Implications of recurrent disturbance for genetic diversity

Exploring interactions between ecological disturbance, species’ abundances and community composition provides critical insights for ecological dynamics. While disturbance is also potentially an important driver of landscape genetic patterns, the mechanisms by which these patterns may arise by selective and neutral processes are not well‐understood. We used simulation to evaluate the relative importance of disturbance regime components, and their interaction with demographic and dispersal processes, on the distribution of genetic diversity across landscapes. We investigated genetic impacts of variation in key components of disturbance regimes and spatial patterns that are likely to respond to climate change and land management, including disturbance size, frequency, and severity. The influence of disturbance was mediated by dispersal distance and, to a limited extent, by birth rate. Nevertheless, all three disturbance regime components strongly influenced spatial and temporal patterns of genetic diversity within subpopulations, and were associated with changes in genetic structure. Furthermore, disturbance‐induced changes in temporal population dynamics and the spatial distribution of populations across the landscape resulted in disrupted isolation by distance patterns among populations. Our results show that forecast changes in disturbance regimes have the potential to cause major changes to the distribution of genetic diversity within and among populations. We highlight likely scenarios under which future changes to disturbance size, severity, or frequency will have the strongest impacts on population genetic patterns. In addition, our results have implications for the inference of biological processes from genetic data, because the effects of dispersal on genetic patterns were strongly mediated by disturbance regimes.     

Synchronous biological feedbacks in parrotfishes associated with pantropical coral bleaching

Biological feedbacks generated through patterns of disturbance are vital for sustaining ecosystem states. Recent ocean warming and thermal anomalies have caused pantropical episodes of coral bleaching, which has led to widespread coral mortality and a range of subsequent effects on coral reef communities. Although the response of many reef‐associated fishes to major disturbance events on coral reefs is negative (e.g., reduced abundance and condition), parrotfishes show strong feedbacks after disturbance to living reef structure manifesting as increases in abundance. However, the mechanisms underlying this response are poorly understood. Using biochronological reconstructions of annual otolith (ear stone) growth from two ocean basins, we tested whether parrotfish growth was enhanced following bleaching‐related coral mortality, thus providing an organismal mechanism for demographic changes in populations. Both major feeding guilds of parrotfishes (scrapers and excavators) exhibited enhanced growth of individuals after bleaching that was decoupled from expected thermal performance, a pattern that was not evident in other reef fish taxa from the same environment. These results provide evidence for a more nuanced ecological feedback system—one where disturbance plays a key role in mediating parrotfish–benthos interactions. By influencing the biology of assemblages, disturbance can thereby stimulate change in parrotfish grazing intensity and ultimately reef geomorphology over time. This feedback cycle operated historically at within‐reef scales; however, our results demonstrate that the scale, magnitude, and severity of recent thermal events are entraining the biological responses of disparate communities to respond in synchrony. This may fundamentally alter feedbacks in the relationships between parrotfishes and reef systems.     

Genotypic diversity of a dominant C4 grass across a long-term fire frequency gradient

Aims and Methods Diversity-disturbance research has focused on community diversity, but disturbance frequency could impact diversity within species as well, with important consequences for community diversity and ecosystem function. We examined patterns of genetic diversity of a dominant grass species, Andropogon gerardii, in native North American tallgrass prairie sites located in eastern Kansas that have been subjected to a gradient of fire frequency treatments (burned every 1, 2, 4 or 20 years) since the 1970s. In addition, we were able to assess the relationships between genetic diversity of A. gerardii, species diversity and productivity across this range of fire frequencies.Important findings We found no significant relationships between genetic diversity of A. gerardii at the local scale (1 m 2 plot level) and disturbance frequency (burned 2 to 32 times over a 38-year period). However, at the site level (i.e. across all plots sampled within a site, ~100 m 2) there were differences in genotype richness and composition, as well as genomic dissimilarity among individuals of A. gerardii. Genotype richness was greatest for the site burned at an intermediate (4-year) frequency and lowest for the infrequently (20-year) burned site. In addition, genotypes found in the frequently burned sites were more similar from each other than expected by random chance than those found in the infrequently burned sites. Genotype composition of A. gerardii was not significantly different between the frequently burned sites (annual vs. 2 year) but did differ between frequently burned and infrequently burned sites (1 and 2 year vs. 4 and 20 year, etc.). Together, these results suggest site-level ecological sorting of genotypes in intact prairie across a broad gradient of disturbance frequencies, likely driven by alterations in environmental conditions. Frequent fire promotes the abundance of dominant grass species, reduces plant community diversity and impacts ecosystem processes such as productivity. Our study suggests that genetic diversity within dominant grass species also may be affected by disturbance frequency, which could have important implications for how species are able to respond to disturbance.     

