犬尾田鼠在斑块生境中更喜好内部区域

我们在斑块化的景观中实验测定了犬尾田鼠(Microtus canicaudus)的生境喜好,验证下列假说:在一斑块生境中,与边缘区域相比,雌性田鼠喜好内部区域.在低密度和高密度时成年雌性的巢区在生境内部区域分别占100% 和76%.高密度时在边缘区域雌性的捕获率较低,这种差异在低密度时更突出.在高密度时通过选择性去除生境内部和边缘区域的一些雌体,边缘区域13只雌体中8只(占62%)的巢区发生从边缘到内部区域的转移,内部区域20只雌体中只有3只(占15%)的巢区向边缘区域转移.动物的繁殖率、生存和体重在两个区域之间没有差异.但是,边缘区域个体的巢区比内部区域的要小.这些结果支持一些关于其他啮齿动物的研究观察结果(如鼠平类和田鼠类),但与草原田鼠不同.因此在一斑块生境中,与边缘区域相比,长尾田鼠更喜好内部区域,边缘区域与内部区域的比率可潜在影响动物的生境选择,也可能会影响斑块化生境中的种群统计学特征.     

Sex-biased dispersal and adaptation to marginal habitats

If gene flow occurs through both sexes but only females contribute to population growth, adaptation to marginal (sink) habitats should be differentially affected by male versus female dispersal. Here I address this problem with two models. First, I consider the fate of a rare allele that improves fitness in the marginal habitat but reduces fitness in the core (source) habitat. Then I study the evolution of a polygenic character mediating a trade-off in fitness between the habitats. Both approaches led to qualitatively similar predictions. The effect of a difference in the dispersal rate between the sexes depends on the degree to which immigration from the core habitat boosts the reproductive output from the marginal habitat. This boost is slight if the marginal habitat is able to sustain well a population without immigration. In that case, both female- and male-biased dispersal is more favorable for adaptation to marginal habitats than equal dispersal of both sexes (assuming that the dispersal rate averaged over the sexes is kept constant). In contrast, if the marginal habitat is an absolute sink unable to sustain a population without immigration, the conditions for adaptation to that habitat are least favorable under highly male-biased dispersal and most favorable under highly female-biased dispersal. Under some circumstances, high average (male+female) dispersal is more favorable than low dispersal. Thus, gene flow should not be seen solely as thwarting adaptation to marginal habitats. The results are interpreted in terms of how male and female dispersal affects the relative rate of gene flow from the source to the sink habitat and in the opposite direction. This study predicts that ecological niches of taxa with female-biased dispersal should tend to be broader and more evolutionarily flexible.     

An explicit approach to evolutionarily stable dispersal strategies: no cost of dispersal

The evolution of dispersal is examined by looking at evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) for dispersal parameters in discrete time multisite models without any cost of dispersal. ESS are investigated analytically, based on explicit results on sensitivity analysis of matrix models. The basic model considers an arbitrary number of sites and a single age class. An ESS for dispersal parameters is obtained when the spatial reproductive values, calculated at the density-dependent population equilibrium, are equal across sites. From this basic formulation, one derives equivalently that all local populations should be at equilibrium in the absence of migration, and that dispersal between sites should be balanced, i.e., the numbers of individuals arriving to and leaving a site are equal. These results are then generalized to a model with several age classes. Equal age-specific reproductive values do not however imply balanced dispersal in this case. Our results generalize to any number of sites and age classes those available ?M. Doebeli, Dispersal and dynamics, Theoret. Popul. 47 (1995) 82 for two sites and one age class.     

