Cross-scale drivers of plant trait distributions in a fragmented forest landscape

During community assembly, plant functional traits are under selective pressure from processes operating at multiple spatial scales. However, in fragmented landscapes, there is little understanding of the relative importance of local-, patch- and landscape-scale processes in shaping trait distributions. Here, we investigate cross-scale influences of landscape change on traits that dictate plant life history strategies in re-assembling plant communities in a fragmented landscape in eastern China. Using forest dynamics plots (FDPs) on 29 land-bridge islands in which all woody plants have been georeferenced and identified to species, we characterized and derived two composite measures of trait variation, representing variation across the leaf economics spectrum and plant size. We then tested for trait shifts in response to local-, patch- and landscape-scale factors, and their potential cross-scale interactions. We found substantial community-wide trait changes along local-scale gradients (i.e. forest edge to interior): more acquisitive leaf economic traits and larger sized species occurred at edges, with a significant increase in trait means and trait range. Moreover, there were significant cross-scale interaction effects of patch and landscape variables on local-scale edge effects. Altered spatial arrangement of habitat in the surrounding landscape (i.e. declining habitat amount and increasing patch density), as well as decreasing area at the patch level, exacerbated edge effects on traits distributions. We suggest that synergistic interactions of landscape- and patch-scale processes, such as dispersal limitation, on local-scale environmental filtering at edges, together shape the spatial distributions of plant life history strategies in fragmented plant communities.     

片段化景观中壳斗科植物种子捕食和扩散模式

生境片段化伴随的面积效应和边缘效应, 可改变分散贮食动物的竞争强度、觅食行为以及隐蔽条件, 影响种子捕食和扩散模式。阐明生境片段化对多物种种子捕食和扩散的影响, 对理解片段化生境中的植物更新和生物多样性维持十分重要。该研究在浙江省千岛湖地区的岛屿和大陆上开展了针对6种壳斗科植物的种子捕食和扩散实验, 分析了物种、分散贮食动物相对多度、种子产量、岛屿大小和边缘效应如何共同影响种子命运和种子扩散距离。主要结果: (1)种子命运和扩散距离在物种间存在显著差异; (2)大陆比岛屿有更长的种子留存时间, 小岛种子留存时间最短, 岛屿内部比岛屿边缘有更长的种子留存时间; (3)物种和岛屿大小对种子原地取食率存在交互作用, 白栎(Quercus fabri)种子在大岛上有更高的原地取食率; (4)种子在小岛上有最高的扩散率, 分散贮食动物相对多度对种子扩散后贮藏率有负效应。表明在千岛湖地区, 生境片段化改变了种子捕食和扩散模式, 且面积效应对不同物种的种子捕食和扩散模式产生了不同作用, 从而影响森林群落更新和生物多样性维持。     

Geographic gradients of deforestation and mammalian communities in a fragmented, temperate rain forest landscape

Aim We studied the temporal and spatial patterns in deforestation and community structure of mammals in a fragmented old‐growth, temperate rain forest to test the hypothesis that anthropogenic habitat conversion advances in a nonrandom manner across native landscapes, and that its effects on ecological communities are both persistent and predictable. Location The location is the Hood Canal district of Olympic National Forest, Washington, USA. Results Deforestation followed the apparently general pattern observed for deforestation of tropical rain forests and other native landscapes, advancing first along low and relatively level valleys, then to areas at higher elevations and along steeper slopes, and eventually to sites more distant from those of initial land conversion and transportation centres. Mammal surveys within this area indicated that this nonrandom advance of deforestation has created relatively steep geographical and topographic gradients in both local and landscape‐level factors and, ultimately, in the structure of mammalian communities. Conclusion The close and likely causal relationship between anthropogenic habitat loss and the ecological dynamics of mammalian communities and dependent species (e.g. spotted owls) indicates that our abilities to understand and eventually reduce the current extinction crisis may rely heavily on our understanding of, and abilities to modify, the manner in which we expand across and transform native landscapes.     

