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opennotspecifiedNov 2018View details →

FIGURE 2. Wet Mascarenan ecosystems. A in Disentangling the diversity and taxonomy of Hymenophyllaceae (Hymenophyllales, Polypodiidae) in the Mascarene archipelago, with ecological implications

FIGURE 2. Wet Mascarenan ecosystems. A. Lowland windward rainforest dominated by Sapotaceae trees, showing the understory with numerous low epiphytic and terrestrial free-sporing plants (liverworts, mosses, ferns, lycopods and spikemosses) and a few herbaceous angiosperms (especially orchids) (La Réunion, 'Mare Longue' forest, ~450 m). B. Montane rainforest dominated by Dombeyoideae (Malvaceae) trees and Alsophila spp. tree-ferns (Cyatheaceae) as emergents from the canopy (La Réunion, 'Cassé de Takamaka, Bébour', 1,100–1,200 m). C. Montane ericoid thickets (La Réunion, 'Enclos du Piton de la Fournaise', ~2,200 m). (Photographs. A, C: C. Chaussidon; B: J.-M. Tamon).

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →

Data from: Environmental and biological controls on the diversity and ecology of Late Cretaceous through early Paleogene marine ecosystems in the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain

The late Mesozoic through early Cenozoic is an interval of significant biologic turnover and ecologic reorganization within marine assemblages, but the timing and causes of these changes remain poorly understood. Here, we quantify the pattern and timing of changes in the diversity (richness and evenness) and ecology of local (i.e., sample level) mollusk-dominated assemblages during this critical interval using field-collected and published datasets from the US Gulf Coastal Plain. We test whether the biologic and ecologic changes observed primarily at the global level during this time are also expressed at the local level, and whether the end Cretaceous (K/Pg) mass extinction and recovery moderated these trends. To explore whether environment had any effect on these patterns, we examine data from shallow subtidal and offshore settings. Assemblages from both settings recovered to pre-extinction diversity levels rapidly, in less than 7 million years. Following initial recovery, diversity remained relatively unchanged in both settings. The trajectory of ecological restructuring was distinct for each setting in the wake of the K/Pg extinction. In offshore assemblages, the abundance and number of predatory carnivorous taxa dramatically increased, and surficial sessile suspension feeders were replaced by more active suspension feeders. In contrast, shallow subtidal assemblages did not experience ecological reorganization following the K/Pg extinction. The distinct ecological patterns displayed in each environment follow onshore-offshore patterns of innovation, whereby evolutionary novelties first appear in onshore settings relative to offshore habitats. Increased predation pressure may explain the significant ecological restructuring of offshore assemblages, whereby the explosive radiation of predators drove changes in their prey. Habitat-specific ecological restructuring, and its occurrence solely during the recovery interval, implies that disturbance and incumbency were also key in mediating these ecological changes.

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

Invasion drives plant diversity loss through competition and ecosystem modification

1. Although invasive plants increasingly contribute to the current biodiversity crisis, the mechanisms through which they impact native communities are still poorly understood. Community ecology theory has emphasized direct competitive displacement over common resources, but invasion-driven ecosystem modifications, such as altered soil pH, might also have consequences for plant diversity. However, the relative importance of ecosystem modification compared to direct resource competition has rarely been tested. 2. Here we studied the invasive vine Vincetoxicum rossicum across invaded meadows in southern Ontario, Canada. In each meadow site, we quantified: 1) the strength of impact on the resident plant community, 2) the potential for competition with resident species (as the degree of niche-dissimilarity and competitive superiority to the residents based on their functional traits), and 3) the amount of ecosystem modification related to invasion. 3. We found that impacts on plant biodiversity were more negative where the invader had greater potential to competitively displace species (because it had a similar niche as the residents or was competitively superior), but also where it strongly altered soil N pools, moisture and pH. 4. Synthesis. Our case study suggests that, while competition is undoubtedly an important driver of invasion impact, ecosystem modifications can have cascading effects on plant communities, thereby magnifying the impacts of biological invasions.