High-quality seed dispersal by fruit-eating fishes in Amazonian floodplain habitats

Seed dispersal is a critical stage in the life history of plants. It determines the initial pattern of juvenile distribution, and can influence community dynamics and the evolutionary trajectories of individual species. Vertebrate frugivores are the primary vector of seed dispersal in tropical forests; however, most studies of seed dispersal focus on birds, bats and monkeys. Nevertheless, South America harbors at least 200 species of frugivorous fishes, which move into temporarily flooded habitats during lengthy flood seasons and consume fruits that fall into the water; and yet, we know remarkably little about the quality of seed dispersal they effect. We investigated the seed dispersal activities of two species of large-bodied, commercially important fishes (Colossoma macropomum and Piaractus brachypomus, Characidae) over 3 years in Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve (Peru). We assessed the diet of these fishes during the flood season, conducted germination trials with seeds collected from digestive tracts, and quantified fruit availability. In the laboratory, we fed fruits to captive Colossoma, quantified the proportion of seeds defecated by adult and juvenile fish, and used these seeds in additional germination experiments. Our results indicate that Colossoma and Piaractus disperse large quantities of seeds from up to 35% of the trees and lianas that fruit during the flood season. Additionally, these seeds can germinate after floodwaters recede. Overexploitation has reduced the abundance of our focal fish species, as well as changed the age structure of populations. Moreover, older fish are more effective seed dispersers than smaller, juvenile fish. Overfishing, therefore, likely selects for the poorest seed dispersers, thus disrupting an ancient interaction between seeds and their dispersal agents. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Reid's paradox revisited: the evolution of dispersal kernels during range expansion

Current approaches to modeling range advance assume that the distribution describing dispersal distances in the population (the "dispersal kernel") is a static entity. We argue here that dispersal kernels are in fact highly dynamic during periods of range advance because density effects and spatial assortment by dispersal ability ("spatial selection") drive the evolution of increased dispersal on the expanding front. Using a spatially explicit individual-based model, we demonstrate this effect under a wide variety of population growth rates and dispersal costs. We then test the possibility of an evolved shift in dispersal kernels by measuring dispersal rates in individual cane toads (Bufo marinus) from invasive populations in Australia (historically, toads advanced their range at 10 km/year, but now they achieve >55 km/year in the northern part of their range). Under a common-garden design, we found a steady increase in dispersal tendency with distance from the invasion origin. Dispersal kernels on the invading front were less kurtotic and less skewed than those from origin populations. Thus, toads have increased their rate of range expansion partly through increased dispersal on the expanding front. For accurate long-range forecasts of range advance, we need to take into account the potential for dispersal kernels to be evolutionarily dynamic.     

Joint evolution of sex ratio and dispersal: conditions for higher dispersal rates from good habitats

We analyze models of evolution of sex ratio conditional on habitat quality and with sex specific dispersal. Previous analysis concluded that the main constraint on sex ratio is habitat choice and leads to overproduction of the most dispersing sex in low quality habitat. Here, we analyze three models with finite local populations and show that constraints on sex ratio can balance constraints on habitat choice. In the first model, dispersal rates are fixed. In the second, sex specific dispersal can evolve independently of the habitat quality. These models suggests that sex ratio evolution can lead to higher global dispersal rates (mean of male and female dispersal rates) from high quality habitats. In the last model dispersal evolves conditionally with both sex and habitat. Our models suggests that conditions for overproduction of the most dispersing sex in high quality habitat are frequent. The predictions of the models with evolving dispersal contrast with patterns generally described in nature. We discuss possible reasons of this difference.     

Colonization of new habitats by earthworms

Summary In this paper a simple model is used to study the dispersal of earthworm populations into new habitats. Simple models do not describe processes accurately, but can help gain insight into the functioning of ecosystems or processes in ecosystems. Using information on reproduction, survival and dispersal at the level of the individual, the velocity of earthworm population expansion was calculated. Dispersal of earthworms can be active or passive. The parameters of active and passive dispersal were calculated from field experiments in one of the Dutch polders. Parameters of reproduction and survival were estimated from published data. The effects of processes at the individual level on the velocity of population expansion were studied for two species (Aporrectodea caliginosa and Lumbricus rubellus). The model shows that passive transport has a major influence on the velocity of population expansion, which is strongly increased even if this transport involves only a very small part of the population. At a high level of passive transport, however, death induced by this mode of dispersal can have a negative influence on population expansion. In the discussion it is indicated that optimising growth conditions of the earthworms might be the easiest way to promote population expansion. However, promoting dispersal by passive mechanisms can also be very important.Communication no. 36 of the Dutch Programme on Soil Ecology of Arable Farming Systems     

Use of space and habitats by meadow voles at the home range,patch and landscape scales

