A global model of the response of tropical and sub-tropical forest biodiversity to anthropogenic pressures

Habitat loss and degradation, driven largely by agricultural expansion and intensification, present the greatest immediate threat to biodiversity. Tropical forests harbour among the highest levels of terrestrial species diversity and are likely to experience rapid land-use change in the coming decades. Synthetic analyses of observed responses of species are useful for quantifying how land use affects biodiversity and for predicting outcomes under land-use scenarios. Previous applications of this approach have typically focused on individual taxonomic groups, analysing the average response of the whole community to changes in land use. Here, we incorporate quantitative remotely sensed data about habitats in, to our knowledge, the first worldwide synthetic analysis of how individual species in four major taxonomic groups—invertebrates, ‘herptiles’ (reptiles and amphibians), mammals and birds—respond to multiple human pressures in tropical and sub-tropical forests. We show significant independent impacts of land use, human vegetation offtake, forest cover and human population density on both occurrence and abundance of species, highlighting the value of analysing multiple explanatory variables simultaneously. Responses differ among the four groups considered, and—within birds and mammals—between habitat specialists and habitat generalists and between narrow-ranged and wide-ranged species.     

Upward range extension of Andean anurans and chytridiomycosis to extreme elevations in response to tropical deglaciation

High-alpine life forms and ecosystems exist at the limits of habitable environments, and thus, are especially sensitive to environmental change. Here we report a recent increase in the elevational limit of anurans following glacial retreat in the tropical Peruvian Andes. Three species have colonized ponds in recently deglaciated terrain at new record elevations for amphibians worldwide (5244–5400 m). Two of these species were also found to be infected with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ), an emerging fungal pathogen causally associated with global amphibian declines, including the disappearance of several Latin American species. The presence of this pathogen was associated with elevated mortality rates of at least one species. These results represent the first evidence of upward expansion of anurans to newly available habitat brought about by recent deglaciation. Furthermore, the large increase in the upper limit of known Bd infections, previously reported as 4112 m in Ecuador, to 5348 m in this study, also expands the spatial domain of potential Bd pathogenicity to encompass virtually all high elevation anuran habitats in the tropical Andes.     

Ashes to ashes: Intense fires extinguish populations of urban short‐range endemics

Native bushland fragmented by urbanization often experiences increased cover of flammable weeds, reduced biomass turnover and an absence of fuel management combined with increased ignitions. Depending on species’ mobility and dispersal traits, and the extent of burns within urban remnants, such fires may reduce individual survival rates or limit natural recolonization. We monitored the survival of mygalomorph spiders for a year following high‐intensity and low‐intensity fires in Banksia woodland remnants in urban Perth. Of the 257 burrows found, 115 spiders were confirmed to initially survive after intense wildfire, but none were confirmed alive after 12 months. In sharp contrast, only one spider from 103 observed burrows was confirmed dead after a low‐intensity prescribed fire. As there were instances of our monitored mygalomorphs relocating a short distance following only low intensity fires, we also tested whether predation rates were higher in burnt than unburnt areas. Higher rates of predation were found in burnt areas, but this was strongly influenced by both site and predator type. We recommend further consideration of low‐intensity prescribed fire as well as alternative fuel management approaches in urban remnants to better conserve mygalomorph spider populations and other taxa with limited dispersal and/or mobility capabilities.     

Natives and non‐natives plants show different responses to elevation and disturbance on the tropical high Andes of Ecuador

