Faunal Recovery Research Articles

Temperature Mainly Determined the Seasonal Variations in Soil Faunal Communities in Semiarid Areas

The implementation of the Grain for Green Project has increased vegetation coverage and provided suitable habitats and food resources for soil fauna, thereby promoting the development of soil faunal communities. Studying seasonal variations in soil fauna communities in different vegetation areas can improve our understanding of the mechanisms that drive soil fauna recovery. We selected five typical artificially restored vegetation habitats, including Populus simonii (POS), Pinus tabulaeformis (PIT), Caragana korshinskii (CAK), Stipa bungeana (STB), and Medicago sativa (MES), and one farmland (Zea mays, FAL) habitat on the Loess Plateau. In this study, soil fauna communities and environmental factors were investigated during spring (May), summer (August), and autumn (November). Among the habitats, the STB habitat had the largest seasonal variation in soil faunal density (from 1173 ind·m−2 in May to 10,743 ind·m−2 in August), and the FAL habitat had the smallest (from 2827 ind·m−2 in August to 5550 ind·m−2 in November). Among the restored vegetation habitats, Acarina (44.89–88.56%) had the highest relative abundance of all taxa. The redundancy analysis (RDA) results showed that among the factors driving seasonal variation in soil animal communities, temperature (47.41%) was the most important, followed by precipitation (22.60%). In addition, the dominant groups, Acarina and Collembola, played an influential role in seasonal variations in soil faunal density. Temperature mainly determined the seasonal variations in soil faunal communities. Seasonal factors should be considered when conducting soil fauna research, as they contribute to biodiversity conservation and regional ecological management in the Loess Plateau.

Interpreted depositional conditions of balanced-fill lake basin strata incorporating vertebrate and invertebrate trace fossils, Triassic Santa Clara sub-basin, Cuyana rift basin, Argentina

ABSTRACT The Santa Clara Abajo and Santa Clara Arriba formations host a diverse assemblage of trace fossils that record a wide range of behaviors and a broad array of ecological niches during the Middle Triassic—a critical period in the evolution of continental fauna with the diversification of both synapsids (cynodont and dicynodont) and archosauromorphs (dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and crocodilians) that represent post-Permian faunal recovery. The Santa Clara formations are part of the continental infill of the Cuyana rift basin in Argentina and represent a lacustrine system with fluvial input and delta development. Sedimentological characteristics of these units as well as their stacking patterns characterize a “fluctuating profundal” facies association typical of a balanced-fill lake basin. The lacustrine and associated terrestrial environments preserve a rich record of invertebrate traces with 26 ichnogenera from ethological classes of fodichnia, domichnia, repichnia, pascichnia, and cubichnia occupying all continental tiers (subaerial and subaqueous, surficial, and/or very shallow, shallow, mid, and deeper) and ecological niches (epiterraphilic, terraphilic, hygrophilic, and hydrophilic). In association with invertebrate traces, two taphonomic modes of tetrapod footprints have been found: a moderate-fidelity mode and a high-fidelity mode. Physical sedimentary features, burrows, trails, and tracks, and their stratigraphic positions are integrated to interpret the main factors involved in footprint preservation in these subsettings. The most significant and variable preservational factor found is water-table fluctuation controlled by the paleohydrology of a balanced-fill lake system. These data show that in balanced-fill lake systems, diverse trace assemblages occur in the lake and associated subsettings such as delta plains and lake-margin settings, whereas trace fossils can be totally absent in coeval lake-center strata, particularly if anoxic lake-bottom conditions occur, as probably occurred in the meromictic Santa Clara lake system.

Identifying the best method for restoring dung beetle biodiversity and function in the early stages of rainforest restoration

With less than half of the world's tropical forests remaining, ecological restoration is urgently needed to halt biodiversity loss. However, the efficacy of different active reforestation methods remains largely untested particularly with respect to the recovery of fauna during the early years of restoration. Here, we present the results of a long‐term restoration project in the Australian Wet Tropics after 6 years of planting. Using dung beetles as bioindicators of restoration success, we investigated how the diversity and density of trees in experimental plots influence the recovery of dung beetle diversity and their ecological functions (dung removal and secondary seed dispersal). We found that after only 6 years since planting, a native dung beetle community, representing around 41% of the species found in the adjacent rainforest, has colonized the experimental plots. Plots with the highest diversity of trees (24 species planted) showed higher dung beetle diversity, dung removal, and seed dispersal but only when the density of trees on the plots was low. These plots also have higher species richness, diversity, and abundance of rainforest species, while the opposite trend was found for open‐habitat species. Therefore, planting a higher diversity of trees appears to be the best method for the early recovery of rainforest dung beetle communities and their functions. This is particularly crucial at low tree density, which is a common issue in active restoration projects as tree mortality is relatively high in the early years.