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

Data: Diversity-production relationships of fish communities in freshwater stream ecosystems

Ecological relationships between species richness and biomass production are increasingly thought to be pervasive across the globe. Yet diversity-production relationships have not been explored extensively for freshwater fish communities even though fisheries production provides key services to humans. Our aim was to evaluate the diversity-production relationship for fish communities inhabiting freshwater streams across the Appalachian Mountain range and examine how diversity-production relationships varied across streams possessing different thermal signatures. Our study area included 25 freshwater stream ecosystems spanning from Vermont to North Carolina in the United States. Twenty sites were located in Maryland south to Tennessee and North Carolina while five additional higher latitude sites were sampled in Massachusetts and Maine. We sampled 25 study streams from June to September 2012 and collected fish population information to calculate biomass, species richness, Shannon diversity index, and annual production for each fish community. Linear mixed models were used to analyze the relationship between diversity indices and total community production. We also compared diversity and production relationships across other taxa. Across all streams, community fish production, biomass and P/B ratios ranged 0.15-6.79 g m2 y1, 0.61-0.73 g m-2, and 0.21-1.07 y-1, respectively. Species richness had a significant positive effect (p = 0.012) on community fish production, while accounting for the thermal signature of the streams as a random effect and other habitat covariates. Shannon diversity index did not have a significant effect (p = 0.101) on community production. The diversity-production relationship observed for stream fish communities was similar to other studies but demonstrated one of the highest slopes. Our results demonstrate that effects of biodiversity resonate to influence the production of fishes; thus, management of fisheries is more closely coupled to biodiversity than previously thought.

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

Plant diversity ameliorates the evolutionary development of fungicide resistance in an agricultural ecosystem

1. Evolution of fungicide resistance in agricultural and natural ecosystems is associated with the biology of pathogens, the chemical property and application strategies of the fungicides. The influence of ecological factors such as host diversity on the evolution of fungicide resistance has been largely overlooked but is highly relevant to social and natural sustainability. In this study, we used an experimental evolution approach to understand how host population heterogeneity may affect the evolution of fungicide resistance in the associated pathogens. 2. Potato populations with six levels of genetic heterogeneity were grown in the same field and naturally infected by Phytophthora infestans. Pathogen isolates (~1200) recovered from the field experiment were molecularly genotyped. Genetically distinct isolates were selected form each population and 142 isolates were assayed for their tolerance to two fungicides differing in the mode of action. Tolerance was determined by calculating the relative growth rate of the isolates in the presence and absence of fungicides and the effective concentration for 50% inhibition. 3. The evolution of fungicide resistance in P. infestans was affected by the genetic variation of host populations. Higher potato diversification increased the sensitivity of P. infestans to both fungicides and reduced genetic variation of the pathogen available for the development of fungicide resistance. These mitigating effects are independent of biochemical properties of fungicides and are likely caused by host selection for pathogen strains differing in the ability of fungicide influxes, effluxes or detoxification rather than mutations in fungicide target genes. 4. Synthesis and applications: Increased fungicide sensitivity and diminished evolutionary potential of fungicide resistance associated with higher host diversification reduce the fungicide dose and application frequency needed to achieve the same extent of disease control, relaxing the selection pressure acting on the pathogen populations and retarding the evolution of fungicide resistance. Together with benefits documented in other studies, our results indicate that host diversification is an eco-friendly approach that not only ameliorate fungicide resistance but also help achieve social and ecological sustainability by balancing the interaction among food security, socioeconomic development and ecological resilience.

opennotspecifiedJul 2013View details →

Figure 1 in Diversity and nectar hosts of flower-settling moths within a Florida sandhill ecosystem

Figure 1. Photographic documentation of settling behaviour: (A) Synchlora frondaria (Geometridae) on Balduina angustifolia (Asteraceae); (B) Idaea ostentaria (Geometridae) on Eriogonum tomentosum (Polygonaceae); (C) Hormoschista latipalpus (Noctuidae) on E. tomentosum; (D) Herpetogramma bipunctalis (Crambidae) on Liatris tenuifolia (Asteracaea); (E) Samea ecclesialis (Crambidae) on Ageratina aromatica (Asteraceae); (F) Schinia sanguinea (Noctuidae) on L. tenuifolia.

