Exclosures Research Articles

The importance of herbivory in the decline of a seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadow near a fish farm: an experimental approach

Abstract A 6-month macrograzer exclusion field experiment was conducted in an altered Posidonia oceanica meadow affected by organic effluents from a fish farm. This experiment was carried out in order to ascertain whether or not overgrazing had contributed to the meadow degradation observed, because higher densities of macrograzers (mainly the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, 20 to 60 times higher density) were found in the degraded meadow than in an undisturbed reference meadow located nearby. The plant variables measured (shoot density, shoot biomass, leaf growth rate and epiphyte load) had consistently lower values in unmanipulated plots of the degraded meadow than in plots of the undisturbed reference meadow, with the exception of herbivore pressure, which was 2 to 5 times higher. In the herbivore exclusion plots established in the degraded meadow, shoot biomass and epiphyte load increased to values similar to those in the reference plots in the undisturbed meadow. At the end of the experimental period, shoot density had significantly decreased by up to 30–50% of the initial values in the control (unmanipulated) plots, while no changes were observed in the exclusion plots or in the reference meadow. Our results show that the impact of macrograzers on shoot features made a significant contribution to the reported decline of the P. oceanica meadow next to the fish farm. It is also suggested that organic effluents generated as a result of aquaculture activities may help to increase grazing activity in these seagrass communities, although the mechanisms by which nutrient loads control the behaviour of herbivores remain unclear.

Leptoquarks signals in KM3neutrino telescopes

Leptoquarks are predicted in several extensions of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics attempting the unification of the quark and lepton sectors. Such particles could be produced in the interaction of high energy neutrinos with matter of the Earth. We investigate the effects of this particles on the neutrino flux to be detected in a kilometer cubic neutrino telescope such as IceCube. We calculate the contribution of leptoquarks to the neutrino-nucleon interaction and, then, to the angular observable α(E) recently proposed in order to evaluate detectable effects in IceCube. Our results are presented as an exclusion plot in the relevant parameters of the leptoquarks physics.

Deer Facilitate Invasive Plant Success in a Pennsylvania Forest Understory

Invasive species impose severe biological and economic costs worldwide. In forested ecosystems, invasive species supplant native species, resulting in decreased biodiversity. Furthermore, human-mediated disturbances may stress native forest species and benefit invasive species that thrive in disturbed habitats. Anthropogenic changes to the landscape have caused unprecedented increases in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) numbers, which has resulted in the degradation of understory native plant communities. We suggest that deer-mediated disturbance to understory communities facilitates the success of invaders in forests. Many North American forests experience both exotic plant invasion and deer overabundance, but the two problems have never been empirically linked. In this paper, we quantify deer effects on native and exotic understory herbs in a western Pennsylvania forest. We show that the percentage of bare ground and the relative abundances of the invasive herbs, Alliaria petiolata and Microstegium vimineum are significantly greater, while native plants are significantly smaller with a lower proportion flowering in deer access vs. deer exclusion plots. Our data support the idea that invader success is due in part to both preferential foraging by deer on native herbs that reduces their size and flowering status and the creation of open patches when deer are present. We conclude that deer overabundance facilitates the success of invasive species in forested ecosystems and that management will benefit by considering these factors jointly.

Unparticle effects in neutrino telescopes

Recently H. Georgi has introduced the concept of unparticles in order to describe the low energy physics of a nontrivial scale invariant sector of an effective theory. We investigate its physical effects on the neutrino flux to be detected in a kilometer cubic neutrino telescope such as IceCube. We study the effects, on different observables, of the survival neutrino flux after through the Earth, and the regeneration originated in the neutral currents. We calculate the contribution of unparticle physics to the neutrino-nucleon interaction and, then, to the observables in order to evaluate detectable effects in IceCUbe. Our results are compared with the bounds obtained by other nonunderground experiments. Finally, the results are presented as an exclusion plot in the relevant parameters of the new physics stuff.