Disentangling effects of disturbance severity and frequency: Does bioindication really work?

Ecological disturbances are recognized as a crucial factor influencing the attributes of ecological communities. Depending on the specific adaptation or life cycle, plant species show different responses to disturbances of different magnitudes. Herben et al. (Journal of Vegetation Science, 27, 628–636) proposed six disturbance indicator values (DIVs) that describe the niches of Central‐European plant species along gradients of disturbance frequency and severity. Here, we ask if the DIVs can be used in community ecology for bioindication of disturbance regime?We used a dataset of riparian forests sampled within mountain catchments (the Sudetes, SW Poland). As the regime of disturbance is driven by changes in floods from the spring toward the mouth, we calculated the position of every plot along longitudinal (upstream–downstream) gradient and used it as a proxy for the disturbance severity and frequency. We then calculated the community‐weighted means (CWMs) for each of the six indices for each plot and analyzed whether these indices reflected the position of the plots along the rivers. We expected an increase in the severity indices and a decrease in the frequency indices downstream along the rivers. Moreover, we analyzed relationships between disturbance indices and species optima along longitudinal gradient.Surprisingly, means for all analyzed indices increased along the rivers. Severity indices showed the strongest association with the longitudinal gradient. The disturbance severity index for herbs was the only index that differed significantly among species with different responses along longitudinal gradient. On these results, we identified a strong correlation between the severity and frequency indices as the main problem.We conclude that the DIVs have considerable applicative potential; however, the determination of ecological niches separately for disturbance severity and frequency is difficult because different components interact to shape the realized niche of each species. All analyzed indices encompass different attributes of the disturbance regime including both severity and frequency.     

AM真菌物种多样性:生态功能、影响因素及维持机制

AM真菌物种多样性是土壤生态系统生物多样性的重要组分之一。尽管对AM真菌多样性已有多年研究,但是,已有研究绝大多数仅停留在对AM真菌群落种属解析层面上,对AM真菌物种多样性生态功能及维持机制方面的认识较浅。从生态功能、影响因素及维持机制3个方面系统地综述了近年来AM真菌多样性领域的研究进展。认为AM真菌多样性对植物群落生产力的调控机制及结合理论与实践解析AM真菌多样性维持机制是该领域未来的重点研究方向。     

Species' traits predict the effects of disturbance and productivity on diversity

Disturbance is an important factor influencing diversity patterns. Ecological theory predicts that diversity peaks at intermediate levels of disturbance, but this pattern is not present in a majority of empirical tests and can be influenced by the level of ecosystem productivity. We experimentally tested the effects of disturbance on diversity and show that species' autecological traits and community relations predicted species loss. We found that – alone or in concert – increasing disturbance intensity or frequency, or decreasing productivity, reduced diversity. Our species did not exhibit a clear competition-colonization trade-off, and intrinsic growth rate was a more important predictor of response to disturbance and productivity than measures of competitive ability. Furthermore, competitive ability was more important in predicting responses when, in addition to killing individuals, disturbance returned nutrients to the ecosystem. Our results demonstrate that species' traits can help resolve conflicting patterns in the response of diversity to disturbance and productivity.     

