pacific Ocean calcareous nannoplankton community during the Oligocene, to be submitted to Paleoceanograpy and Paleoclimatology in June 2024.   This data record contain two primary datasets generated for this study: <ol> <li>assemblage composition (relative coccolith abundance) of the latest Eocene-earliest Oligocene calcareous nannoplankton community</li> <li>morphometric data for the coccolith size of the ten most common morphogroups in the assemblage in this time interval (Chiasmolithus, Clausicoccus subdistichus, Coccolithus, Cyclicargolithus, Reticulofenestra, Sphenolithus, Discoaster and Zygrhablithus bijugatus).</li> </ol>   Correspondence should be addressed to: Rosie Sheward (sheward@em.uni-frankfurt.de).

opencc-zeroJun 2024View details →

Data from: Local climate change velocities and evolutionary history explain multidirectional range shifts in a North American butterfly assemblage

Species are often expected to shift their distributions either poleward or upslope to evade warming climates and colonize new suitable climatic niches. However, from 18 years of fixed transect monitoring data on 88 species of butterfly in the midwestern United States, we show that butterflies are shifting their centroids in all directions, except towards the region that is warming the fastest (southeast). Butterflies shifted their centroids at a mean rate of 4.87 km yr-1. The rate of centroid shift was significantly associated with local climate change velocity (temperature by precipitation interaction), but not with mean climate change velocity throughout the species' ranges. Species tended to shift their centroids at a faster rate towards regions that are warming at slower velocities but increasing in precipitation velocity. Surprisingly, species' thermal niche breadth (range of climates butterflies experience throughout their distribution) and wingspan (often used as a metric for dispersal capability) were not correlated with the rate at which species shifted their ranges. We observed a high phylogenetic signal in the direction species shifted their centroids. However, we found no phylogenetic signal in the rate species shifted their centroids, suggesting less conserved processes determine the rate of range shift than the direction species shift their ranges. This research shows important signatures of multidirectional range shifts (latitudinal and longitudinal) and uniquely shows that local climate change velocities are more important in driving range shifts than the mean climate change velocity throughout a species' entire range.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2024View details →

Species assemblages and their drivers differ between trees and lianas in a seasonal-evergreen forest in Thailand

We provide the R codes and datasets used in the analysis presented in the manuscript maintext titled "Species assemblages and their drivers differ between trees and lianas in a seasonal-evergreen forest in Thailand," published in Ecosphere.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2020View details →

Fig. 1 in Benthic hydrozoan assemblages as potential indicators of environmental health in a mediterranean marine protected area Abstract

Fig. 1: Sampling stations and associated level of impact in the study area.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Fig. 4 in Palaeoecology of tropical marine invertebrate assemblages from the Late Triassic of Misurina, Dolomites, Italy

Fig. 4. Rank-abundance distributions of the bulk samples from Misurina Landslide and Lago Antorno.

opencc-zeroJun 2024View details →

Shifts in the composition and distribution of Pacific Arctic larval fish assemblages in response to rapid ecosystem change

The Pacific Arctic marine ecosystem has undergone rapid changes in recent years due to ocean warming, sea ice loss, and increased northward transport of Pacific‐origin waters into the Arctic. These climate‐mediated changes have been linked to range shifts of juvenile and adult subarctic (boreal) and Arctic fish populations, though it is unclear whether distributional changes are also occurring during the early life stages. We analyzed larval fish abundance and distribution data sampled in late summer from 2010 to 2019 in two interconnected Pacific Arctic ecosystems: the northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea, to determine whether recent warming and loss of sea ice have restricted habitat for Arctic species and altered larval fish assemblage composition from Arctic‐ to boreal‐associated taxa. Multivariate analyses revealed the presence of three distinct multi‐species assemblages across all years: (1) a boreal assemblage dominated by yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera), capelin (Mallotus catervarius), and walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus); (2) an Arctic assemblage composed of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and other common Arctic species; and (3) a mixed assemblage composed of the dominant species from the other two assemblages. We found that the wind‐ and current‐driven northward advection of warmer, subarctic waters and the unprecedented low‐ice conditions observed in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas beginning in 2017 and persisting into 2018 and 2019 have precipitated community‐wide shifts, with the boreal larval fish assemblage expanding northward and offshore and the Arctic assemblage retreating poleward. We conclude that Arctic warming is most significantly driving changes in abundance at the leading and trailing edges of the Chukchi Sea larval fish community as boreal species increase in abundance and Arctic species decline. Our analyses document how quickly larval fish assemblages respond to environmental change and reveal that the impacts of Arctic borealization on fish community composition spans multiple life stages over large spatial scales.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2017View details →

Fig. 1 in Assessment of coastal fish assemblages before the establishment of a new marine protected area in the central Mediterranean: its role in formulating a zoning proposal Abstract

Fig. 1: Map of the study area with indication of sampling sectors around the promontory of Milazzo.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2013View details →

Fig. 4 in The nematode assemblage as a tool for the assessment of marine ecological quality status: a case-study in the Central Adriatic Sea

Fig. 4: nMDS plot of the nematode assemblages (fourth root transformed).

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2013View details →

Fig. 1 in The nematode assemblage as a tool for the assessment of marine ecological quality status: a case-study in the Central Adriatic Sea

Fig. 1: Geographical position of the study area.

opencc-zeroJul 2024View details →

An assemblage-level comparison of genetic diversity and population genetic structure between island and mainland ant populations

Island biotas provide unparalleled opportunities to examine evolutionary processes. Founder effects and bottlenecks, for example, typically decrease genetic diversity in island populations, while selection for reduced dispersal can increase population structure. Given that support for these generalities mostly comes from single-species analyses, assemblage-level comparisons are needed to clarify how (i) colonization affects the gene pools of interacting insular organisms, and (ii) patterns of genetic differentiation vary within assemblages of organisms. Here, we use genome-wide sequence data from ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to compare genetic diversity and population structure of mainland and island populations of nine ant species in coastal southern California with respect to genetic diversity and population structure. As expected, island populations (from Santa Cruz Island) had lower than expected heterozygosity and Watterson's theta compared to mainland populations (from the Lompoc Valley). Island populations, however, exhibited smaller genetic distances among samples, indicating less population subdivision and a higher capacity for dispersal compared to mainland populations. Within the focal assemblage, pairwise Fst values revealed pronounced interspecific variation in mainland-island differentiation, which increases with gyne body size. Our results reveal differences in genetic diversity and population genetic structure across an assemblage of interacting species, and illuminate general patterns of insularization in ants. Compared to single-species studies, our analysis of nine species pairs from the same island-mainland system offers a powerful approach to studying fundamental evolutionary processes.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

FIGURE 2 in Biostratigraphy and biochronology of late Cenozoic North American rodent assemblages

FIGURE 2 (continued).

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2010View details →

Fig. 1 in Patterns in fish species composition and assemblage structure in the upper Salado River lakes, Pampa Plain, Argentina

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the study area in the upper Salado River, Pampa Plain, Argentina.