Meta-analysis of standing crop reduction byRhinanthus spp. and its effect on vegetation structure

We performed a quantitative literature review on the effect of the root hemiparasiteRhinanthus on vegetation standing crop. (1) Across all available experimental studies in mixed vegetation and in pots, above-ground biomass of co-occurring species is generally reduced, with on average 40% and 60% of the value in the controls respectively. Total above-ground biomass, as the sum of parasite biomass and biomass of co-occurring species, decreases in most cases. For field experiments this reduction amounts, on average, to 26% of the control value. This implies that there is no compensation by the parasites’ biomass for the loss of biomass of co-occurring species due to parasite infection. This can be attributed to the low resource-use efficiency of hemiparasites. Meta-analysis confirmed these trends. (2) In pot experiments, the negative effect of the parasite on the above-ground biomass of the host increases with the number ofRhinanthus plants. In field experiments, we found no relationship between biomass reduction andRhinanthus density. (3) Total above-ground biomass reduction in field experiments increases with standing crop of the vegetation. However, reduction in above-ground biomass of co-occurring species seems to decrease with standing crop. Functional and species diversity buffer the community against negative effects ofRhinanthus. (4) In field experiments, functional groups are affected differently byRhinanthus spp. Grasses and legumes are mostly strongly reduced by the hemiparasites. Non-leguminous dicots mostly benefit from the presence ofRhinanthus. (5) In one out of four weeding experiments,Rhinanthus spp. has a significant (positive) effect on species number. However, the response of plant diversity to invasion of parasitic plants requires further research.     

Recruitment and growth of herb‐layer species with different colonizing capacities in ancient and recent forests

Abstract. Forest herbs differ greatly in their capacity to recolonize secondary forests established on former agricultural land. We investigated whether interspecific differences in recruitment or growth can account for differences in colonization success. Seeds and adults of two species with limited colonization capacities (Anemone nemorosa and Primula elatior) and two species with high colonization capacities (Ranunculus ficaria and Geum urbanum) were introduced in ancient and recent forest sites within the Muizen forest (Belgium). At all sites, half of the plots were also cleared of above‐ground vegetation. Seedling establishment was similar in recent and ancient forest sites. However, both the number and subsequent survival of seedlings of the two hemicryptophytes (G. urbanum and P. elatior) were significantly lower when vegetation cover was present, while seedling number and survival of the two geophytes (A. nemorosa and R. ficaria) were less influenced by vegetation cover. Adult performance of P. elatior and G. urbanum was significantly better in the nutrient enriched recent forest stands and in the absence of vegetation cover. Performance of A. nemorosa and R. ficaria was not affected by any of these factors. We conclude that the extent of seed limitation is probably the main cause for the different colonization capacities of the species investigated.     

Large herbivores as mobile links between isolated nature reserves through adhesive seed dispersal

Question: Do large herbivores contribute to the dispersal of plant seeds between isolated habitats by epizoochory? Location: Nature reserves in Flanders, Belgium. Methods: Epizoochory was studied by brushing plant seeds from the fur of 201 domesticated large herbivores (Galloway cattle, donkeys and horses), grazing in 27 Flemish nature reserves. Several herbivores were examined after transport between different nature reserves as part of the seasonal grazing system in Flanders, allowing detection of seed dispersal both within and between reserves. The seedling emergence method was used to identify the dispersed plant species. Results: In total, 6385 epizoochorous seeds from 75 species germinated, yet the real seed quantity was underestimated by the seedling emergence method. A wide variety of seed morphology, seed weights and plant heights was represented among the dispersed species, many of which had a transient seed bank. There was a gradual turnover in epizoochorous species composition in the course of the vegetation season, and seed dispersal occurred both within and between different nature reserves. Conclusions: Domesticated large herbivores, as models for wild mammals in the present and the past, are important dispersers of many plant species. Through seasonal grazing, the herbivores function as ‘mobile link organisms’, connecting isolated nature reserves through seed dispersal, possibly influencing vegetation development and long‐term survival of plant populations. As such, large herbivores are important instruments in ecological restoration, especially in fragmented ecosystems.     

