Success Of Species Research Articles

Dissimilarity among Species and Higher Taxa of Amphibians in a Hotspot of Biodiversity and Endemism in the Neotropics

The Mexican Republic ranks fifth in the world in terms of amphibian diversity, and within Mexico, the state of Oaxaca has the greatest amphibian richness and endemism. Unfortunately, various factors, such as land use change and global warming, have caused a global crisis that threatens the conservation of this class. In the face of these threats, an analysis of beta diversity provides information that can be applied to conservation strategies, since its study reveals the spatial scaling of diversity loss and clarifies the mechanisms of regional diversity maintenance. In this work, we analyzed the beta diversity at the species and higher taxa level (order, family, subfamily, genus and species) for the amphibians of Oaxaca and their replacement components and the differences in richness for anurans and caudates separately between physiographic subprovinces. Very high beta diversity was recorded, with higher diversity occurring among caudates (0.92) than among anurans (0.84). Species replacement was the component that most contributed to this result, and the subprovinces with substantial environmental differences had the most dissimilar amphibian communities. The results of this study show the need to implement conservation strategies in subprovinces with high amphibian richness and endemism levels, following the example of Sierra Madre de Oaxaca (SMO), where local communities have developed conservation actions in most of the territory.

Forest carbon storage and sink estimates under different management scenarios in China from 2020 to 2100

Forests play a crucial role in mitigating climate change through carbon storage and sequestration, though environmental change drivers and management scenarios are likely to influence these contributions across multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we employed three tree growth models—the Richard, Hossfeld, and Korf models—that account for the biological characteristics of trees, alongside national forest inventory (NFI) datasets from 1994 to 2018, to evaluate the carbon sink potential of existing forests and afforested regions in China from 2020 to 2100, assuming multiple afforestation and forest management scenarios. Our results indicate that the Richard, Hossfeld, and Korf models provided a good fit for 26 types of vegetation biomass in both natural and planted Chinese forests. These models estimate that in 2020, carbon stocks in existing Chinese forests are 7.62 ± 0.05 Pg C, equivalent to an average of 44.32 ± 0.32 Mg C/ ha. Our predictions then indicate this total forest carbon stock is expected to increase to 15.51 ± 0.99 Pg C (or 72.26 ± 4.6 Mg C/ha) in 2060, and further to 19.59 ± 1.36 Pg C (or 91.31 ± 6.33 Mg C/ha) in 2100. We also show that plantation management measures, namely tree species replacement, would increase carbon sinks to 0.09 Pg C/ year (contributing 38.9 %) in 2030 and 0.06 Pg C/ year (contributing 32.4 %) in 2060. Afforestation using tree species with strong carbon sink capacity in existing plantations would further significantly increase carbon sinks from 0.02 Pg C/year (contributing 10.3 %) in 2030 to 0.06 Pg C/year (contributing 28.2 %) in 2060. Our results quantify the role plantation management plays in providing a strong increase in forest carbon sequestration at national scales, pointing to afforestation with native tree species with high carbon sequestration as key in achieving China's 2060 carbon neutrality target.

A comprehensive framework for vegetation succession

AbstractSuccession is defined as a directional change in species populations, the community, and the ecosystem at a site following a disturbance. Succession is a fundamental concept in ecology as it links different disciplines. An improved understanding of succession is urgently needed in the Anthropocene to predict the widespread effects of global change on succession and ecosystem recovery, but a comprehensive successional framework (CSF) is lacking. A CSF is needed to synthesize results, draw generalizations, advance successional theory, and make improved decisions for ecosystem restoration. We first show that succession is an integral part of socio‐ecological system dynamics and that it is driven by social and ecological factors operating at different spatial scales, ranging from the patch to the globe. We then present a CSF at the local scale (patch and landscape) at which succession takes place and explain the underlying successional processes and mechanisms operating at that scale. The CSF reflects the increasingly broader perspective on succession and includes recent theoretical advances by not only focusing on species replacement but also on ecosystem development, considering succession as part of a socio‐ecological system, and taking the effect of past and current land use, the landscape context, biotic interactions, and feedback loops into account. We discuss how the CSF can be used to integrate and synthesize successional studies, and its implications for ecosystem restoration.