Sunken roads as habitats for forest plant species in a dynamic agricultural landscape: effects of age and isolation

Aim This study tests the hypothesis that linear, woody habitat patches surrounding small, sunken rural roads not only function as an unstable sink but also as a true, sustainable habitat for forest plants. Furthermore, factors affecting the presence of forest plant species in sunken roads are determined. Finally, the implications of these findings for the overall metapopulation dynamics of forest plant species in fragmented agricultural landscapes are assessed. Location The study area, c. 155 km² in size, is situated in a fragmented agricultural landscape within the loamy region of central Belgium. Methods Forest species presence–absence data were collected for 389 sunken roads. The effect of area, depth, age and isolation on sunken road species richness was assessed using linear regression and analysis of variance (anova ). Analysis of covariance was employed to study the interaction between age and isolation. Differences in plant community dispersal spectra in relation to sunken road age and isolation were analysed by means of linear regression and anova . Results Sunken roads proved to function as an important habitat for forest plants. The sink‐hypothesis was falsified by a clear species accumulation in time: sunken road species richness significantly increased with the age of the elements. Sunken road age mainly affected species richness through effects on both area and depth, affecting habitat quality and diversity. Furthermore, sunken road isolation had a significant impact on species richness as well, with the number of forest species decreasing with increasing isolation of the elements, indicating dispersal limitation in sunken road habitats. Moreover, a significant age × isolation interaction effect was demonstrated. Differences in regression slopes for isolation between age classes revealed that the effect of isolation intensified with increasing age of the elements. Differential colonization in relation to forest species dispersal capacities probably account for this, as confirmed by the analysis of sunken road plant community dispersal spectra, with the fraction of species with low dispersal capacities increasing with increasing age and decreasing isolation of the elements. Main conclusions During sunken road development, area and depth increase and, gradually, suitable habitat conditions for forest plant species arise. Depending on their ecological requirements and dispersal capacities, forest species progressively colonize these habitats as a function of the element's isolation. The functioning of sunken roads as a sustainable habitat for forest species enhances the metapopulation viability of forest plants in agricultural landscapes and has important consequences for forest restoration practices. Moreover, the results of this work call for integrating the presence of forest species in small‐scaled linear habitat patches in forest fragmentation studies.     

扩散对破碎化景观上宿主-寄生种群动态的影响

景观破碎化和扩散是空间种群模型的重要因素,对生物入侵存在着深远的影响。本章将基于偶对近似模型,探讨由局部和全局宿主-寄生相互作用共同决定的扩散模式对破坏性景观上疾病入侵与传播的影响。其中,生境破坏由生境丧失量与生境破碎化程度来描述。模拟结果显示,宿主和病毒的全局扩散对疾病的入侵与种群密度产生不对称效应：病毒的全局扩散对系统产生的影响较宿主的全局扩散更为显著。不同扩散模式下,生境丧失越高或破碎化程度越低,均将越有害于寄生病毒的入侵;同时,生境的破坏程度也显著地影响了入侵阈值对扩散模式的响应机制。本文研究结果暗示,景观破碎化的空间分布格局以及病毒扩散的限制均可作为物种保护与管理中有效的疾病控制策略。该研究结果在一定意义上丰富和发展了寄生感染理论,为物种保护提供了生态学理论依据。     

A multiscale analysis of gene flow for the New England cottontail,an imperiled habitat specialist in a fragmented landscape

Landscape features of anthropogenic or natural origin can influence organisms' dispersal patterns and the connectivity of populations. Understanding these relationships is of broad interest in ecology and evolutionary biology and provides key insights for habitat conservation planning at the landscape scale. This knowledge is germane to restoration efforts for the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), an early successional habitat specialist of conservation concern. We evaluated local population structure and measures of genetic diversity of a geographically isolated population of cottontails in the northeastern United States. We also conducted a multiscale landscape genetic analysis, in which we assessed genetic discontinuities relative to the landscape and developed several resistance models to test hypotheses about landscape features that promote or inhibit cottontail dispersal within and across the local populations. Bayesian clustering identified four genetically distinct populations, with very little migration among them, and additional substructure within one of those populations. These populations had private alleles, low genetic diversity, critically low effective population sizes (3.2–36.7), and evidence of recent genetic bottlenecks. Major highways and a river were found to limit cottontail dispersal and to separate populations. The habitat along roadsides, railroad beds, and utility corridors, on the other hand, was found to facilitate cottontail movement among patches. The relative importance of dispersal barriers and facilitators on gene flow varied among populations in relation to landscape composition, demonstrating the complexity and context dependency of factors influencing gene flow and highlighting the importance of replication and scale in landscape genetic studies. Our findings provide information for the design of restoration landscapes for the New England cottontail and also highlight the dual influence of roads, as both barriers and facilitators of dispersal for an early successional habitat specialist in a fragmented landscape.     

