Decay of interspecific avian flock networks along a disturbance gradient in Amazonia

Our understanding of how anthropogenic habitat change shapes species interactions is in its infancy. This is in large part because analytical approaches such as network theory have only recently been applied to characterize complex community dynamics. Network models are a powerful tool for quantifying how ecological interactions are affected by habitat modification because they provide metrics that quantify community structure and function. Here, we examine how large-scale habitat alteration has affected ecological interactions among mixed-species flocking birds in Amazonian rainforest. These flocks provide a model system for investigating how habitat heterogeneity influences non-trophic interactions and the subsequent social structure of forest-dependent mixed-species bird flocks. We analyse 21 flock interaction networks throughout a mosaic of primary forest, fragments of varying sizes and secondary forest (SF) at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in central Amazonian Brazil. Habitat type had a strong effect on network structure at the levels of both species and flock. Frequency of associations among species, as summarized by weighted degree, declined with increasing levels of forest fragmentation and SF. At the flock level, clustering coefficients and overall attendance positively correlated with mean vegetation height, indicating a strong effect of habitat structure on flock cohesion and stability. Prior research has shown that trophic interactions are often resilient to large-scale changes in habitat structure because species are ecologically redundant. By contrast, our results suggest that behavioural interactions and the structure of non-trophic networks are highly sensitive to environmental change. Thus, a more nuanced, system-by-system approach may be needed when thinking about the resiliency of ecological networks.     

The mid-domain effect in ectomycorrhizal fungi: range overlap along an elevation gradient on Mount Fuji,Japan

Mid-domain effect (MDE) models predict that the random placement of species'' ranges within a bounded geographical area leads to increased range overlap and species richness in the center of the bounded area. These models are frequently applied to study species-richness patterns of macroorganisms, but the MDE in relation to microorganisms is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the characteristics of the MDE in richness patterns of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, an ecologically important group of soil symbionts. We conducted intensive soil sampling to investigate overlap among species ranges and the applicability of the MDE to EM fungi in four temperate forest stands along an elevation gradient on Mount Fuji, Japan. Molecular analyses using direct sequencing revealed 302 EM fungal species. Of 73 EM fungal species found in multiple stands, 72 inhabited a continuous range along the elevation gradient. The maximum overlap in species range and the highest species richness occurred at elevations in the middle of the gradient. The observed richness pattern also fit within the 95% confidence interval of the mid-domain null model, supporting the role of the MDE in EM fungal richness. Deviation in observed richness from the mean of the mid-domain null estimation was negatively correlated with some environmental factors, including precipitation and soil C/N, indicating that unexplained richness patterns could be driven by these environmental factors. Our results clearly support the existence of microbial species'' ranges along environmental gradients and the potential applicability of the MDE to better understand microbial diversity patterns.     

滨海人工湿地越冬鸟类混合群结构及角色

2013年12月至2014年2月冬季,采用样点法对广西防城港市防城区江山乡新基村虾塘的越冬鸟类混合群行为进行观察研究。鸟类混合群在深水虾塘与浅水虾塘生境持续的平均时间分别为(51.6±33.6)min/群与(31.9±13.3)min/群。平均水深15 cm的深水虾塘与平均水深5 cm的浅水虾塘中均分布有11种鸟类,深水虾塘的主要水鸟为体型中等的鹤鹬(Tringa erythropus)、青脚鹬(T.nebularia)、泽鹬(T.stagnatilis),浅水虾塘的主要水鸟是小型个体的金眶鸻(Charadrius dubius)、青脚滨鹬(Calidris temminckii)。深水虾塘鸟类混合群的平均物种数及个体数分别为(5.48±1.60)种/群和(18.75±11.67)只/群,浅水虾塘鸟类混合群则分别为(3.93±1.14)种/群和(11.65±5.12)只/群。深水虾塘的核心种鹤鹬以及跟随种青脚鹬、泽鹬在浅水虾塘属于加入种;而浅水虾塘的核心种金眶鸻以及跟随种青脚滨鹬在深水虾塘却属于加入种。研究结果表明,不同类型生境的鸟类混合群结构及其核心种和跟随种均存在明显差异。     