2021年山东长岛毗邻海域底层渔业生物监测数据集

As one of the most representative areas of the shelf-edge sea, the waters adjacent to offshore islands are important sea-land transition areas. The ecosystems in these areas are diverse and complex due to the dual regulation of natural environmental variabilities and human activities. The adjacent waters of the Changdao Island are characterized by typical island ecology and are key migration channels, spawning grounds and habitats of fishery resources in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, which are of great significance to the food web process of fishery organisms in this area. From March to December 2021, the Shandong Changdao Fishery Resources National Observation and Research Station conducted a month-by-month survey of bottom fishery stocks with 10 stations per cruise and sample measurements in the waters adjacent to the Changdao Island. Afterwards, the index of relative importance (IRI), species replacement rate, catch per unit effort (CPUE), D (Margalef richness index), H′ (Shannon-Wiener diversity index) and J′ (Pielou evenness index) were calculated from the biological measurement data of the catches that formed the present dataset. The review and proofreading of this dataset was thoroughly conducted through extensive full-sample cross-checks by multiple reviewers to guarantee the standardization and accuracy. This dataset can provide data support for the study of spatial and temporal patterns of bottom fishery stocks in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea and the study of special island fishery ecosystems with migratory passage characteristics.

Revealing legacy effects of extreme droughts on tree growth of oaks across the Northern Hemisphere

Forests are undergoing increasing risks of drought-induced tree mortality. Species replacement patterns following mortality may have a significant impact on the global carbon cycle. Among major hardwoods, deciduous oaks (Quercus spp.) are increasingly reported as replacing dying conifers across the Northern Hemisphere. Yet, our knowledge on the growth responses of these oaks to drought is incomplete, especially regarding post-drought legacy effects. The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence, duration, and magnitude of legacy effects of extreme droughts and how that vary across species, sites, and drought characteristics. The legacy effects were quantified by the deviation of observed from expected radial growth indices in the period 1940–2016. We used stand-level chronologies from 458 sites and 21 oak species primarily from Europe, north-eastern America, and eastern Asia. We found that legacy effects of droughts could last from 1 to 5 years after the drought and were more prolonged in dry sites. Negative legacy effects (i.e., lower growth than expected) were more prevalent after repetitive droughts in dry sites. The effect of repetitive drought was stronger in Mediterranean oaks especially in Quercus faginea. Species-specific analyses revealed that Q. petraea and Q. macrocarpa from dry sites were more negatively affected by the droughts while growth of several oak species from mesic sites increased during post-drought years. Sites showing positive correlations to winter temperature showed little to no growth depression after drought, whereas sites with a positive correlation to previous summer water balance showed decreased growth. This may indicate that although winter warming favors tree growth during droughts, previous-year summer precipitation may predispose oak trees to current-year extreme droughts. Our results revealed a massive role of repetitive droughts in determining legacy effects and highlighted how growth sensitivity to climate, drought seasonality and species-specific traits drive the legacy effects in deciduous oak species.

Degradation of imidazolium-based ionic liquids by UV photolysis and pulsed corona discharge: The effect of persulfates addition

Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts with exceptional properties important for future development, although potentially hazardous for humans and aquatic life due to their high aqueous solubility and toxicity. Biodegradation of ILs depends on the anion nature and cation structure: many ILs are not readily degraded during conventional wastewater treatment, thus requiring alternative cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions. In this research, the degradation of aqueous imidazolium-based ILs by pulsed corona discharge (PCD) and UV photolysis combined with persulfates was studied, using peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and peroxydisulfate (PDS) as extrinsic oxidants. 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Emim][Cl]), 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride ([Omim][Cl]), and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Emim][Br]) were chosen as imidazolium-based ILs with different alkyl chain lengths and anions in oxidation experiments under variable operation factors - pH, concentrations of persulfates, pulse repetition frequency in PCD. Pulsed corona discharge has previously shown high energy efficiency in the degradation of micropollutants but has not yet been applied to ionic liquids. The experimental results showed the ability of PCD, PCD/oxidant and UV/oxidant combinations to completely degrade the ILs with the degradation rates in descending order [Emim][Cl] > [Omim][Cl] > [Emim][Br], indicating an impact of both the alkyl chain length and the type of anion on the oxidation rate. The strong activation of persulfates was observed in UV/oxidant combinations, whereas PCD demonstrated the effect of persulfates addition between slight acceleration and moderate deceleration of oxidation dependent on the concentration of extrinsic oxidants. The addition of the sulfate radicals’ scavenger, however, showed the presence of those in all combinations indicating a certain replacement of PCD-generated reactive oxygen species with secondary reactants formed from persulfates. The unassisted PCD and UV/PDS combination demonstrated similar energy efficiencies of about 54 and 26 mmol kWh−1 for [Emim][Cl] and [Emim][Br] degradation, respectively, while for [Omim][Cl] the UV/PDS combination showed energy efficiency 1.42 times higher than unassisted PCD.

