Resource availability hypothesis of plant antiherbivore defence tested in a South African savanna ecosystem

Nature ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 340 (6230) ◽  
pp. 227-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Bryant ◽  
P. J. Kuropat ◽  
S. M. Cooper ◽  
K. Frisby ◽  
N. Owen-Smith
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
African Savanna ◽  
Resource Availability Hypothesis ◽  
Antiherbivore Defence

scholarly journals Mammalian body size is determined by interactions between climate, urbanization, and ecological traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie M. Hantak ◽  
Bryan S. McLean ◽  
Daijiang Li ◽  
Robert P. Guralnick
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Body Size Variation ◽  
Resource Availability Hypothesis ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Thermal Buffering

AbstractAnthropogenically-driven climate warming is a hypothesized driver of animal body size reductions. Less understood are effects of other human-caused disturbances on body size, such as urbanization. We compiled 140,499 body size records of over 100 North American mammals to test how climate and human population density, a proxy for urbanization, and their interactions with species traits, impact body size. We tested three hypotheses of body size variation across urbanization gradients: urban heat island effects, habitat fragmentation, and resource availability. Our results demonstrate that both urbanization and temperature influence mammalian body size variation, most often leading to larger individuals, thus supporting the resource availability hypothesis. In addition, life history and other ecological factors play a critical role in mediating the effects of climate and urbanization on body size. Larger mammals and species that utilize thermal buffering are more sensitive to warmer temperatures, while flexibility in activity time appears to be advantageous in urbanized areas. This work highlights the value of using digitized, natural history data to track how human disturbance drives morphological variation.

scholarly journals Habitat productivity is a poor predictor of body size in rodents

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bader H Alhajeri ◽  
Lucas M V Porto ◽  
Renan Maestri
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Habitat Productivity ◽  
Resource Availability Hypothesis

Abstract The “resource availability hypothesis” predicts occurrence of larger rodents in more productive habitats. This prediction was tested in a dataset of 1,301 rodent species. We used adult body mass as a measure of body size and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as a measure of habitat productivity. We utilized a cross-species approach to investigate the association between these variables. This was done at both the order level (Rodentia) and at narrower taxonomic scales. We applied phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) to correct for phylogenetic relationships. The relationship between body mas and NDVI was also investigated across rodent assemblages. We controlled for spatial autocorrelation using generalized least squares (GLS) analysis. The cross-species approach found extremely low support for the resource availability hypothesis. This was reflected by a weak positive association between body mass and NDVI at the order level. We find a positive association in only a minority of rodent subtaxa. The best fit GLS model detected no significant association between body mass and NDVI across assemblages. Thus, our results do not support the view that resource availability plays a major role in explaining geographic variation in rodent body size.

scholarly journals Rapid recovery of ecosystem function following extreme drought in a South African savanna grassland

Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Wilcox ◽  
Sally E. Koerner ◽  
David L. Hoover ◽  
Andrea K. Borkenhagen ◽  
Deron E. Burkepile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Extreme Drought ◽  
Rapid Recovery ◽  
African Savanna

scholarly journals Herbaceous Forage and Selection Patterns by Ungulates across Varying Herbivore Assemblages in a South African Savanna

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e82831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Christina Treydte ◽  
Sabine Baumgartner ◽  
Ignas M. A. Heitkönig ◽  
Catharina C. Grant ◽  
Wayne M. Getz
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
African Savanna

Termites of a South African savanna

Oecologia ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ferrar
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
African Savanna
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