秦岭太白山木本植物物种多样性的梯度格局及环境解释

物种多样性沿环境梯度的分布格局是生物多样性研究的重要议题,而海拔梯度包含了各种环境因子的综合影响,因此对于探讨物种多样性沿环境梯度的分布格局具有重要意义。秦岭山脉地处我国暖温带向亚热带的过渡带,其植被垂直带和物种多样性分布格局对于研究我国南北部植被分异特征具有重要意义。基于对秦岭山脉太白山南北坡海拔1200—3750m之间的垂直样带调查的83个样方,本文利用植被数量分析方法(DCA和TWINSPAN)和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Pielou指数以及Jaccard相异性系数对太白山木本植物物种多样性在南北坡沿海拔梯度分布格局进行了初步研究。结果表明：太白山的木本植物群落具有明显的环境梯度格局,海拔是决定太白山植物群落分布的主要因素,而坡向起到次要作用一植物群落类型与坡向的关系不大,当考虑群落的环境梯度格局时,DCA第一轴主要与年均温密切相关,而第二轴则取决于年平均相对湿度：乔木层和灌木层的物种具有相似的海拔梯度格局,植物群落中木本植物物种丰富度和多样性随着海拔的升高单调下降;群落均匀度随着海拔变化的规律不明显;灌木层的物种多样性比乔木层更为丰富,而南坡具有比北坡更多的物种数和更高的多样性。相邻海拔之问群落的相异性在南北坡具有不同的分布格局,在北坡2800m以下,群落相异性沿海拔梯度变化不大,而在2800m以上的高海拔地区,群落相异性随海拔的升高而降低;在南坡,随着海拔的升高,群落相异性不断减少。太白山南坡群落比北坡分布更连续。     

Assessing the effects of habitat characteristics and co-occurrence with closely related species on occupancy of resident ‘wood-warblers’ in a Neotropical working landscape

The simultaneous effects of habitat traits and interspecific interactions determine the occurrence and habitat use of wildlife populations. However, little research has been devoted to examining spatial co-occurrence among closely related species while considering the effect of habitat variation and imperfect detectability of species in the field. In this study, we focused on migratory and resident 'wood-warblers' that coexist during the winter in a Neotropical working landscape in southern Mexico to understand if habitat occupancy of resident wood-warblers is influenced by habitat characteristics and by the presence of other species of resident and migratory wood-warblers. For this purpose, we implemented two-species occupancy models, which account for the imperfect detectability of these birds in the field. Our results revealed that habitat occupancy of resident wood-warblers was positively influenced by the presence of other closely related species (both migratory and resident). These positive relationships may be explained by the fact that different species of wood-warblers frequently participate in mixed-species flocks. However, these patterns of species co-occurrence were more evident among resident species than between migratory and resident species, which may be explained by micro-habitat segregation and differences in behaviours between resident and migratory wood-warblers. We also found that some habitat characteristics may mediate the observed patterns of species co-occurrence. Specifically, sites with larger trees were associated with the co-occurrence of some species of resident wood-warblers. In addition, we discuss the possibility that species co-occurrence might be the result of shared preferences for environmental factors that we did not consider. Our study highlights the importance of the interplay between species co-occurrence and habitat traits in determining the presence and habitat use of resident birds in Neotropical working landscapes.     

Does mixed-species flocking influence how birds respond to a gradient of land-use intensity?

