Download or read book Community Level Impacts of Microstegium Vimineum on Arthropod Community Structure and Foodweb Dynamics in a Temperate Deciduous Forest written by Judith L. Metcalf and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Invasion by non-native primary producers are generally expected to lead to a decline in native species richness, however in some cases, these invasions can actually lead to an increase in diversity and abundance of certain groups of organisms. Arthropods are extremely sensitive to changes in the plant community, particularly herbivores, and the response of these primary consumers can influence predator populations. Microstegium vimineum is an invasive C4 grass that has developed strong populations in the understory of temperate deciduous forests along the east coast of the U.S. This work evaluates the influence that this invader may have on insect and spider abundance and diversity, including changes at the trophic group and functional guild levels. Additionally we evaluate the impacts of both an increase in invasion density and a decrease in native plant diversity on arthropod community structure. In general, we find a significant increase in herbivore abundance, primarily as a result in the increased abundances of concealed chewers, free-living chewers and free-living sap feeders. Free-living sap-feeders also showed an increase in biomass. Spider abundance and diversity also increased in association with invasion by M. vimineum. Both active hunters and sit-and-wait predators showed significant increases in invaded sites. The ratio of adult:immature spiders however had a negative relationship with invasion. These changes in the arthropod community appear to be related to both changes in vegetation structure as well as changes in plant biomass. We found increased abundances in our treatments in which invasion density increased and decreases in the arthropod community in sites where native plants were removed from the system. We also show some support for the idea that carnivores, specifically spiders, may respond more strongly to changes in vegetative complexity, while herbivores, specifically leaf hoppers, may respond more strongly to changes in plant biomass.
Download or read book Understanding Community and Food Web Dynamics in the Moss microarthropod Model Ecological System Temporal Variability and Combined Experimental Habitat Fragmentation and Climate Change written by Giselle Denisse Perdomo Martínez and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a clear crisis in the maintenance of global biodiversity worldwide. Climate change and widespread habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are exerting strong, landscape-scale pressures on biodiversity. Negative impacts of these stressors are seen at all levels of biological organization, but studies at the level of community and food webs are relatively rare. This is in large part due to the large spatial and temporal scales at which food webs operate. Natural microcosms (food webs operating at small spatial scales) have been used to experimentally approach complex theoretical and applied questions in ecology, and have provided many important insights to date. In particular, moss micro-arthropod communities have been used extensively for the study of the effects of habitat fragmentation. Here, we used this ecosystem in a replicated, manipulative experiment to study the combined effects of warming and habitat fragmentation on community and food web structure. In order to do this, we developed tools to estimate diet of Oribatid mites, which were one of the most abundant and diverse taxa in the food web. Stable isotope techniques and analysis of mouthpart morphology allowed us to describe a food web for a moss-microarthropod ecosystem from south eastern Australia. The food web comprised over 100 taxa organized into a suite of feeding guilds: herbivores, fungivores, detritivores, lichenivores and predators. The speciose nature of the system is a strength, and the challenge of dealing with the taxonomy, data storage and food web analysis was met by development of a publicly available taxonomy database/tool, and a food web analysis package. We described temporal variation in a suite of food web attributes across one summer and winter. We found marked differences in food web structure between sampling occasions, with patterns suggestive of temperature- and humidity-driven changes in resource availability. To test the generality of food web structure in our system as compared to other ecosystems, food web attributes were compared to those of a large compilation of food webs from around the world. Comparison revealed similarities in food web structure to other communities across a range of spatial scales and ecosystems. Dissimilarities were also found and discussed. We concluded that the moss-microarthropod system provides an adequate model for achieving a deeper understanding of processes in community ecology. Our experiments assess the assembly of moss-microarthropod communities after an extreme high-temperature event, against a back-drop of altered climate, and in the context of habitat fragmentation. Data provide initial indications that isolated habitats may be more susceptible to negative impacts of warming than less isolated habitats. Variability of responses among replicate landscapes was considerable, with some being relatively resilient. Future understanding of the underpinnings of this resilience could point to management options for resisting rapid environmental change. Our results highlight the value of dispersal in disturbed landscapes and of disturbance-buffered communities in the face of climate change. Given the importance of synergies between disturbances as drivers of biodiversity loss, and considering the paucity of data assessing the combined impacts of climate change and habitat fragmentation on food webs, further research must be carried out in this area. This could build and draw on the model system we have validated for that purpose, enabled by the suite of new tools generated here.