Using capture/recapture methods, we examined the spatial usage patterns of Microtus pennsylvanicus within and between experimentally created habitat patches of three sizes (1.0, 0.25 and 0.0625 ha) and between a 20-ha fragmented and a 20-ha continuous habitat landscape. We tested the prediction that home ranges near patch edges would be qualitatively different from those in patch interiors, and that the edge:interior habitat ratio could be used to make predictions concerning the dispersion and spatial use of individuals occupying different sized patches and between landscapes with different habitat structure. We found adult females on patch edges to have larger and more exclusive home ranges, larger body sizes, longer residence times, and to reproduce at a higher frequency than those in patch interiors. These edge effects also appeared to be largely responsible for the greater proportion of larger, reproductive females we found in small than larger patches and in the fragmented than in the continuous habitat (control) landscape. The selection of higher quality edge habitats by dominant females and the relegation of sub-dominants to patch interiors provides an explanation for the observed differences in the distribution and performance of females over patches and between landscapes.     

Evolution of the distribution of dispersal distance under distance‐dependent cost of dispersal

Abstract We analyse the evolution of the distribution of dispersal distances in a stable and homogeneous environment in one‐ and two‐dimensional habitats. In this model, dispersal evolves to avoid the competition between relatives although some cost might be associated with this behaviour. The evolutionarily stable dispersal distribution is characterized by an equilibration of the fitness gains among all the different dispersal distances. This cost‐benefit argument has heuristic value and facilitates the comprehension of results obtained numerically. In particular, it explains why some minimal or maximal probability of dispersal may evolve at intermediate distances when the cost of dispersal function is an increasing function of distance. We also show that kin selection may favour long range dispersal even if the survival cost of dispersal is very high, provided the survival probability does not vanish at long distances.     

Evidence of wolf dispersal in anthropogenic habitats of the Polish Carpathian Mountains

In the course of their maturation, most young wolves leave their natal pack and disperse in search for mating partners, improved food availability and new territories. We investigated whether this dispersal is affected by anthropogenic infrastructure in a 5,000 km2 area of the eastern region of the Polish Carpathian Mountains occupied by wolves. A radio-collared male wolf covered 230 km while dispersing through forested hills and densely populated valleys. To test if such dispersal is common in the population we analysed by microsatellite genotyping 39 samples taken from live-trapped wolves or wolves found dead in the study area. Although the obtained genotypes were assigned to different clusters in Bayesian tests, we could not ascribe this structure to landscape features, but rather to shared ancestry of wolf individuals found in distant locations. Moreover, we could not detect a spatial genetic structure in the wolf population, indicating a random occurrence of genotypes within the study area. Observation of the dispersing wolf and the absence of spatial genetic structure imply that wolves are still able to roam the entire area despite high densities of roads and a dense human population. Thus, we concluded that the existing anthropogenic infrastructure does not restrict wolf dispersal in the area and the studied wolves represent a coherent part of the Polish Carpathian wolf population.     

Adaptation to marginal habitats: contrasting influence of the dispersal rate on the fate of alleles with small and large effects

The focus of this paper is the relationship between the dispersal rate and the conditions for invasion of a rare allele that improves performance in a marginal sink habitat at the expense of reducing fitness in the main source habitat. Classic multiple-niche population-genetic models predict that the conditions for the invasion of such an allele always become more favourable as the dispersal rate decreases. Precisely the opposite prediction was reached in demographic fitness-sensitivity studies. This study reconciles those contradictory predictions and identifies the assumptions responsible for the discrepancy. I show that whether a lower dispersal rate makes the conditions for the invasion of the allele more or less stringent depends on the magnitude of the effects of the allele. If the effect is large relative to the degree of maladaptedness of the original genotype to the marginal habitat, the conditions become less stringent with decreasing dispersal rate. The opposite is the case for mutations with very small effects. For a broad range of mutations with intermediate effects the conditions are most stringent under an intermediate dispersal rate.     

