Body Size Frequency Research Articles

EVALUATING COMPOSITIONAL FIDELITY AND SOURCES OF MORTALITY OF SHORELINE FISH CARCASSES IN A FRESHWATER LAKE COMMUNITY IN WESTERN CANADA

ABSTRACT Taxonomic comparisons of death assemblages with extant communities continue to provide insight for ecological studies but whether demographic aspects such as age structure, sex ratio, and causes of mortality are accurately captured by the former remains little studied. At a 110 ha dystropic lake in western Canada, seasonal shoreline accumulations of fish carcasses were collected annually for 12 years (N=4499) during 95 full lake-circuits and analyzed for taxa, body size frequencies, sex ratio relative to live-captures and sources of mortality. Rank order of the four fish species (Gasterosteus aculeatus, Oncorhynchus clarki, O. keta, Salvelinus malma) was similar for live-captures and carcasses. Of the dominant species (G. aculeatus), modal adult body length (∼80 mm SL) was the same for carcasses and live-captures and shifted by about 10% over 30 years with parallel trends between the groups for both sexes. Age-specific body size was about 5% larger (P<0.001) in carcasses than live-captures. Carcasses were significantly female-biased (2:1) each year relative to a population sex ratio of 1:1 in the lake. There was a complete absence of juvenile fish (<30 mm) among carcasses but these constituted 70% of the live population. Estimated relative contributions to mortality for the carcasses include starvation (<1%), parasitism (3%), senescence (4%) and lethal injuries from predator attack (70–80%). If these carcasses are representative of a fossil series in freshwater lake sediments, then several demographic parameters including age-specific body size, age-class frequencies and sex ratio depart substantially from the live population. As well, the virtual absence of avian piscivores in the carcass assemblage, the major source of predation on the fish population, warrants additional attention in paleoecological studies.

Variation in call types, calling activity patterns and relationship between call frequency and body size in a field cricket, Acanthogryllus asiaticus

ABSTRACT In this study, we examined the temporal variation in calling activity of a field cricket, Acanthogryllus asiaticus on a diel and seasonal scale. We also examined the acoustic structure of calls produced in the context of mating, namely, long distance mating call (LDMC), courtship call and post copulatory call. Finally, we examined the allometric relationship between sound-producing structures and body morphometry and tested whether peak frequency of LDMC was indicative of male body size. Our findings suggest that calling activity of A. asiaticus peaked between 2100 and 2400 h on a diel scale and between March and May (summer) on a seasonal scale. The three calls were acoustically distinct and stereotypic with the courtship and post copulatory calls being composed of two chirp-types each. This study presents the first description of post copulatory calls of a field cricket. Morphometric analyses revealed that both inter-tooth distance and teeth width varied along the file length, however, number of teeth and file length were not correlated. Harp area was correlated with body size and peak frequency was significantly negatively correlated with harp area. This implies that the peak frequency can potentially be an indicator of body size in this species.

The geographical diversification in varanid lizards: the role of mainland versus island in driving species evolution.

Monitor lizards (Varanidae) inhabit both the mainland and islands of all geological types and have diversified into an exceptionally wide range of body sizes, thus providing an ideal model for examining the role of mainland versus island in driving species evolution. Here we use phylogenetic comparative methods to examine whether a link exists between body size-driven diversification and body size-frequency distributions in varanid lizards and to test the hypothesis that island lizards differ from mainland species in evolutionary processes, body size, and life-history traits (offspring number and size). We predict that: 1) since body size drives rapid diversification in groups, a link exists between body size-driven diversification and body size-frequency distributions; 2) because of various environments on island, island species will have higher speciation, extinction, and dispersal rates, compared with mainland species; 3) as a response to stronger intraspecific competition, island species will maximize individual ability associated with body size to outcompete closely-related species, and island species will produce smaller clutches of larger eggs to increase offspring quality. Our results confirm that the joint effect of differential macroevolutionary rates shapes the species richness pattern of varanid lizards. There is a link between body size-driven diversification and body size-frequency distributions, and the speciation rate is maximized at medium body sizes. Island species will have higher speciation, equal extinction, and higher dispersal rates compared with mainland species. Smaller clutch size and larger hatchling in the island than in mainland species indicate that offspring quality is more valuable than offspring quantity for island varanids.

