Bird communities in habitats along a successional gradient: Divergent patterns of species richness,specialization and threat

The long history of human influence on northern temperate landscapes has created a mosaic of successional stages, from closed forest to open grassland. Various species thus adapted to different habitats and it is interesting to explore how these differences in species composition among particular successional stages translate into differences at the community level. For this purpose, we surveyed breeding birds in 233 patches of five different habitats covering a gradient from bare ground to forest in 29 abandoned military training sites scattered throughout the Czech Republic. Linear mixed effects modelling revealed that late-successional habitats (dense scrubland and forest) were the most species-rich, whereas early-successional stages hosted bird communities with the highest habitat specialization and threat level. These results suggest that the habitats of late-successional stages are important for the maintenance of high bird species richness, but that early-successional habitats are essential for highly specialized and threatened bird species. Given the highly adverse impacts of agricultural intensification and land abandonment on open habitats, it is necessary to promote factors creating initial successional stages suitable for specialized and threatened species.     

Rates of change in tree communities of secondary Neotropical forests following major disturbances

Rates of change in tree communities following major disturbances are determined by a complex set of interactions between local site factors, landscape history and structure, regional species pools and species life histories. Our analysis focuses on vegetation change following abandonment of agricultural fields or pastures, as this is the most extensive form of major disturbance in Neotropical forests. We consider five tree community attributes: stem density, basal area, species density, species richness and species composition. We describe two case studies, in northeastern Costa Rica and Chiapas, Mexico, where both chronosequence and annual tree dynamics studies are being applied. These case studies show that the rates of change in tree communities often deviate from chronosequence trends. With respect to tree species composition, sites of different ages differ more than a single site followed over time through the same age range. Dynamic changes in basal area within stands, on the other hand, generally followed chronosequence trends. Basal area accumulation was more linked with tree growth rates than with net changes in tree density due to recruitment and mortality. Stem turnover rates were poor predictors of species turnover rates, particularly at longer time-intervals. Effects of the surrounding landscape on tree community dynamics within individual plots are poorly understood, but are likely to be important determinants of species accumulation rates and relative abundance patterns.     

The distribution of ecological species groups in Fagetum communities of Caspian forests: Determination of effective environmental factors

Aim of the research was the recognition of ecological species groups in beech forests south of the Caspian Sea (Northern Iran) and the determination of the main effective environmental factors explaining the distribution of plant ecological groups. Selective stratification sampling was used to locate samples. A total of 120 samples (400 m² each) were selected in Fagetum communities within the study area. At each sample, a floristic list of the plot and an estimate of percent cover and abundance of all vascular plants were recorded in separate strata using the Braun-Blanquet scale. At the center of each vegetation plot, two soil samples were taken of 0–10 and 10–30 cm depth levels for physico-chemical analyses. Cluster analysis was used for the classification of vegetation samples and Multi-response Permutation Procedure (MRPP) was used to test the hypothesis of no difference between ecological groups in the species space. Indicator species analysis was used to identify indicator species for each group. A Tukey test was used to compare environmental variables among groups. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was used to analyze the relationships between the ecological groups and environmental variables.     

Simulating forest succession along ecological gradients in southern Central Europe

Forest stand development was simulated using a forest succession model of the JABOWA/FORET type. The environmental conditions are representative for a wide spectrum of Swiss forest sites ranging from 220 m to 1 700 m a.s.l. Each model run covers a period of 1 200 yr and is based on the averaged successional characteristics of 50 forest plots with an individual size of 1/12 ha. These small forest plots serve as basic units to simulate establishment, growth, and death of individual trees of 29 species. Existing light in the forest stand, climatic conditions, soil properties, and other environmental factors control the growth of each individual tree. Compared with previous simulation studies, some major modifications were made, including the incorporation of the indicator values of Ellenberg (1979) to describe the ecophysiological behaviour of the species considered. As a test, the simulated species composition through time was compared with the actual vegetation and the potentially natural species composition on the corresponding site types. The extensive comparison revealed that approximately 80% of the simulations match the expected species configurations. Thus, it was concluded that the model is valid for the purpose of evaluating impacts of natural and human disturbances on forest communities.     