Diversity-disturbance relationships: frequency and intensity interact

An influential ecological theory, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), predicts that intermediate levels of disturbance will maximize species diversity. Empirical studies, however, have described a wide variety of diversity-disturbance relationships (DDRs). Using experimental populations of microbes, we show that the form of the DDR depends on an interaction between disturbance frequency and intensity. We find that diversity shows a monotonically increasing, unimodal or flat relationship with disturbance, depending on the values of the disturbance aspects considered. These results confirm recent theoretical predictions, and potentially reconcile the conflicting body of empirical evidence on DDRs.     

Moving from pattern to process: coexistence mechanisms under intermediate disturbance regimes

Coexistence mechanisms that require environmental variation to operate contribute importantly to the maintenance of biodiversity. One famous hypothesis of diversity maintenance under disturbance is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH). The IDH proposes patterns of peaked diversity under intermediate disturbance regimes, based on a tension between competitively superior species and species which can rapidly colonize following disturbance. We review the literature, and describe recent research that suggests that more than one underlying mechanism can generate this unimodal diversity pattern in disturbed environments. Several exciting emerging research areas are identified, including interactions between disturbance types, operation of the IDH in multi‐trophic systems, and changes in disturbance regimes. However, empirical work is still focussed on describing the IDH pattern, with little emphasis on identifying its mechanistic basis. We discuss how to extend methods for identifying different coexistence mechanisms, developed in the theoretical literature, to experimental research. In an attempt to operationalize these various ideas we outline a hypothetical IDH research programme. A solid understanding of the life history attributes of the component species and their responses to disturbance will facilitate identification of the coexistence mechanism(s) underlying the IDH pattern, and provide a framework by which empirical and theoretical results can be more fully integrated.     

Effects of local negative feedbacks on the evolution of species within metacommunities

Local negative feedbacks occur when the occupation of a site by a species decreases the subsequent fitness of related individuals compared to potential competitors. Such negative feedbacks can enhance diversity by changing the spatial structure of the environment. The conditions, however, involve dispersive, environmental and evolutionary processes in complex interactive ways. We introduce a model that accounts for four mechanisms: colonisation‐competition‐extinction ecological dynamics, evolutionary dynamics, local negative feedbacks and environmental averaging. Three qualitatively distinct dynamics are possible, one dominated by specialists, another dominated by generalists and an intermediate situation exhibiting taxon cycles. We discuss how metacommunity diversity, macro‐ecological patterns and environmental patterning are linked to the three qualitative dynamics. The model provides classical shapes for morph‐abundance distributions, or diversity‐area relationships. Diversity can be high when specialists dominate or when taxon cycles happen. Finally, local negative feedbacks often yield fine‐grain environments for taxon cycle dynamics and coarse‐grain environments when generalists dominate.     

Effects of Environmental Heterogeneity and Disturbance on the Native and Non-native Flora of Desert Springs

Vegetation often is used as a decision variable for conservation and resource management. Because time and money are limited, it is useful to identify predictable relationships between measures of vegetation diversity or status, the physical environment, and disturbance; native and non-native plants may have different functional responses. Working towards development of effective, practical strategies for management and ecological restoration in the Spring Mountains, an isolated mountain range in the eastern Mojave Desert (Nevada, USA) that is a focus of regional conservation planning, we examined whether native and non-native assemblages of spring-associated perennial plants have predictable relationships with elevation, springbrook length, and various land uses. We also tested whether elevation, springbrook length, and overall disturbance were associated with the degree of predictability of local species presence and absence. Consistent with work in other systems, species richness and cover of native plants tended to decrease as intensity of disturbance increased, whereas species richness (but not cover) of non-native plants tended to peak with intermediate disturbance. Our results may suggest that invasions of non-native plants at springs in the Spring Mountains are relatively recent, and that rapid restoration and management actions may help protect ecological processes and viability of native plants. Ability to predict the order in which individual species are likely to be extirpated from or colonize springs was limited, perhaps reflecting considerable environmental heterogeneity among springs.     