Effect of stingray (Hemitrygon akajei) foraging on a ghost shrimp population (Nihonotrypaea harmandi) on an intertidal sandflat, western Kyushu, Japan

Callianassid shrimp residing in deep burrows have large bioturbating effects on marine soft-bottom communities. A few predators that excavate deep pits could have substantial effects on shrimp populations, as well as knock-on effects. Processes and consequences of such effects on shrimp populations are poorly understood. On a 300-m-wide intertidal sandflat area between tide marks in western Kyushu between 1989 and 1994, shrimp population densities were stable, reaching >1300individualsm–2. Dasyatid stingray feeding pits reaching depths up to 20cm occurred abruptly in large numbers in 1994, after which shrimp densities decreased yearly to hundreds of individuals per square metre in 2001. The densities of ray feeding pits formed per day were monitored every or every other spring tide between 2000 and 2001. Schools of rays were enclosed during submerged times and their body sizes recorded alive to determine size-frequency distribution. The body-size frequency distributions of shrimp were compared among the gut contents of several rays, ray feeding pits and intact sandflat. Reductions in the shrimp density per ray feeding bout compared with the density on the intact sandflat were recorded. A model of daily predation at different seasonal rates was used to simulate the yearly change in shrimp density. The result was consistent with the actual change.

Reproductive life-history strategies in a species-rich assemblage of Amazonian electric fishes.

The reproductive biology of only a small fraction of Neotropical freshwater fishes has been described, and detailed comparative studies of reproductive life-history variation in the Neotropical ichthyofauna are lacking. Here we describe interspecific variation in reproductive life history for a multi-species assemblage of the electric knifefish genus Brachyhypopomus (Hypopomidae: Gymnotiformes: Ostariophysi) from Amazonian floodplain and terra firme stream systems. During a year-round quantitative sampling program, we collected and measured key life-history traits from 3,410 individuals. Based on oocyte size distributions, and on circannual variation in gonadosomatic indices, hepatosomatic indices, and capture-per-unit-effort abundance of reproductive adults, we concluded that all species exhibit a single protracted annual breeding season during which females spawn fractionally. We found small clusters of post-larval individuals in one floodplain species and one terra firme stream species, but no signs of parental care. From analyses of body size-frequency distributions and otolith growth increments, we concluded that five species in our study area have approximately one-year (annual) semelparous life history with a single reproductive period followed by death, while two species have a two-year iteroparous life history, with breeding in both year-groups. Despite predictions from life-history theory we found no salient correlations between life history strategy (semelparity or iteroparity) and habitat occupancy (floodplain or terra firme stream). In the iteroparous species B. beebei, we documented evidence for reproductive restraint in the first breeding season relative to the second breeding season and argue that this is consistent with age-regulated terminal investment.

Removal of intertidal grazers by human harvesting leads to alteration of species interactions, community structure and resilience to climate change

Extreme fluctuations in abiotic conditions can induce a biological stress response (e.g. bleaching) detrimental to an organism's health. In some instances, organisms can recover if conditions are alleviated, such as through co-occurrence with other species that confer protection. Biodiverse, multitrophic communities are increasingly recognised as important promoters of species persistence and resilience under environmental change. On intertidal shores, the role of grazers as top-down determinants of algal community structure is well recognised. Similarly, the harvesting of grazers for human consumption is increasingly prevalent with potential to greatly alter the community dynamics. Here, we assess how differences in harvesting pressure of grazers under three management regimes (no-take; managed access; open-access) alters the trophic interactions between grazers, and algal communities. Grazer density and body size frequencies were different among regimes leading to changes in the photosynthetic performance and recovery of crustose coralline algae (CCA) post-bleaching, as well as their presence altering the strength of interactions between species. The exclusion of grazers from patches using cages led to different emergent communities and reduced negative correlations between taxa. The absence of larger grazers (>9 cm) at the managed access site led to macroalgal overgrowth of bleached CCA negatively affecting its recovery, whereas no-take or open-access led to a moderated algal growth and a shift from competitive to facilitative interactions between algal species. Given that CCA play an important role in the population growth and development of other species, the choice of management measure should be carefully considered before implementation, depending on objectives.

Exploring the Effects of Land-Cover Configuration, Body Size and Trophic Diversity on the Avifauna Richness of Prince Edward Island, Canada

We explored the effects of land-cover configuration, body size and trophic diversity in determining avian species richness on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Data on avian species richness were obtained from the Maritime Breeding Bird Atlas data. Prince Edward Island was divided into 97 sampling cells of 10 × 10 km. Land-cover metrics were calculated using a forest inventory database, Fragstats and ArcView version 8.1. The relationships between avian species richness and explanatory variables were explored using correlation analysis, mixed forward-backward stepwise analysis, generalized linear models and Akaike’s information criterion. Models predicted between 27% and 63% of the variability in species richness, attributing substantial explanatory power to both the average body size and the range of body size spanned by the avian community. The body-size frequency distribution showed that avian communities were dominated by species weighing between 50 and 80 g. Habitat metrics associated with forests were more important to the avifauna than those related to agriculture. Avian species richness also decreased with both the fragmentation and isolation of wetlands. The total area covered by the human infrastructure land-cover and its subdivision were also important. Clearly, body size plays a key role in determining the diversity of birds on Prince Edward Island. In particular, species weighing 50 - 80 g appear to have sufficient resources to be successful on Prince Edward Island’s landscapes. Our findings also highlighted the importance of controlling the expansion of human infrastructure and both the fragmentation and reduction in size of wetlands to maintain avian species richness patterns.