Bank voles in linear habitats show restricted gene flow as revealed by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)

Genetic structure of bank vole populations in linear river bank habitat in southeast Norway was determined from analyses of DNA sequences for the mitochondrial D-loop. Animals were sampled at sites separated by 1 km, along two forested river banks separated by ≈ 100 m of open water. Twenty-six distinct haplotypes were found among 120 voles. The voles showed significant deviation from panmixis on both sides of the river. Animals from the same site or from sites 1 km apart were more likely to share haplotypes than animals 2 km apart or more. Common haplotypes were widespread on both river banks, and had a wider distribution than relatively rare haplotypes. Some rare haplotypes were found on both banks, but most were restricted to a single bank. The results suggest that short-term gene flow may be restricted for female bank voles in linear habitats. Female territorial behaviour may vary with habitat geometry. In the linear habitat described here, females defend only two territorial borders and may effectively limit female dispersal. Results were compared to a previous study of bank voles from this region in a two-dimensional habitat. Gene flow in the linear habitat was much more restricted than gene flow in the two-dimensional habitat. Probable mechanisms underlying this difference are discussed.     

Increased propensity for aerial dispersal in disturbed habitats due to intraspecific variation and species turnover

Animal dispersal depends on multiple factors, such as habitat features and life‐history traits of the species. We studied the propensity for ballooning dispersal in spiders under standardized laboratory conditions. The 1269 tested individuals belonged to 124 species and originated from 16 sites with wide variation in habitat type. Spiders from disturbed habitats ballooned 5.5 times more than spiders from stable habitats. In Meioneta rurestris , for which we had enough data for a single‐species analysis, individuals were most dispersive if they originated from highly disturbed habitats. While the data for the other species were not sufficient for single‐species analyses, a hierarchical model that included the data simultaneously on all species suggested that dispersal propensity generally increases within species with the level of habitat disturbance. Dispersal probability showed a trend to increase with niche width, but the higher commonness of species with wide niches provides an alternative explanation for this pattern. As the prevalence of especially dispersive species was highest in disturbed habitats, variation in dispersal propensity was influenced by both inter‐ and intraspecific factors. We conclude that the positive correlation between niche width and dispersal propensity enables generalist species to utilize highly disturbed habitats, whereas the persistence of specialist species with restricted dispersal ability requires the conservation of stable habitats.     

The cost of habitat selection in prairie voles: an empirical assessment using isodar analysis

The ideal free distribution assumes that habitat selection is without cost and predicts that fitness should be equal in different habitats. If habitat selection has a cost, then individuals should only move to another habitat when potential fitness in the new habitat exceeds that in the source habitat by an amount greater than the cost of habitat selection. We used isodar techniques to assess the cost of habitat selection. In an experimental landscape, we monitored density, movement, and reproductive success of adult female prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster, in adjacent paired habitats with low and high cover. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) adult female prairie voles exhibited density-dependent habitat selection; (2) the cost of habitat selection was density-independent. Habitat quality based on population density and fitness of adult females was higher in high cover habitats. Net movement was from low cover to high cover habitats. The results indicated that adult female prairie voles exhibited density-dependent habitat selection. Furthermore, there was a significant cost of habitat selection, and the cost was density-independent.     

A simple simulation model of dispersal of animals among units of discrete habitats

Summary A simple simulation model of dispersal of animals among units of discrete habitats has been constructed. This model outputs the numbers of animals reaching each of twenty-five habitats at preselected loci in a grid under a variety of operating conditions. These conditions consist of variables controlling directionality, velocity and mortality during dispersal. The relationship between numbers of animals reaching a particular site and the distance of that site from the starting point was investigated. Similarly, the effects of directionality (as determined by the variance of the normal distribution used to assign directions of movement), mortality and velocity on the overall rate of success were studied. A negative exponential-type drop off in numbers of animals reaching a site was predicted with increasing distance from the starting point. The relationship between percent success, directionality and rate of mortality was predicted to be curvilinear; the percentage declining with decreased directionality and increased mortality. A positive linear relationship was indicated between the spatial displacement per iteration used and percent success.Wherever possible the assumptions and predictions of the model are compared with available data. The assumptions concerning initial and subsequent directions of movement were found to be borne out by the data examined as were the results showing the relationship between numbers at each site and distance from starting point. The other results of the simulations were more difficult to compare with available data and some of these remain to be tested.The advantages and disadvantages of the model and the prospects for its expansion are discussed. It is concluded that the model is simplistic but that this gives it a generality and versatility which make it a useful tool for further thinking and investigation on the process of dispersal.     