Drought turns a Central European Norway spruce forest soil from an N2O source to a transient N2O sink

AbstractBased on current climate scenarios, a higher frequency of summer drought periods followed by heavy rainfall events is predicted for Central Europe. It is expected that drying/rewetting events induce an increased matter cycling in soils and may contribute considerably to increased emissions of the greenhouse gas N2O on annual scales. To investigate the influence of drying/rewetting events on N2O emissions in a mature Norway spruce forest in the Fichtelgebirge area (NE Bavaria, Germany), a summer drought period of 46 days was induced by roof installations on triplicate plots, followed by a rewetting event of 66 mm experimental rainfall in 2 days. Three nonmanipulated plots served as controls. The experimentally induced soil drought was accompanied by a natural drought. During the drought period, the soil of both the throughfall exclusion and control plots served as an N2O sink. This was accompanied by subambient N2O concentrations in upper soil horizons. The sink strength of the throughfall exclusion plots was doubled compared with the control plots. We conclude that the soil water status together with the soil nitrate availability was an important driving factor for the N2O sink strength. Rewetting quickly turned the soil into a source for atmospheric N2O again, but it took almost 4 months to turn the cumulative soil N2O fluxes from negative (sink) to positive (source) values. N2O concentration and isotope analyses along soil profiles revealed that N2O produced in the subsoil was subsequently consumed during upward diffusion along the soil profile throughout the entire experiment. Our results show that long drought periods can lead to drastic decreases of N2O fluxes from soils to the atmosphere or may even turn forest soils temporarily to N2O sinks. Accumulation of more field‐scale data on soil N2O uptake as well as a better understanding of underlying mechanisms would essentially advance our knowledge of the global N2O budget.

Removal of palm fruits and ecosystem engineering in palm stands by white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) and other frugivores in an isolated Atlantic Forest fragment

Long-term studies in a 2,178 ha fragment of semideciduous Atlantic Forest demonstrated important interactions between white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) and the common palms, Syagrus romanzoffiana and Euterpe edulis. We conducted fruit removal and medium-to-large-sized mammalian exclusion experiments to: (1) quantify seasonal fruit consumption from high-density patches beneath parent trees by T. pecari and other consumers, and (2) measure impacts of T. pecari rooting and foraging activities on seedling dynamics in E. edulis stands. A diverse array of fauna consumed S. romanzoffiana fruits. During the dry season, when S. romanzoffiana palms provided 68% of fruit dry weight in the fragment, T. pecari consumed significantly greater amounts than other consumers, and along with Pecari tajacu and Tapirus terrestris, were potential seed dispersers. The rodents, Sciurus ingrami and Agouti paca, consumed most S. romanzoffiana fruits in the wet season, acting as both seed dispersers and predators. More than 95% of E. edulis fruit removal was due to seed predation by T. pecari. Intense removal during the dry season was closely linked with previously documented range shifts and habitat preferences by T. pecari. Exclusion plot experiments in E. edulis (palmito) stands showed that the number and proportion of nonpalmito (not E. edulis) seedlings increased dramatically in the absence of T. pecari rooting and foraging activities that disturbed soil and thinned seedlings. We discuss the importance of these ecosystem engineering activities and palm-peccary trophic interactions for long-term maintenance of E. edulis stands and T. pecari populations, as well as water balance, in the forest fragment.

Search for Lepton Flavor Violation in Upsilon Decays

In this Letter, we describe a search for lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the bottomonium system. We search for leptonic decays Upsilon(nS)-->mutau (n=1, 2, and 3) using the data collected with the CLEO III detector. We identify the tau lepton using its leptonic decay nu_{tau}nu[over ]_{e}e and utilize multidimensional likelihood fitting with probability density function shapes measured from independent data samples. We report our estimates of 95% C.L. upper limits on LFV branching fractions of Upsilon mesons. We interpret our results in terms of the exclusion plot for the energy scale of a hypothetical new interaction versus its effective LFV coupling in the framework of effective field theory.

