Spatial ecology of the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica

A cornerstone of spatial ecology is the quantification of the patchy nature of animal and plant populations in space. By using spatial covariance, total covariance, and quantile variance, we found that patchiness of Japanese beetle grub populations varied more between years than between fairways at a central New York golf course. We also observed that populations tended to shrink and swell around patches with perennially low density, that locations with perennially low grub density were associated with high soil organic matter content, and that locations with frequently high grub density were associated with intense adult beetle activity in the vicinity.     

Appropriate spatial scales for studies of reef-fish ecology

Abstract Coral-reef systems are conspicuously multi-scalar, with scales set by reef-fish biology, by ecological processes that act upon them and by the architectural patchiness of the coral-reef environment in which they reside. Empirical ecological studies cannot be executed in a way that is independent of spatial scale, and results are inextricably scale-dependent. Further, although the question asked and the measurements planned will suggest appropriate scales, it is often the case in these multi-scalar systems that there is no single correct scale at which to sample. Instead, there must be a process of compromise in designing projects, an awareness of scale in implementing them and careful consideration of the scale-dependence of the results. Some useful principles are presented to help with the process of project design and interpretation.     

Multiscale patterns of spatial variation in stream macroinvertebrate communities

Our ability to detect patterns of variation of communities depends on the spatial scale of observation. I examined the spatial variation of macroinvertebrate community structure: abundance, richness, evenness, percentage of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT), and taxonomic composition across a wide range of spatial scales in two mountain streams. In a nested design, three segments were selected within each basin, three riffles within each segment, three sections within each riffle, and three samples within each section. Significant variation of communities occurred mainly at sample and riffle scales, although different community characteristics may vary at different scales. Environmental factors were strongly related to communities, but these relationships depended on spatial scale in many cases, suggesting that the influence of the environment is ultimately regulated by the grain and extent of organisms. This study highlights the importance of multiscale studies to obtain a complete understanding of the spatial variation of macroinvertebrate communities and their relationship with the environment.     

Habitat saturation and the spatial evolutionary ecology of altruism

Under which ecological conditions should individuals help their neighbours? We investigate the effect of habitat saturation on the evolution of helping behaviours in a spatially structured population. We combine the formalisms of population genetics and spatial moment equations to tease out the effects of various physiological (direct benefits and costs of helping) and ecological parameters (such as the density of empty sites) on the selection gradient on helping. Our analysis highlights the crucial importance of demography for the evolution of helping behaviours. It shows that habitat saturation can have contrasting effects, depending on the form of competition (direct vs. indirect competition) and on the conditionality of helping. In our attempt to bridge the gap between spatial ecology and population genetics, we derive an expression for relatedness that takes into account both habitat saturation and the spatial structure of genetic variation. This analysis helps clarify discrepancies in the results obtained by previous theoretical studies. It also provides a theoretical framework taking into account the interplay between demography and kin selection, in which new biological questions can be explored.     

Geographical ecology of Paraguayan bats: spatial integration and metacommunity structure of interacting assemblages

We examined the relative contributions of regional spatial characteristics and local environmental conditions in determining Paraguayan bat species composition. We used a suite of full and partial redundancy analyses to estimate four additive partitions of variance in bat species composition: (a) unexplained variation, (b) that explained purely by spatial characteristics, (c) that explained purely by local environmental conditions and (d) that explained jointly by space and environment. The spatial component to bat species composition was greater than the environmental component and both pure spatial and pure environmental characteristics accounted for significant amounts of variation in bat species composition. Results from variance decomposition suggest that the mass effects model describes metacommunity structure of Paraguayan bats better than species sorting or neutral models. Such mass effects may potentially be general for bats and could explain the inability of purely local factors to fully account for bat community organization. Mass effects also have substantial conservation implications because rescue effects may enhance the persistence of mobile species in fragmented landscapes with relatively few protected sites.     