Plant species loss in an urban area (Turnhout, Belgium) from 1880 to 1999 and its environmental determinants

Information from four archival literature sources from the late 19^th century was matched to present-day plant species distribution data for the region of Turnhout (Belgium) and for 15 smaller sub-regions within this region. In the entire study area 25% of the species recorded in the late 19^th century went extinct during the 20^th century and the extinction rate doubled at the more detailed sub-region level. Binary survival-extinction data and continuous residuals from a linear regression between historical and present-day abundance categories were used to investigate underlying ecological factors of change including habitat preference, ecological amplitude and life strategy. Species increasing relative to the overall trend were generally correlated with nutrient-rich habitats while declining species were more associated with nutrient-poor situations. Generalist species have become relatively more common whilst habitat specialists have strongly declined, resulting in a flora with many ‘losers’ and a few tolerant ‘winners’. The winners are often competitive species while the losers are mainly stress-tolerating species and species with combined life strategies (e.g. SC, SR). Correlations between the decline of historically present habitats and extinction rates of related habitat specialist species show clear trends. We suggest the most important factors involved in changes in flora diversity and vegetation composition are habitat loss due to urbanization and habitat deterioration, mainly due to agricultural intensification.     

Ecological perspectives for the restoration of plant communities in European temperate forests

Simultaneously with increasing afforestation efforts in western Europe, among conservationists the consciousness is growing that protecting areas to conserve biodiversity will not be sufficient in the long term, and that also the ecological restoration of more or less severely altered areas will be necessary. The probability that recently established forest stands develop towards their ecological reference (i.e. ancient forest) depends largely on the possibility of the target species to colonize them. We focused on the colonization ability of forest plant species and particularly on so-called ancient forest plant species. Major constraints for ecological forest restoration are the spatial characteristics of the target site (isolation, shape and area), imposing dispersal limitations, and in the duration and intensity of the historical land use, leading to changes in habitat characteristics influencing recruitment probability. We reviewed the ecological literature with respect to these constraints and conclude that it takes at least a century to restore the understorey layer of recent forests, even when the target stand is adjacent to a well-developed ancient forest. Both recruitment and dispersal limitation of the target species are responsible for this. Newly established forests should therefore be situated at a minimal distance of the ancient forest source. In other cases, forest plant species will not be able to colonize the newly established forest on a measurable time scale and artificial introduction of forest plant species can be taken into consideration. The negative effects of habitat characteristics, and mainly high soil nutrient values in the recent forest stand can be mitigated by soil nutrient lowering measures. Disturbances in the recent forest should be minimized to maintain a high canopy closure level, preventing light demanding, high competitive species from establishing a stable population. An additional negative consequence of soil disturbances is that it stimulates germination of species from the soil seed bank, which is mainly composed of highly competitive or ruderal species.     

Individualistic responses of forest herb traits to environmental change

• Intraspecific trait variation (ITV; i.e. variability in mean and/or distribution of plant attribute values within species) can occur in response to multiple drivers. Environmental change and land‐use legacies could directly alter trait values within species but could also affect them indirectly through changes in vegetation cover. Increasing variability in environmental conditions could lead to more ITV, but responses might differ among species. Disentangling these drivers on ITV is necessary to accurately predict plant community responses to global change.
• We planted herb communities into forest soils with and without a recent history of agriculture. Soils were collected across temperate European regions, while the 15 selected herb species had different colonizing abilities and affinities to forest habitat. These mesocosms (384) were exposed to two‐level full‐factorial treatments of warming, nitrogen addition and illumination. We measured plant height and specific leaf area (SLA).
• For the majority of species, mean plant height increased as vegetation cover increased in response to light addition, warming and agricultural legacy. The coefficient of variation (CV) for height was larger in fast‐colonizing species. Mean SLA for vernal species increased with warming, while light addition generally decreased mean SLA for shade‐tolerant species. Interactions between treatments were not important predictors.
• Environmental change treatments influenced ITV, either via increasing vegetation cover or by affecting trait values directly. Species’ ITV was individualistic, i.e. species responded to different single resource and condition manipulations that benefited their growth in the short term. These individual responses could be important for altered community organization after a prolonged period.