Integration of the study of natural and anthropogenic disturbances using severity gradients

Disturbance is an integral part of every ecosystem, but humans are altering disturbance regimes in fundamental ways that can alter outcomes for ecosystem structure and function. Fortunately, advances in understanding ecosystem responses to natural disturbances can address the ecological consequences of the novel suite of disturbances now created by humans. Complex interactions among both natural and anthropogenic disturbances at many overlapping spatial and temporal scales can be examined across severity gradients. The gradient approach applies ecological tools to differential conditions of stability and fertility, degrees of biological legacy and rates of successional recovery and can help address modern concerns about socio‐economic consequences of disturbance and the sustainability of ecosystem services.     

Heterogeneous flows foster heterogeneous assemblages: relationships between functional diversity and hydrological heterogeneity in riparian plant communities

相似文献   

Unifying the relationships of species richness to productivity and disturbance

Although species richness has been hypothesized to be highest at 'intermediate' levels of disturbance, empirical studies have demonstrated that the disturbance-diversity relationship can be either negative or positive depending on productivity On the other hand, hypothesized productivity diversity relationships can be positive, negative or unimodal, as confirmed by empirical studies. However, it has remained unclear under what conditions each pattern is realized, and there is little agreement about the mechanisms that generate these diverse patterns. In this study, I present a model that synthesizes these separately developed hypotheses and shows that the interactive effects of disturbance and productivity on the competitive outcome of multispecies dynamics can result in these diverse relationships of species richness to disturbance and productivity The predicted productivity diversity relationship is unimodal but the productivity level that maximizes species richness increases with increasing disturbance. Similarly, the predicted disturbance diversity relationship is unimodal but the peak moves to higher disturbance levels with increasing productivity Further, these patterns are well explained by the opposite effects of productivity and disturbance on competitive outcome that are suggested by the change in community composition along these two environmental gradients: higher productivity favours superior competitors while higher disturbance levels favour inferior competitors.     

Parasites mediate the relationship between host diversity and disturbance frequency

Patterns of community and population diversity are likely to be dependent on interactions between ecological variables. Here we address how two important ecological variables – extrinsic periodic mortality events (disturbances) and the presence of obligate‐killing parasites – interact to affect the diversity of niche‐specialist genotypes in laboratory populations of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. Consistent with previous studies, diversity was maximized at intermediate frequencies of disturbance in the absence of parasitic bacteriophages (phages). By contrast, no relationship was found between diversity and disturbance frequency in the presence of phage. The results can be explained in part by differential effects of phage on bacterial densities, and hence resource competition, under different disturbance regimes.     

森林木质藤本数量过度增长的机制与生态效应

木质藤本是维持森林物种多样性的组成部分。近年来，热带、亚热带森林尤其是次生林内的木质藤本数量的过度增长给森林的恢复和健康发展造成了威胁。至今，国内尚少有研究对森林木质藤本过多的现象、增长机制与生态效应进行综合认识。该文梳理国内外相关文献，从木质藤本数量增长的机制与生态效应进行分析和总结，综合相关研究认为：(1)木质藤本数量的增长与干旱化加剧、大气CO₂浓度上升、自然干扰和森林破碎化有关，在环境变化的情况下，木质藤本在形态、行为、生理等方面比树木更具优势，表现为更快的生长速率、更强的繁殖力和可塑性以及资源利用效率。(2)木质藤本主要通过遮荫胁迫、资源竞争和机械压力与损伤等方式对树木造成影响。(3)木质藤本过度增长在个体水平上会阻碍树木生长、生殖并引起树木死亡，在群落水平上会改变物种组成、降低多样性，在生态系统水平上会降低森林碳储量，改变碳、矿质养分和水分循环过程等。因此，建议结合野外长期监测与控制实验开展木质藤本数量动态与环境变化关系、森林干扰对木质藤本生长的影响、木质藤本对环境变化的响应及适应机理、木质藤本数量过度增长的生态效应评价研究。同时，应积极探索合理的森林...     