End-Permian marine ecosystem collapse was a direct consequence of deforestation: Evidence from the Kockatea Shale of the Perth Basin, Western Australia

The end-Permian mass extinction event resulted in devastated continental biomes, desolated land, and toxic waters. Anoxia led to widespread extinctions in marine ecosystems, affecting most oceanic clades. In this paper, the palynofacies of the marine Kockatea Shale, Western Australia, was studied in drill cores Hovea-3 and Redback-2, with the aim of linking changes in the marine and continental realms across the Permian–Triassic boundary interval in Australia. We show that the post-extinction ‘Dead Zone’ of the Frazer Beach Member of the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia, whose base is dated to 252.10 ± 0.06 Ma, directly correlates to the lower part of the Kockatea Shale in the Perth Basin, the so-called Inertinitic Interval. We demonstrate that the extinction of Permian Glossopteris forests observed in the Perth Basin had an immediate impact on the marine faunas due to the massive buildup of organic matter, leading to euxinia in the photic zone and ultimately pushing the marine faunas to an ecological extinction. The last lingering occurrence of marine invertebrates of Permian aspect occur in layers that may tentatively mark the Permian–Triassic boundary, positioned just below the appearance of Triassic floras of the Kraeuselisporites saeptatus Zone (equivalent to the Lunatisporites pellucidus Zone). A striking feature at the base of the Early Triassic Sapropelic Interval of the Hovea Member is the sudden and synchronous appearances of anomalously abundant acritarchs and lycophyte spores, alongside the mass occurrence of the bivalve Claraia, allowing correlation with the rise of the eastern Australian post-extinction pioneer floras in the Early Triassic. This demonstrates a significant lag time between the recovery of the terrestrial versus the marine pioneer biota in high-latitude Gondwana, with a significant delay for the faunal recovery.

November Meeting Report; Speaker, Kailee Savoia 'The Grampians Ark Project – landscape-scale predator control for threatened fauna recovery

November Meeting Report; Speaker, Kailee Savoia 'The Grampians Ark Project – landscape-scale predator control for threatened fauna recovery

Intertidal Gleaning Exclusion as a Trigger for Seagrass Species and Fauna Recovery and Passive Seagrass Rehabilitation

This study evaluates gleaning exclusion as an approach for the rehabilitation of seagrass ecosystems and as an option for important intertidal resource management that contributes to the social well-being of communities. The monitoring of seagrass plant and invertebrate recovery after the implementation of gleaning exclusion was conducted over 50 plots of 5 m × 5 m each, which were settled in the seagrass meadow of NW Maputo Bay, Mozambique. The exclusion experiment was designed to compensate for the important loss of seagrass in the area due to gleaning activity characterized mainly by digging and revolving sediments to collect mostly clams. Results showed that, in general, seagrass plant shoot density started having significant positive recovery after five months: three months for Halophila ovalis, five months for Halodule uninvervis, and much more time (>six months) for the IUCN Red List endangered Zostera capensis. For invertebrates, 194 individual invertebrates were collected belonging to 13 species. Solen cylindraceus was the most dominant edible invertebrate species in the local community, and Dosinia hepatica for non-edible species. The result of the experiment showed a positive recovery in the abundance and diversity of invertebrates. The results support previous findings, suggesting that the installation of a no-take zone can enhance the health of an ecosystem. Therefore, to limit the violation and conflicts of the no-take zones, the creation of alternative activities for harvesters and the flexibility of restrictions are vital. Further investigation should be considered to obtain an effective management of the zones, including documentation of species, gleaning practices, and an effective restoration of seagrass meadows.