Download or read book Effects of Land Use Transformation on Microarthropod Community Structure in Mediterranean Area written by Lucia Santorufo and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The effects of human-mediated activities on soil quality and functioning have been assessed. Composition and changes in arthropod community structure and laboratory bioassays were performed on urban soils in order to understand the roles of metal contamination on soil organism activities and distribution. Then, comparison of urban, agricultural, industrial and forest soils were performed, monitoring Collembola species and functional traits composition, in order to assess if the impact of urban environment is greater than other kinds of anthropization. Soil organism community was analysed twice a years for evaluating the role of seasonality on anthropic impacted soils. The different kinds of anthropization firstly affected the abiotic properties of the sites. Agricultural and urban soils were the most impacted soils by human activities, which cause changes in vegetation cover, organic matter amounts and accumulation of hazardous elements and compounds. Soils organisms responded to soil abiotic modifications. In particular, in urban environment soil organisms were strongly reduced at high level of metal contamination, whereas organic matter content and climatic conditions played the main role at low-intermediate soil contamination. Collembola community showed a strong reduction in species richness in agricultural soils, with a consequent domination of few tolerant species. Collembola functional trait distribution was mainly affected by the presence and the type of litter and inputs of contaminants. In particular, agricultural environment favoured organisms with traits adapted to soil life surface, whereas forest soils favoured organisms with euedaphic characteristics. Industrial and urban soils showed organisms with both epiedaphic and euedaphic characteristics.
Download or read book Community level Effects of Vegetation Architecture and Prey Availability written by Mary E. Pendergast and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changes to vegetation architecture within a natural habitat can have profound impacts upon ecological community function, but the relative influence of vegetation architecture itself and potential indirect influences of associated food resources are often difficult to disentangle. I present the results of a three-year study designed to address the community level impacts of changes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) architecture and associated prey availability upon the ground-dwelling arthropod community. Three experimental sagebrush architecture treatments (low, intermediate, and high foliage density) and two levels of prey insect availability treatment (natural and baited/increased prey availability) were imposed in a sage-steppe ecosystem. The ground-dwelling spider (top predators) and insect (prey) response to all combinations of the six treatments were assessed through abundances in pitfall traps. Chapter 2 demonstrates that changes in a single shrub's architecture did not markedly impact prey arthropod availability on the ground, though an overall increase in arthropod abundance was detected within baited shrubs. This indicates changes to vegetation architecture do not impact prey insect availability for ground-dwelling spiders. Thus, changes in shrub architecture and not the associated prey base directly alter the ground-dwelling spider community. Chapter 3 shows that architectural manipulation of a single sagebrush directly influences the ability of certain ground-dwelling spider guilds to persist beneath the shrub. Data within Chapters 2 and 3 support the conclusion that vegetation architecture directly affects ground-dwelling spider community structure and composition. Finally, Chapter 4 explores how the relative impacts of vegetation architecture and prey availability upon ecological communities can shift depending upon the spatial context in which the manipulations take place, given the differences in mobility of species within the grounddwelling spider and insect prey communities. Within this study, Diurnal and Nocturnal Wanderers responded to manipulations in prey availability at a larger spatial context (patches of 15 shrubs) while more stationary Trappers and Ambushers did not. Through simultaneous manipulation of vegetation architecture (Artemisia tridentata, big sagebrush) and associated insect prey base in different spatial contexts, this dissertation demonstrates that vegetation architecture directly affects ground-dwelling spider community organization at the species and guild levels of diversity. Shifts in spider (predator) functional diversity can ultimately impact arthropod decomposer and herbivore populations, influencing fundamental ecosystem processes such as decomposition and productivity.
Download or read book Impacts of Anthropic Disturbance on Microarthropods written by Margarita Fernández and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropic disturbances reduce ecosystem functionality by disrupting interactions between aboveground and belowground communities. Interactions between plants and belowground biota (i.e., soil fauna) shape ecosystem functions, diversity, and structure aboveground. In disturbance scenarios, some plant community attributes might influence the response of secondary consumers and decomposers (i.e., soil fauna) to new conditions. Both resource provision (i.e., litter), habitat availability, and trophic interactions can be affected by disturbance (i.e., management). The type and intensity of the disturbance regulate the community response aboveground, but response patterns for soil fauna are still unclear. A challenge for sustainable forest management is predicting belowground changes based on aboveground structural conditions and traits. Understanding the relationship between disturbance, plant traits, and soil fauna dynamics is relevant for predicting functional changes at the ecosystem level. Yet, the relative importance of those factors for soil fauna community structure in disturbance scenarios is uncertain. This dissertation explores this research gap in a woodland system by focusing on two disturbance types: 1) a gradient of strip-harvest intensity and 2) multiple nutrient enrichment. In woodlands, firewood harvest and fertilization are standard silvicultural practices with unknown consequences for soil biodiversity and function. First, I characterized the quantitative relationship between a gradient of harvest intensity and the microarthropod community response. For this, I analyzed the interplay of plant community structure, litterfall provision, and microarthropod community structure (Chapter 2). Second, I analyzed the impact of nutrient enrichment on soil fauna using the addition of three macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). This is the first time a multiple nutrient addition experiment, including K, was implemented in a temperate woody community. Using this experiment, I quantified the short-term impacts of multiple nutrient enrichment on microarthropod community structure (Chapter 3) and their functional role (Chapter 4). Overall, the results collectively suggest that intermediate levels of disturbance intensity and N addition do not represent ecological risks for microarthropod communities and their functional role in the short term. In this work, I discuss and contrast the relative importance of resource provision, resource quality, and plant community structure for microarthropods in woodlands under management. Considering these three aboveground elements can help design sustainable practices that allow soil health conservation and belowground ecosystem service provision.