The constancy of the G matrix through species divergence and the effects of quantitative genetic constraints on phenotypic evolution: a case study in crickets

Long-term phenotypic evolution can be modeled using the response-to-selection equation of quantitative genetics, which incorporates information about genetic constraints (the G matrix). However, little is known about the evolution of G and about its long-term importance in constraining phenotypic evolution. We first investigated the degree of conservation of the G matrix across three species of crickets and qualitatively compared the pattern of variation of G to the phylogeny of the group. Second, we investigated the effect of G on phenotypic evolution by comparing the direction of greatest quantitative genetic variation within species (g(max)) to the direction of phenotypic divergence between species (Delta(z)). Each species, Gryllus veletis, G. firmus, and G. pennsylvanicus, was reared in the laboratory using a full-sib breeding design to extract quantitative genetic information. Five morphological traits related to size were measured. G matrices were compared using three statistical approaches: the T method, the Flury hierarchy, and the MANOVA method. Results revealed that the differences between matrices were small and mostly caused by differences in the magnitude of the genetic variation, not by differences in principal component structure. This suggested that the G matrix structure of this group of species was preserved, despite significant phenotypic divergence across species. The small observed differences in G matrices across species were qualitatively consistent with genetic distances, whereas ecological information did not provide a good prediction of G matrix variation. The comparison of g(max) and Delta(z) revealed that the angle between these two vectors was small in two of three species comparisons, whereas the larger angle corresponding to the third species comparison was caused in large part by one of the five traits. This suggests that multivariate phenotypic divergence occurred mostly in a direction predicted by the direction of greatest genetic variation, although it was not possible to demonstrate the causal relationship from G to Delta(z). Overall, this study provided some support for the validity of the predictive power of quantitative genetics over evolutionary time scales.     

Littoral macroinvertebrate communities: spatial scale and ecological relationships

SUMMARY 1. Spatial correlations between ecological patterns and processes are thought to be scale-dependent, yet surprisingly few studies have evaluated the correspondence between different levels of spatial scale and ecosystem structure and function.
2. We evaluated the strength of relationships between the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of stony littoral habitats and levels of ecological scale and geographical position, using partial constrained ordination. Our hypothesis was that correlation strength would be inversely related to ecological scale, i.e. habitat > ecosystem > riparian > catchment > ecoregion.
3. The effect of habitat was greater than that of other levels of spatial scale: 23% of the variance in taxonomic composition and 11% of that in functional composition was explained by habitat variables alone. However, greater spatial scales were also important. For example, the combined influence of riparian, catchment and ecoregion classification accounted for 24% (taxonomic) and 11% (functional) of the explained variance.
4. Relationships between organisms and scale variables were, however, non-linear and a substantial amount of the functional variance was hidden in joint effects. These findings were not unexpected, and presumably indicate a close interdependence between local and regional-scale variables.     

Abundance and spatial distribution of aphids and scales select for different life histories in their ladybird beetle predators

Abstract:  Life history parameters tend to differ between aphidophagous and coccidophagous ladybird beetles. It seems that the nature of prey, in particular the abundance, number and size of the colonies and their spatial distribution, may have been selected for the evolution of the life histories in these two groups of coccinellids, leading the aphidophagous ladybird beetles to develop at a fast pace and the coccidophagous beetles at a slower pace. To study the abundance, number and size of the colonies and the spatial distribution of aphid and coccid species, 100 sampling plots regularly spaced along four parallel transects were surveyed in the summer of 2004. At each sampling plot, species abundance, and the number and size of colonies of aphid and coccid species were recorded. Iwao's patchiness regression was used to assess the spatial distribution of aphids and coccids. From this study, it was found that coccids are much rarer than aphids but formed more colonies. Whereas aphids display a stonger tendency to crowding, aphid colonies are randomly distributed in space while coccid groups are aggregated. So, it seems that the abundance and spatial distribution of prey distribution may be factors selecting for the evolution of different life histories among aphidophagous and coccidophagous ladybird beetles.     

Host refuges and spatial patterns of parasitism in an endophytic host–parasitoid system

Abstract. 1. Larvae of Tephritis conura Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) live gregariously in flower heads of Cirsium heterophyllum (L.) Hill (Cardueae). They are attacked by the endoparasitic wasps Eurytoma sp. near tibialis Boheman (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) and Pteromalus caudiger (Graham) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae).
2. The responses of the parasitoids to different host patch sizes were investigated from the analysis of field samples. At the host population level, overall probabilities of parasitism were independent of host numbers per flower head or showed a tendency to inverse density-dependence for both parasitoid species.
3. Measurements of ovipositor length in Eurytoma and P.caudiger indicated that parts of the flower head constitute a structural refuge from parasitism.
4. The accessibility of hosts in a flower head was found to differ markedly, depending on larval locations and flower head characters. In spite of this high variability, similar average percentages of larvae were accessible to the parasitoids in each patch size class.
5. High variability of oviposition success in laboratory experiments can be explained by random locations of hosts in the flower heads.     