A new salinity index for the invertebrate fauna of Australian inland waters

Anthropogenic salinisation of inland waters worldwide causes diverse social, economic and ecological impacts, including shifts in the composition of biological communities. I used published data on occurrence of aquatic invertebrate taxa in relation to salinity to develop a novel Invertebrate-Based Salinity Index (IBSI) suitable for purposes such as indicating the ecological impact of anthropogenic salinisation and charting faunal recovery after salinity mitigation. Testing of the index with data independent of those used in its derivation showed a stronger association with salinity than prior Australian salinity indices based on macroinvertebrates. IBSI is applicable to both running and standing inland waters across Australia, and could be extended to other countries. Potential limitations of IBSI and its underlying salinity tolerance values are discussed, and suggestions are made for future index refinement and testing.

Diversity and composition of beetle assemblages attracted to dung in cloud forests under active and passive restoration practices.

Ecosystem loss and degradation has become a worldwide concern. The implementation of ecological restoration plans has been proposed to facilitate the recovery of ecosystems. It is imperative that once restoration strategies have been implemented, the effects of these actions in the medium and long term be evaluated, particularly the structure and functioning of the ecosystem. Diversity (α- and β-diversity) of beetles attracted to dung was assessed and compared in 3 habitat conditions (conserved forest, passive restoration, and active restoration) at 2 different seasons during the year (dry vs. rainy season) in cloud forest in San Luis Potosí (central Mexico). We found that the dry season was slightly richer than the rainy season, but the latter was significantly more diverse. Species diversity and composition in active restoration were more similar to passive restoration, and both differed greatly from the conserved forest. In contrast, conserved and passive restoration conditions exhibited similar patterns in β-diversity of insects likely because they maintain more species associated with the original vegetation of the cloud forest. Beetle assemblages could be of more habitat generalists, as they actively distribute across the restoration sites. Beetles attracted to dung provide an overview of the effect of restoration in early faunal recovery, even though we monitored this entomofauna for a short period (31 months after the restoration plots were established). These beetles can be a useful indicator for exploring the main forces driving species diversity for the management and conservation status of cloud forests, a threatened ecosystem.

First record of Pridolian graptolites from South America: Biostratigraphic and paleogeographic remarks

Graptolites were planktonic organisms that constitute one of the essential biostratigraphic tools used in Paleozoic successions worldwide. Notably, Pridolian (upper Silurian) graptolites have been globally recognized in several geological units, but completely absent from South American sections until now. This study introduces the first Pridolian graptolite assemblage in this subcontinent. The Rinconada Formation, from the Eastern Precordillera of San Juan Province, Argentina, has an abundant fossil content that includes: graptolites, brachiopods, bivalves, trilobites, corals, plant remains, and microfossils. Two graptolite taxa have been identified and described, including Skalograptus parultimus (Jaeger) and cf. Enigmagraptus. Both genera are mentioned for the first time in South America. As a result, the S. parultimus Biozone is recorded from the upper outcropping levels of the Rinconada Formation at its eponymous section, indicating an early Pridolian age. This discovery represents the first mention of Pridolian graptolites for South America, and increases the knowledge about the graptolite content of the studied formation as well. In addition, the assemblage might represent the faunal recovery interval after the Kozlowskii-Lau Event, a globally recorded episode of biotic crisis. The co-occurrence of graptolites and plant remains within the same stratigraphic levels in the Rinconada Formation represents the first and oldest record in western Argentina. Finally, the age of the Rinconada Formation is reviewed, and a local, regional, and global correlation is proposed with several Pridolian sections around the globe.

Rodents and reptiles as bioindicators for assessing coastal dune restoration success following invasive acacia removal

Although there is adequate knowledge on restoring many invaded habitats, information regarding faunal recovery is still lacking, particularly regarding sandy coastal ecosystems. An important challenge for assessing restoration effectiveness is the selection of an appropriate bioindicator. The current study examined the recovery of psammophilic rodents and reptiles following the removal of Acacia saligna from Mediterranean coastal dunes. Rodents and reptiles were monitored for 3 years after the tree removal. Rodent sampling included live trapping; reptile sampling included pitfall traps, track transect trails and transect walks (daylight and dark). Removing the invasive plants improved the recovery conditions for psammophilic reptiles and rodents, including endemic and threatened species. However, reptiles differ from rodents in their physiological and behavioral mechanisms, including thermoregulation, diet and territorial behavior, allowing them to respond to habitat changes quicker than rodents. Within the reptile group, faster recovery was observed for nonterritorial species than for territorial species. It is necessary to consider the suitable taxa, method, and time for evaluation of habitat recovery. Our study demonstrates that monitoring reptiles by combining three methods (1) pitfall traps, (2) track transect trails, and (3) transect walks during daylight and dark provides a more complete picture, which is difficult to achieve from a single method. Furthermore, in the case of invasive transformer plants such as A. saligna, which cause long‐term effects, we conclude that monitoring both taxonomic groups is advantageous, as this provides a more reliable picture of ecological functioning and faunistic recovery (compared to monitoring only one of the taxa).

Biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental significance of a rich tetrapod fossil accumulation in the Lower to Middle Burgersdorp Formation of the Karoo Basin

Almost forty years of field investigations on the farm Lemoenfontein, near Aliwal North in the southern Free State Province of South Africa, have recovered a diverse amniote fauna from rocks of the Burgersdorp Formation that are assigned to the lower Middle Triassic Trirachodon-Kannemeyeria Subzone of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (AZ). In total, 140 skulls and articulated skeletons of seven tetrapod taxa have been collected, along with more recently collected details about their depositional environmental setting. Trace fossils including three different burrow casts, each with distinctive geometries, were also collected and documented. The amniote specimens include both juveniles and adults of the procolophonids Teratophon spinigenis and Thelephon contritus; the rhynchosaur Eohyosaurus wolvaardti; bauriid therocephalian Microgomphodon oligocynus; and the cynodonts Cricodon kannemeyeri and Trirachodon berryi. The diverse fauna is dominated by largely herbivorous tetrapods, mainly procolophonids, all with dentitions adapted to browse fibrous plant material. The only carnivore present is a small unidentified basal cynodont. Several of these tetrapods have previously been proposed as burrowers. The diversity and abundance of well-preserved fossils provide new insight into how palaeoenvironmental and behavioural factors contributed to the hyper-accumulation of tetrapod fossils at this site. Whilst the herbivorous dicynodont Kannemeyeria simocephalus and carnivorous erythrosuchid archosaur Erythrosuchus africanus are common components of the middle Cynognathus AZ Trirachodon-Kannemeyeria Subzone elsewhere in the basin, they are absent from the lower exposures at Lemoenfontein, which suggests that the fossil assemblage represents a transitional fauna from the Langbergia-Garjainia and Trirachodon-Kannemeyeria Subzones. Another interesting aspect of the site is that all the tetrapod remains are of individuals of small body size. This apparent Lilliput effect supports the view that the faunal recovery after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction in the Karoo Basin was only fully developed by Middle Triassic times.

Rapid recovery of boreal rove beetle (Staphylinidae) assemblages 16 years after variable retention harvest

Post‐harvest recovery of biodiversity is one of important goals in modern forestry. A variable retention (VR) approach has been of particular interest in North America because it promotes rapid faunal recovery, while minimizing negative lasting impacts of logging on the natural fauna. We studied responses of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) to a broad range of retention harvests (2, 10, 20, 50 and 75% retention) in comparison to uncut controls as part of the Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND) experiment in the boreal mixedwood forest of western Canada. We sampled beetles using pitfall traps 1, 2, 11 and 16 years post‐harvest in replicated (n = 3) stands representing four cover types (deciduous‐dominated, deciduous with spruce understory, mixed and coniferous‐dominated). We collected 74 263 individuals distributed across 99 species (excluding Aleocharinae). Estimated species richness was highest in clear‐cuts until year 11, but by year 16 species richness was similar among treatments. Species composition initially varied strongly in relation to intensity of harvest treatments, but overall variation decreased with time, and by year 16, species composition overlapped among most treatment combinations. Assemblages recovered more quickly in early successional (deciduous‐dominated) than in late successional (mixed and conifer‐dominated) stands. Overall, our results show that rove beetle assemblages in stands harvested to all VR prescriptions converged more rapidly toward those in fire‐origin mature stands than did assemblages in clear‐cuts over the first 16 years post‐harvest. Thus, it demonstrates that even modest levels of forest retention can facilitate the recovery of staphylinid assemblages in managed landscapes.