Sediment destabilizing and stabilizing bio-engineers on tidal flats: cascading effects of experimental exclusion

Bioturbating lugworms (Arenicola marina) were excluded from 400 m² plots of intertidal sand which initiated sequences of direct and indirect changes in the structure of the benthic community. The sessile, tube-building species Polydora cornuta and Lanice conchilega took advantage of the absence of lugworms and settled preferentially on lugworm exclusion plots. The protruding tubes provided attachment for an ephemeral development of algal tufts (Berkeleya colonies and Enteromorpha thalli) which in turn enhanced settlement of the juvenile drifting clams Mya arenaria and Macoma balthica. This causal chain of enhanced bivalve settlement in the presence of above-ground structures, like animal tubes and algae, on lugworm exclusion plots occurred in 2 years at different tidal zones with different tube builders, algae and juvenile clams. A significant response of L. conchilega in a year with relatively low lugworm abundances at the entire site suggests that not only the actual absence of large bioturbators was responsible for the establishment of tube-dwelling species, but also a cumulative change of the sediment in exclusion plots since the onset of the experiment. While the sediment on lugworm plots remained permeable, fine particles and organic matter accumulated at exclusion plots. It is suggested that these differences in sediment characteristics were the product of divergent benthic engineering by sediment destabilizing lugworms on control plots and sediment stabilizing species on exclusion plots. Cumulative changes of the sedimentary habitat and cascading effects in the benthic community may explain the persistence of patches that are dominated by either sediment stabilizing or destabilizing species in the assemblage mosaic of intertidal sediments.

Small mammal herbivory: Feedbacks that help maintain desertified ecosystems

We tested the hypothesis that herbivores contribute to feedbacks maintaining arid ecosystems in a degraded state. We studied small mammal herbivory on a subshrub, broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae), and perennial grasses at three sites: (1) ungrazed black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) grassland; (2) grassland degraded by intense short-duration grazing; and (3) mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) coppice dunes. Snakeweed was browsed by herbivores primarily during dry winter months.The average percent of G. sarothrae standing crop biomass removed by browsing was 9.2 in ungrazed grassland, 7.4 in intensely grazed grassland, and 4.1 in the dunes. In ungrazed grassland, an average of 12% of grass cover was harvested by herbivores; in the intensely grazed plots – 80%. Herbivore exclusion plots showed that jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) were the primary browsers on snakeweed and rodents on grasses and G. sarothrae inflorescences. Rodent removal of G. sarothrae inflorescences allows wind dispersal of seeds in disturbed and desertified areas, thereby increasing abundance of this poisonous shrub. Grass-tiller cutting by rodents provides a strong feedback that may be responsible for keeping the grass cover low on the intensely grazed areas. Jackrabbit pruning has little effect on G. sarothrae abundance at any stage of desertification.

Effects of an experimental drought and recovery on soil emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide in a moist tropical forest

AbstractChanges in precipitation in the Amazon Basin resulting from regional deforestation, global warming, and El Niño events may affect emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and nitric oxide (NO) from soils. Changes in soil emissions of radiatively important gases could have feedback implications for regional and global climate. Here, we report the final results of a 5‐year, large‐scale (1 ha) throughfall exclusion experiment, followed by 1 year of recovery with natural throughfall, conducted in a mature evergreen forest near Santarém, Brazil. The exclusion manipulation lowered annual N2O emissions in four out of five treatment years (a natural drought year being the exception), and then recovered during the first year after the drought treatment stopped. Similarly, consumption of atmospheric CH4 increased under drought treatment, except during a natural drought year, and it also recovered to pretreatment values during the first year that natural throughfall was permitted back on the plot. No treatment effect was detected for NO emissions during the first 3 treatment years, but NO emissions increased in the fourth year under the extremely dry conditions of the exclusion plot during a natural drought. Surprisingly, there was no treatment effect on soil CO2 efflux in any year. The drought treatment provoked significant tree mortality and reduced the allocation of C to stems, but allocation of C to foliage and roots were less affected. Taken together, these results suggest that the dominant effect of throughfall exclusion on soil processes during this 6‐year period was on soil aeration conditions that transiently affected CH4, N2O, and NO production and consumption.