Conservation biology is increasingly concerned with preserving interactions among species such as mutualisms in landscapes facing anthropogenic change. We investigated how one kind of mutualism, mixed-species bird flocks, influences the way in which birds respond to different habitat types of varying land-use intensity. We use data from a well-replicated, large-scale study in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India, in which flocks were observed inside forest reserves, in ‘buffer zones'' of degraded forest or timber plantations, and in areas of intensive agriculture. We find flocks affected the responses of birds in three ways: (i) species with high propensity to flock were more sensitive to land use; (ii) different flock types, dominated by different flock leaders, varied in their sensitivity to land use and because following species have distinct preferences for leaders, this can have a cascading effect on followers'' habitat selection; and (iii) those forest-interior species that remain outside of forests were found more inside flocks than would be expected by chance, as they may use flocks more in suboptimal habitat. We conclude that designing policies to protect flocks and their leading species may be an effective way to conserve multiple bird species in mixed forest and agricultural landscapes.     

昆仑山青海片区鸟类群落多样性格局及其驱动因素

昆仑山脉独特的地理位置和气候条件孕育了诸多适应高海拔、寒旱气候的特有鸟类物种。为揭示昆仑山青海片区内鸟类群落在不同季节和海拔梯度的多样性分布格局及环境驱动因素, 我们于2021年12月(冬季)和2022年7月(夏季)在当地选取102个样方, 通过样线法对鸟类多样性进行了本底调查, 并选取了不同的气候和人为干扰因子拟合多样性指数与因子之间的非线性关系。结果表明: (1)昆仑山青海片区野外调查过程中共记录到鸟类14目31科59属87种, 其中国家一级重点保护野生鸟类5种, 国家二级重点保护野生鸟类11种, 该地区新分布鸟类8种; (2)鸟类群落多样性分布格局分析结果显示, 夏季多样性显著高于冬季, 草甸和草原生境的鸟类群落多样性显著高于其他生境, 冬夏季鸟类群落多样性指数与海拔梯度变化趋势均呈单峰型; (3)气候因素驱动鸟类多样性指数呈现季节性差异, 最冷季度降水量对夏季物种丰富度指数影响最大, 冬季为年降水量; 此外, 等温性和温度季节性对冬夏季Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Simpson多样性指数影响最大。本研究揭示了水资源和稳定的气候对昆仑山青海片区鸟类群落多样性的重要性, 为昆仑山青海片区鸟类资源保护与管理以及未来国家公园的规划建设提供了数据支持。     

长白山北坡森林群落结构组成及其海拔变化

对长白山北坡海拔700～1900m的13个森林群落进行了群落组成、结构随海拔上升变化情况的研究。结果表明,随着海拔的升高,群落的建群种组成、层次结构等,都表现出由复杂多样逐渐向简单单一过渡的变化趋势,从700m至1700m,针叶树所占的比例随海拔的升高呈明显的增加趋势,阔叶树比例随之减少,到林线时针阔叶树种均急剧减少,沿海拔梯度存在明显的树种更替现象。从群落的平均胸径及胸高断面积和可知。最大值出现于900～1100m及1600m,这2个海拔段正是不同森林群落类型间的过渡区。除海拔1800m的岳桦林之外,其它群落径级结构都呈倒J形分布,即各径级树木中,更新幼苗、幼树在数量上占绝对优势,随着胸径的增大,立木株数逐渐减少,这种径级结构表明,长白山北坡各海拔群落更新良好,群落处于稳定的发展状态。     

Longitudinal zonation of macroinvertebrates in an Ecuadorian glacier‐fed stream: do tropical glacial systems fit the temperate model?