Does compensatory mitigation restore food webs in coastal wetlands? A terrestrial arthropod case study on the Upper Texas Coast

Compensatory wetland restoration is a critical component of holistic, ecosystem-level oil spill response strategies. An important goal of restoration is to rehabilitate food webs in impacted areas, but faunal assemblages and trophic dynamics are rarely included in post-restoration monitoring or assessments of success. Different approaches to wetland restoration, including variations in construction technique, may influence faunal recovery and trophic interactions. To explore these dynamics, we compared emergent plant communities, terrestrial arthropod assemblages, and trophic interactions in restored emergent marshes that were constructed in terrace and mound configurations and in reference areas in the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area (Texas, United States). Plant community composition differed among all habitat types, with higher diversity on terraces and in reference marshes. Terrestrial arthropod abundance was similar among habitat types, but species composition was distinctly different among habitat types, especially at the herbivore level, where four of the eight herbivore species were found in either reference or restored sites, but not in both habitat types. Herbivores (primarily beetles and planthoppers) were more abundant than detritivores (midges and flies) in all habitat types. Predator (web-building and hunting spiders) abundance and species identity were similar among habitat types. Based on stable isotope analysis, trophic relationships differed among mounds, terraces, and reference areas. Herbivore diets were more variable at the reference sites than in either restored habitat type, aligning with higher plant diversity in reference areas. In contrast, detritivore diets were more variable at restored sites, where they were likely consuming food sources such as benthic algae or sediment organic matter. Predator diets were primarily comprised of herbivores in reference areas and detritivores in restored habitats. Overall, the restoration approaches supported abundant terrestrial arthropod assemblages, but species composition was different. In addition, trophic relationships differed between restored and reference areas, in part due to unique plant species assemblages at restored and reference sites. These results suggest that ecosystem restoration strategies that introduce geomorphological heterogeneity and plant diversity are more likely to support a diverse array of species and functions.

A Gulliver Scaloposaurus (Therapsida, Therocephalia) from the Katberg Formation of South Africa and its implication for Lilliput assemblages during the Early Triassic recovery

‘Scaloposaurs’ represent a wastebasket taxon of small therocephalian therapsids once believed to be close to the evolutionary ancestry of mammals. The group is now thought to be made up of mostly paedomorphic or juvenile therocephalians belonging to various families. Here, a new large therocephalian is described from the Early Triassic Lystrosaurus declivis Assemblage Zone (AZ) on the farm Donald 207 (formerly ‘Fairydale’) in South Africa's Karoo Basin, an historic fossil locality. The new specimen consists of a mostly articulated skull and anterior postcranial skeleton, but with a slightly crushed rostrum, requiring micro-computed tomography (μCT) to virtually restore the diagnostic palate morphology. Apomorphic features including a bony maxillovomerine bridge, two small maxillary precanines, and at least eight or nine upper postcanines—are consistent with the genus Scaloposaurus. However, linear dimensions of the new specimen (basal skull length 110 mm) greatly exceed others, being 84% larger than the previous largest Scaloposaurus specimen. Our discovery of the largest Scaloposaurus reveals distinctive subadult morphology in the genus and underscores hypothesized plasticity in growth patterns of Permo-Triassic therapsids gleaned from histologic analysis. Nevertheless, mixed-age theriodont assemblages are occasionally documented in the Lystrosaurus declivis AZ, and fully-grown specimens continue to be remarkably rare in the recovery fauna following the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. Importantly, this interval has also been characterized by apparent short-term reductions in body sizes of fossil assemblages (Lilliput phenomena). These findings are consistent with our recent hypothesis that, unlike in preceding time intervals, juvenile excess mortality was relatively high during the Early Triassic extinction recovery.

Recovery of Paleodictyon patterns after simulated mining activity on Pacific nodule fields

Since the late 1980s, various experiments have been conducted in polymetallic nodule fields of the Pacific Ocean to assess the potential environmental impacts of future mining, specifically in two areas: the Peru Basin and the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ). Two expeditions, SO242/2 in 2015 (Peru Basin) and SO268/1 + 2 in 2019 (CCZ), deployed a towed camera system to collect imagery from both areas. These expeditions aimed to assess recovery of fauna in the short (few weeks) and long term (several years) following physical seafloor disturbance actions designed to mimic potential mining, by ploughs, dredges and epibenthic sleds. Within the collected image data, several strikingly hexagonal hole patterns were observed and identified as Paleodictyon nodosum, and an irregular form of Paleodictyon traces, both on undisturbed and disturbed areas of seafloor. Recent forms occur abundantly in various deep-sea regions, but their origin, and how they represent the mode of life of the forming organism, remains unknown. In this study, the imaged occurrences of Paleodictyon traces on disturbed seafloor sheds light on the lifecycle of the forming organism, demonstrating that they can recolonize disturbed habitat and produce the trace network in a few weeks. Nevertheless, the density of these patterns on disturbed substrates was lower than observed on undisturbed substrates in both nodule regions. We therefore hypothesize that, along with other benthic deep-sea fauna, these structures and the forming organism are impacted by physical seafloor disturbance, and even 26 years after disturbance, densities on disturbed sediments have not recovered to undisturbed levels.