Movement patterns of Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Say (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) within and among Asclepias syriaca (Asclepiadaceae) patches in a fragmented landscape

Abstract.  1. Dispersal capabilities of organisms are critical in determining the landscape population structure of species as well as their likelihood of survival in fragmented landscapes. Using mark–recapture techniques on the monophagous weevil Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Say (Curculionidae), within- and between-patch dispersal capabilities, landscape level population structure, and the role of beetle density and host patch characteristics in setting distances, amounts, and timing of dispersal were studied.
2. The data indicate that R. lineaticollis is sedentary, with 50% of recaptured beetles moving < 1 m and the maximum distance moved < 1 km. Within- and between-patch movement of beetles was unrelated to host plant patch characteristics and beetle densities.
3. Despite limited dispersal, R. lineaticollis probably functions as a patchy population in east-central Iowa, U.S.A. because dispersals between patches are common and because all host patches surveyed contained this herbivore, indicating a lack of suitable vacant patches, a prerequisite for metapopulation structure.
4. Between-patch distances are well within the dispersal capabilities of R. lineaticollis , although this may be the result of an increase in the density of patches of its host, Asclepias syriaca , in the landscape over the last 150 years as a result of human disturbance and this species' weedy habit.
5. Metapopulation structure in monophagous prairie herbivores may be most likely in species whose non-weedy host plants form highly predictable resources in space and time, but which are now widely scattered in habitat fragments.     

Gap‐crossing decisions of forest birds in a fragmented landscape

Habitat loss and fragmentation are recognized as primary drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide. To understand the functional effects of habitat fragmentation on bird populations, data on movement across gaps in habitat cover are necessary, although rarely available. In this study, we used call playback to simulate a conspecific territorial intruder to entice birds to move through the landscape in a predictable and directional manner. We then quantified the probability of movement in continuous forest and across cleared gaps for two forest‐dependent species, the grey shrike‐thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) and the white‐throated treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaeus). Fifty‐four playback trials were conducted for each species across distances ranging from 25 to 480 m in continuous forest and 15–260 m across gaps in a forest‐agricultural landscape in southern Victoria, Australia. The probability of movement was significantly reduced by gaps in forest cover for both species. Shrike‐thrushes were six times more likely to move 170 m in continuous forest than to cross 170‐m gaps. The mean probability that treecreepers would cross any gap at all was less than 0.5, and they were three times less likely to move 50 m across a gap than through continuous forest. Both species displayed non‐linear responses to increasing gap distance: we identified a gap‐tolerance threshold of 85 m for the shrike‐thrush and 65 m for the treecreeper beyond which individuals were most unlikely to cross. The presence of scattered paddock trees increased functional connectivity for the shrike‐thrush, with individuals crossing up to 260 m when scattered trees were present. We conclude that gaps in habitat cover are barriers to movement, and that characteristics of the intervening matrix influence landscape permeability.     

Genetic signature of population fragmentation varies with mobility in seven bird species of a fragmented Kenyan cloud forest

Habitat fragmentation can restrict geneflow, reduce neighbourhood effective population size, and increase genetic drift and inbreeding in small, isolated habitat remnants. The extent to which habitat fragmentation leads to population fragmentation, however, differs among landscapes and taxa. Commonly, researchers use information on the current status of a species to predict population effects of habitat fragmentation. Such methods, however, do not convey information on species-specific responses to fragmentation. Here, we compare levels of past population differentiation, estimated from microsatellite genotypes, with contemporary dispersal rates, estimated from multi-strata capture-recapture models, to infer changes in mobility over time in seven sympatric, forest-dependent bird species of a Kenyan cloud forest archipelago. Overall, populations of sedentary species were more strongly differentiated and clustered compared to those of vagile ones, while geographical patterning suggested an important role of landscape structure in shaping genetic variation. However, five of seven species with broadly similar levels of genetic differentiation nevertheless differed substantially in their current dispersal rates. We conclude that post-fragmentation levels of vagility, without reference to past population connectivity, may not be the best predictor of how forest fragmentation affects the life history of forest-dependent species. As effective conservation strategies often hinge on accurate prediction of shifts in ecological and genetic relationships among populations, conservation practices based solely upon current population abundances or movements may, in the long term, prove to be inadequate.     

