Defining the importance of ecological processes for monitoring aquatic habitats for conservation and rehabilitation objectives at the Ranger uranium mine, Kakadu Region, Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee E. Bartolo ◽  
Andrew J. Harford ◽  
Chris L. Humphrey ◽  
Amy K. George ◽  
Rick A. van Dam
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Simple Measurement ◽  
Risk Of Exposure ◽  
Operational Phase ◽  
And Function

Key ecological processes must be present and maintained in ecosystems to ensure the success of ecological restoration and conservation programs. The present paper identifies and defines key ecological processes operating at various spatial scales within aquatic ecosystems of the Magela Creek catchment, within Kakadu National Park, and prioritises those that may be vulnerable to potential mine-derived stressors. This assessment was required to ensure that current and future environmental monitoring programs are in place to safeguard the protection of these processes, particularly in the context of rehabilitation of Ranger uranium mine. Ecological processes within riparian habitats and biotic interactions across all habitats were at a higher risk of exposure to potential stressors. Generally, the selected assessment endpoints used for the operational phase of the mine are sufficient to measure and assess ecological processes. However, biological endpoints require additional suitable early detection indicators because marked lags exist in their response, which will be more important during the rehabilitation phase of the mine because of the longer timeframes to be assessed. The lags would otherwise allow potential impacts to underpinning processes to pass undetected. Risk identification allows monitoring programs to move beyond simple measurement variables to full evaluation of underlying ecological processes, which maintain both structure and function in ecosystems.

scholarly journals Drifting hydrophones as an ecologically meaningful approach to underwater soundscape measurement in coastal benthic habitats

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee Lillis ◽  
Francesco Caruso ◽  
T. Aran Mooney ◽  
Joel Llopiz ◽  
DelWayne Bohnenstiehl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Benthic Habitat ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
And Function ◽  
Passive Acoustic

The ambient acoustic environment, or soundscape, is of broad interest in the study of marine ecosystems as both a source of rich sensory information to marine organisms and, more broadly, as a driver of the structure and function of marine communities. Increasing our understanding of how soundscapes affect and reflect ecological processes first requires appropriate characterization of the acoustic stimuli, and their patterns in space and time. Here, we present a novel method developed for measuring soundscape variation, using drifting acoustic recorders to quantify acoustic dynamics related to benthic habitat composition. Selected examples of drifter results from sub-tidal oyster-reef habitats in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA, and from coral reef habitats in St. John, US Virgin Islands, highlight the efficacy and utility of this approach in quantifying soundscape variation in diverse habitats. The platform introduces minimal noise into the acoustic recordings, and allows sampling at spatial scales that might typically be overlooked using stationary hydrophone methods. We demonstrate that mobile hydrophone recording methods offer new insight into soundscape variation and provide a complementary approach to conventional passive acoustic monitoring techniques.

scholarly journals Tree Diversity Reduces Fungal Endophyte Richness and Diversity in a Large-Scale Temperate Forest Experiment

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Griffin ◽  
Joshua G. Harrison ◽  
Melissa K. McCormick ◽  
Karin T. Burghardt ◽  
John D. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Tree Diversity ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
And Function

Although decades of research have typically demonstrated a positive correlation between biodiversity of primary producers and associated trophic levels, the ecological drivers of this association are poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that the plant microbiome, or the fungi and bacteria found on and inside plant hosts, may be cryptic yet important drivers of important processes, including primary production and trophic interactions. Here, using high-throughput sequencing, we characterized foliar fungal community diversity, composition, and function from 15 broadleaved tree species (N = 545) in a recently established, large-scale temperate tree diversity experiment using over 17,000 seedlings. Specifically, we tested whether increases in tree richness and phylogenetic diversity would increase fungal endophyte diversity (the “Diversity Begets Diversity” hypothesis), as well as alter community composition (the “Tree Diversity–Endophyte Community” hypothesis) and function (the “Tree Diversity–Endophyte Function” hypothesis) at different spatial scales. We demonstrated that increasing tree richness and phylogenetic diversity decreased fungal species and functional guild richness and diversity, including pathogens, saprotrophs, and parasites, within the first three years of a forest diversity experiment. These patterns were consistent at the neighborhood and tree plot scale. Our results suggest that fungal endophytes, unlike other trophic levels (e.g., herbivores as well as epiphytic bacteria), respond negatively to increasing plant diversity.