Active restoration fosters better recovery of tropical rainforest birds than natural regeneration in degraded forest fragments

Abstract Ecological restoration has emerged as a key strategy for conserving tropical forests and habitat specialists, and monitoring faunal recovery using indicator taxa like birds can help assess restoration success. Few studies have examined, however, whether active restoration (AR) achieves better recovery of bird communities than natural regeneration, or how bird recovery relates to habitat affiliations of species in the community. In rainforests restored over the past two decades in a fragmented landscape (Western Ghats, India), we examined whether bird species richness and community composition recovery in 23 actively restored (AR) sites were significantly better than recovery in paired naturally regenerating (NR) sites, relative to 23 undisturbed benchmark (BM) rainforests. We measured eight habitat variables and tested whether bird recovery tracked habitat recovery, whether rainforest and open‐country birds showed contrasting patterns, and assessed species‐level responses to restoration. We recorded 92 bird species in 460 point‐count surveys. Rainforest bird species richness was highest in BM, intermediate in AR and lowest in NR. Contrastingly, open‐country bird species richness was least in BM, intermediate in AR and highest in NR. Bird community composition varied significantly across treatment types with composition in AR in transition from NR to BM. Bird community dissimilarity between sites was positively related to dissimilarity in habitat structure and floristics, and geographical distance between sites. Variance partitioning indicated that structural and floristic dissimilarity explained 90% of the variation in community composition. Indicator species analysis revealed significant associations of 34 species with one or more treatment types. Species associated with BM and AR treatment types were all rainforest species, while only 38% of species associated with AR and NR treatment types were rainforest species. Synthesis and applications. We show that active restoration (AR) of degraded fragments benefits rainforest birds and reduces the infiltration of open‐country birds, and highlight the importance of considering rainforest and open‐country species separately. In human‐modified tropical rainforest landscapes, AR of degraded fragments fosters partial recovery and complements protection of mature forests for bird conservation.

Advancing improvement in riverine water quality caused a non-native fish species invasion and native fish fauna recovery

The knowledge of biotic and abiotic drivers that put non-native invasive fishes at a disadvantage to native ones is necessary for suppressing invasions, but the knowledge is scarce, particularly when abiotic changes are fast. In this study, we increased this knowledge by an analysis of the biomass of most harmful Prussian carp Carassius gibelio in a river reviving from biological degradation. The species' invasion followed by the invasion's reversal occurred over only two decades and were documented by frequent monitoring of fish biomass and water quality. An initial moderate improvement in water quality was an environmental filter that enabled Prussian carp’s invasion but prevented the expansion of other species. A later substantial improvement stimulated native species’ colonization of the river, and made one rheophil, ide Leuciscus idus, a significant Prussian carp’s replacer. The redundancy analysis (RDA) of the dependence of changes in the biomass of fish species on water quality factors indicated that Prussian carp and ide responded in a significantly opposite way to changes in water quality in the river over the study period. However, the dependence of Prussian carp biomass on ide biomass, as indicated by regression analysis and analysis of species traits, suggests that the ecomorphological similarity of both species might have produced interference competition that contributed to Prussian carp’s decline.

Can the native faunal communities be restored from removal of invasive plants in coastal ecosystems? A global meta-analysis.