Wildfire severity reduces richness and alters composition of soil fungal communities in boreal forests of western Canada

Wildfire is the dominant disturbance in boreal forests and fire activity is increasing in these regions. Soil fungal communities are important for plant growth and nutrient cycling postfire but there is little understanding of how fires impact fungal communities across landscapes, fire severity gradients, and stand types in boreal forests. Understanding relationships between fungal community composition, particularly mycorrhizas, and understory plant composition is therefore important in predicting how future fire regimes may affect vegetation. We used an extreme wildfire event in boreal forests of Canada's Northwest Territories to test drivers of fungal communities and assess relationships with plant communities. We sampled soils from 39 plots 1 year after fire and 8 unburned plots. High‐throughput sequencing (MiSeq, ITS) revealed 2,034 fungal operational taxonomic units. We found soil pH and fire severity (proportion soil organic layer combusted), and interactions between these drivers were important for fungal community structure (composition, richness, diversity, functional groups). Where fire severity was low, samples with low pH had higher total fungal, mycorrhizal, and saprotroph richness compared to where severity was high. Increased fire severity caused declines in richness of total fungi, mycorrhizas, and saprotrophs, and declines in diversity of total fungi and mycorrhizas. The importance of stand age (a surrogate for fire return interval) for fungal composition suggests we could detect long‐term successional patterns even after fire. Mycorrhizal and plant community composition, richness, and diversity were weakly but significantly correlated. These weak relationships and the distribution of fungi across plots suggest that the underlying driver of fungal community structure is pH, which is modified by fire severity. This study shows the importance of edaphic factors in determining fungal community structure at large scales, but suggests these patterns are mediated by interactions between fire and forest stand composition.     

FITNESS TRADE-OFFS MODIFY COMMUNITY COMPOSITION UNDER CONTRASTING DISTURBANCE REGIMES IN PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS MICROCOSMS

Disturbance is thought to be a major factor influencing patterns of biodiversity. In addition, disturbance can modify community composition if there are species specific trade-offs between fitness and disturbance tolerance. Here, we examine the role of disturbance on the evolution of coexisting biofilm-forming morphotypes of Pseudomonas fluorescens maintained in spatially structured laboratory microcosms. We identified four heritably stable ecotypes that varied significantly in their competitiveness under different disturbance treatments. Furthermore, we identified significant trade-offs in competitiveness across disturbance treatments for three of four of these ecotypes. These trade-offs modified dominance relationships between strains and thus altered community composition, with a peak of ecotype diversity occurring at intermediate disturbance frequencies.     

Does disturbance regime change community assembly of angiosperm plant communities in the boreal forest?

Aims To examine if and how species and phylogenetic diversity change in relation to disturbance, we conducted a review of ecological literature by testing the consistency of the relationship between phylogenetic diversity and disturbance and compared taxonomic groups, type of disturbance and ecosystem/habitat context. We provide a case study of the phylogenetic diversity–disturbance relationship in angiosperm plant communities of a boreal forest region, compared with types of natural and anthropogenic disturbances and plant growth forms.Methods Using a large-scale sampling plot network along a complete (0–100%) anthropogenic disturbance gradient in the boreal biome, we compared the changes of angiosperm plant community structure and composition across plots. We estimated natural disturbance with historical records of major fires. We then calculated phylogenetic diversity indexes and determined species richness in order to compare linear and polynomial trends along disturbance gradients. We also compared the changes of community structure for different types of anthropogenic disturbances and examined how the relationships between species and phylogenetic diversity and disturbance regimes vary among three different life forms (i.e. forbs, graminoids and woody plants).Important findings Phylogenetic diversity was inconsistently related to disturbance in previous studies, regardless of taxon, disturbance type or ecosystem context. In the understudied boreal ecosystem, angiosperm plant communities varied greatly in species richness and phylogenetic diversity along anthropogenic disturbance gradients and among different disturbance types. In general, a quadratic curve described the relationship between species richness and anthropogenic disturbance, with the highest richness at intermediate anthropogenic disturbance levels. However, phylogenetic diversity was not related to disturbance in any consistent manner and species richness was not correlated with phylogenetic diversity. Phylogenetic relatedness was also inconsistent across plant growth forms and different anthropogenic disturbance types. Unlike the inconsistent patterns observed for anthropogenic disturbance, community assembly among localities varying in time since natural disturbance exhibited a distinct signature of phylogenetic relatedness, although those trends varied among plant growth forms.     

