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opencc-by-4.0Jul 2020View details →

Col d'Olen, species abundance 2015-2019

Vegetational surveys have been carried out starting from late summer 2015 in order to assess the site composition. The interpretation of vegetational data will be carried out taking into account the soil nutrients status.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

Species Abundance Distributions (SADs) for local tree communities in 1-ha forest plots on 20 tropical islands in the Indo-Pacific region

Species abundance distributions (SADs) characterise the distribution of individuals among species. This dataset was used to investigate the relative importance of disturbance regime (tropical cyclone regime) and island geography (the area and isolation of islands) on the shape of SADs.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2020View details →

Data and Code for: Comparative species abundance modeling of Capitellidae (Annelida) in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA

This publication contains the R-Scripts, RData, data frames, and other supplementary files necessary to reproduce the analyses and figures of Hilliard J, Karlen D, Dix T, Markham S, Schulze A (2020) Comparative species abundance modeling of Capitellidae (Annelida) in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 653:105-119. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13484">https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13484</a> All files are compressed into a single ZIP folder. The main directory contains a README file that explains the contents of the subdirectories.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Data from: Species abundance fluctuations over 31 years are associated with plant-soil feedback in a species-rich mountain meadow

1. Increasing evidence suggest that plant-soil interactions play an essential role in plant community assembly processes. Empirical investigations show that plant species abundance in the field is often related to plant-soil biota interactions, however, the direction of these relations have yielded inconsistent results. 2. We combined unique 31-year long field data on species abundances from a species-rich mountain meadow with single time point plant-soil feedback greenhouse experiments of 24 co-occurring plant species. We tested whether these relations were dynamic in time, whether coupled increases and decreases in abundance between years were related to plant-soil feedback and whether these changes were underlain by years in which manuring was applied. 3. The prevailingly negative relationship between plant-soil feedback and plant relative abundance in the field was significantly time-dependent, which may reconcile the contrasting results in literature. Furthermore, significant coupled oscillations appeared between species relative abundance changes and plant-soil feedback, which were likely moderated by years in which manuring was applied. Our results are consistent with the notion that the more abundant species are stabilised by negative plant-soil feedback, and the less abundant species co-vary with the fluctuations of these more competitive species. 4. Synthesis: Our results project plant-soil feedback as an important regulatory mechanism in plant communities, operating in conjunction with a species' competitive ability and soil nutrient availability. We suggest that negative feedback is particularly prominent in more abundant plant species that profit from more readily available soil nutrients than less abundant species with positive feedback. Negative plant-soil feedback may thus prevent more abundant plant species from outcompeting less abundant plant species, facilitating stable species co-existence.

Figure 5 in Gall-inducing arthropods in a Neotropical savanna area in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil): effects of plant species richness and super-host abundance