Foraging behaviour of a frugivorous bat helps bridge landscape connectivity and ecological processes in a fragmented rainforest

1. Landscape connectivity may greatly influence the distribution of animals when it alters their movements and their ability to reach food patches. Depending on their foraging behaviour, organisms may or may not adapt to anthropogenic changes in landscape connectivity and may eventually undergo local extinctions. 2. Recent studies underlined the need to use indicators of functional landscape connectivity based on the behaviour and movement abilities of studied animals to better link landscape structure to ecological processes in disturbed and fragmented areas. 3. The objectives of this study were: to elaborate an index of functional connectivity for Rhinophylla pumilio, a Neotropical understorey frugivorous bat; to use this index to investigate the possible mechanisms controlling its distribution and sustainability in a fragmented landscape; and to test whether this index could be applied to other species of the same guild. 4. We pursued a 10-year bat mist-net survey, coupled to local estimates of food availability, in a mature forest of French Guiana that was recently fragmented by the completion of a reservoir lake. The 18 sampling sites range from undisturbed continuous forest sites to small remote forest fragments. A connectivity value, based on radio-tracking surveys, was attributed to each site. Connectivity measures mean forest cover within neighbouring landscape units, weighted by the probability that bats would use them, as estimated by frequency distribution of flight distance data. 5. The abundance of R. pumilio was positively correlated with landscape connectivity and not correlated with local food availability. Its foraging strategy has evolved in response to the highly scattered distribution of its fruit resource. In spite of its high mobility, R. pumilio apparently failed to exploit a food resource that is distributed patchily over a low-connective habitat because its foraging movements are not well adapted to habitat disruptions. 6. The connectivity index contributed to explain general tendencies of abundance variations in other understorey frugivorous bats, although the spatial scale we examined was probably too small for these species. We make recommendations to adapt a functional connectivity index to species whose large-scale movements are difficult to survey.     

千岛湖片段化生境中木本植物种子雨基本特征及其影响因子

为探究片段化生境中木本植物种子雨的基本特征,该研究根据2015—2020年(研究期间)在千岛湖样岛上的植物群落长期监测样地内每月收集的种子雨数据,采用Kruskal-Wallis检验对木本植物的种子雨密度进行年际差异分析,对不同传播方式物种的种子雨密度进行月份间差异性分析,并利用线性混合效应模型,探究岛屿空间特征(岛屿面积、距最近岛屿的距离、距大陆的距离)以及气候因子(0 ℃以上积温、降水量)对木本植物以及不同传播方式物种的种子雨密度的影响。结果表明:(1)2015—2020年6年间,在29个样岛用240个收集器共收集到877 178粒木本植物的成熟种子,属于26科40属52种。(2)动物传播是木本植物主要的种子传播方式,不同传播方式物种的种子雨时间动态存在较大差异。(3)木本植物的种子雨年密度与岛屿面积和年积温呈显著正相关,与年降水量呈显著负相关。(4)自主传播物种的种子雨月密度与距最近岛屿的距离呈显著正相关,而动物传播物种的种子雨月密度则与距大陆的距离呈显著正相关,风力传播物种的种子雨月密度与月积温呈极显著正相关。综上表明,生境片段化通过岛屿空间特征影响了木本植物种子雨的时间动态。     

Colonization and extinction of ant communities in a fragmented landscape

Abstract In this paper we tested the assumption that smaller and more isolated remnants receive fewer ant colonizers and lose more species. We also tested hypotheses to explain such a pattern. We sampled ants in Brazil for 3 years in 18 forest remnants and in 10 grasslands between them. We tested the influence of remnant area and isolation on colonization rate, as well as the effect of remnant area on extinction rate. We tested the correlation between remnant area and isolation to verify the landscape design. Colonization rate was not affected by remnant area or isolation. Extinction rate, however, was smaller in larger remnants. Remnant area and isolation were negatively correlated. We tested two hypotheses related to the decrease in ant species extinction rate with increased remnant area: (i) small remnants support smaller and more extinction‐prone populations; and (ii) small remnants are more often invaded by generalist species, which suffer higher extinction inside remnants. The density of ant populations significantly increased with area. Generalist species presented a lower colonization rate in larger remnants, contrary to the pattern observed in forest species. Generalist species suffered more extinction than expected inside remnants. The lack of response of colonization rate to remnant area can be explained by the differential colonization by generalist and forest species. The decrease of ant population density in smaller remnants could be related to loss of habitat quality or quantity. The higher colonization by generalist ant species in the smaller remnants could be related to landscape design, because smaller remnants are more similar to the matrix than larger ones. Our results have important implications for conservation strategies because small remnants seem to be more affected by secondary effects of fragmentation, losing more forest species and being invaded more often by generalist species. Studies that compare only species richness between remnants cannot detect such patterns in species composition.     