Coastal ecosystems worldwide are being threatened by invasive plants in the context of global changes. However, how invasive plants influence native faunal communities and whether native faunal communities can recover following the invader removals/controls across global coastal ecosystems are still poorly understood. Here, we present the first global meta-analysis to quantify the impacts of Spartina species invasions on coastal faunal communities and further to evaluate the outcomes of Spartina species removals on faunal community recovery based on 74 independent studies. We found that invasive Spartina species generally decreased the biodiversity (e.g., species richness), but increased coastal faunal abundance (e.g., individual number) and fitness (e.g., biomass), though the effect on abundance was insignificant. The pattern of influence was strongly dependent on habitat types, faunal taxa, trophic levels, and feeding types. Specifically, Spartina species invasion of mudflats caused greater impacts than invasion of vegetated habitats. Insects and birds at higher trophic levels were strongly affected by invasive Spartina, indicating that invasive plant effects can cascade upward along the food chain. Additionally, impacts of Spartina invasions were more obvious on food specialists such as herbivores and carnivores. Furthermore, our analyses revealed that invader removals were overall beneficial for native faunal communities to recover from the displacement caused by Spartina invasions, but this recovery process depended on specific removal measure and time. For example, the long-term waterlogging had strong negative impacts on faunal recovery, so it should not be encouraged. Our findings suggest that invasive plants could have contrasting effects on functional responses of native faunal communities. Although invasive plant removals could restore native faunal communities, future functional restorations of invaded ecosystems should take the legacy effects of invasive species on native communities into account. These findings provide insightful implications for future scientific controls of invasive species and ecosystem restoration under intensifying global changes.

Predicting targets and costs for feral‐cat reduction on large islands using stochastic population models

AbstractFeral cats are some of the most destructive invasive predators worldwide, particularly in insular environments; hence, density‐reduction campaigns are often applied to alleviate the predation mortality they add to native fauna. Density‐reduction and eradication efforts are costly procedures with important outcomes for native fauna recovery, so they require adequate planning to be successful. These plans should include empirical density‐reduction models that can guide yearly culling quotas, and resource roll‐out for the duration of the culling period. This ensures densities are reduced over the long term and that resources are not wasted. We constructed a stochastic population model with cost estimates to test the relative effectiveness and cost‐efficiency of two main culling scenarios for a 10‐year eradication campaign of cats on Kangaroo Island, Australia: (a) constant proportional annual cull (one‐phase), and (b) high initial culling followed by a constant proportional maintenance cull (two‐phase). A one‐phase cull of at least 0.35 of the annual population size would reduce the final population to 0.1 of its original size, while a two‐phase cull with an initial cull of minimum 0.6 and minimum 0.5 maintenance cull would reduce the final population to 0.01 of its initial size within the 10‐year time frame. Cost estimates varied widely depending on the methods applied (shooting, trapping, aerial poison baits, Felixer™ poison‐delivery system), but using baiting, trapping and Felixers with additional shooting to meet culling quotas was the most cost‐effective combination (minimum cost: AU$19.56 million; range: AU$16.87 million–AU$20.69 million). Our model provides an adaptable and general assessment tool for cat reductions in Australia and potentially elsewhere, and provides relative culling costs for the Kangaroo Island campaign specifically.

Revision of thelodonts, acanthodians, conodonts, and the depositional environments in the Burgen outlier (Ludlow, Silurian) of Gotland, Sweden

ABSTRACT Ludfordian strata exposed in the Burgen outlier in eastern Gotland, Sweden record a time of initial faunal recovery after a global environmental perturbation manifested in the Ludfordian Carbon Isotope Excursion (LCIE). Vertebrate microfossils in the collection of the late Lennart Jeppsson, hosted at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, hold the key to reconstruct the dynamics of faunal immigration and diversification during the decline of the LCIE, but the stratigraphic relationships of the strata have been debated. Historically, they had been placed in the Burgsvik Formation, which included the Burgsvik Sandstone and the Burgsvik Oolite members. We revise the fauna in the Jeppsson collection and characterize key outcrops of Burgen and Kapellet. The former Burgsvik Oolite Member is here revised as the Burgen Oolite Formation. In the Burgen outlier, back-shoal facies of this formation are represented and their position in the Ozarkodina snajdri Biozone is supported. The shallow-marine position compared to the coeval strata in southern Gotland is reflected in the higher δ13Ccarb values, reaching +9.2‰. The back-shoal succession includes high-diversity metazoan reefs, which indicate a complete recovery of the carbonate producers as the LCIE declined. The impoverishment of conodonts associated with the LCIE in southern Gotland might be a product of facies preferences, as the diverse environments in the outlier yielded all 21 species known from the formation. Fish diversity also returned to normal levels as the LCIE declined, with a minimum of nine species. In line with previous reports, thelodont scales appear to dominate samples from the Burgen outlier.