Plant phylogeny drives arboreal caterpillar assemblages across the Holarctic

1. Assemblages of insect herbivores are structured by plant traits such as nutrient content, secondary metabolites, physical traits, and phenology. Many of these traits are phylogenetically conserved, implying a decrease in trait similarity with increasing phylogenetic distance of the host plant taxa. Thus, a metric of phylogenetic distances and relationships can be considered a proxy for phylogenetically conserved plant traits and used to predict variation in herbivorous insect assemblages among co‐occurring plant species.
2. Using a Holarctic dataset of exposed‐feeding and shelter‐building caterpillars, we aimed at showing how phylogenetic relationships among host plants explain compositional changes and characteristics of herbivore assemblages.
3. Our plant–caterpillar network data derived from plot‐based samplings at three different continents included >28,000 individual caterpillar–plant interactions. We tested whether increasing phylogenetic distance of the host plants leads to a decrease in caterpillar assemblage overlap. We further investigated to what degree phylogenetic isolation of a host tree species within the local community explains abundance, density, richness, and mean specialization of its associated caterpillar assemblage.
4. The overlap of caterpillar assemblages decreased with increasing phylogenetic distance among the host tree species. Phylogenetic isolation of a host plant within the local plant community was correlated with lower richness and mean specialization of the associated caterpillar assemblages. Phylogenetic isolation had no effect on caterpillar abundance or density. The effects of plant phylogeny were consistent across exposed‐feeding and shelter‐building caterpillars.
5. Our study reveals that distance metrics obtained from host plant phylogeny are useful predictors to explain compositional turnover among hosts and host‐specific variations in richness and mean specialization of associated insect herbivore assemblages in temperate broadleaf forests. As phylogenetic information of plant communities is becoming increasingly available, further large‐scale studies are needed to investigate to what degree plant phylogeny structures herbivore assemblages in other biomes and ecosystems.

     

Altitudinal migration by birds: a review of the literature and a comprehensive list of species

Altitudinal migration is the seasonal altitudinal movement of birds from breeding areas to non‐breeding or wintering areas at different elevations. Although this type of migration is widely reported, questions remain concerning the number of species that perform altitudinal migration, possible variation among different taxa and geographic locations in the extent of altitudinal migration, and the foraging guilds of altitudinal migrants. We conducted an extensive bibliographic survey and compiled a list of altitudinal migrant birds worldwide. We characterized species in terms of their foraging guilds because the spatial distribution of food resources along altitudinal gradients is often evoked as a driver of bird altitudinal migration. We identified 1238 species of altitudinal migrants, ~10% of the ~10,000 extant species of birds. We found a strong geographic bias in publications focusing on avian altitudinal migration toward the United States and Costa Rica, and a paucity of studies in megadiverse regions such as the Afrotropical and Indomalayan realms, and areas in the Neotropics other than Costa Rica. We also found that most species of altitudinal migrants were invertivores rather than frugivores or nectarivores. This general pattern held true for all zoogeographic realms except the Neotropics, where nectarivores and frugivores predominated among altitudinal migrants. The prevalence of invertivore birds among altitudinal migrants is not unexpected because this is the most common foraging guild among birds worldwide. Overall, we found no prevalence of any specific foraging guild among altitudinal migrants across zoogeographic regions. The results of studies to date suggest that altitudinal migration by birds may be driven by a number of factors, including access to increased food resources for breeding or molting, weather conditions, and mating and nesting opportunities. However, to better understand the mechanisms underlying altitudinal migration, broadening the geographic scope of studies is paramount, with additional study of altitudinal migration especially needed in the megadiverse tropical regions of sub‐Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.     

Soil fungal community changes in response to long-term fire cessation and N fertilization in tallgrass prairie

In grasslands, fire management and fertilization are established drivers of plant community change, but associated soil fungal responses are less well defined. We predicted that soil fungal communities would change seasonally, that decades of fire cessation and nitrogen (N) fertilization would alter fungal distributions, and that plant and fungal community change would be correlated. Surface soils were sampled monthly for 1 y from a 30-y fire by fertilization experiment to evaluate fungal community dynamics and assess correlation with plant community heterogeneity. ITS gene community composition was seasonally stable, excepting increased arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal summer abundance in the burned, fertilized treatment. Long-term treatments affected soil fungal and plant communities, with correlated heterogeneity patterns. Despite woody encroachment in the fire cessation treatment, soil fungal communities did not resemble those of forests. This study provides evidence supporting the strength of feedbacks between fungal and plant community change in response to long-term grassland fire and N management changes.     