scholarly journals Novel approach to enhance coastal habitat and biotope mapping with drone aerial imagery analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
João Gama Monteiro ◽  
Jesús L. Jiménez ◽  
Francesca Gizzi ◽  
Petr Přikryl ◽  
Jonathan S. Lefcheck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Coastal Habitat ◽  
Coastal Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Aerial Platforms ◽  
Rocky Habitats

AbstractUnderstanding the complex factors and mechanisms driving the functioning of coastal ecosystems is vital towards assessing how organisms, ecosystems, and ultimately human populations will cope with the ecological consequences of natural and anthropogenic impacts. Towards this goal, coastal monitoring programs and studies must deliver information on a range of variables and factors, from taxonomic/functional diversity and spatial distribution of habitats, to anthropogenic stress indicators such as land use, fisheries use, and pollution. Effective monitoring programs must therefore integrate observations from different sources and spatial scales to provide a comprehensive view to managers. Here we explore integrating aerial surveys from a low-cost Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) with concurrent underwater surveys to deliver a novel approach to coastal monitoring. We: (i) map depth and substrate of shallow rocky habitats, and; (ii) classify the major biotopes associated with these environmental axes; and (iii) combine data from i and ii to assess the likely distribution of common sessile organismal assemblages over the survey area. Finally, we propose a general workflow that can be adapted to different needs and aerial platforms, which can be used as blueprints for further integration of remote-sensing with in situ surveys to produce spatially-explicit biotope maps.

Environmental–biomechanical reciprocity and the evolution of plant material properties

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl J Niklas ◽  
Frank W Telewski
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Cellular Solids ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Evolutionary Innovation ◽  
Plant Form ◽  
And Function ◽  
Abiotic Environmental Factors

Abstract Abiotic–biotic interactions have shaped organic evolution since life first began. Abiotic factors influence growth, survival, and reproductive success, whereas biotic responses to abiotic factors have changed the physical environment (and indeed created new environments). This reciprocity is well illustrated by land plants who begin and end their existence in the same location while growing in size over the course of years or even millennia, during which environment factors change over many orders of magnitude. A biomechanical, ecological, and evolutionary perspective reveals that plants are (i) composed of materials (cells and tissues) that function as cellular solids (i.e. materials composed of one or more solid and fluid phases); (ii) that have evolved greater rigidity (as a consequence of chemical and structural changes in their solid phases); (iii) allowing for increases in body size and (iv) permitting acclimation to more physiologically and ecologically diverse and challenging habitats; which (v) have profoundly altered biotic as well as abiotic environmental factors (e.g. the creation of soils, carbon sequestration, and water cycles). A critical component of this evolutionary innovation is the extent to which mechanical perturbations have shaped plant form and function and how form and function have shaped ecological dynamics over the course of evolution.

scholarly journals Parallel changes in gut microbiome composition and function in parallel local adaptation and speciation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana J. Rennison ◽  
Seth M. Rudman ◽  
Dolph Schluter
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Ecological Speciation ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Interacting Species ◽  
Microbe Interactions ◽  
Host Microbe Interactions ◽  
And Function ◽  
Host Evolution

AbstractThe processes of local adaptation and ecological speciation are often strongly shaped by biotic interactions such as competition and predation. One of the strongest lines of evidence that biotic interactions drive evolution comes from repeated divergence of lineages in association with repeated changes in the community of interacting species. Yet, relatively little is known about the repeatability of changes in gut microbial communities and their role in adaptation and divergence of host populations in nature. Here we utilize three cases of rapid, parallel adaptation and speciation in freshwater threespine stickleback to test for parallel changes in associated gut microbiomes. We find that features of the gut microbial communities have shifted repeatedly in the same direction in association with parallel divergence and speciation of stickleback hosts. These results suggest that changes to gut microbiomes can occur rapidly and predictably in conjunction with host evolution, and that host-microbe interactions might play an important role in host adaptation and diversification.