The aim was to assess patterns of plant diversity in response to elevation and disturbance in a tropical mountain. The study area was located in north‐central portion of the Eastern Cordillera of the Ecuadorian Andes, on a road from 1,150 m a.s.l. (Osayacu) to 4,000 (Papallacta). Along a mountain road spanning a wide altitudinal gradient, at 20 elevations we sampled three plots: one at the roadside and two perpendicular to the roadside. The relationship between elevation and species richness was assessed using linear and quadratic regressions, the effect of disturbance on species richness was determined by ANCOVA and a t test with parameters obtained from quadratic equations. Similarity of species composition among the roadside and sites distant was evaluated with the Chao‐Jaccard and classic Jaccard similarity indices, the distribution of non‐native species according to their origin were analyzed with linear and quadratic regression. The native species showed a linearly monotonic decrease with elevation, whereas non‐natives showed a quadratic distribution. Disturbed areas had the greatest number of non‐native species and lower native species richness, showing also a high floristic similarity; less disturbed areas showed the opposite. The non‐native species of temperate origin were more numerous and showed unimodal elevational distribution, while species of tropical origin were few and decreased linearly with elevation. We conclude that in a tropical highland mountain range, native and non‐native plant species respond differently to elevation: native species exhibit a monotonically linear decrease, and non‐native species show a unimodal trend. Disturbance positively affects non‐native species showing higher richness and fewer species turnover. In addition, the non‐native species are located along of the elevational gradient in relation to their biogeographic origin.     

Edge effects: impact of anthropogenic activities on vegetation structure and diversity in western Umfurudzi Park,Zimbabwe

Understanding the patterns and intensity of anthropogenic impacts on habitats is important in the conservation of tropical ecosystems. The aim of the study was to establish the associated edge effects of anthropogenic disturbances on vegetation in western Umfurudzi Park, Zimbabwe. Three study strata were established using distance from the boundary into the park. Vegetation attributes and anthropogenic disturbance levels data were collected in 2012. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were noted on tree and shrub density, woody plant height, woody plant diversity, grass height and grass sward width across the three strata. Land clearing, livestock grazing and firewood collection were the most frequent and pronounced disturbances occurring along the park boundary. These disturbances decreased in intensity as distance from the boundary increased. We recommend the following: (i) the need to revisit the buffer zone concept and policy measures associated with ecosystem services and goods provision for communities surrounding protected areas, (ii) engaging neighbouring communities on sustainable ways of deriving ecosystem goods and services from buffer zones and protected areas and (iii) further studies on the regeneration and recovery of cleared patches along the boundary and their use by wildlife species in the park.     

Entropy and the conceit of biodiversity management

Many conservation biologists and ecologists consider invasive species to be one of the greatest threats to biodiversity because their spread across biogeographical boundaries may endanger unique and localized expressions of biodiversity (whether species or communities). Consequently, they imagine a future, the ‘Homogocene’, in which a small set of species dominates ecosystems around the world, and they promote policies and practices to lessen the spread of these species. Here, we consider some thermodynamic dimensions of the efforts to maintain current biogeographical boundaries. We wish to explore an important conceptual analogy between thermodynamically‐closed systems and isolated biogeographical regions in ecology. The conceptual tools developed in the context of thermodynamic systems can be shown to have relevance in a wide variety of systems contexts. The ‘Maxwell's demon’ thought experiment suggests that entropy is best thought of as information‐relative rather than a ‘law of nature’. Adopting this Maxwellian thermodynamic approach to managing complexity can shed new light on the challenges of biodiversity management. To prevent the dispersion of invasive species, people must invest energy on a scale to counteract global trade and concomitant dispersal of species. We show that removing barriers to species interaction through globalization is akin to allowing a previously isolated thermal system to interact with its environment; in both cases, the system will tend towards mixing or ‘equilibrium’, and fighting this tendency is costly. Unless social and economic integration declines, the energetic input required to lessen the spread of invasive species will continue to grow.     