Elevation modulates the impacts of climate change on the Brazilian Cerrado flora

AbstractAimClimate change is causing species distribution to shift across the globe. Lowland taxa are moving upslope with warming, while montane species face extinction. We tested the hypothesis that elevation controls the future distribution of plant species in the Brazilian Cerrado, home of 3.5% of the Earth's flowering plants (c. 5000 endemic species) in just 0.4% of the planet's land surface.LocationCerrado region in Brazil.MethodsWe estimated geographical range shifts of 7398 angiosperm species by 2040 using species distribution models (SDMs). We stacked the SDMs to derive the temporal variations of species richness and composition over the Cerrado.ResultsOur results show that between 50 and 52% of the Cerrado flora will experience net range loss due to climate change. While montane species were more likely to lose range, range gain was more common among lowland taxa. We estimate that 68–73% of the Cerrado extent will face net species losses by 2040. Net species loss was more likely to occur below 743–798 metres above sea level. Virtually the entire Cerrado will experience some level of species replacement due to climate change and species turnover will intensify as elevation increases.Main ConclusionsOur findings suggest that upslope migration allows lowland plants to track climate change (‘winners’), whereas montane taxa do not (‘losers’). As species move upslope, lowlands become local extinction hotspots and mountains harbour novel plant assemblages. Therefore, elevation exerts a central role in shaping Cerrado flora responses to climate change and potentially the long‐term efficacy of conservation and restoration efforts.

The role of partner species in the crop cocultures: A meta- analysis

Crop cocultures (the growing of one crop with another plant or animal species as partner) are known to increase yield and other ecosystem services. However, whether and how partner species (i.e., the species grown together with the focal crop) affect coculture effects is poorly understood. Here, we test the effects of partner species using a meta-analysis. Two types of cocultures (i.e., crop-crop and rice-fish cocultures) with 19 cereals as focal crops were considered, and 136 plant or animal species were involved. We found that cocultures increased focal crop yield, the land equivalent ratio and soil organic matter (SOM), and decreased insect pest infestation. Farming practices (i.e., fertilization, pesticide use, and irrigation) did not alter these coculture effects on yield, but fertilization decreased the coculture effect on SOM, and pesticide use reduced the coculture effect on pest control. Without irrigation, cocultures increased yield under drought conditions compared to normal moisture conditions. Beneficial coculture effects were obtained with both plant and animal partner species and under both patterns of partner species grown with focal crops (species addition and species replacement). Functional types of partner plants (i.e., C3, C4, legume and non-legume plants) and taxonomic groups of partner animals (i.e., crabs, fish, shrimps, and turtles) affected coculture effects on yield, SOM, and insect pests. Both multiple functional trait distance and single functional trait distance between the focal crops and plant partners correlated with coculture effect on yield. The results suggest that biological types of partner species are important in obtaining beneficial effects of cocultures.

Novel foods, old issues: Metabarcoding revealed mislabeling in insect-based products sold by e-commerce on the EU market

Insects intended for human consumption are considered Novel Foods according to EU legislation. marketed in form of powders, bars, snacks are increasingly available on the EU market, especially on e-commerce. The commercial form and the way of distribution make IBPs particularly prone to mislabeling. Literature concerning the mislabeling occurrence in IBPs is extremely scarce. In this study, 46 processed IBPs were collected on nine EU e-commerce platforms (e-CO) to be authenticated by metabarcoding. A 200 bp region from 16S rRNA gene was used as molecular target. Sequencing data were processed using DADA2 R package, and sequences were taxonomically assigned through BLAST analysis against GenBank. Procedural blanks and positive controls were included in the analysis, and threshold values were established to filter the final data. The mislabeling rate (i. e. the mismatch between the species declared on the IBP label and the species identified by metabarcoding) was calculated. Overall, a high mislabeling rate (33.3 %) was observed, although this percentage is influenced by the e-CO platform and the insect species, with A. domesticus particularly involved. The use of species not listed in authorized Novel Food (e. g. Gryllus locorojo), and/or the partial replacement of high value species with lower value species was highlighted for the first time in processed IBPs. The presence of insect pests was also detected. Metabarcoding was confirmed as an effective tool for IBPs authentication. Also, outcomes from this study can provide useful data on the main issues involving the EU IBPs’ market, that can represent an incentive to reinforce both official controls and FBO’s self-controls on these poorly investigated products.