The presence of nitrogen fixing legumes in terrestrial communities: Evolutionary vs ecological considerations

Nitrogen is often a limiting factor to net primary productivity (NPP) and other processes in terrestrial ecosystems. In most temperate freshwater ecosystems, when nitrogen becomes limiting to NPP, populations of N-fixing cyanobacteria experience a competitive advantage, and begin to grow and fix nitrogen until the next most limiting resource is encountered; typically phosphorus or light. Why is it that N-fixing plants do not generally function to overcome N limitation in terrestrial ecosystems in the same way that cyanobacteria function in aquatic ecosystems? To address this question in a particular ecosystem, one must first know whether the flora includes a potential set of nitrogen fixers. I suggest that the presence or absence of N-fixing plant symbioses is foremost an evolutionary consideration, determined to a large extent by constraints on the geographical radiation of woody members of the family Fabaceae. Ecological factors such as competition, nutrient deficiencies, grazing and fire are useful to explain the success of N-fixing plants only when considered against the geographical distribution of potential N-fixers.     

The role of zooplankton in the ecological succession of plankton and benthic algae across a salinity gradient in the Shark Bay solar salt ponds

The relatively low biodiversity and simple hydrodynamics make solar salt ponds ideal sites for ecological studies. We have studied the ecological gradient of the primary ponds at the Shark Bay Resources solar salt ponds, Western Australia, using a coupled hydrodynamic ecological numerical model, DYRESM–CAEDYM. Seven ponds representative of the primary system were simulated with salinity ranging from 45 to 155 ppt. Five groups of organisms were simulated: three phytoplankton, one microbial mat plankton, and one zooplankton as well as dissolved inorganic and particulate organic nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. By extracting the various carbon fluxes from the model, we determined the role that the introduced zooplankton, Artemia sp., plays in grazing the particulate organic carbon (POC) from the water column in the high salinity ponds. We also examined the nutrient fluxes and stoichiometric ratios of the various organic components for each pond to establish the extent to which observed patterns in nutrient dynamics are mediated by the presence of Artemia sp. Model results indicated that Artemia sp. grazing was responsible for reduced water column POC in the higher salinity ponds. This resulted in an increase in photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) reaching the pond floor and consequent increase in microbial mat biomass, thus demonstrating the dual benefits of Artemia sp. to salt production in improved quality and quantity. In contrast, this study found no direct link between Artemia sp. and observed changes in planktonic algal species composition or nutrient limitation across the salinity gradient of the ponds. Guest Editors: J. John & B. Timms Salt Lake Research: Biodiversity and Conservation—Selected Papers from the 9th Conference of the International Society for Salt Lake Research     

The impact of forest encroachment after agricultural land abandonment on passerine bird communities: The case of Greece

Agricultural land abandonment is one of the main drivers of land use change, leading to various responses of farmland ecological communities. In an effort to better understand the effect of agricultural land abandonment on passerine bird communities, we sampled 20 randomly selected sites [1 km × 1 km] in remote Greek mountains, reflecting an abandonment gradient, in terms of forest encroachment. We sampled 169 plots using the point count method of fixed distance (47 passerine species), and we investigated bird diversity and community structure turnover along the gradient. We found that grazing intensity has a beneficial effect hampering forest encroachment that follows progressively land abandonment. Habitat composition changes gradually with forests developing at the expense of open meadows and heterogeneous grasslands. Forest encroachment has a significant negative effect on bird diversity and species richness, affecting in particular typical farmland and Mediterranean shrubland species. Birds form five distinct ecological clusters after land abandonment: species mostly found in pinewoods and cavity-dwelling species; species that prefer open forests forest edges or ecotones; species that prefer shrubland or open habitats with scattered woody vegetation; Mediterranean farmland birds that prefer semi-open habitats with hedges and/or woodlots; and, generalist forest-dwelling or shrubland species. We extracted a set of 22 species to represent the above ecological communities, as a new monitoring tool for agricultural land use change and conservation. We suggest that the maintenance of rural mosaics should be included in the priorities of agricultural policy for farmland bird diversity conservation.     

Divergence in foraging behavior of foliage-gleaning birds of Canadian and Russian boreal forests

We compared foraging behavior of foliage-gleaning birds of the boreal forest of two Palaearctic (central Siberia and European Russia) and two Nearctic (Mackenzie and Ontario, Canada) sites. Using discriminant function analysis on paired sites we were able to distinguish foliage-gleaning species from the Nearctic and Palaearctic with few misclassifications. The two variables that most consistently distinguished species of the two avifaunas were the percentage use of conifer foliage and the percentage use of all foliage. Nearctic foliage-gleaner assemblages had more species that foraged predominantly from coniferous foliage and displayed a greater tendency to forage from foliage, both coniferous and broad-leafed, rather than twigs, branches, or other substrates. The greater specialization on foliage and, in particular, conifer foliage by New World canopy foliage insectivores is consistent with previously proposed hypotheses regarding the role of Pleistocene vegetation history on ecological generalization of Eurasian species. Boreal forest, composed primarily of spruce and pine, was widespread in eastern North America, whereas pockets of forest were scattered in Eurasia (mostly the mountains of southern Europe and Asia). This may have affected the populations of birds directly or indirectly through reduction in the diversity and abundance of defoliating outbreak insects. Loss of habitat and resources may have selected against ecological specialization on these habitats and resources. Received: 11 May 1998 / Accepted: 24 June 1999     

