Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Community Attributes (community + attribute)
Selected AbstractsHydrological connectivity in coastal inland systems: lessons from a Neotropical fish metacommunityECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 1 2010P. H. M. De Macedo-Soares de Macedo-Soares PHM, Petry AC, Farjalla VF, Caramaschi EP. Hydrological connectivity in coastal inland systems: lessons from a Neotropical fish metacommunity. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2010: 19: 7,18. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract,,, We assessed the influence of hydrological connectivity in structuring fish communities through seasonal samplings of environmental variables and fishes in a coastal lagoon and associated pools in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, Brazil. Community structure attributes such as species richness, numerical density and biomass, Shannon,Wiener diversity index and evenness were compared between periods of the lowest and highest hydrological connectivity, while the environmental gradient and fish zonation were explored through ordination techniques. The greater hydrological connectivity established in the rainy season promoted the homogenisation of most environmental variables and fish species, which differed markedly from the arrangement observed in the dry season. Despite variation in fish species composition, community attributes showed non-significant differences between the dry and rainy seasons. The patterns of composition and numerical density in pools were strongly influenced by local factors, especially salinity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorous concentration and water colour in the dry season, in addition to total nitrogen concentration and depth in the rainy season. Comparable to the role played by flood pulses in river-floodplain systems, the hydrological connectivity in these tropical coastal waterbodies seems to strongly influence fish community structure, and, therefore to determine regional biodiversity. [source] Best host-plant attribute for species,area relationship, and effects of shade, conspecific distance and plant phenophase in an arthropod community within the grass Muhlenbergia robustaENTOMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010Víctor LÓPEZ-GÓMEZ Abstract Increased understanding of the species,area relationship (SAR) can improve its usefulness as a tool for prediction of species loss for biodiversity conservation targets. This study was conducted: (i) to determine the best plant attribute for the SAR in the community of arthropods living within the grass Muhlenbergia robusta; (ii) to determine the contribution of phenophases of plant foliage (dry and fresh), shade and conspecific distance to the variation in arthropod richness within the plant; (iii) to determine the best functional model of changes in the abundance, diversity and biomass in communities of arthropods in response to increases in plant size; (iv) to determine the best host-plant attribute for prediction of these community attributes; and (v) to determine the effect of the plant phenophase, shade and M. robusta isolation on the abundance, diversity and biomass of the arthropod community. The above-ground dry weight of grass was found to be the best host-plant attribute for the SAR, while the light environment explained the arthropod richness within the grass, with higher richness observed in shaded environments. This study also showed that the best functional mathematical models for estimation of changes in the abundance, dry weight and diversity of arthropods in response to increases in grass size (dry weight) are the power model, exponential model and logarithmic model, respectively. Furthermore, the host-plant foliage phenophase, shade and the isolation of M. robusta with other conspecifics had no effect on the abundance, biomass or diversity per basal area of the grass. [source] Applied issues with predators and predation: editor's introductionJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2002S. J. Ormerod Summary 1,The effects of predation are among the most pervasive in ecology. As parasitoids, parasites, grazers or top carnivores, predators have large influences on the distribution, density, dynamics and evolved traits of other organisms. Effects scale-up to influence community attributes such as species coexistence and ecosystems processes such as production or trophic cascades. 2,Increasingly, however, some of the largest predation issues fall clearly within the scope of applied ecology. They include instances where, due to their ecological attributes and trophic position: (i) predators are valuable to nature conservation, as biocontrol agents, as natural enemies, or as grazers used in rangeland or ecosystem management; (ii) natural or introduced predators are viewed negatively due to effects on conservation, agriculture, forestry, hunting or disease transmission; (iii) predators are affected by human activities such as resource exploitation, or from exposure to factors such as biomagnified pollutants and disturbance; (iv) predators are controversial because different groups view them as either desirable or undesirable. 3,In all these cases, ecologists have a pivotal rôle in facilitating appropriate management. For valued predators, this involves developing sufficient ecological understanding to optimize habitat, increase prey abundance or to reinforce, establish or reintroduce desirable species. For predators considered undesirable, management can involve direct control. In other cases, predation and its consequences can be mitigated by deterrent, exclusion, supplementary feeding, habitat management to favour prey, predator swamping, or by compensating losses financially. These latter strategies are often used where predators are themselves considered too valuable to remove or control. 4,This collection of seven papers illustrates many of these themes by examining contrasting aspects of the applied ecology of Eurasian lynx; by further probing the interaction between predatory birds and red grouse; by exploring the effects of weather on biocontrol; and by illustrating effects on plant species where grazing or seed predation play a dominant rôle. 5,A key lesson from these and other recent papers in the Journal of Applied Ecology is that the successful management of predators depends invariably on understanding adequately the exact ecological context in which predator,prey interactions take place and in which problems arise. With predator-related issues growing rather than diminishing, ecologists will need sufficient resources to maintain current research if they are to provide the understanding required to offer and evaluate sound management. [source] Stability of ecosystem properties in response to above-ground functional group richness and compositionOIKOS, Issue 1 2000David A. Wardle While there has been a rapidly increasing research effort focused on understanding whether and how composition and richness of species and functional groups may determine ecosystem properties, much remains unknown about how these community attributes affect the dynamic