Environmental Factors Shape the Differences in Biodiversity-Area Relationships in Riverine Macroinvertebrates of Two Rivers in the Tibetan Plateau in China

The species-area relationship (SAR) is a well-established, globally recognized ecological pattern, and research on SAR has expanded to include the phylogenetic diversity-area relationship (PDAR). However, this research has generally been limited to terrestrial systems. Using data on freshwater macroinvertebrates, the log–log form of the SAR and PDAR power models were compared between the Lhasa River and the Niyang River on the Tibetan Plateau in China. The study reveals that there is a significant difference in the slopes of SAR and PDAR between the two rivers, with the Lhasa River having a considerably higher slope. The beta diversity calculations in these two basins support this pattern, with the Lhasa River exhibiting significantly higher numbers of species and greater total phylogenetic beta diversity than the Niyang River. Regarding species replacement, the turnover component was the primary driver of both species and phylogenetic beta diversity in both rivers. These differences in the beta diversity components were mainly driven by dispersal constraints because spatial distance had a large effect on total beta diversity and turnover fractions. In addition, the nestedness component was more affected by climate and land cover, indicating that highland rivers are subject to the threats of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. Therefore, spatial factors play a crucial role in determining the distribution of passively dispersed benthic organisms as the scale of change in rivers increases from local to regional effects.

Historical and dispersal processes drive community assembly of multiple aquatic taxa in glacierized catchments in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau

Understanding the relative role of dispersal dynamics and niche constraints is not only a core task in community ecology, but also becomes an important prerequisite for bioassessment. Despite the recent progress in our knowledge of community assembly in space and time, patterns and processes underlying biotic communities in alpine glacierized catchments remain mostly ignored. To fill this knowledge gap, we combined the recently proposed dispersal-niche continuum index (DNCI) with traditional constrained ordinations and idealized patterns of species distributions to unravel community assembly mechanisms of different key groups of primary producers and consumers (i.e., phytoplankton, epiphytic algae, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, and fishes) in rivers in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the World's Third Pole. We tested whether organismal groups with contrasting body sizes differed in their assembly processes, and discussed their applicability in bioassessment in alpine zones. We found that community structure of alpine river biotas was always predominantly explained in terms of dispersal dynamics and historical biogeography. These patterns are most likely the result of differences in species-specific functional attributes, the stochastic colonization-extinction dynamics driven by multi-year glacier disturbances and the repeated hydrodynamic separation among alpine catchments after the rising of the Qilian mountains. Additionally, we found that the strength of dispersal dynamics and niche constraints was partially mediated by organismal body sizes, with dispersal processes being more influential for microscopic primary producers. Finding that zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities followed clumped species replacement structures (i.e., Clementsian gradients) supports the notion that environmental filtering also contributes to the structure of high-altitude animal communities in glacierized catchments. In terms of the applied fields, we argue that freshwater bioassessment in glacierized catchments can benefit from incorporating the metacommunity perspective and applying novel approaches to (i) detect the optimal spatial scale for species sorting and (ii) identify and eliminate the species that are sensitive to dispersal-related processes.

Height growth and biomass partitioning during secondary succession differ among forest light strata and successional guilds in a tropical rainforest

In closed‐canopy systems globally, plants exhibit intense competition for light, prioritizing vertical growth to attain elevated positions within the canopy. Light competition is especially intense in tropical rainforests because of their dense shaded stands, and during forest succession because of concomitant changes in vertical light profiles. We evaluated how the height growth of individual tree differs among forest light strata (canopy, sub‐canopy and understorey) and successional guilds (early, mid‐ and late successional species) during secondary succession in a Mexican rainforest. Fourteen secondary forest stands differing in time since agricultural abandonment (1–25 years) were monitored for seven consecutive years. For each stand and census year we estimated relative light intensity (RLI) for each height and categorized trees into forest light strata: understorey (RLI ≦ 33.3%), sub‐canopy (33.3% ≦ RLI ≦ 66.6%) and canopy (RLI ≧ 66.6%), and into successional guilds based on the literature. We estimated two measures of height growth: absolute height growth (HGabs, cm year−1) calculated as the difference in tree height between two consecutive censuses, and biomass partitioning to height growth (HGbp, in kg kg−1 × 100) calculated as the percentage of total aboveground biomass growth partitioned to height growth. Earlier in succession, trees for all strata had greater HGabs and HGbp, resulting in rapid vertical forest development. HGabs was fastest for canopy trees, followed by sub‐canopy and understorey trees. These differences in HGabs among strata, combined with their inter‐specific variation and continuous recruitment of small individuals, lead to a rapid differentiation in tree sizes and increase stand structural heterogeneity. HGbp was greater for understorey and sub‐canopy trees than for canopy trees, reflecting ontogenetic changes in the light competition strategy from growth to persistence. With succession, both HGabs and HGbp decreased, most strongly for canopy trees, probably because of an increased exposure to drought stress. These successional changes stabilize stand size structure and reduce the rate of development.