地面节肢动物营养类群对土地覆被变化和管理扰动的响应

近几十年来,黑河中游荒漠绿洲过渡带大面积天然沙质草地被转变为农田和防风固沙人工林,然而目前尚缺乏土地利用/覆被变化和管理措施对地面节肢动物多样性形成和维持影响的系统研究。以天然沙质草地转变为的人工梭梭灌木林、人工杨树林、人工樟子松林和农田为研究对象,以天然草地为对照,通过对5种样地地面节肢动物群落的调查及非生物环境因子的测定,采用典范对应分析(CCA)等方法,系统探讨了土地覆被和管理强度(天然草地和人工梭梭林实施零管理、杨树和樟子松人工林实施灌溉管理、农田实施灌溉和施肥管理)变化对地面节肢动物营养类群组成、数量和物种丰富度的影响。主要结果是:(1) 在干旱环境下,单纯改变土地覆被并不会导致土壤环境的显著变化,而高强度的管理扰动加速了土壤环境的演变过程。(2)不同土地覆被和管理措施对营养类群组成及其数量和丰富度的调控作用不同,将天然草地转变为杨树和樟子松人工林和农田后,显著提高了捕食性和植食性类群的比例,降低了'腐食性+杂食性’类群的比例;转变为人工梭梭林后显著降低了3种营养类群的数量;转变为人工杨树林后显著降低了'腐食性+杂食性’类群数量;转变为人工樟子松林后显著增加了植食性类群数量而降低了其它类群的数量;转变为农田后显著增加了植食性类群数量而降低了'腐食性+杂食性’类群数量。(3)影响捕食性动物分布的关键环境因子是地面温度、土壤硝态氮和田间持水量,影响植食性动物分布的关键因子是土壤粘粉粒、土壤硝态氮、土壤容重和pH值,影响'腐食性+杂食性’动物分布的关键因子是地面温度和田间持水量。主要结论是:土地覆被变化与管理措施相互作用对地面节肢动物群落组装过程及其多样性形成具有重要调控作用,尽管其相对重要性不同。     

Threats of land use to the global diversity of vascular plants

Aim

Land use is a main driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. However, quantifying its effects on global plant diversity remains a challenge due to the limited availability of data on the distributions of vascular plant species and their responses to land use. Here, we estimated the global extinction threat of land use to vascular plant species based on a novel integration of an ecoregion-level species-area model and the relative endemism richness of the ecoregions.

Location

Global.

Methods

First, we assessed ecoregion-level extinction threats using a countryside species–area relationship model based on responses of local plant richness to land use types and intensities and a high-resolution global land use map. Next, we estimated global species extinction threat by multiplying the relative endemism richness of each ecoregion with the ecoregion-level extinction threats.

Results

Our results indicate that 11% of vascular plant species are threatened with global extinction. We found the largest extinction threats in the Neotropic and Palearctic realms, mainly due to cropland of minimal and high intensity, respectively.

Main Conclusions

Our novel integration of the countryside species–area relationship and the relative endemism richness allows for the identification of hotspots of global extinction threat, as well as the contribution of specific land use types and intensities to this threat. Our findings inform where the development of measures to protect or restore plant diversity globally are most needed.     

Response of ant and terrestrial spider assemblages to pastoral and military land use,and to landscape position,in a tropical savanna woodland in northern Australia

This study aims primarily to assess the response of two invertebrate groups to the effects of pastoralism and military training, at one site in the tropical savanna of north‐eastern Queensland. The richness and species composition of ants and terrestrial spiders were examined at two contrasting times of year across three land use treatments (pastoralism, military training and undisturbed) and four landscape positions (upper slope to riparian). Ant species richness was least in the grazed sites, and a high proportion of the ant species recorded varied significantly in frequency between the grazed and the two ungrazed land uses. This variation was generally greater than that associated with landscape position. Although variation in the richness of spiders was significantly related to land‐use type, this effect was less pronounced than for ants, was less marked than variation associated with landscape position and was confounded by a strong interaction between land use and landscape position. Quadrat‐scale variation in the composition of spider assemblages was influenced most by season of sampling. For both spiders and ants, there were few differences in richness or species composition between undisturbed land and that managed for military use.     