In hot and cold water: differential life-history traits are key to success in contrasting thermal deep-sea environments.

Summary Few species of reptant decapod crustaceans thrive in the cold‐stenothermal waters of the Southern Ocean. However, abundant populations of a new species of anomuran crab, Kiwa tyleri, occur at hydrothermal vent fields on the East Scotia Ridge.As a result of local thermal conditions at the vents, these crabs are not restricted by the physiological limits that otherwise exclude reptant decapods south of the polar front.We reveal the adult life history of this species by piecing together variation in microdistribution, body size frequency, sex ratio, and ovarian and embryonic development, which indicates a pattern in the distribution of female Kiwaidae in relation to their reproductive development.High‐density ‘Kiwa’ assemblages observed in close proximity to sources of vent fluids are constrained by the thermal limit of elevated temperatures and the availability of resources for chemosynthetic nutrition. Although adult Kiwaidae depend on epibiotic chemosynthetic bacteria for nutrition, females move offsite after extrusion of their eggs to protect brooding embryos from the chemically harsh, thermally fluctuating vent environment. Consequently, brooding females in the periphery of the vent field are in turn restricted by low‐temperature physiological boundaries of the deep‐water Southern Ocean environment. Females have a high reproductive investment in few, large, yolky eggs, facilitating full lecithotrophy, with the release of larvae prolonged, and asynchronous. After embryos are released, larvae are reliant on locating isolated active areas of hydrothermal flow in order to settle and survive as chemosynthetic adults. Where the cold water restricts the ability of all adult stages to migrate over long distances, these low temperatures may facilitate the larvae in the location of vent sites by extending the larval development period through hypometabolism.These differential life‐history adaptations to contrasting thermal environments lead to a disjunct life history among males and females of K. tyleri, which is key to their success in the Southern Ocean vent environment.We highlight the complexity in understanding the importance of life‐history biology, in combination with environmental, ecological and physiological factors contributing to the overall global distribution of vent‐endemic species.

Vanishing Clams on an Iberian Beach: Local Consequences and Global Implications of Accelerating Loss of Shells to Tourism

Multi-decadal increase in shell removal by tourists, a process that may accelerate degradation of natural habitats, was quantified via two series of monthly surveys, conducted thirty years apart (1978–1981 and 2008–2010) in one small embayment on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Over the last three decades, the local tourist arrivals have increased almost three-fold (2.74), while the area has remained unaffected by urban encroachment and commercial fisheries. During the same time interval the abundance of mollusk shells along the shoreline decreased by a comparable factor (2.62) and was significantly and negatively correlated with tourist arrivals (r = −0.52). The strength of the correlation increased when data were restricted to months with high tourist arrivals (r = −0.72). In contrast, the maximum monthly wave energy (an indirect proxy for changes in rate of onshore shell transport) was not significantly correlated with shell abundance (r = 0.10). Similarly, rank dominance of common species, drilling predation intensity, and body size-frequency distribution patterns have all remained stable over recent decades. A four-fold increase in global tourist arrivals over the last 30 years may have induced a comparable worldwide acceleration in shell removal from marine shorelines, resulting in multiple, currently unquantifiable, habitat changes such as increased beach erosion, changes in calcium carbonate recycling, and declines in diversity and abundance of organisms, which are dependent on shell availability.