1. The ecology of glacier‐fed streams at temperate latitudes has been intensely studied in recent years, leading to the development of a well‐validated conceptual model on the longitudinal distribution of macroinvertebrate communities downstream of the glacier margin (Freshwater Biology, 2001a; 46 , 1833). However, to our knowledge, the ecology of tropical glacier‐fed streams has not yet been studied. 2. We sampled benthic macroinvertebrates and measured environmental variables at nine sites between 4730 and 4225 m altitude along a 4.3 km stretch of a glacier‐fed stream 40 km south of the equator in the Ecuadorian Andes. Our goal was to study the longitudinal distribution of the fauna in relation to environmental factors and to compare this with the conceptual model based on temperate–arctic glacier‐fed streams. 3. Total density of invertebrates differed considerably at the two highest altitude sites; 4600 m^?2 at a pro‐glacial lake outlet and only 4 m^?2 at a site originating directly from the glacier snout. Otherwise, there was a downstream decrease in density to about 825 m^?2 at the three lowest sites. Taxon richness increased with distance from the glacier, very similar to the pattern predicted. A total of 28 taxa were collected; two at the glacier snout, seven at the nearby pro‐glacial lake outlet, 13 at site 2 (<400 m from the glacier) and 20 at the lowest sites. 4. The numerical percentage of Chironomidae (Diptera) decreased downstream from 100 to 44%. The subfamily Podonominae was numerous at the highest sites but became much less important further downstream. The Orthocladiinae were important both in numbers and species at all sites, while Diamesinae were numerous only in the middle of the reach studied and were completely absent from the upper three sites. The limited importance of the Diamesinae, and its replacement by Podonominae, is different from the pattern typically observed in north‐temperate glacier‐fed streams. This could be because of the fact that the genus Diamesa is missing from the Neotropics. 5. Stream temperature and channel stability explained most of the variability in faunal composition and richness, supporting the model. Stability increased systematically downstream while temperature did not. Surprisingly, no classical kryal zone (T_max < 4 °C) was found, as even the site closest to the glacier snout (50 m) had a T_max of 15 °C and no site had T_max < 8 °C. We propose that this might be a general feature of equatorial glacial streams.     

辽宁老秃顶子北坡植物群落物种多样性及其与土壤特性的相关性分析

通过沿海拔梯度的系统样方调查,利用物种丰富度、α多样性和β多样性等指标,对辽宁老秃顶子北坡植物群落木本层和草本层物种多样性随海拔梯度的变化趋势进行了研究,并对植物群落物种多样性与土壤特性之间的相关关系进行了初步探索。结果表明:木本植物物种多样性随海拔梯度的升高呈波动式降低的趋势;草本植物物种多样性随海拔梯度的变化趋势为先降低后升高;群落类型间的过渡带是植物物种替换速率较高的地区;老秃顶子北坡土壤类型以棕色森林土和暗棕色森林土为主,土壤有机质含量较高;群落物种多样性与土壤特性之间存在着一定的负相关性。     

The microbial gene diversity along an elevation gradient of the Tibetan grassland

Tibet is one of the most threatened regions by climate warming, thus understanding how its microbial communities function may be of high importance for predicting microbial responses to climate changes. Here, we report a study to profile soil microbial structural genes, which infers functional roles of microbial communities, along four sites/elevations of a Tibetan mountainous grassland, aiming to explore the potential microbial responses to climate changes via a strategy of space-for-time substitution. Using a microarray-based metagenomics tool named GeoChip 4.0, we showed that microbial communities were distinct for most but not all of the sites. Substantial variations were apparent in stress, N and C-cycling genes, but they were in line with the functional roles of these genes. Cold shock genes were more abundant at higher elevations. Also, gdh converting ammonium into urea was more abundant at higher elevations, whereas ureC converting urea into ammonium was less abundant, which was consistent with soil ammonium contents. Significant correlations were observed between N-cycling genes (ureC, gdh and amoA) and nitrous oxide flux, suggesting that they contributed to community metabolism. Lastly, we found by Canonical correspondence analysis, Mantel tests and the similarity tests that soil pH, temperature, NH₄⁺–N and vegetation diversity accounted for the majority (81.4%) of microbial community variations, suggesting that these four attributes were major factors affecting soil microbial communities. On the basis of these observations, we predict that climate changes in the Tibetan grasslands are very likely to change soil microbial community functional structure, with particular impacts on microbial N-cycling genes and consequently microbe-mediated soil N dynamics.     