景观生态学中空间数据的模拟和显示方法概述

为了准确描述连续数据在景观中变化的规律,介绍了常用的7种生态学空间数据模拟方法和4种空间数据显示方法的基本原理和方法,以及不同的空间数据取样方法的特点和适用范围,并初步探讨了影响生态学空间数据表达方法的主要因素。     

Abundance, spatial variance and occupancy: arthropod species distribution in the Azores

1. The positive abundance-occupancy and abundance-variance relationships are two of the most widely documented patterns in population and community ecology. 2. Recently, a general model has been proposed linking the mean abundance, the spatial variance in abundance, and the occupancy of species. A striking feature of this model is that it consists explicitly of the three variables abundance, variance and occupancy, and no extra parameters are involved. However, little is known about how well the model performs. 3. Here, we show that the abundance-variance-occupancy model fits extremely well to data on the abundance, variance and occupancy of a large number of arthropod species in natural forest patches in the Azores, at three spatial extents, and distinguishing between species of different colonization status. Indeed, virtually all variation about the bivariate abundance-occupancy and abundance-variance relationships is effectively explained by the third missing variable (variance in abundance in the case of the abundance-occupancy relationship, and occupancy in the case of the abundance-variance relationship). 4. Introduced species tend to exhibit lower densities, less spatial variance in these densities, and occupy fewer sites than native and endemic species. None the less, they all lie on the same bivariate abundance-occupancy and abundance-variance, and trivariate abundance-variance-occupancy, relationships. 5. Density, spatial variance in density, and occupancy appear to be all the things one needs to know to describe much of the spatial distribution of species.     

Revealing biogeographical patterns by nonlinear ordinations and derived anisotropic spatial filters

Aim Spatial floristic and faunistic data bases promote the investigation of biogeographical gradients in relation to environmental determinants on regional to continental scales. Our aim was to extract major gradients in the distribution of vascular plant species from a grid‐based inventory (the German FLORKART data base) and relate them to long‐term precipitation and temperature records as well as soil conditions. We present an ordination technique capable of coping with this complex data array. The goal was also to sort out the influence of spatial autocorrelation, assuming floristic autocorrelation is anisotropic. Location Germany, at a spatial resolution of 6′ × 10′. Methods Isometric feature mapping (Isomap) was applied as a nonlinear ordination method. Isomap was coupled to ‘eigenvector‐based filters’ for generating spatial reference models representing spatial autocorrelation. What is novel here is that the derived filters are not based on the assumption of equidirectional autocorrelation. Instead, the so‐called ‘principal coordinates of anisotropic neighbour matrices’ build filters to test the influence of geographical vicinity in directions of high similarity among observations. Results The Isomap ordination of floristic data explained more than 95% of the data variance in six dimensions. The leading two dimensions (representing about 80% of the FLORKART data variance) revealed clear spatial gradients that could be related to independent effects of temperature, precipitation and soil observations. By contrast, the third and higher FLORKART dimensions were dominated by an antagonism of anisotropic spatial autocorrelation and soil conditions. A subsequent cluster analysis of the floristic Isomap coordinates educed the spatial organization of the floristic survey, indicating a considerable sampling bias. Conclusions We showed that Isomap provides a consistent methodical framework for both ordination and derived spatial filters. The technique is useful for tracing the often nonlinear features of species occurrence data to environmental drivers, taking into account anisotropic spatial autocorrelation. We also showed that sampling biases are a conspicuous source of variance in a frequently used floristic data base.     

Ontogenetic differences in the spatial ecology of immature Komodo dragons

The early life-history stages of reptiles are extremely important to an individual's fitness, but in an ecological sense, among the most difficult to observe. Here, we used radio-tracking techniques to describe the differences in movement patterns, habitat use and home range between hatchling and juvenile Komodo dragons Varanus komodoensis on Komodo Island, Indonesia. The movement of hatchlings from their nests was largely linear and suggested a natal dispersal event. The movement patterns of juvenile Komodo dragons exhibited a greater spatial overlap than hatchlings, indicating greater site fidelity and thus use of a more defined activity area. The rates of daily movement were significantly less for hatchlings compared with juvenile dragons. The activity areas of hatchlings were significantly smaller than juvenile dragons. Both age classes preferred utilizing dry monsoon forest compared with other habitat types. Hatchlings were predominantly arboreal compared with juveniles and the degree of arboreal activity was strongly correlated with an individual's size. These distinct differences in spatial ecology between immature life-history stages suggest that different selection pressures may affect different size classes of Komodo dragons.     