scholarly journals Local versus site-level effects of algae on coral microbial communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 210035
Author(s):  
Amy A. Briggs ◽  
Anya L. Brown ◽  
Craig W. Osenberg
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Antagonistic Effects ◽  
Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽  
Macroalgal Cover ◽  
Coral Microbiome ◽  
Turf Algae

Microbes influence ecological processes, including the dynamics and health of macro-organisms and their interactions with other species. In coral reefs, microbes mediate negative effects of algae on corals when corals are in contact with algae. However, it is unknown whether these effects extend to larger spatial scales, such as at sites with high algal densities. We investigated how local algal contact and site-level macroalgal cover influenced coral microbial communities in a field study at two islands in French Polynesia, Mo'orea and Mangareva. At 5 sites at each island, we sampled prokaryotic microbial communities (microbiomes) associated with corals, macroalgae, turf algae and water, with coral samples taken from individuals that were isolated from or in contact with turf or macroalgae. Algal contact and macroalgal cover had antagonistic effects on coral microbiome alpha and beta diversity. Additionally, coral microbiomes shifted and became more similar to macroalgal microbiomes at sites with high macroalgal cover and with algal contact, although the microbial taxa that changed varied by island. Our results indicate that coral microbiomes can be affected by algae outside of the coral's immediate vicinity, and local- and site-level effects of algae can obscure each other's effects when both scales are not considered.

scholarly journals Using Tertiary Sulci to Map the “Cognitive Globe” of Prefrontal Cortex

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Miller ◽  
Mark D'Esposito ◽  
Kevin S. Weiner
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Functional Relationships ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
And Function

Stuss considered the human prefrontal cortex (pFC) as a “cognitive globe” [Stuss, D. T., & Benson, D. F. Neuropsychological studies of the frontal lobes. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 3–28, 1984] on which functions of the frontal lobe could be mapped. Here, we discuss classic and recent findings regarding the evolution, development, function, and cognitive role of shallow indentations or tertiary sulci in pFC, with the goal of using tertiary sulci to map the “cognitive globe” of pFC. First, we discuss lateral pFC (LPFC) tertiary sulci in classical anatomy and modern neuroimaging, as well as their development, with a focus on those within the middle frontal gyrus. Second, we discuss tertiary sulci in comparative neuroanatomy, focusing on primates. Third, we summarize recent findings showing the utility of tertiary sulci for understanding structural–functional relationships with functional network insights in ventromedial pFC and LPFC. Fourth, we revisit and update unresolved theoretical perspectives considered by C. Vogt and O. Vogt (Allgemeinere ergebnisse unserer hirnforschung. Journal für Psychologie und Neurologie, 25, 279–462, 1919) and F. Sanides (Structure and function of the human frontal lobe. Neuropsychologia, 2, 209–219, 1964) that tertiary sulci serve as landmarks for cortical gradients. Together, the consideration of these classic and recent findings indicate that tertiary sulci are situated in a unique position within the complexity of the “cognitive globe” of pFC: They are the smallest and shallowest of sulci in pFC, yet can offer insights that bridge spatial scales (microns to networks), modalities (functional connectivity to behavior), and species. As such, the map of tertiary sulci within each individual participant serves as a coordinate system specific to that individual on which functions may be further mapped. We conclude with new theoretical and methodological questions that, if answered in future research, will likely lead to mechanistic insight regarding the structure and function of human LPFC.