The role of ecological factors in controlling vegetation dynamics on long temporal scales

Abstract

The pattern of change in the Holocene forests of Europe is outlined and discussed in the light of external and internal forcing factors. Forests are seen as non-linear, dynamic systems, that are, at any point in time, unique and changing. In the absence of human activity, potential forcing factors during the Holocene include (i) climate, (ii) soil development, and (iii) internal forest dynamics. Climate is influential through exerting control on the floristic pool from which forests developed. Current results indicate that the role of soil development is likely to have been minor, but may have slowed rate of invasion and increase of some mid- and late-Holocene forest dominants. Forest change following spread and increase then forces soil change. Internal processes of forest dynamics include competition among existing species, and interactions between existing species and potential invading species. The patterns of interaction may be detectable through rates of change and patterns of increase seen in pollen records. Such processes are seen as being the dominant influence on the pattern of change and the development of forest. Forested systems, such as those in Europe, are strongly influenced by historical events, such as the mid-Holocene decline of elm. Forest composition is likely to be similar, in the broadest terms, from one interglacial to another, but always to vary in detail. The interaction of individuals, populations and environmental variables ensures that, although deterministic, prediction of change will always be difficult.     

Vegetation dynamics and arbuscular mycorrhiza in old-field successions of the western Italian Alps

The relationships between vegetational and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) dynamics were investigated in an old-field succession in the western Italian Alps. Vegetation and AM colonization were determined in eight sites corresponding to different stages of successional dynamics: (a) a field under cultivation; (b) fields abandoned for 1, 2 and 3 years supporting ruderal vegetation; (c) grasslands; (d) shrublands; (e) early wood communities; (f) mature woods. AM colonization was evaluated on the roots of representative plants from each community. The data thus obtained, together with those from the literature, were then used to calculate the plant community mycorrhizal index. This index provides qualitative and quantitative information concerning the relative percentage of non-mycorrhizal, AM and ectomycorrhizal plant cover in an entire plant community. The AM inoculum potential of each site was also determined using a bait approach. Farming disturbance temporarily reduced soil infectivity. Non-mycorrhizal ruderal annuals dominated after 1 year abandonment and covered 90–100 % of the surface. After 2 or 3 years, a rapid change to AM-colonized competitive and competitive-ruderal perennials was observed. The increase in AM inoculum was associated with an increase in floristic richness and equitability in the community. AM were also dominant in the shrublands and early wood communities, but gave way to ectomycorrhizal species in the mature woods. The observed AM inoculum potentials are in accordance with these findings. The results of this study further emphasize the need to take into account AM infection in plans for the renaturalization of degraded areas. Accepted: 16 June 1999     

Centres of speciation and ecological differentiation in the Galapagos land bird fauna

Summary The Hamilton-Rubinoff model of evolution in the avifauna of the Galapagos Islands suggests that speciation occurs on small outlying islands, and that new species invade the central island region, where ecological differentiation takes place. I present an alternative model in which both speciation and ecological differentiation leading to origin of actively colonizing taxa occur on the large islands, with colonization of small and outlying islands being primarily one way. Although forms on outlying islands may differentiate to the level of new species, their fate is postulated to be extinction rather than re-invasion of central islands. Data on species with expanding, differentiating, fragmenting, and relict distributions support this second model. Polytypy and incompleteness of distributions on the large islands indicate that isolation is adequate for differentiation to occur. Distributions of expanding taxa centre on the large islands, and their distributions show sequences leading from large islands to smaller and more outlying islands. Curves of occupancy of large islands versus total islands also agree with the prediction that expansions begin in the large islands.     