Constraints on the angular distribution of satellite galaxies about spiral hosts

We present, using a novel technique, a study of the angular distribution of satellite galaxies around a sample of isolated, blue host galaxies selected from the sixth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. As a complement to previous studies we subdivide the sample of galaxies into bins of differing inclination and use the systematic differences that would exist between the different bins as the basis for our approach. We parameterize the cumulative distribution function of satellite galaxies and apply a maximum likelihood, Monte-Carlo technique to determine allowable distributions, which we show as an exclusion plot. We find that the allowed distributions of the satellites of spiral hosts are very nearly isotropic. We outline our formalism and our analysis and discuss how this technique may be refined for future studies and future surveys.

Modelling rainfall interception in a mediterranean Quercus ilex ecosystem: Lesson from a throughfall exclusion experiment

Summary In the Mediterranean basin, precipitation is expected to decline by the end of the 21st century as a consequence of climate change. A throughfall exclusion experiment has been established in a Quercus ilex coppice in southern France to anticipate the response of this ecosystem to a reduced precipitation amount by removing part of the throughfall. The experiment involved four 140 m2 plots: a control plot, a throughfall exclusion plot, a thinned plot and a throughfall exclusion in a thinned plot. This experiment has been used during nearly two years to monitor throughfall amounts in the different plots. Additionally, stemflow has been recorded on 20 trees between 25 April 2006 and 15 May 2007. The control plot had a stem density of 6885 stems ha−1 and a leaf area index of 3.1, rainfall partitioning into interception loss, throughfall and stemflow was, respectively, 30.9%, 56.6% and 12.5% of the total precipitation (1605 mm over the study period). Thinning reduced the stem basal area by 33% and the total interception loss by 34.6%. Given the rainfall partitioning, the throughfall exclusion was found to remove 19% of total precipitation, which was confirmed by soil water content measurements. The revised Gash analytical model predicted interception with an agreement of −6.2% of total precipitation. Results show a good transferability of the model to a plot with a different stem density, thus supporting the idea that model parameters and evaporation from a wet canopy scale linearly with canopy cover.

Evaluation of an exclusion plot design for determining the impacts of native and exotic herbivores on forest understoreys.

To study the effects of grazing and browsing by Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) and wombats (Vombatus ursinus) exclosure plots measuring 10 m x 10 m were erected in the Upper Yarra and O'Shannassy water catchments near Melbourne, Victoria. Total exclusion fences and partial exclusion fences were erected. Design details and costs are provided. Operational problems are discussed.

The effects of observer presence on the behavior of Cebus capucinus in Costa Rica

We report on the responses of Cebus capucinus in the Santa Rosa Sector of the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, to the presence of observers over a 4-week period. Study groups were habituated to different degrees: (1) Cerco de Piedra (CP): continuous observations began in 1984; (2) Exclosure (EX): focus of an 18-month study on males from 1998 to 1999; and (3) NBH: never studied/followed but the group frequently encounters researchers. We collected three types of data: group scans (group state was coded as calm or agitated at observer presence), focal animal data (observer-directed behaviors were recorded), and fecal cortisol levels. The two less-habituated groups (NBH and EX) differed significantly from the habituated group (CP) in their behavioral and cortisol responses, and they showed an increase in habituation over the study period (agitation and cortisol levels both dropped). Individuals in NBH also decreased their responses to observers during focal follows; however, at the end of the study the responses of the two less-habituated groups (NBH and EX) remained elevated in comparison to the habituated group (CP), suggesting the need for further habituation. Unlike capuchin groups that rarely encounter humans, NBH and EX never fled from observers and they rarely emitted observer-directed alarm calls. We suggest that the permanence of habituation and the ability to habituate animals passively through a neutral human presence are both important considerations for researchers conducting studies in areas where animal safety from poachers, etc. cannot be guaranteed.