Effect of forest landscapes composition and configuration on bird community and its functional traits in a hotspot of biodiversity of Chile

Understanding the effect of landscape configuration on the bird species richness and their functional traits (dietary preferences) is important to link the conservation and restoration plans to the production of the crops. Our aims were: 1) to study the influence of forest types (native, mixed and plantations) on the bird species richness in two agroforestry landscapes (heterogeneous/homogeneous); 2) to assess the effect of size/density of forest patches in the birds’ functional traits; 3) to evaluate the effect of isolated trees on them, and 4) to discuss conservation and restoration measures for the birds’ functional traits in agroforestry landscapes. We used hierarchical occupancy models to evaluate the effect of different landscape metrics and detectability measures on bird communities. We recorded a total of 64 bird species. The estimated species richness was considerable higher in homogeneous landscape (31.7 ± 2.7) than heterogeneous (27.3 ± 2.5). Our results showed the bird assemblage had a positive trend with native forests, negative with mixed forests and neutral trend for plantations. The granivores and insectivore’s species showed significant preferences for homogeneous landscape, while omnivores had significant preferences for heterogeneous landscape. Carnivores/Piscivores and herbivores/frugivores species did not show preferences by any landscape type. The response of functional traits depended on different forests attributes. The isolated trees had a significant effect on the birds’ functional traits. In conclusion, it is necessary a deep knowledge about the relationship between the landscape configuration and the bird species richness/functional traits. These findings could help in the future with the conservation, restoration, and rewilding policies in this important hotspot of biodiversity, avoiding alterations in the ecosystem services.     

Indicators of restoration success in riparian tropical forests using multiple reference ecosystems

Forest restoration by planting trees often accelerates succession, but the trajectories toward reference ecosystems have rarely been evaluated. Using a chronosequence (4–53 years) of 26 riparian forest undergoing restoration in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we modeled how the variables representing forest structure, tree species richness and composition, and the proportion of plant functional guilds change through time. We also estimated the time required for these variables to reach different types of reference ecosystems: old‐growth forest (OGF), degraded forest, and secondary forest. Among the attributes which follow a predictable trajectory over time are: the basal area, canopy cover, density and tree species richness, as well as proportions of shade tolerant and slow growing species or individuals. Most of the variation in density of pteridophythes, lianas, shrubs and phorophythes, proportion of animal‐dispersed individuals, rarefied richness and floristic similarity with reference ecosystems remain unexplained. Estimated time to reach the reference ecosystems is, in general, shorter for structural attributes than for species composition or proportion of functional guilds. The length of this time varies among the three types of reference ecosystems for most attributes. For instance, tree species richness and proportion of shade tolerant or slow growing individuals become similar to secondary forests in about 40 years, but is estimated to take 70 years or more to reach the OGF. Of all the variables considered, canopy cover, basal area, density, and richness of the understory—by their ecological relevance and predictability—are recommended as ecological indicators for monitoring tropical forest restoration success.     

Convergent evolution of sunbird pollination systems of Impatiens species in tropical Africa and hummingbird systems of the New World

The bird pollination systems of the New and Old Worlds evolved independently, and differ in many aspects. New World plants are often presented as those adapted to hovering birds while Old World plants to perching birds. Most Neotropical studies also demonstrate that in hummingbird species rich assemblages, only a small number of highly specialized birds exploits the most specialized plants with long corollas. Nevertheless, recent research on bird–plant pollination interactions suggest that sunbird pollination systems in the Old World have converged more with the highly specialized hummingbird pollination systems than previously thought. In this study we focus on the pollination systems of the bird pollination syndrome Impatiens species on Mt. Cameroon, West Africa. We show that despite the high diversity of sunbirds on Mt. Cameroon, only Cyanomitra oritis appear to be important pollinator of all Impatiens species. This asymmetry indicates the absence of pair wise co‐evolution and points to a diffuse co‐evolutionary process resulting in guilds of highly specialized plants and birds; a situation well known from hummingbirds and specialized plant communities of the New World. Additionally, the herbaceous habits of Impatiens species, the frequent adaptations to pollination by hovering birds, and the habitat preference for understory in tropical forests or epiphytic growth, resemble the highly specialized Neotropical plants. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115 , 127–133.     