Size frequency distributions of key epibenthic organisms in the eastern Chukchi Sea and their correlations with environmental parameters

Epibenthic communities play a key role in ecosystem functioning in Arctic shelf Seas, such as in the Chukchi Sea in the Pacific Arctic. These communities, however, are patchily distributed and are influenced by various environmental parameters. Along with taxonomic composition, another community aspect that may vary spatially and be influenced by the environment is the distribution of organism sizes. This study presents the first size frequency distributions of nine epifaunal taxa that were determined to be dominant in the eastern Chukchi Sea in July/August 2009 and 2010, including male, female and gravid Chionoecetes opilio and Hyas coarctatus crabs, the gastropods Neptunea spp., Plicifusus spp., Colus spp., and Cryptonatica spp., and the echinoderms Gorgonocephalus spp., Leptasterias spp., and Echinarachnius parma. Some abundant taxa exhibited a wide range of sizes (i.e. C. opilio, Neptunea spp., and Leptasterias spp.), while others had a much smaller size range (i.e. Cryptonatica spp. and E. parma). We also found that size distributions of these taxa correlated with various combinations of the environmental parameters that have been shown to be important in structuring the general distribution patterns for the epibenthic invertebrate communities in the study area, including percent total sediment organic carbon, sediment chlorophyll a, temperature, latitude, sediment grain size 2 and 4phi, pH, and dissolved oxygen. Our findings present benchmark information that is needed to detect future alterations in body-size frequency distributions that are likely to happen in response to the predicted climate and environmental changes in the Chukchi Sea region.

Body-size distribution and biogeographical patterns in non-marine ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda)

The idea that free-living minute organisms have ubiquitous distributions has been recently revitalized, causing significant controversy. The ubiquitous model predicts that a threshold where ubiquity leaves room to biogeography might exist somewhere along the animal body-size range. In the present study, such a prediction is tested by analysing body-size frequency distribution, species distribution, and local-to-global species ratio at the scale of biogeographical realms in cypridoidean non-marine ostracods, a group with a body-size range in the ubiquity–biogeography (U-B) boundary. Data were gathered for all described extant cypridoidean ostracod species (N = 1761), with body-size recorded for 1134 of them. Although local-to-global species ratios show significant over-dispersal of small-body ostracods for the Palaearctic and the Australasian regions, there are explanations alternative to the ‘Everything is Everywhere’ model that can account for such a result. Indicators of taxonomic structure do not support the hypothesis of a random distribution of cypridoidean species among realms. Nevertheless, the strong biogeography signal occurring at a large scale vanishes at the local scale (country-level within the Palaearctic), and suggests wide dispersion within biogeographical realms. Additional factors, including inconsistent taxonomic criteria for species recognition, uneven sampling effort, and an excess of ‘single-report’ occurrences, have been identified too as potential distorters of the observed patterns. Taxonomic harmonization, open databases of biogeographical data, and better ecological information are suggested as critical goals that need to be achieved for further understanding of ostracod global distribution patterns. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 109, 409–423.

Arboreal substrates influence foraging in tropical ants

1. Physically complex substrates impart significant costs on cursorial central‐place foragers in terms of time spent outside the nest and total distance travelled. Ants foraging in trees navigate varied surfaces to access patchy resources, thus providing an appropriate model system for examining interactions between foraging efficiency and substrates.2. We expected that the speed of recruitment, body size distribution and species richness of foraging arboreal ants would differ predictably among common substrate types occurring on tropical tree trunks. We measured changes in ant abundance and species composition over time at baits placed on bare tree bark, moss‐covered bark, and vine‐like vegetation appressed to bark. We also measured average body size and body size frequency on the three substrate types. Ants discovered baits sooner and accumulated at baits relatively faster when using vine substrates as the primary foraging trail. Average body size was smaller on vine substrates than on bark. Experimental removal of vine and moss substrates nullified these differences. Contrary to our predictions, species richness and body size distributions did not differ among the three substrate types, due in part to the frequent presence of a few common ground‐nesting species at baits on bare bark.3. Our results collectively indicate that linear substrates facilitate access of foraging ants to patchy resources. Ant use of vine‐like substrates appears to be opportunistic; vine use is not confined to certain species nor constrained by body size.

Variation in scale shape among alternative sympatric phenotypes of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus from two lakes in Scotland

Landmark-based geometric morphometric analysis was used to detect differences in scale shape between ecologically distinct phenotypes of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus coexisting in the same lake. Relative warp analysis and standard multivariate analyses of the partial warps, obtained after a Procrustes superimposition, showed that scale landmarks were efficient in discriminating among two closely related alternative phenotypes within each of the two lakes. In Loch Tay, S. alpinus exhibited a bimodal body size-frequency distribution among sexually mature fish, whereas in Loch Awe, S. alpinus are unimodal in body size but segregated into two distinct spawning phenotypes. In both lakes, alternative phenotypes showed significant differences in foraging ecology, habitat use and life history. It is probable that differences in scale shape reflect differences in ecology of these forms.