Expression of a dispersal trait in a guild of mites colonizing transient habitats

Summary Dispersal as a means of escape from deteriorating habitats is of particular ecological relevance for organisms such as certain astigmatic mites that colonize habitats which vary unpredictably in space and time. The mites meet these ecological challenges by a facultative dispersal morph, the heteromorphic deutonymph, also called hypopus. The appearance or absence of hypopodes in natural populations is attributable to two fundamentally different, albeit interacting, causes. Genetic polymorphism for the propensity to induce a hypopus provides for heritable variation within the population and allows selection to favor or eliminate certain genotypes. The genotypic composition of a population reflects selection forces previously acting on the population. But it holds no predictive power. Rather, it adapts the population to cope with unpredictably varying living conditions because it ensures instantaneous fit of certain genotypes of the population (those displaying hypopus-free development) to favorable (moist) environmental conditions, and others (those expressing a hypopus) to detrimental (dry) conditions. In contrast, environmentally cued inducibility allows mites to anticipate food quality inasmuch as it allows each genotype of the population to adjust its development rapidly to impending adversity or benefit. Inducibility occurs by means of a developmental switching mechanism and leads either to a developmental pathway with a hypopus or else one without. The expression of a hypopus depends on interacting genetic and environmental (trophic) factors. High levels of additive genetic variation combine with considerable genetic-trophical interaction (comprising a threshold for phenotypic expression of the trait) to control hypopus induction. The results are consistent with a variable threshold whose level depends on diet quality. Different trophic conditions set the threshold at different points along the genetic scale resulting in different proportions of hypopus-forming and directly developing individuals within the population. The threshold, therefore, converts the concealed continuous genetic variation underlying the trait into a discontinuous response of the mite.     

Habitat use by singing voles and tundra voles in the southern Yukon

Summary We investigated how far competitive interactions influence the use of habitats and relative abundance of two species of Microtus in the southwestern Yukon. We worked in the ecotone between alpine tundra and subalpine shrub tundra where populations of singing voles (Microtus miurus) and tundra voles (M. oeconomus) overlap little.We removed tundra voles from shrub tundra on one live-trapping area to look at the effect on the contiguous population of singing voles in alpine tundra. The removal of tundra voles did not affect the distribution or relative abundance of singing voles. The spatial distribution of these species and their movements within habitats suggest that they have a strong habitat preference.Populations of small mammals in the area are extremely dynamic and the relative importance of competitive interactions may change as density varies. At present we have no evidence that competition affects habitat use in M. miurus.     

Recolonisation of new habitats by meiobenthic organisms in the deep Arctic Ocean: an experimental approach

Commercial exploitation and abrupt changes of the natural conditions may have severe impacts on the Arctic deep-sea ecosystem. The present recolonisation experiment mimicked a situation after a catastrophic disturbance (e.g. by turbidites caused by destabilised continental slopes after methane hydrate decomposition) and investigated whether the recolonisation of a deep-sea habitat by meiobenthic organisms is fostered by variations in nutrition and/or sediment structure. Two “Sediment Tray Free Vehicles” were deployed for 1?year in summer 2003 at 2,500?m water depth in the Arctic deep-sea in the eastern Fram Strait. The recolonisation trays were filled with different artificial and natural sediment types (glass beads, sand, sediment mixture, pure deep-sea sediment) and were enriched with various types of food (algae, yeast, fish). After 1?year, meiobenthos abundances and various sediment-related environmental parameters were investigated. Foraminifera were generally the most successful group: they dominated all treatments and accounted for about 87?% of the total meiobenthos. Colonising meiobenthos specimens were generally smaller compared to those in the surrounding deep-sea sediment, suggesting an active recolonisation by juveniles. Although experimental treatments with fine-grained, algae-enriched sediment showed abundances closest to natural conditions, the results suggest that food availability was the main determining factor for a successful recolonisation by meiobenthos, and the structure of recolonised sediments was shown to have a subordinate influence.