Fungal functional ecology: bringing a trait‐based approach to plant‐associated fungi

Fungi play many essential roles in ecosystems. They facilitate plant access to nutrients and water, serve as decay agents that cycle carbon and nutrients through the soil, water and atmosphere, and are major regulators of macro‐organismal populations. Although technological advances are improving the detection and identification of fungi, there still exist key gaps in our ecological knowledge of this kingdom, especially related to function . Trait‐based approaches have been instrumental in strengthening our understanding of plant functional ecology and, as such, provide excellent models for deepening our understanding of fungal functional ecology in ways that complement insights gained from traditional and ‐omics‐based techniques. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge of fungal functional ecology, taxonomy and systematics and introduce a novel database of fungal functional traits (Fun^Fun). Fun^Fun is built to interface with other databases to explore and predict how fungal functional diversity varies by taxonomy, guild, and other evolutionary or ecological grouping variables. To highlight how a quantitative trait‐based approach can provide new insights, we describe multiple targeted examples and end by suggesting next steps in the rapidly growing field of fungal functional ecology.     

城市化对杭州市鸟类营巢集团的影响

为了了解城市化对鸟类营巢集团的影响,2007年3月至2007年8月,沿城市化梯度在杭州地区的城区、城乡结合区、农田区、农林交错区和自然林区等类型栖息地内设置3 000 m长、100 m宽的样线各18条,共计90条;并对其鸟类物种与群落营巢集团进行调查。调查共记录到繁殖鸟类96种,根据鸟类营巢位置可将其分为林冠枝干营巢集团、灌草丛营巢集团、林冠枝干/灌草丛营巢集团、自然洞穴营巢集团、人工建筑营巢集团、自然洞穴/人工建筑营巢集团地面营巢集团、水面营巢集团和寄生集团共9种。进一步分析显示,随城市化程度提高,鸟类营巢集团的数目呈整体下降趋势,而各集团的物种数也基本呈下降趋势。但是,不同的营巢集团对城市化的反应存在差异,导致其物种组成在群落中比例的明显变化。城市化程度的提高使树冠筑巢鸟、灌丛筑巢鸟、地面筑巢鸟及自然洞穴筑巢鸟在群落中所占的比例明显下降,其中地面筑巢鸟最为敏感,灌丛筑巢鸟次之。同时,自然洞穴/人工建筑集团的鸟类在群落中的比例却随着城市化程度的提高明显上升。各营巢集团之所以对城市化做出不同反应,是因为它们对筑巢地资源利用方式不同。此外,还发现植被盖度、人工设施面积、至市中心距离以及人为干扰等因素均可对鸟类营巢集团结构产生影响,但不同类型的营巢集团对上述因素的反应各异。     

Effect of slow-release urea on soil nematode community structure in a Chinese soybean field

The effect of slow-release urea on soil nematode community structure was investigated in a soybean field in northeast China.Three treatments,no urea (CK),conventional urea (U) and slow-release urea (SRU),were arranged in a completely random design.The results show that the abundance of total nematodes was significantly higher in SRU than in CK and U.Significant differences in the abundance of bacterivores with colonizer-persister (cp) values 2-3,fungivores with cp 2 and herbivores with cp 3 were found among different treatments.Forty-one genera were identified,of which Acrobeloides,Aphelenchus and Heterodera were dominant.Soil nematode guilds and genera exhibited different responses to slow-release urea.The most trophic groups and genera had greater abundances in SRU than in CK and U.Slow-release urea had a positive effect on soil nematode community structure.