Download or read book Effects of Land use Intensity on Arthropod Diversity and Community Structure in Grassland written by Nadja Katharina Simons and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Clinal Adaptation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Artemisia Californica Functional Traits written by Jessica Dawn Pratt and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Steep climatic gradients may select for clinal adaptation in plant functional traits with implications for species interactions and response to future climate change. Although local adaptation and plasticity in plant functional traits have been documented for many species, less is known about population level variation in plasticity and whether such variation is driven by adaptation to environmental variation. Whether clinal adaptation in plants cascades up to influence arthropod community structure and patterns of diversity is virtually unknown. We examined clinal variation in Artemisia californica traits and performance - and plastic responses to environmental change - in a common garden of plants sourced from populations spanning a 700 km gradient characterized (from south to north) by a fourfold increase in precipitation and a 61% decrease in interannual precipitation variation. Plants cloned from five populations along this gradient were grown for 3 years in treatments of high and low precipitation. We collected whole arthropod communities from common garden plants to test whether geographic patterns of intraspecific variation in A. californica lead to parallel patterns of variation in arthropod community structure. We found that genetically based physiological, herbivore defense, and phenological traits and plant performance in A. californica varied among source populations with most traits varying clinally in concordance with the steep latitudinal gradient in the abiotic environment and environmental variability. Overall, precipitation variability at population source sites was the best predictor of variation in plasticity among populations. Additionally, we found genetic variation in arthropod community structure, with density, evenness, and diversity increasing clinally with latitude. Overall, we show that patterns of intraspecific variation in arthropod communities correspond to patterns of variation in plant functional traits for this species. These striking, clinal patterns in plant traits and plasticity are indicative of adaptation to both the mean and variability of environmental conditions. Such clinal adaptation in plants is likely a primary factor influencing arthropod community structure and diversity at the landscape level. Our findings demonstrate that contemporary patterns of adaptation to environmental clines will mediate future plant responses to projected climate change, with implications for the maintenance of biodiversity at higher trophic levels.
Download or read book Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States written by Therese M. Poland and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-01 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.
Download or read book Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment written by Osvaldo E. Sala and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-08-24 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climatic change, conservation biology
Download or read book Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice written by Monica G. Turner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ideal text for students taking a course in landscape ecology. The book has been written by very well-known practitioners and pioneers in the new field of ecological analysis. Landscape ecology has emerged during the past two decades as a new and exciting level of ecological study. Environmental problems such as global climate change, land use change, habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity have required ecologists to expand their traditional spatial and temporal scales and the widespread availability of remote imagery, geographic information systems, and desk top computing has permitted the development of spatially explicit analyses. In this new text book this new field of landscape ecology is given the first fully integrated treatment suitable for the student. Throughout, the theoretical developments, modeling approaches and results, and empirical data are merged together, so as not to introduce barriers to the synthesis of the various approaches that constitute an effective ecological synthesis. The book also emphasizes selected topic areas in which landscape ecology has made the most contributions to our understanding of ecological processes, as well as identifying areas where its contributions have been limited. Each chapter features questions for discussion as well as recommended reading.
Download or read book Insect Ecology written by Timothy D. Schowalter and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2006-02-27 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. Timothy Schowalter has succeeded in creating a unique, updated treatment of insect ecology. This revised and expanded text looks at how insects adapt to environmental conditions while maintaining the ability to substantially alter their environment. It covers a range of topics- from individual insects that respond to local changes in the environment and affect resource distribution, to entire insect communities that have the capacity to modify ecosystem conditions.Insect Ecology, Second Edition, synthesizes the latest research in the field and has been produced in full color throughout. It is ideal for students in both entomology and ecology-focused programs. NEW TO THIS EDITION:* New topics such as elemental defense by plants, chaotic models, molecular methods to measure disperson, food web relationships, and more* Expanded sections on plant defenses, insect learning, evolutionary tradeoffs, conservation biology and more* Includes more than 350 new references* More than 40 new full-color figures
Download or read book Plant Communication from an Ecological Perspective written by František Baluška and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-08-05 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the concept of allelopathy was introduced almost 100 years ago, research has led to an understanding that plants are involved in complex communicative interactions. They use a battery of different signals that convey plant-relevant information within plant individuals as well as between plants of the same species or different species. The 13 chapters of this volume discuss all these topics from an ecological perspective. Communication between plants allows them to share physiological and ecological information relevant for their survival and ?tness. It is obvious that in these very early days of ecological plant communication research we are illuminating only the ‘tip of iceberg’ of the communicative nature of higher plants. Nevertheless, knowledge on the identity and informative value of volatiles used by plants for communication is increasing with breath-taking speed. Among the most spectacular examples are sit- tions where plant emitters warn neighbours about a danger, increasing their innate immunity, or when herbivore-attacked plants attract the enemies of the herbivores (‘cry for help’ and ‘plant bodyguards’ concepts). It is becoming obvious that plants use not only volatile signals but also diverse water soluble molecules, in the case of plant roots, to safeguard their evolutionary success and accomplish self/non-self kin rec- nition. Importantly, as with all the examples of biocommunication, irrespective of whether signals and signs are transmitted via physical or chemical pathways, plant communication is a rule-governed and sign-mediated process.