Figure 5. Gall morphotypes in host plants in an area of Neotropical savanna in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil). (A-B) Vochysiaceae = Qualea grandiflora, (C-D) Vochysiaceae = Qualea parviflora. of gall morphotypes per host plant species was 1.37. species was significantly influenced both by plant spe- Gall-inducing arthropods belonged to Acari, Diptera, cies richness (p = 0.011) and abundance of super-host Hemiptera and Lepidoptera. The most important gall-in- plants (p = 0.020) (Table 2). We found that galling speducing arthropods were Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) having cies per plant species was negatively affected by plant induced 34 (85.0%) gall morphotypes. In the sequence species richness (Fig. 6) and positively affected by abunwere Eriophyidae (Acari) inducing three (7.5%) mor- dance of super-host plants (Fig. 7). photypes, Psylloidea (Hemiptera) inducing two (5.0%) morphotypes, and Lepidoptera inducing a single (2.5%) morphotype. DISCUSSION The plant families that showed the greatest richness of arthropod galls were Fabaceae, with 16 (40.0%) mor- The number of galling species observed in the area photypes, Vochysiaceae with four (10.0%) and Myrtaceae of EPA of Rio Pandeiros (40 morphotypes) is intermediary (7.5%) with three morphotypes (Table 1). The plant spe- compared to other studies performed in Neotropical sacies Copaifera oblongifolia and Andira humilis Mart. ex vannas (Table 3). Forexample, Urso-Guimarãesetal. (2003) Benth. (Fabaceae) were the most important host spe- recorded only 22 gall morphotypes in cerrado fragments, cies with five and three morphotypes, respectively. All rupestrian field and gallery forest in Delfinópolis, Minas other host plant species had two or one morphotypes Gerais State. In other study, Maia & Fernandes (2004) re- (Table 1). Most of the arthropod galls occurred on leaves corded 137 morphotypes of insect galls in an area of rup- (90.0%), and was lenticular (45.0%), green (52.5%) and estrian fields and cerrado in the Serra de São José, Minas glabrous (82.5%). Gerais. These numbers extremely variable in the diversi- Galling species richness was not affected by none of ty of galling species can be explained by several factors, explanatory variables (Table 2), despite the tendency of among which are different sampling efforts employed in a positive effect of abundance of super-hosts on the gall the studies, as well as variations in the structural characrichness (p = 0.057). Already the galling species per plant teristics and diversity of the studied vegetation. The stan-

Figure 4 in Gall-inducing arthropods in a Neotropical savanna area in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil): effects of plant species richness and super-host abundance

Figure 4. Gall morphotypes in host plants in an area of Neotropical savanna in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil). (A) Fabaceae = Tachigali alba, (B) Malpighiaceae = Malpighiaceae sp., (C) Malvaceae = Eriotheca gracilipes, (D) Myrtaceae = Eugenia dysenterica, (E) Myrtaceae = Eugenia sp., (F) Myrtaceae = Psidium sp., (G) Ochnaceae = Ouratea hexasperma, (H) Ochnaceae = Ouratea spectabilis.

Figure 3 in Gall-inducing arthropods in a Neotropical savanna area in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil): effects of plant species richness and super-host abundance

Figure 3. Gall morphotypes in host plants in an area of Neotropical savanna in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil). (A-D) Fabaceae = Copaifera oblongifolia, (E) Fabaceae = Hymenaea stigonocarpa, (F-G) Fabaceae = Machaerium opacum, (H) Fabaceae = Sclerolobium denudatum.

Figure 2 in Gall-inducing arthropods in a Neotropical savanna area in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil): effects of plant species richness and super-host abundance

Figure 2. Gall morphotypes in host plants in an area of Neotropical savanna in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil). (A) Dilleniaceae = Davilla elliptica, (B) Ebenaceae = Diospyros hispida, (C) Erythroxylaceae = Erythroxylum suberosum, (D-F) Fabaceae = Andira humilis, (G) Fabaceae = Copaifera luetzelburgii, (H) Fabaceae = Copaifera oblongifolia.

Figure 1 in Gall-inducing arthropods in a Neotropical savanna area in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil): effects of plant species richness and super-host abundance

Figure 1. Gall morphotypes in host plants in an area of Neotropical savanna in the EPA of Rio Pandeiros (Bonito de Minas, MG, Brazil). (A) Anacardiaceae =Anacardium humile, (B) Bignoniaceae = Handroanthus ochraceus, (C) Calophyllaceae = Kielmeyera speciosa, (D) Caryocaraceae = Caryocar brasiliense, (E) Combretaceae = Terminalia fagifolia, (F-G) Connaraceae = Connarus suberosus, (H) Dilleniaceae = Davilla elliptica.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

Data from: Weighting effective number of species measures by abundance weakens detection of diversity responses