properties of ecosystems. We conducted an experiment in 540 mini-ecosystems in glasshouse conditions, using an experimental design previously shown to be appropriate for testing for functional group richness and composition effects in ecosystems. Artificial communities representing 12 different above-ground community structures were assembled. These included treatments consisting of monoculture and two- and four-species mixtures from a pool of four plant species; each plant species represented a different functional group. Additional treatments included two herbivore species, either singly or in mixture, and with or without top predators. These experimental units were then either subjected to an experimentally imposed disturbance (drought) for 40 d or left undisturbed. Community composition and drought both had important effects on plant productivity and biomass, and on several below-ground chemical and biological properties, including those linked to the functioning of the decomposer subsystem. Many of these compositional effects were due to effects both of plant and of herbivore species. Plant functional group richness also exerted positive effects on plant biomass and productivity, but not on any of the below-ground properties. Above-ground composition also had important effects on the response of below-ground properties to drought and thus influenced ecosystem stability (resistance); effects of composition on drought resistance of above-ground plant response variables and soil chemical properties were weaker and less consistent. Despite the positive effects of plant functional group richness on some ecosystem properties, there was no effect of richness on the resistance of any of the ecosystem properties we considered. Although herbivores had detectable effects on the resistance of some ecosystem properties, there were no effects of the mixed herbivore species treatment on resistance relative to the single species herbivore treatments. Increasing above-ground food chain length from zero to three trophic levels did not have any consistent effect on the stability of ecosystem properties. There was no evidence of either above-ground composition or functional group richness affecting the recovery rate of ecosystem properties from drought and hence ecosystem resilience. Our data collectively point to the role of composition (identity of functional group), but not functional group richness, in determining the stability (resistance to disturbance) of ecosystem properties, and indicates that the nature of the above-ground community can be an important determinant of the consistency of delivery of ecosystem services. [source] Herbaceous vegetation change in variable rangeland environments: The relative contribution of grazing and climatic variabilityAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 2 2001Samuel D. Fuhlendorf Hatch et al. (1990) Abstract. A 44-yr record of herbaceous vegetation change was analysed for three contrasting grazing regimes within a semi-arid savanna to evaluate the relative contribution of confined livestock grazing and climatic variability as agents of vegetation change. Grazing intensity had a significant, directional effect on the relative composition of short- and mid-grass response groups; their composition was significantly correlated with time since the grazing regimes were established. Interannual precipitation was not significantly correlated with response group composition. However, interannual precipitation was significantly correlated with total plant basal area while time since imposition of grazing regimes was not, but both interannual precipitation and time since the grazing regimes were established were significantly correlated with total plant density. Vegetation change was reversible even though the herbaceous community had been maintained in an altered state for ca. 60 yr by intensive livestock grazing. However, ca. 25 yr were required for the mid-grass response group to recover following the elimination of grazing and recovery occurred intermittently. The increase in mid-grass composition was associated with a significant decrease in total plant density and an increase in mean individual plant basal area. Therefore, we failed to reject the hypotheses based on the proportional change in relative response group composition with grazing intensity and the distinct effects of grazing and climatic variability on response group composition, total basal area and plant density. Long-term vegetation change indicates that grazing intensity established the long-term directional change in response group composition, but that episodic climate events defined the short-term rate and trajectory of this change and determines the upper limit on total basal area. The occurrence of both directional and non-directional vegetation responses were largely a function of (1) the unique responses of the various community attributes monitored and (2) the distinct temporal responses of these community attributes to grazing and climatic variation. This interpretation supports previous conclusions that individual ecosystems may exist in equilibrial and non-equilibrial states at various temporal and spatial scales. [source] Freshwater mussel assemblage structure in a regulated river in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Basin, USA,AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 1 2007Wendell R. Haag Abstract 1.This paper documents a diverse, reproducing freshwater mussel community (20 species) in Lower Lake , an impounded, regulated portion of the Little Tallahatchie River below Sardis Dam in Panola Co., Mississippi, USA. 2.Despite being regulated and impounded, the lake has a heterogeneous array of habitats that differ markedly in mussel community attributes. Four distinct habitat types were identified based on current velocity and substrate characteristics, representing a gradient from habitats having lotic characteristics to lentic habitats. All four habitat types supported mussels, but habitats most resembling unimpounded, lotic situations (relatively higher current velocity and coarser substrate) had the highest mussel abundance and species density (10.1 mussels m,2, 1.8 species m,2, respectively). Lentic habitats (no flow, fine substrate) were characterized by lower abundance and species density (2.0 mussels m,2, 0.8 species m,2, respectively), but supported mussel assemblages distinctive from lotic habitats. 3.Evidence of strong recent recruitment was observed for most species in the lake and was observed in all four habitat types. 4.Although impounded and regulated, Lower Lake represents one of the few areas of stable large-stream habitat in the region. The presence of a diverse, healthy mussel community in this highly modified habitat suggests that a large component of the regional mussel fauna is relatively resilient and adaptable and is limited primarily by the absence of stable river reaches. Management actions that increase stream stability are likely to result in expansion of the mussel fauna and restoration of a valuable component of ecosystem function in this region. Published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||