Sexually antithetical song structure in a duet singing wren

Summary Black-bellied wrens (Thryothorus fasciatoventris) use loud songs to communicate sex over long distances. We compared male and female songs recorded from a central Panamanian population of black-bellied wrens. All nine measured features differed significantly between the sexes. Males sang lower fundamental frequencies than females, but this difference cannot be explained by simple body size-frequency scaling. A discriminant function analysis correctly discriminated the singer’s sex for all songs in the analysis. When viewed as sonograms, the terminal syllables of male and female songs exhibited opposite structure ‐ all male songs ended in V-shaped syllables, and all female songs ended in arc-shaped syllables. The degree and character of dimorphism lead us to describe song structure in this population as ‘sexually antithetical’. Variation in song dimorphism throughout this species’ range provides an excellent opportunity to test the hypothesis that signal degradation during transmission selects for divergent signal structure.

Spatial variation in the reproductive biology of Paralvinella palmiformis (Polychaeta: Alvinellidae) from a vent field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 255:171-181 (2003) - doi:10.3354/meps255171 Spatial variation in the reproductive biology of Paralvinella palmiformis (Polychaeta: Alvinellidae) from a vent field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge Jonathan T. P. Copley1,*, Paul A. Tyler1, Cindy L. Van Dover2, Steven J. Philp1 1School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom 2Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187, USA *Email: jtc@mail.soc.soton.ac.uk ABSTRACT: The microdistribution and dynamics of deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities often reflect the extreme heterogeneity of their environment. Here we present an assessment of spatial variation in the reproductive development of the alvinellid polychaete Paralvinella palmiformis at the High Rise vent field (Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, NE Pacific). Samples collected from different locations across the vent field suggest patchy reproductive development for this species. Males and females from several locations contained few or no developing gametes, while gametes were abundant in samples collected at the same time from other locations. Samples lacking gametes were distinguished by body size-frequency distributions with peaks at smaller sizes and the presence or absence of other fauna consistent with early stage assemblages in a successional mosaic model previously proposed for Endeavour Segment communities. Where gametes were present, synchrony of reproductive development between females within samples and between samples was evident. Reproductive synchrony between pairs of samples initially declined over a 7 d interval between samples, suggesting a rapid rate of reproductive development for P. palmiformis. Samples collected 1 mo apart, however, displayed similar frequency distributions of developing gametes. A peak of mature male and female gametes appeared to develop and disappear within the limited temporal resolution of the samples, consistent with possible simultaneous maturation of gametes despite pseudocopulation and sperm storage in this species. KEY WORDS: Hydrothermal vents · Reproductive development · Spatio-temporal variation · Successional model Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 255. Online publication date: June 24, 2003 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2003 Inter-Research.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE RATTLE CALLS IN CORVUS AND NUCIFRAGA: THE EFFECT OF BODY SIZE, BILL SIZE, AND PHYLOGENY

We assessed the effect of body size and bill length on the acoustic properties of the rattle calls of 15 corvid species. First, we correlated body traits and the acoustic properties of rattles, regardless of the evolutionary history of the study species. Then we repeated the analysis, taking into account phylogeny and thus excluding its effect on morphological and acoustic characters. When the potential effects of phylogeny were ruled out, the second frequency peak was negatively correlated to body size. The carrying frequency also decreased with decreasing body size, but the relationship was weaker than that resulting from a phylogeny-free analysis. This pattern is consistent with the demonstrated body-size–frequency allometry in the vocalizations of many birds. Bill length also influenced rattle spectral properties. We emphasize that patterns and processes elucidated with comparative studies can be biased if species relatedness is not considered. Análisis Comparativo de las Llamadas de Matraqueo entre Corvus y Nucifraga: Efecto del Tamaño Corporal, Tamaño del Pico y Filogenia Resumen. Evaluamos el efecto del tamaño corporal y la longitud del pico sobre las propiedades acústicas de los llamados de matraqueo de 15 especies de córvidos. Primero, correlacionamos los caracteres corporales con las propiedades acústicas del matraqueo independientemente de la historia evolutiva de las especies estudiadas. Luego, repetimos el análisis tomando en cuenta la filogenia, excluyendo su efecto sobre los caracteres morfológicos y acústicos. Cuando los potenciales efectos filogenéticos fueron removidos, el segundo pico en la frecuencia se correlacionó negativamente con el tamaño corporal. La frecuencia principal también decreció con la disminución del tamaño corporal, pero esta relación fue más débil que la resultante de un análisis sin considerar la filogenia. Este patrón es consistente con la alometría entre el tamaño corporal y la frecuencia de las vocalizaciones de muchas aves. La longitud del pico también influyó sobre las propiedades espectrales del matraqueo. Enfatizamos que los patrones y procesos elucidados a través de estudios comparativos pueden encontrarse sesgados si no se consideran las relaciones entre las especies.