opennotspecifiedJul 2013View details →

Figure 2 in Diversity and nectar hosts of flower-settling moths within a Florida sandhill ecosystem

Figure 2. Species of moths observed taking nectar on Ageratina aromatica, including number of individual moths sampled with and without pollen. Two individuals observed but not sampled and not included in graph were Scopula loutaria (Geometridae) and Leucania scirpicola (Noctuidae).

opencc-zeroDec 2019View details →

Data from: Functional and phylogenetic diversity promotes litter decomposition across terrestrial ecosystems

Aim: Litter decomposition is a vital process of carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite rapid declines in plant diversity worldwide, the plant diversity effects on litter decomposition, along with the factors driving their directions and magnitudes, remain uncertain. Location: Globe. Time period: 1985-2018. Major taxa studied: Plants. Methods: By synthesizing 492 paired observations of leaf litter mixtures and monocultures from 110 studies, we conducted a global meta-analysis of the effects of litter mixtures on litter decomposition rates, which were calculated as k coefficients from mt/m0 =e-kt, where mt/m0 was litter mass remaining proportion corresponding to time t. Results: Litter mixtures on average increased litter decomposition rates by 5.6% (95% confident intervals, 3.0%-8.1%), and the effects of litter mixtures increased with litter species richness, the functional diversity of chemical traits (leaf C, N, P contents and C:N ratio) and phylogenetic diversity consistently across terrestrial ecosystems. The decomposer abundance and function, including soil fauna abundance, microbial biomass, and extracellular enzyme activities were positively associated with litter mixture effects on decomposition rates. The structural equation models accounted for 48.6% of the global variation in litter decomposition rates and revealed that the positive effects of litter functional diversity on decomposer abundance and function led to increased litter decomposition rates, while litter phylogenetic diversity had a direct effect on litter decomposition rates. Main conclusions: The functional diversity of the chemical traits and phylogenetic diversity, both as indicators for complementarity effects, are important drivers for increasing litter mixture effects on decomposition. The positive litter diversity effects on decomposition rates are mechanistically linked with soil fauna abundance, microbial biomass, and extracellular enzyme activities. Our results suggest that plant diversity, especially functional and phylogenetic diversity, increases decomposer abundance and function, and thus plays a key role in the carbon and nutrient cycling across terrestrial ecosystems.

Fig. 1 in Habitat Association Promotes Diversity of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) in Neotropical Ecosystems

Fig. 1. Serra de S~ ao José conservation unit limits (right) (44°9ʹ46.14ʹʹW, 21°5ʹ14.54ʹʹS) and its location in South America (left).

Fig. 5 in Habitat Association Promotes Diversity of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) in Neotropical Ecosystems

Fig. 5. Multidimensional scaling (MDS). A) Ordering of the samples collected in four habitat types, B) Ordering of the samples collected in the three bait types. Stress = 0.11.

Fig. 3 in Habitat Association Promotes Diversity of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) in Neotropical Ecosystems

Fig. 3. Rank-abundance of histerid beetle communities in four habitats in the Serra de S~ ao José, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Fig. 2 in Habitat Association Promotes Diversity of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) in Neotropical Ecosystems

Fig. 2. Main habitats in the Serra de S~ ao José, Minas Gerais, Brazil. a) Mountain semideciduous forest, b) Cerrado, c) Rupestrian field, d) Introduced pasture.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2023View details →

Data for the article "Organic farming increases functional diversity and ecosystem service provision of spontaneous vegetation in Mediterranean vineyards"

Research data for the article "Organic farming increases functional diversity and ecosystem service provision of spontaneous vegetation in Mediterranean vineyards" made by Roser Rotchés-Ribalta, Joan Marull and Joan Pino published in Ecological Indicators. It includes: - Species and functional diversities of spontaneous plant species in the different plots surveyed per field - The cover of each species per plot in each field - The functional traits used for each species - The physico-chemical soil data of each plot per field