First multitaxon assessment of arthropod responses to urbanisation in a widely distributed native and ruderal plant of Brazil

Abstract Unplanned urban development has consequences for natural ecosystems, resulting in habitat fragmentation and loss. Arthropod responses to urbanisation are well documented in the Global North, but no clear responses are found for the Global South. We assessed beta diversity, composition, richness and abundance responses of arthropods in Turnera subulata in an urbanisation gradient. Urbanisation affected arthropod communities' composition, and more urbanised areas showed lower insect richness and abundance. Arthropod taxa did not respond homogeneously to urbanisation. Turnover best explained the change in beta diversity along the urbanisation gradient, indicating urbanisation causes species replacement compared to less urbanised areas. We found negative results of urbanisation on the arthropod community on flowers of T. subulata. Our results are a first approximation to the effects of rural–urban gradient of urbanisation on multiple arthropod taxon in Brazil, highlighting the need for maintenance of urban green areas to allow the existence of a richer and more diverse community, especially in the face of the arthropod biodiversity crisis that we are experiencing.

Taxonomic and functional β-diversity patterns reveal stochastic assembly rules in microbial communities of seagrass beds.

Microorganisms are important members of seagrass bed ecosystems and play a crucial role in maintaining the health of seagrasses and the ecological functions of the ecosystem. In this study, we systematically quantified the assembly processes of microbial communities in fragmented seagrass beds and examined their correlation with environmental factors. Concurrently, we explored the relative contributions of species replacement and richness differences to the taxonomic and functional β-diversity of microbial communities, investigated the potential interrelation between these components, and assessed the explanatory power of environmental factors. The results suggest that stochastic processes dominate community assembly. Taxonomic β-diversity differences are governed by species replacement, while for functional β-diversity, the contribution of richness differences slightly outweighs that of replacement processes. A weak but significant correlation (p < 0.05) exists between the two components of β-diversity in taxonomy and functionality, with almost no observed significant correlation with environmental factors. This implies significant differences in taxonomy, but functional convergence and redundancy within microbial communities. Environmental factors are insufficient to explain the β-diversity differences. In conclusion, the assembly of microbial communities in fragmented seagrass beds is governed by stochastic processes. The patterns of taxonomic and functional β-diversity provide new insights and evidence for a better understanding of these stochastic assembly rules. This has important implications for the conservation and management of fragmented seagrass beds.

Effect of green infrastructure on restoration of pollination networks and plant performance in semi‐natural dry grasslands across Europe

Abstract Agricultural intensification, afforestation and land abandonment are major drivers of biodiversity loss in semi‐natural grasslands across Europe. Reversing these losses requires the reinstatement of plant–animal interactions such as pollination. Here we assessed the differences in species composition and patterns of plant‐pollinator interactions in ancient and restored grasslands and how these patterns are influenced by landscape connectivity, across three European regions (Belgium, Germany and Sweden). We evaluated the differences in pollinator community assemblage, abundance and interaction network structure between 24 ancient and restored grasslands. We then assessed the effect of surrounding landscape functional connectivity (i.e. green infrastructure, GI) on these variables and tested possible consequences on the reproduction of two model plants, Lotus corniculatus and Salvia pratensis. Neither pollinator richness nor species composition differed between ancient and restored grasslands. A high turnover of interactions across grasslands was detected but was mainly due to replacement of pollinator and plant species. The impact of grassland restoration was consistent across various pollinator functional groups, whereas the surrounding GI had differential effects. Notably, bees, butterflies, beetles, and dipterans (excluding hoverflies) exhibited the most significant responses to GI variations. Interestingly, networks in restored grasslands were more specialised (i.e. less functionally redundant) than in ancient ones and also showed a higher number of insect visits to habitat‐generalist plant species. Landscape connectivity had a similar effect, with habitat‐specialist plant species receiving fewer visits at higher GI values. Fruit set in S. pratensis and L. corniculatus was unaffected by grassland type or GI. However, the fruit set in the specialist S. pratensis increased with the number of pollinator visits, indicating a positive correlation between pollinator activity and reproductive success in this particular species. Synthesis and applications. Our findings provide evidence of the necessity to enhance ecosystem functions while avoiding biotic homogenisation. Restoration programs should aim at increasing landscape connectivity which influences plant communities, pollinator assemblages and their interaction patterns. To avoid generalist species taking over from specialists in restored grasslands, we suggest reinforcing the presence of specialist species in the latter, for instance by means of introductions, as well as increasing the connectivity to source populations.