Methods matter: Different biodiversity survey methodologies identify contrasting biodiversity patterns in a human modified rainforest — A case study with amphibians

Understanding how well tropical forest biodiversity can recover following habitat change is often difficult due to conflicting assessments arising from different studies. One often overlooked potentially confounding factor that may influence assessments of biodiversity response to habitat change, is the possibility that different survey methodologies, targeting the same indicator taxon, may identify different patterns and so lead to different conclusions. Here we investigated whether two different but commonly used survey methodologies used to assess amphibian communities, pitfall trapping and nocturnal transects, indicate the same or different responses of amphibian biodiversity to historic human induced habitat change. We did so in a regenerating rainforest study site located in one of the world’s most biodiverse and important conservation areas: the Manu Biosphere Reserve. We show that the two survey methodologies tested identified contrasting biodiversity patterns in a human modified rainforest. Nocturnal transect surveys indicated biodiversity differences between forest with different human disturbance histories, whereas pitfall trap surveys suggested no differences between forest disturbance types, except for community composition. This pattern was true for species richness, diversity, overall abundance and community evenness and structure. For some fine scale metrics, such as species specific responses and abundances of family groups, both methods detected differences between disturbance types. However, the direction of differences was inconsistent between methods. We highlight that for assessments of rainforest recovery following disturbance, survey methods do matter and that different biodiversity survey methods can identify contrasting patterns in response to different types of historic disturbance. Our results contribute to a growing body of evidence that arboreal species might be more sensitive indicators than terrestrial communities.     

The effect of colonization and competition processes on the relation between disturbance and diversity in plant communities

Many theoretical and field studies have emphasized the impact of disturbance in the dynamics and diversity of sessile organism communities. This view is best reflected by the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH), which states that a maximum of diversity is found in ecosystems or communities experiencing intermediate disturbance regimes or at an intermediate stage of development since the last major disturbance event. Although theoretical models based on competitive interactions tend to validate this hypothesis, a recent meta-analysis of field experiments revealed that the mono-modal relationship between disturbance and diversity might not be a general pattern. In this article, we investigate the relationship between disturbance and diversity through the study of patch models, combining two types of competitive interactions: with or without competitive hierarchy, with two mechanisms influencing colonization: negative frequency dependence in colonization rates and immigration. These combinations led to various disturbance-diversity patterns. In the model without competitive hierarchy (founder effect model), a decreasing relationship appeared to be the rule as mentioned in previous studies. In the model with competitive hierarchy, the IDH pattern was obtained for low frequency dependence and low immigration. Nevertheless, high negative frequency dependence in colonization rates led to a decreasing relationship between disturbance and diversity. In contrast, high immigration led to an increasing relationship. The coexistence window (the range of disturbance intensity allowing coexistence) was the widest for intermediate immigration rates. For random species assemblages, patterns with multiple peaks were also possible. These results highlight the fact that the mono-modal IDH pattern should not be considered a rule. Competition and colonization mechanisms have a profound impact on the relationship between disturbance and diversity.