Plant response strategies to stress and disturbance: the case of aquatic plants

The environmental factors controlling the establishment and development of plants in different ecosystems are of two types, stress and disturbance. The effects of stress or disturbance on aquatic systems are discussed in relation to the following questions:Can we predict the state and rate of recolonization after a disturbance? What are the strategies of recolonization developed by plants? How high is the resilience of a disturbed system? Two theories, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, and the patch dynamics concept proposed to predict the composition, structure and dynamics of plants due to physical-chemical factors, were tested on two scales, that of communities and that of species, within two alluvial floodplains (the Rhine and the Rhône systems in France).With regard to the change of community on a larger scale (i.e. the whole network of the cut-off channels in the floodplain), large gradients of connection and disturbance induce high diversities within communities. Moreover, the highest flood disturbance induces a higher species richness and the occurrence of a particular species. The change in species is analysed using biological traits (morphological, reproductive or physiological). In the floodplain of the river Rhône, the response of plants corresponds well to theory, i.e. that habitats with an intermediate disturbance are richer than more or less disturbed habitats. So we can predict, through the biological traits, the functioning of a habitat. The last remaining question is that of the resilience of the system, which can be discussed in terms of species competition and the risk of biological invasion after an opening of habitat.     

欧洲典型树种展叶始期的时空变化及其对气候变化的响应

近年来,全球变暖对植物春季物候期产生了显著影响.很多研究报道了中国地区木本植物春季物候期变化的时空格局,但在同处于北半球温带地区的欧洲则相关研究较少.为了增进物候变化及其对气候变化响应规律的区域对比,本研究利用欧洲地区展叶始期(1980-2014年)数据和相应的气象数据,研究欧洲七叶树、垂枝桦、欧洲山毛榉和夏栎4种典型...     

Niche breadth, competitive strength and range size of tree species: a trade-off based framework to understand species distribution

Understanding the mechanisms causing latitudinal gradients in species richness and species range size is a central issue in ecology, particularly in the current context of global climate change. Different hypotheses have been put forward to explain these patterns, emphasizing climatic variability, energy availability and competition. Here we show, using a comparative analysis controlling for phylogeny on 234 temperate/boreal tree species, that these hypotheses can be included into a single framework in an attempt to explain latitudinal gradients in species range size. We find that species tend to have larger ranges when (i) closer to the poles, (ii) successionally seral, (iii) having small and light seeds, and (iv) having short generations. The patterns can simply be explained by energy constraints associated with different life-history strategies. Overall, these findings shed a new light on our understanding of species distribution and biodiversity patterns, bringing new insights into underlying large-scale evolutionary processes.     

Home range size of willow tits: a response to winter habitat loss

We examined the behavioral response to habitat loss and fragmentation of willow tits (Parus montanus) in winter in a mosaic forest landscape in northern Finland. We studied habitat preference, flock size and home range size of 16 flocks, half of which had their territories in forests fragmented by forestry and half in continuous forest. We predicted that birds would respond to habitat loss by enlarging their home range and/or diminishing group size. In addition, to compensate for fragmentation effects, willow tits might be expected to include more optimal habitat into their territories. Flocks included on average 3.9 birds and occupied territories of 12.6 ha. Willow tits avoided open areas (clear cuts and young sapling stands) and preferred mature forests and older sapling stands or pine bogs equally. Birds responded to habitat loss by enlarging their home ranges but not by reducing the group size. Large territories included a smaller proportion of mature forests, but the proportion of sapling and pine bog habitat did not change. Birds on territories that included a large proportion of open habitat localized their activity on several distinct habitat patches that were distributed over a wide area. We conclude that willow tits adjust territory use to compensate for the inclusion of unsuitable habitat within home ranges, and older sapling areas and pine bogs serve as surrogates for mature forests. However, birds did not enlarge the proportion of forest habitat in their territories with increasing habitat loss. Thus, our data do not suggest a strong effect of fragmentation, but imply that forestry practices reduce suitable wintering habitat and carrying capacity in the area. Thus winter habitat loss may explain the observed population decline of willow tits in Finland during recent decades.