Download or read book Herbicides written by Andrew Price and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2013-06-12 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Herbicide use is a common component of many weed management strategies in both agricultural and non-crop settings. However, herbicide use practices and recommendations are continuously updated and revised to provide control of ever-changing weed compositions and to preserve efficacy of current weed control options. Herbicides - Current Research and Case Studies in Use provides information about current trends in herbicide use and weed control in different land and aquatic settings as well as case studies in particular weed control situations.
Download or read book Fire Ecology and Management Past Present and Future of US Forested Ecosystems written by Cathryn H. Greenberg and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume presents original scientific research and knowledge synthesis covering the past, present, and potential future fire ecology of major US forest types, with implications for forest management in a changing climate. The editors and authors highlight broad patterns among ecoregions and forest types, as well as detailed information for individual ecoregions, for fire frequencies and severities, fire effects on tree mortality and regeneration, and levels of fire-dependency by plant and animal communities. The foreword addresses emerging ecological and fire management challenges for forests, in relation to sustainable development goals as highlighted in recent government reports. An introductory chapter highlights patterns of variation in frequencies, severities, scales, and spatial patterns of fire across ecoregions and among forested ecosystems across the US in relation to climate, fuels, topography and soils, ignition sources (lightning or anthropogenic), and vegetation. Separate chapters by respected experts delve into the fire ecology of major forest types within US ecoregions, with a focus on the level of plant and animal fire-dependency, and the role of fire in maintaining forest composition and structure. The regional chapters also include discussion of historic natural (lightning-ignited) and anthropogenic (Native American; settlers) fire regimes, current fire regimes as influenced by recent decades of fire suppression and land use history, and fire management in relation to ecosystem integrity and restoration, wildfire threat, and climate change. The summary chapter combines the major points of each chapter, in a synthesis of US-wide fire ecology and forest management into the future. This book provides current, organized, readily accessible information for the conservation community, land managers, scientists, students and educators, and others interested in how fire behavior and effects on structure and composition differ among ecoregions and forest types, and what that means for forest management today and in the future.
Download or read book Ecology in Agriculture written by Louise E. Jackson and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1997-09-14 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural crops are prominent features of an increasing number of variously perturbed ecosystems and the landscapes occupied by these ecosystems. Yet the ecology of agricultural-dominated landscapes is only now receiving the scientific attention it has long deserved. This attention has been stimulated by the realization that all agriculture must become sustainable year after year while leaving nearby ecosystems unaffected. Ecology in Agriculture focuses exclusively on the ecology of agricultural ecosystems. The book is divided into four major sections. An introduction establishes the unique ties between agricultural and ecological sciences. The second section describes the community ecology of these sorts of ecosystems, while the final section focuses on the processes that operate throughout these agricultural landscapes. Contains an ecological perspective on agricultural production and resource utilization Includes in-depth reviews of major issues in crop ecology by active researchers Covers a range of topics in agricultural ecophysiology, community ecology, and ecosystems ecology Provides examples of ecological approaches to solving problems in crop management and environmental quality
Download or read book The Biology of Soil written by Richard D. Bardgett and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005-06-02 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soil science has undergone a renaissance with increasing awareness of the importance of soil organisms and below-ground biotic interactions as drivers of community and ecosystem properties.
Download or read book Invasive Plants Ecological and Agricultural Aspects written by S. Inderjit and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-16 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Invasive plants have an impact on global biodiversity and ecosystem function, and their management is a complex task. The aim of this book is to discuss fundamental questions of invasion ecology, such as why particular communities become more invasible than others, what the mechanisms of exclusion of native species by invaders are, and whether invasion can be predicted. In addition, agricultural practices influencing invasion, the environmental and economic costs of invasion as well as possible management strategies are discussed. Readers will get a unique perspective on invasion ecology through employing general principles of ecology to plant invasions.