Grass, rainfall and herbivores as determinants of Acacia erioloba (Meyer) recruitment in an African savanna

Acacia species in arid environments are thought to only establish in years of above-average rainfall, so should exhibit cohorted or pulsed recruitment. I studied population demography of Acaciaerioloba Meyer in semi-arid savanna in the Kimberley area (mean annual precipitation = 425 ± 132 mm), South Africa, to establish whether they recruit episodically. This species was found to have a sapling bank at the sites, indicating that even though cohorted recruitment probably occurs, it is not the primary factor limiting recruitment to larger size classes. A. erioloba saplings given supplementary water and protection from herbivory showed significantly less height growth than saplings given water but not protected from herbivores, and grass within exclusion plots was taller and denser than outside of exclusion plots. The generalized linear model, although finding a significant difference between watered and protected and watered and unprotected saplings, explained only 16% of variation in growth, demonstrating the importance of factors other than competition from grass when rainfall is above-average. Average height increase across all treatments for a growing season was small (43.1 ± 30.81 mm), suggesting most investment is belowground. A. erioloba sapling below surface stem diameter correlated positively with aboveground growth, indicating larger, and presumably older, individuals grow faster. When grass was removed around saplings, growth rates were not significantly greater than for saplings surrounded by grass, over a growing season. Thus, in these study sites, pulsed events allow seedlings to establish, and then saplings slowly accumulate over many growing seasons within the grass sward, owing to slow aboveground growth combined with competition from grass in absence of grazers. Release events, e.g., heavy grazing combined with good rainfall, may allow mass release, giving the impression of cohorted or pulsed recruitment.

Modeling the effects of throughfall reduction on soil water content in a Brazilian Oxisol under a moist tropical forest

Access to water reserves in deep soil during drought periods determines whether or not the tropical moist forests of Amazonia will be buffered from the deleterious effects of water deficits. Changing climatic conditions are predicted to increase periods of drought in Amazonian forests and may lead to increased tree mortality, changes in forest composition, or greater susceptibility to fire. A throughfall reduction experiment has been established in the Tapajós National Forest of east‐central Amazonia (Brazil) to test the potential effects of severe water stress during prolonged droughts. Using time domain reflectometry observations of water contents from this experiment, we have developed a dynamic, one‐dimensional, vertical flow model to enhance our understanding of hydrologic processes within these tall‐stature forests on well‐drained, upland, deep Oxisols and to simulate changes in the distribution of soil water. Simulations using 960 days of data accurately captured mild soil water depletion near the surface after the first treatment year and decreasing soil moisture at depth during the second treatment year. The model is sensitive to the water retention and unsaturated flow equation parameters, specifically the van Genuchten parameters θs, θr, and n, but less sensitive to Ks and α. The low root‐mean‐square error between observed and predicted volumetric soil water content suggests that this vertical flow model captures the most important hydrologic processes in the upper landscape position of this study site. The model indicates that present rates of evapotranspiration within the exclusion plot have been sustained at the expense of soil water storage.