1. The effective number of species (ENS) has been proposed as a robust measure of species diversity that overcomes several shortcomings of both diversity indices and species richness measures. However, it is not yet clear if ENS improves interpretation and comparison of biodiversity monitoring data, and ultimately resource management decisions. 2. We used simulations of five stream macroinvertebrate assemblages and spatially extensive field data of stream fishes and mussels to show (1) how different ENS formulations respond to stress and (2) how diversity-environment relationships change with values of q, which weight ENS measures by species abundances. 3. Values of ENS derived from whole simulated assemblages with all species weighted equally (true species richness) steadily decreased as stress increased, and ENS-stress relationships became weaker and more different among assemblages with increased weighting. 4. The amount of variation in ENS across the fish and mussel assemblages that was associated with environmental gradients decreased with increasing q. 5. Synthesis and applications: ENS does not improve interpretability of how diversity responds to stress or natural environmental gradients, and incorporating relative abundance into species diversity measures as implemented in ENS can actually weaken detection of diversity responses. Ecologists need to be cautious about use and interpretation of diversity measures whose values are jointly influenced by richness and evenness, including ENS, and instead separately assess species richness, species evenness, and compositional change in ecological communities.

opencc-zeroNov 2019View details →

Species niches, not traits, determine abundance and occupancy patterns: a multi-site synthesis

Aim: Locally abundant species are usually widespread, and such pattern has been related to properties of the niches and traits of species. However, such explanations fail to account for the potential of traits to determine species niches, and often overlook statistical artifacts. Here we examine how trait distinctiveness determines species abilities to exploit either common habitats (niche position) or a range of habitats (niche breadth), and how niche position and breadth in turn affect abundance and occupancy. We also examine how statistical artifacts moderate these relations. Location: Sixteen sites in the Neotropics. Time period: 1993-2014. Major taxa studied: Aquatic invertebrates from tank bromeliads. Methods: We measured the environmental niche position and breadth of each species and calculated its trait distinctiveness, as the average trait difference with all other species at each site. Then, we used a combination of Structural Equations Models and a meta-analytic approach to test trait-niche relationships, and a null model to control for statistical artifacts. Results: The trait distinctiveness of each species was unrelated to its niche properties, abundance, and occupancy. In contrast, niche position was the main predictor of abundance and occupancy; species that used the most common environmental conditions found across bromeliads were locally abundant and widespread. Contributions of niche breadth to such patterns were due to statistical artifacts, indicating that niche breadth effects may have been overestimated in previous studies. Main conclusions: Our study reveals the generality of niche position in explaining one of the most common ecological patterns. The robustness of this result is underscored by the geographic extent of our study and our control of statistical artifacts. We call for a similar examination across other systems – an essential task to understanding the drivers of commonness across the tree of life.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Hierarchical multi-grain models improve descriptions of species' environmental associations, distribution, and abundance

The characterization of species' environmental niches and spatial distribution predictions based on them are now central to much of ecology and conservation, but implicitly requires decisions about the appropriate spatial scale (i.e. grain) of analysis. Ecological theory and empirical evidence suggest that range-resident species respond to their environment at two characteristic, hierarchical spatial grains: (i) response grain, the (relatively fine) grain at which an individual uses environmental resources, and (ii) occupancy grain, the (relatively coarse) grain equivalent to a typical home range. We use a multi-grain (MG) occupancy model, aided by fine-grain remotely sensed imagery, to simultaneously estimate species-environment associations at both grains, conduct grain optimization to measure response grain, and apply this analysis framework to an example species: a medium-sized bird (Tockus deckeni) in a heterogeneous East African landscape. Based on home range analysis of movement data, we calculate an occupancy grain of 1km for T. deckeni. Using a grain optimization procedure across 32 grains from 10m to 500m, we identify 60m as the most strongly supported response grain for a suite of environmental variables, slightly coarser than opportunistic behavioral observations would have suggested. Validation confirms that the accuracy of the optimized MG occupancy model substantially exceeds that of equivalent single-grain (SG) occupancy models. We further use a simulation approach to assess the potential impacts of accounting for the multi-scale structure of species' environmental requirements on estimates of population size. We find that the more strongly supported MG approach consistently predicts a minimum population sizes in the study landscape that is much lower than that provided by the SG model. This suggests that SG approaches commonly used in conservation applications could lead to overly optimistic abundance and population estimates and that the MG approach may be more appropriate for supporting species conservation goals. More generally, we conclude that multi-grain approaches of the sort presented, and increasingly enabled by growing high-resolution remotely sensed data, hold great promise for offering a more mechanistic framework for assessing the appropriate grain(s) for population monitoring and management and enable more reliable estimates of abundances and species' distributions.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Crop diversity and within field multi-species interactions mediate herbivore abundances in cotton fields