Population genetic structure and dispersal across a fragmented landscape in cerulean warblers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dendroica cerulea</Emphasis>)

Cerulean warblers (Dendroica cerulea) have experienced significant declines across their breeding range and presently exist in disjunct populations, largely because of extensive loss and fragmentation of their breeding and wintering habitat. Despite this overall decline, a recent north-eastern expansion of the breeding range has been proposed, and some researchers have suggested that the eastern Ontario population may be acting as a source population maintaining sink populations elsewhere. However, little is known about either the geographic distribution of genetic variation or dispersal in these birds. We assayed variation in five microsatellite loci and a 366 base-pair fragment of the mitochondrial control region among 154 cerulean warblers from five populations throughout the breeding range. No evidence of population genetic structure was found. Assignment tests suggested that six individuals were either inter-population migrants or descendants of recent migrants. The lack of population genetic structure is probably due to a combination of historical association and contemporary dispersal. Population decline does not appear to have reduced genetic variation yet. Overall results suggest that cerulean warblers from Ontario, Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee should be considered a single genetic management unit for conservation.     

Seed dispersal and realized gene flow of two forest orchids in a fragmented landscape

• Species with vast production of dust‐like windborne seeds, such as orchids, should not be limited by seed dispersal. This paradigm, however, does not fit recent studies showing that many sites suitable for orchids are unoccupied and most seeds land close to their maternal plant. To explore this issue, we studied seed dispersal and gene flow of two forest orchid species, Epipactis atrorubens and Cephalanthera rubra, growing in a fragmented landscape of forested limestone hills in southwest Bohemia, Czech Republic.
• We used a combination of seed trapping and plant genotyping methods (microsatellite DNA markers) to quantify short‐ and long‐distance dispersal, respectively. In addition, seed production of both species was estimated.
• We found that most seeds landed very close to maternal plants (95% of captured seeds were within 7.2 m) in both species, and dispersal distance was influenced by forest type in E. atrorubens. In addition, C. rubra showed clonal reproduction (20% of plants were of clonal origin) and very low fruiting success (only 1.6% of plants were fruiting) in comparison with E. atrorubens (25.7%). Gene flow was frequent up to 2 km in C. rubra and up to 125 km in E. atrorubens, and we detected a relatively high dispersal rate among regions in both species.
• Although both species occupy similar habitats and have similar seed dispersal abilities, C. rubra is notably rarer in the study area. Considerably low fruiting success in this species likely limits its gene flow to longer distances and designates it more sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation.

     

Impacts of forest fragmentation on species composition and forest structure in the temperate landscape of southern Chile

Aim Few studies have explicitly examined the influence of spatial attributes of forest fragments when examining the impacts of fragmentation on woody species. The aim of this study was to assess the diverse impacts of fragmentation on forest habitats by integrating landscape‐level and species‐level approaches. Location The investigation was undertaken in temperate rain forests located in southern Chile. This ecosystem is characterized by high endemism and by intensive recent changes in land use. Method Measures of diversity, richness, species composition, forest structure and anthropogenic disturbances were related to spatial attributes of the landscape (size, shape, connectivity, isolation and interior forest area) of forest fragments using generalized linear models. A total of 63 sampling plots distributed in 51 forest fragments with different spatial attributes were sampled. Results Patch size was the most important attribute influencing different measures of species composition, stand structure and anthropogenic disturbances. The abundance of tree and shrub species associated with interior and edge habitats was significantly related to variation in patch size. Basal area, a measure of forest structure, significantly declined with decreasing patch size, suggesting that fragmentation is affecting successional processes in the remaining forests. Small patches also displayed a greater number of stumps, animal trails and cow pats, and lower values of canopy cover as a result of selective logging and livestock grazing in relatively accessible fragments. However, tree richness and β‐diversity of tree species were not significantly related to fragmentation. Main conclusions This study demonstrates that progressive fragmentation by logging and clearance is associated with dramatic changes in the structure and composition of the temperate forests in southern Chile. If this fragmentation process continues, the ability of the remnant forests to maintain their original biodiversity and ecological processes will be significantly reduced.