Unravelling the distribution of three Ammonia species (Foraminifera, Rhizaria) in French Atlantic Coast estuaries using morphological and metabarcoding approaches

Assessing the distribution of species in natural environments is essential for their use in environmental surveys. Here, we investigate the distribution of three pseudo-cryptic species formerly lumped in the morphospecies Ammonia tepida (Cushman, 1926), commonly found on estuarine mudflats along the European coasts: Ammonia veneta Schultze, 1854 (T1), Ammonia aberdoveyensis Haynes, 1973 (T2) and Ammonia confertitesta Zheng, 1978 (T6). We studied their distribution at 51 sites located in seven estuaries of the French North Atlantic coast (Elorn, Aulne, Odet, Crac'h, Auray, Vilaine, Vie), using both morphological and molecular identification methods. Ammonia veneta was detected by both approaches at most of the stations. While A. aberdoveyensis was frequently identified by the morphological method but not detected with metabarcoding, the presence of A. confertitesta in the eDNA data often contrasted with its absence in the morphological analysis. The absence of A. aberdoveyensis in eDNA of sites where it was identified morphologically could be the consequence of its relative scarcity, and eventually a patchy distribution. Concerning A. confertitesta, we hypothesise that these contradictory results can be explained by the supposedly invasive character of this species. Despite the widespread presence of A. confertitesta genetic material (including adults, juveniles and propagules), a mature population has not yet fully developed everywhere. The seven investigated estuaries seem to represent different stages of replacement of the autochthonous species A. veneta and A. aberdoveyensis by A. confertitesta. Our study demonstrates that the combination of visual observations and molecular approaches is ideal for monitoring the progressive spreading of exotic species.

The relative effects of artificial shrubs on animal community assembly

Facilitative associations between the foundational shrub species Ephedra californica and local vertebrate species can drive positive interactions within desert ecosystems that influence diversity and assembly processes. These foundational shrubs can contribute to the structural heterogeneity of ecosystems for plants and animals including variation in temperature profiles, refuge from predation, and habitat for foraging. Artificial structures can also influence fine‐scale ecological and micro‐environmental dynamics. We tested the hypothesis that artificial shrubs (mimics) positively influence desert vertebrate association through facilitative interactions, similar to foundational shrub species. Mimics were deployed at four distinct sites within the central deserts of Southern California. A combination of camera traps and temperature pendants were utilized to measure the association patterns of vertebrate species and the microclimatic variation at mimic, open, and shrubs. A total of 21 species were observed in this study. Mimics had a significantly higher vertebrate abundance and richness than open microsites and functioned similarly to shrubs. These findings suggest that mimics can be utilized as a stop‐gap replacement for foundational shrub species as they can act as a novel fine‐scale habitat for many desert vertebrate species.

Diversity patterns along ecological succession in tropical dry forests: a multi‐taxonomic approach