Benthic Diatom Communities in Subalpine Pools in New Zealand: Relationships to Environmental Variables

In spite of their potential use as indicators of both present and past environmental conditions, little is known about the diatom communities in the many small water bodies at high altitudes in New Zealand. We sampled benthic diatoms at 20 sites in a typical subalpine mire pool/tarn complex near Arthur’s Pass in South Island, New Zealand in the austral spring 2001. The aims were to characterise the diatom communities, including identification of a possible endemic component, and to investigate relationships with environmental variables. The community at genus level was consistent with the peat-bog diatom flora reported from elsewhere except for the common occurrence of the Tasmania/New Zealand endemic genus Eunophora. At the species level, 27 of the 52 most common taxa appear to correspond to known species from the Northern Hemisphere and are therefore presumed to be cosmopolitan in their distribution. Just two taxa are known from the Southern Hemisphere only, however identification of the remaining common species proved problematic. Analysis using the BIO-ENV procedure of the PRIMER computer program confirmed an expected strong association between diatom community composition and pH, with water conductivity and gilvin also important. Weighted averaging regression and cross-validation using C² software enabled selection of four diatom species as potentially sensitive indicators of certain pH levels. Neither species of Eunophora showed a strong preference for pH or for any of the other environmental variables measured, indicating that other factors are determining their distributions. The strength of the species–environment relationships found in this small survey suggests good potential for monitoring current conditions and for palaeoecological applications. Extension of the dataset with information from other alpine/subalpine areas is desirable, as is the compilation of a regional diatom identification guide for these habitats.     

Interspecies bacterial interactions in biofilms

Interactions among bacterial populations can have a profound influence on the structure and physiology of microbial communities. Interspecies microbial interactions begin to influence a biofilm during the initial stages of formation, bacterial attachment and surface colonization, and continue to influence the structure and physiology of the biofilm as it develops. Although the majority of research on bacterial interactions has utilized planktonic communities, the characteristics of biofilm growth (cell positions that are relatively stable and local areas of hindered diffusion) suggest that interspecies interactions may be more significant in biofilms.     

Functional diversity and composition of bryophyte water-related traits in Azorean native vegetation

Background: Functional trait-based approaches link species diversity patterns to ecosystem functioning. In the context of global change, understanding these links is vital for developing holistic biodiversity management strategies. Bryophytes, important ecosystem components owing to their biogeochemical functions, have not been the focus of many functional studies.

Aims: This is the first assessment of bryophyte functional diversity in the Azores archipelago, aiming to uncover multivariate trait richness and composition patterns along the elevational gradient on Terceira Island.

Methods: Based on five water acquisition and retention traits of leafy liverworts and mosses, we calculated functional diversity metrics within and among six bryophyte communities sampled along a 1021-m elevational transect.

Results: Trait composition differed significantly between coastal and mountain communities. Mosses presented inrolled leaves and ornamented leaf cells at low elevation but not at high elevation. These patterns were associated with an uphill shift from drier and warmer conditions to a moister and cooler environment.

Conclusions: Future climatic changes might affect bryophyte functional diversity patterns in Terceira Island, particularly for mosses. These results can be directly compared with those obtained for other archipelagos where the same protocol has been applied, allowing a joint assessment of insular vegetation functional diversity patterns.     

长白山北坡3个森林群落主要树种种间联结性

长白山是东亚大陆在我国境内唯一具有高山冻原的山地,分析长白山北坡3个群落乔木种的种间关联性尚未见报道。调查了长白山北坡海拔700—1700m的森林群落,根据调查资料,进行了TWINSPAN分类和种间联结性分析。结果表明:(1)35个样方被分为3个群落类型,即原始阔叶红松林、天然次生林和云冷杉林。34个树种被分为五类,第一类和第二类主要为阴性或中性偏阴性的硬阔叶树种,第三类和第四类主要为阳性或中性偏阳的软阔叶树种,第五类主要为针叶树种。(2)原始阔叶红松林建群种总体关联性呈不显著负相关,天然次生林和云冷杉林呈不显著正相关。(3)原始阔叶红松林、天然次生林和云冷杉林分别有89%、76%、47%的种对间关联程度紧密,植物群落稳定性与种间关系并非趋于正相关。