Effects of grazing and cultivation on soil patterns and processes in the Paulshoek area of Namaqualand

Soils were sampled at three different sites within the Paulshoek area of the Leliefontein District in Namaqualand, South Africa. At one site the effect of heavy grazing on soil characteristics under shrubs and from open positions was compared to a more lightly grazed area. At this site a diverse shrub community was mostly replaced by a single species, Galenia africana, when overgrazed. In another area the effects of cultivation on soil properties was investigated. At the third site the effect of Galenia shrub size on soil properties was measured.Soils from the Paulshoek area of Namaqualand are generally infertile and very low in arbuscular mycorrhizal propagules. Patterns of nitrogen distribution at the landscape level are a result of nutrient enrichment associated with perennial shrubs. Arbuscular mycorrhizal infectivity, soil moisture and pH are also affected by shrubs. Only species capable of forming arbuscular mycorrhizas support populations of mycorrhizal propagules in their rhizosphere. Differences in plant available phosphorus under some shrubs indicate that processes associated with nutrient cycling are also affected by shrubs. Galenia tended to deplete soil moisture and increase soil pH more than other shrubs.Small stock production results in a depletion of soil nutrients at the landscape scale since larger areas of low nutrient soil develop when shrub density decreases following heavy grazing. Heavy grazing also affects soil properties indirectly through a change in shrub composition. Cultivation resulted in a decrease in soil nitrogen and organic matter, a loss which was still detectable after 20 years of fallow. Zones of nutrient enrichment and higher pH were found where Galenia established in the old field. When soil was sampled under different size Galenia shrubs a positive correlation was found between shrub diameter and nitrogen, available phosphorus and pH indicating that Galenia was capable of establishing patches in the soil with different properties rather than selecting such areas for establishment. Thus, Galenia is able to maintain soil patterns typical of Succulent Karoo although it also establishes conditions which probably ensure its success. Individual shrub species also affect soil differently with respect to some components such as mycorrhizas.     

Dispersion patterns of parasites in 0+ year three-spined sticklebacks: a cross population comparison

Two ciliates and 16 metazoan parasites were identified in 434 0+ year three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus collected from two small rivers and four lakes located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. By repeated sampling and analysis of dispersion patterns of six frequently occurring parasites no consistent evidence was found for mortality induced by a single parasite species. Linear log-variance to log-mean abundance ratios with slopes of c. 2 indicated negative binomial distributions for five of the six parasites. The numbers of these six parasites were combined as multiples of S.D. of each parasite species over all samples to form an 'individual parasitation index' ( I _PI), which showed that only in one locality a slight decrease in parasite burden occurred between September and April. In two of the lake populations, however, there was a distinct decline in the degree of dispersion in spring samples. This indicates that a combination of different species might cause parasite-induced host mortality, undetectable by patterns obtained from single species. There were differences in parasite diversity and intensity of infection among river compared to lake populations suggesting a role for parasites as selective agents in the ecological divergence of three-spined sticklebacks.     

桃一点斑叶蝉种群消长动态和空间分布型研究

研究探明了桃一点斑叶蝉Erythroneurasudra种群消长动态和空间分布型 ,结果表明 :该虫在桃园全年共出现 3个为害高峰 ,分别发生于 4月下旬、5月下旬和 8月上旬 ;该害虫在桃园中呈聚集型的负二项分布。讨论了适宜取样调查方法。     

拉缘蝽空间格局及抽样技术的研究

拉缘蝽空间格局测定结果表明,拉缘蝽的1—3龄若虫、4—5龄若虫和成虫等各虫态的空间格局均属于聚集分布,拉缘蝽1—3龄若虫聚集度最高,4—5龄若虫聚集度下降,成虫聚集度更低。在拉缘蝽空间格局的基础上,确定了Kuno风险决策序贯抽样表和1wao—Kuno（1968）理论抽样数。