DESERT RODENTS REDUCE SEEDLING RECRUITMENT OF SALSOLA PAULSENII

Heteromyid rodents in the deserts of North America have been shown to harvest large quantities of seeds of both native and introduced plants from soil seed banks, but rarely has the impact of this seed removal been demonstrated experimentally. I used a series of fenced plots (some of which excluded rodents) to demonstrate that het- eromyids at a western Nevada study site can measurably reduce seed banks and subsequent seedling establishment of Salsola paulsenii, an introduced invasive weed that has become a significant problem over much of the desert South- west. The frequency of S. paulsenii seedlings in both 2004 and 2005 was significantly greater around the interior perimeters of plots that permitted access by rodents than in plots that excluded rodents. Density of S. paulsenii seed- lings was significantly greater inside than outside rodent exclusion plots, but there was no such difference in seedling density inside versus outside plots that permitted rodent access. Salsola paulsenii has such a conspicuous presence in many desert environments that the effect of rodents in reducing its abundance may not be visually apparent; however, rodents may still ameliorate competitive effects of this weed on coexisting plants. Heteromyid rodents disperse seeds through caching, and they also consume them. Caching may enhance establishment of native plant seedlings, but is unlikely to benefit exotics such as S. paulsenii.

Results of the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST)

We have searched for solar axions or similar particles that couple to two photons by using the CAST setup with improved conditions in all detectors. From the absence of excess X-rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun, we set an upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of ga?? < 8.8 × 10−11 GeV1 at 95% CL for ma < 0.02 eV [2] (see exclusion plot given below). This result is the best laboratory limit over a broad range of axion masses and for ma < 0.02 eV also supersedes the previous limit derived from energy-loss arguments on globularcluster stars. The scanned range up to an axion rest mass of ∼0.4 eV/c2 covered during 2005-2006 with 4He (up to 14 mbar) as refractive gas is also shown, while the analysis is in progress. With 3He as buffer gas (up to 60 mbar), CAST has the potential to reach ∼0.8 eV/c2, with ∼1.2 eV/c2 being the envisaged upper limit in axion rest mass.

Estimating heterotrophic and autotrophic soil respiration using small-area trenched plot technique: Theory and practice

The trenching method of root exclusion is generally used to estimate heterotrophic (microbial decomposition) ( F h) and autotrophic (root and associated rhizosphere respiration) ( F a) components of soil respiration ( F 0), particularly in forest ecosystems. However, some uncertainties exist on the accuracy and interpretation of the results from such experiments using small-area root exclusion plots. Using field and laboratory measurements as well as simulations using a process-based model of CO 2 production and transport in soil, we show that: (a) CO 2 concentrations at or immediately below the depth of root exclusion in small-area root exclusion plots are similar to those at the same depth in nearby undisturbed soil and (b) the contribution of soil CO 2 flux from below the root exclusion depth to the measured efflux at the surface of a root exclusion plot ( F 0re) is increased because of the higher concentration gradient at the bottom of the root exclusion layer due to the decreased rate of CO 2 production above this depth. Consequently, F a, calculated as F 0c measured in control (non-disturbed) plots minus F 0re measured in root exclusion plots, is underestimated. We describe an analytical model, derived from the soil CO 2 production and diffusion equation, to obtain correct estimates of F a measured using small-area root exclusion plots. The analytical model requires knowledge of depth distribution of soil CO 2 diffusivity and source strength as inputs.

Effects of Arenicola marina on polychaete functional diversity revealed by large-scale experimental lugworm exclusion

The lugworm Arenicola marina was excluded from sandy sediment areas in the mid and low intertidal zone of the Wadden Sea. Exclusion, control and ambient plots were 400 m 2 each, replicated six times and sampled in August of three consecutive years. Responses were analysed with respect to functional trait groups in the associated polychaete assemblage using uni- and multivariate statistical techniques. Tube-building worms and predacious worms were most abundant in exclusion plots, while subsurface deposit feeders tended to dominate in the presence of lugworms. Lugworm effects were stronger in low intertidal fine sand than in mid intertidal medium sand. In the third year, lugworm densities strongly decreased at the study site. Nevertheless the polychaete functional group composition in lugworm exclusion plots still significantly differed from that in control and ambient plots. We assume that the permanent exclusion of lugworms may have entailed a cumulative change in sediment properties in the exclusion plots. Overall, lugworm effects were highly dependent on space and time as well as on differential recruitment success in this intertidal polychaete assemblage. Sediment-mediated effects of an ecosystem engineer on associated species appear to be subtle and contingent in variable environments.