Insect herbivore abundances in agricultural fields partly depend on surrounding landscape compositional heterogeneity (e.g., landscape complexity). Landscape complexity can directly (e.g., dilution of host crops) and indirectly (promoting herbivore biocontrol) regulate herbivores in agricultural fields. While much is known about direct (e.g., resource concentration) and indirect effects (i.e., promoting biocontrol) of landscape complexity on herbivore populations, more work is needed to study whether landscape complexity can regulate herbivore populations by mediating within field multi-species interactions among herbivores and their shared natural enemies. During 2019 and 2020, we estimated Bemisia tabaci and Aphis gossypii abundances, their dominant predators (coccinellids, spiders, Orius spp., and Geocoris spp.), and their interaction (using molecular analysis) in 38 cotton fields along a gradient of landscape diversity across Georgia, USA. Within cotton fields, we assessed the effect of predator abundances, their frequency of feeding on herbivores, and the correlation between herbivore abundances (B. tabaci and A. gossypii) on the B. tabaci and A. gossypii abundance. At the landscape scale, crop diversity and different cover types influenced the abundance of B. tabaci and A. gossypii within cotton fields. We found a complex interaction among pests at the field scale, with higher aphid abundance correlated with decreased whitefly abundance. Our results support crop diversification for improving suppression of generalist pests in cotton landscapes through promoting biocontrol and diluting host crop area. Our result further suggests that the landscape complexity effect on whiteflies can indirectly mediate aphid abundance in cotton fields, indicating the importance of within field species interactions.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Plant species composition and key-species abundance drive ecosystem multifunctionality

Global biodiversity loss has aroused great concern about the role of plant communities in driving ecosystem functions. However, there is limited understanding of how soil property, plant richness, and composition interact to affect ecosystem multifunctionality. We conducted a constructed-ecosystem experiment by simultaneously manipulating soil origin (i.e., fertile farmland soil and infertile bare land soil), plant richness (from one to four species) and composition (five single species, and all possible two-, three-, and four- species combinations of the five species) to evaluate their importance for driving multiple ecosystem functions related to accumulation of biomass, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in plants, greenhouse gas emissions, soil nutrients, soil N fixation, and mineralization of N and phosphorus (P).

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Abundance, biomass and species richness of macrozoobenthos along an intertidal elevation gradient

Ecology aims to comprehend species distribution and its interaction with environmental factors, from global to local scales. While global environmental changes affect marine biodiversity, understanding the drivers at smaller scales remains crucial. Tidal flats can be found on most of the world's coastlines and are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances. They are important transient ecosystems between terrestrial and marine ecosystems and their biodiversity provides important ecosystem services. Owing to this unique position at the terrestrial-marine transition, strong environmental gradients of elevation, sediment composition and food availability prevail. The data set contains information on macrozoobenthos abundance, biomass and community composition and abiotic and biotic environmental factors at a regional and local level at back barrier tidal flats of three East-Frisian islands in Germany. As environmental data elevation, mud content in the sediment, total organic carbon (TOC), porewater nutrients and Chl a are included.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Abundance of Oxythyrea sp. and Tropinota sp. Flower Chafer Beetles on Various Plant Species in Northern Mallorca

The relevant study investigated the habitat preferences of beetles belonging to the Oxythyrea and Tropinota genera in Northern Mallorca, with a particular focus on flowering species as host plants. A total of 838 observational results were collected throughout field surveys. Key findings indicated that Oxythyrea sp. and Tropinota sp. beetles predominantly inhabited areas with dense populations of flowering Galactites sp. and Asphodelus sp. plants in this region.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