Evaluating the diversity of multiple taxa is fundamental to understand community assembly and to assess the integrity and functionality of tropical secondary forests. In this study, we analyzed the natural regeneration of tropical dry forests (TDFs) in three regions of Brazil using Hill–Simpson diversity, abundance and β‐diversity of trees and five groups of insects (herbivores, fruit‐feeding butterflies, ants, culicid mosquitoes and dung beetles). Sampling was conducted in 39 0.1 ha plots using a chronosequence approach (13 plots in early, intermediate and old‐growth forests). We evaluated the contribution of three different levels to γ‐diversity: α (within plots), β1 (among plots) and β2 (among successional stages), and further determined the relative importance of turnover (species replacement) and nestedness (differences in species number among sites) to β2. Our results showed that, unexpectedly, the Hill–Simpson diversity was consistently higher in early than old‐growth stages for all regions, but varied more widely in the intermediate stages. For each group separately, the same trend was observed for butterflies, ants, dung beetles and herbivores and did not differ among stages for mosquitoes. Successional differences in abundance were only detected for trees (increasing along the gradient) and for mosquitoes (decreasing). According to our expectations, the additive partitioning analysis showed that β2‐diversity contributed more to γ‐diversity than β1‐diversity, when all taxa were considered together and for most of them separately (except for butterflies and dung beetles). Most of the β2‐diversity was due to species turnover, but this contribution varied among groups and regions, with the highest turnover for herbivores and the lowest for dung beetles. Our results suggest that the Hill–Simpson diversity and changes in species composition (as given by β2‐diversity) are better indicators of forest natural regeneration than raw species richness, corroborating previous studies with plants and animals.

The adaptation of bumblebees to extremely high elevation associated with their gut microbiota.

Bumblebees are among the most abundant and important pollinators for sub-alpine and alpine flowering plant species in the Northern Hemisphere, but little is known about their adaptations to high elevations. In this article, we focused on two bumblebee species, Bombus friseanus and Bombus prshewalskyi, and their respective gut microbiota. The two species, distributed through the Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China, show species replacement at different elevations. We performed genome sequencing based on 20 worker bee samples of each species. Applying evolutionary population genetics and metagenomic approaches, we detected genes under selection and analyzed functional pathways between bumblebees and their gut microbes. We found clear genetic differentiation between the two host species and significant differences in their microbiota. Species replacement occurred in both hosts and their bacteria (Snodgrassella) with an increase in elevation. These extremely high-elevation bumblebees show evidence of positive selection related to diverse biological processes. Positively selected genes involved in host immune systems probably contributed to gut microbiota changes, while the butyrate generated by gut microbiota may influence both host energy metabolism and immune systems. This suggests a close association between the genomes of the host species and their microbiomes based on some degree of natural selection.IMPORTANCETwo closely related and dominant bumblebee species, distributed at different elevations through the Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China, showed a clear genomic signature of adaptation to elevation at the molecular level and significant differences in their respective microbiota. Species replacement occurred in both hosts and their bacteria (Snodgrassella) with an increase in elevation. Bumblebees' adaptations to higher elevations are closely associated with their gut microbiota through two biological processes: energy metabolism and immune response. Information allowing us to understand the adaptive mechanisms of species to extreme conditions is implicit if we are to conserve them as their environments change.

New insights into endolithic palaeocommunity development in mobile hard substrate using CT imaging of bioeroded clasts from the Pliocene (Almería, SE Spain).

Bioeroded carbonate clasts from a Pliocene shallow-marine succession of Almería (SE Spain, Betic Cordillera) were analysed with computed tomography (CT). This revealed the detailed 3D architecture of bioerosion structures hidden within and allowed for their ichnotaxonomic identification (14 ichnospecies of 5 ichnogenera) and quantification. Borings are produced by worms, mostly polychaetes and sipunculids dominated, followed by bivalves and lastly by sponges. The crosscutting relationship between the borings and their preservation characteristics points to a complex colonization history of the clasts with repeated bioerosive episodes interrupted by physical disturbances, including overturning and abrasion of the clasts followed by their recolonization. Our findings facilitated paleoenvironmental interpretation and can be compared to analogous modern-day ecological succession. The sharp dominance of worm borings - early successional species - may be related to frequent, periodic, physical disturbance that possibly prevented the cobble-dwelling macroboring community from being overtaken by sponges - late successional taxa. CT, hand sample and petrographic observations detected, aside from borings, other irregularly shaped pores which are interpreted to be generated by diagenetic processes including dolomitization, silicification and dissolution, representing an intraparticle moldic and moldic enlarged porosity. Boring porosity crosscutting the diagenetically altered grains suggests the later occurrence of bioerosion processes. Irregular shapes ranging from roughly spherical, elongate sub-polyhedral to amoeboid resemble morphologies produced by modern sponges. Moldic pores possibly acted as primary domiciles for boring sponges, which infested, altered and enlarged pre-existing pores as they grew (as happens in the modern), providing an example of how biological and non-biological processes interacted and together influenced endolithic palaeocommunity development.