The biogeography of fungal communities in wetland sediments along the Changjiang River and other sites in China

Whether fungal community structure depends more on historical factors or on contemporary factors is controversial. This study used culture-dependent and -independent (polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE)) methods to assess the influence of historical and contemporary factors on the distributions of fungi in the wetland sediments at 10 locations along the Changjiang River and at 10 other locations in China. The culture-dependent approach detected greater species diversity (177 operational taxonomic units (OTUs)) than PCR-DGGE analysis (145 OTUs), and the species in the genera of Penicillium (relative frequency=16.8%), Fusarium (15.4%), Aspergillus (7.6%), Trichoderma (5.8%) and Talaromyces (4.2%) were dominant. On the basis of DGGE data, fungal diversity along the Changjiang River increased from upstream to downstream; altitude explained 44.8% of this variation in diversity. And based on the data from all 20 locations, the fungal communities were geographically clustered into three groups: Southern China, Northern China and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Multivariate regression tree analysis for data from the 20 locations indicated that the fungal community was influenced primarily by location (which explained 61.8% of the variation at a large scale), followed by total potassium (9.4%) and total nitrogen (3.5%) at a local scale. These results are consistent with the concept that geographic distance is the dominant factor driving variation in fungal diversity at a regional scale (1000–4000 km), whereas environmental factors (total potassium and total nitrogen) explain variation in fungal diversity at a local scale (<1000 km).     

Ecological release in lizard assemblages of neotropical savannas

We compare lizard assemblages of Cerrado and Amazonian savannas to test the ecological release hypothesis, which predicts that niche dimensions and abundance should be greater in species inhabiting isolated habitat patches with low species richness (Amazonian savannas and isolated Cerrado patches) when compared with nonisolated areas in central Cerrado with greater species richness. We calculated microhabitat and diet niche breadths with data from 14 isolated Cerrado patches and Amazon savanna areas and six central Cerrado populations. Morphological data were compared using average Euclidean distances, and lizard abundance was estimated using the number of lizards captured in pitfall traps over an extended time period. We found no evidence of ecological release with respect to microhabitat use, suggesting that historical factors are better microhabitat predictors than ecological factors. However, data from individual stomachs indicate that ecological release occurs in these areas for one species (Tropidurus) but not others (Ameiva ameiva, Anolis, Cnemidophorus, and Micrablepharus), suggesting that evolutionary lineages respond differently to environmental pressures, with tropidurids being more affected by ecological factors than polychrotids, teiids, and gymnophthalmids. We found no evidence that ecological release occurs in these areas using morphological data. Based on abundance data, our results indicate that the ecological release (density compensation) hypothesis is not supported: lizard species are not more abundant in isolated areas than in nonisolated areas. The ecology of species is highly conservative, varying little from assemblage to assemblage. Nevertheless, increases in niche breadth for some species indicate that ecological release occurs as well. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Impact of flowering on bird community dynamics in some central Victorian eucalypt forests

Many species of Eucalyptus in Australia provide copious amounts of nectar during their reproductive seasons. The nectar is used by many animal species but especially by birds, insects and some bats, which act as pollinators. One of the major features of eucalypt flowering in southern Australia is the patchy, asynchronous flowering of different species, which appears to drive mass nomadism of nectarivorous birds among regions and among habitats. Here we explore whether flowering asynchrony or climate is primarily responsible for the influxes and effluxes of vast numbers of nectarivorous birds in central Victoria, Australia. By using a structured sampling program, we show that winter flowering by red ironbark Eucalyptus tricarpa is the most likely agent controlling avian-nectarivore dynamics rather than climatic differences among regions. Densities and species richness of nectarivores, and numbers of nectarivory events, are all closely related to measures of flowering intensity. However, nonnectarivores, such as insectivores and granivores, show no relationships with either habitat or region. We discuss how dependence on a patchily distributed but highly rewarding resource such as nectar influences population densities and community structure in birds.     

Degradation stages of the oak forests in the area of Algiers

Long lasting human impact on the natural Mediterranean vegetation is the reason for its degradation. Uncontrolled felling of trees, fire and overgrazing are the most important ecological causes of this process.Geobotanical investigations made in the area of Algiers facilitated the characterization of degradation changes in the structure of vegetation and in the floristic composition in all the degradation stages.Under the influence of the degradation factors, mentioned above, the oak forests, growing on different, more or less calcareous substrates, are transformed into various shrub formations, mainly into many types of maquis and garrigue. The floristic composition of these communities is given in Table 2.Further degradation leads to widespread Cistus-formations and then to palmitto, a formation created by the dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis).When the anthropopressure becomes stronger even this dwarf palm retreats. Loose swards, replacing the palmitto formation, often cannot stop the subsequent degradation. Bare rock is the extreme, relatively rare stage of forest degradation in this area.The most common form of natural regeneration is the invasion of Pinus halepensis, observed in all degradation stages identified. This pine is also one of trees, most commonly planted on mountain slopes to prevent their erosion.     

Historical development of gallery forests in northeast Kansas

Plant Ecology - Woody vegetation, soils, age-diameter relationships and historical development are described for 18 gallery forest stands on Konza Prairie, a tallgrass prairie reserve in northeast...