     

Extrapair paternity in the blue tit (Parus caeruleus) : female choice, male charateristics, and offspring quality

Extrapair paternity is common in many birds, and it is now generallyaccepted that female choice plays an important role. However,die benefits that females obtain from extrapair paternity aremuch less dear. To test the hypothesis that females obtain indirectfitness benefits, we studied paternity in a blue tit populationover 4 years. Extrapair paternity occurred in 31-47% of allnests and accounted for 11-14% of all offspring. Most malesthat fathered extrapair young did not lose paternity themselves,males never "exchanged" paternity, and within nests the extrapairoffspring were usually fathered by a single male. Comparisonsbetween males that did and did not lose paternity and pairwisecomparisons between the extrapair male(s) and the within-pairmale showed that successful males had longer tarsi and sangon average longer strophes during the dawn chorus. Successfulmales weighed less (relative to their size) during the nettlingstage, but nevertheless they survived better. Male age did notinfluence their likelihood of losing paternity, but extrapairmales were usually older than the within-pair male they cuckolded.Within nests with mixed paternity, extrapair young were morelikely to survive than within-pair young in cases of partialbrood mortality. Our data also suggest that extrapair offspringwere more likely to be males. Because extrapair males were usuallyclose neighbors, male quality should be considered relativeto the quality of the neighbors. Despite this, we found consistencyin female choice over years. Our observations provide supportfor the hypothesis that female blue tits engage in extrapaircopulations to obtain good genes for their offspring.     

Distribution of Genes Encoding the Trypsin-Dependent Lantibiotic Ruminococcin A among Bacteria Isolated from Human Fecal Microbiota

Fourteen bacterial strains capable of producing a trypsin-dependent antimicrobial substance active against Clostridium perfringens were isolated from human fecal samples of various origins (from healthy adults and children, as well as from adults with chronic pouchitis). Identification of these strains showed that they belonged to Ruminococcus gnavus, Clostridium nexile, and Ruminococcus hansenii species or to new operational taxonomic units, all from the Clostridium coccoides phylogenetic group. In hybridization experiments with a probe specific for the structural gene encoding the trypsin-dependent lantibiotic ruminococcin A (RumA) produced by R. gnavus, seven strains gave a positive response. All of them harbored three highly conserved copies of rumA-like genes. The deduced peptide sequence was identical to or showed one amino acid difference from the hypothetical precursor of RumA. Our results indicate that the rumA-like genes have been disseminated among R. gnavus and phylogenetically related strains that can make up a significant part of the human fecal microbiota.     

Global environmental change effects on ecosystems: the importance of land‐use legacies

One of the major challenges in ecology is to predict how multiple global environmental changes will affect future ecosystem patterns (e.g. plant community composition) and processes (e.g. nutrient cycling). Here, we highlight arguments for the necessary inclusion of land‐use legacies in this endeavour. Alterations in resources and conditions engendered by previous land use, together with influences on plant community processes such as dispersal, selection, drift and speciation, have steered communities and ecosystem functions onto trajectories of change. These trajectories may be modulated by contemporary environmental changes such as climate warming and nitrogen deposition. We performed a literature review which suggests that these potential interactions have rarely been investigated. This crucial oversight is potentially due to an assumption that knowledge of the contemporary state allows accurate projection into the future. Lessons from other complex dynamic systems, and the recent recognition of the importance of previous conditions in explaining contemporary and future ecosystem properties, demand the testing of this assumption. Vegetation resurvey databases across gradients of land use and environmental change, complemented by rigorous experiments, offer a means to test for interactions between land‐use legacies and multiple environmental changes. Implementing these tests in the context of a trait‐based framework will allow biologists to synthesize compositional and functional ecosystem responses. This will further our understanding of the importance of land‐use legacies in determining future ecosystem properties, and soundly inform conservation and restoration management actions.