The effect of niche filtering on plant species abundance in temperate grassland communities

1. Niche filtering predicts that abundant species in communities have similar traits that are suitable for the environment. However, niche filtering can operate on distinct axes of trait variation in response to different ecological conditions. Here, we use a trait-based approach to infer niche filtering processes and (1) test if abundant and rare species in grassland communities are differently positioned along distinct axes of trait variation, (2) determine if these trait variation axes, as well as phylogenetic and functional similarities, drive species relative abundance (aboveground cover) within communities, and (3) explore if these relationships vary across grassland types and macro-climatic gradients. 2. We analysed species abundance in a set of ~2,000 vegetation plots from temperate grasslands in Central Europe as a function of species position along three axes of trait variation: the 'Plant Size Spectrum' (PSS), the 'Leaf Economics Spectrum' (LES), and the 'Lifespan/Clonality Spectrum' (LCS). We also used phylogenetic and functional similarities in the multi-dimensional trait space as predictors of species abundance. We compared our results among alpine, wet, mesic, and dry grasslands and tested if the effect of the predictors on species abundance was significant across macro-climatic gradients. 3. Compared to abundant species, rare species in grassland communities were more commonly annual and non-clonal, had lower stature and smaller leaves and seeds, and relied on more acquisitive leaf economics. Our predictors significantly explained species abundance in approximately one-third of the plots. LES was the most important predictor across all plots, with the most prominent effect in alpine and dry grasslands and areas with more extreme temperatures. In contrast, in mesic and wet grasslands and grasslands located in warmer and less seasonal regions, species abundance was best predicted by phylogenetic similarities between species, with Poaceae species becoming more abundant. 4. Our study explored trait-abundance relationships for different community types across a large area and broad macro-climatic gradients. We conclude that niche filtering, and particularly resource-acquisition trade-offs, drives species abundance in temperate grassland communities of Central Europe. Our findings emphasize the interaction between local environmental conditions and plant function in determining community assembly.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Bryosphere loss impairs litter decomposition consistently across moss species, litter types, and micro-arthropod abundance

The bryosphere (i.e., ground mosses and their associated biota) is a key driver of nutrient and carbon dynamics in many terrestrial ecosystems, in part because it regulates litter decomposition. However, we have a poor understanding of how litter decomposition responds to changes in the bryosphere, including changes in bryosphere cover, moss species, and bryosphere-associated biota. Specifically, the contribution of micro-arthropods to litter decomposition in the bryosphere is unclear. Here, we used a 16-month litterbag field experiment in two boreal forests to investigate bryosphere effects on litter decomposition rates among two moss species (Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens), and two litter types (higher-quality Betula pendula litter and lower-quality P. schreberi litter). Additionally, we counted all micro-arthropods in the litterbags and identified them to functional groups. We found that bryosphere removal reduced litter decomposition rates by 28% and micro-arthropod abundance by 29%, and led to a colder micro-climate. Litter decomposition rates and micro-arthropod abundance were uncorrelated overall, but were positively correlated in B. pendula litterbags. Bryosphere effects on litter decomposition rates were consistent across moss species, litter types, and micro-arthropod abundances and community compositions. These findings suggest that micro-arthropods play a minor role in litter decomposition in the boreal forest floor, suggesting that other factors (e.g., micro-climate, nutrient availability) likely drive the positive effect of the bryosphere on decomposition rates. Our results point to a substantial and consistent impairment of litter decomposition in response to loss of moss cover, which could have important implications for nutrient and carbon cycling in moss-dominated ecosystems.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2022View details →

Absolute abundances of probiotic bacterial species in synthesised vs commercial yogurts local to Qatar.

Absolute abundances of probiotic bacterial species in yogurts local to Qatar and lab synthesised yogurts. (16sRNA sequencing)