Landscape Heterogeneity and Dynamics

2019 ◽  
pp. 42-126
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. With
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Ecology ◽  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Landscape Structure ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbances ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Disturbance Dynamics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Over Time

Heterogeneity is a defining characteristic of landscapes and therefore central to the study of landscape ecology. Landscape ecology investigates what factors give rise to heterogeneity, how that heterogeneity is maintained or altered by natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and how heterogeneity ultimately influences ecological processes and flows across the landscape. Because heterogeneity is expressed across a wide range of spatial scales, the landscape perspective can be applied to address these sorts of questions at any level of ecological organization, and in aquatic and marine systems as well as terrestrial ones. Disturbances—both natural and anthropogenic—are a ubiquitous feature of any landscape, contributing to its structure and dynamics. Although the focus in landscape ecology is typically on spatial heterogeneity, disturbance dynamics produce changes in landscape structure over time as well as in space. Heterogeneity and disturbance dynamics are thus inextricably linked and are therefore covered together in this chapter.

The role of biotic interactions in invasion ecology: theories and hypotheses.

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-44
Author(s):  
Cang Hui ◽  
◽  
Pietro Landi ◽  
Guillaume Latombe ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Evolutionary Games ◽  
Invasion Ecology ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Ecological Fitting ◽  
And Function

Changes in biotic interactions in the native and invaded range can enable a non-native species to establish and spread in novel environments. Invasive non-native species can in turn generate impacts in recipient systems partly through the changes they impose on biotic interactions; these interactions can lead to altered ecosystem processes in the recipient systems. This chapter reviews models, theories and hypotheses on how invasion performance and impact of introduced species in recipient ecosystems can be conjectured according to biotic interactions between native and non-native species. It starts by exploring the nature of biotic interactions as ensembles of ecological and evolutionary games between individuals of both the same and different groups. This allows us to categorize biotic interactions as direct and indirect (i.e. those involving more than two species) that emerge from both coevolution and ecological fitting during community assembly and invasion. We then introduce conceptual models that can reveal the ecological and evolutionary dynamics between interacting non-native and resident species in ecological networks and communities. Moving from such theoretical grounding, we review 20 hypotheses that have been proposed in invasion ecology to explain the invasion performance of a single non-native species, and seven hypotheses relating to the creation and function of assemblages of non-native species within recipient ecosystems. We argue that, although biotic interactions are ubiquitous and quintessential to the assessment of invasion performance, they are nonetheless difficult to detect and measure due to strength dependency on sampling scales and population densities, as well as the non-equilibrium transient dynamics of ecological communities and networks. We therefore call for coordinated efforts in invasion science and beyond, to devise and review approaches that can rapidly map out the entire web of dynamic interactions in a recipient ecosystem.

Geophysical, evolutionary and ecological processes interact to drive phylogenetic dispersion in angiosperm assemblages along the longest elevational gradient in the world

2019 ◽  
Vol 190 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Qian ◽  
Brody Sandel ◽  
Tao Deng ◽  
Ole R Vetaas
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Phylogenetic Structure ◽  
Phylogenetic Relatedness ◽  
The World ◽  
Net Relatedness Index ◽  
Phylogenetic Dispersion

AbstractEcologists have embraced phylogenetic measures of assemblage structure, in large part for the promise of better mechanistic inferences. However, phylogenetic structure is driven by a wide array of factors from local biotic interactions to biogeographical history, complicating the mechanistic interpretation of a pattern. This may be particularly problematic along elevational gradients, where rapidly changing physical and biological conditions overlap with geological and biogeographical history, potentially producing complex patterns of phylogenetic dispersion (relatedness). We focus on the longest elevational gradient of vegetation in the world (i.e. c. 6000 m in Nepal) to explore patterns of phylogenetic dispersion for angiosperms (flowering plants) along this elevational gradient. We used the net relatedness index to quantify phylogenetic dispersion for each elevational band of 100 m. We found a zig-zag pattern of phylogenetic dispersion along this elevational gradient. With increasing elevation, the phylogenetic relatedness of species decreased for the elevational segment between 0 and c. 2100 m, increased for the elevational segment between 2100 and c. 4200 m, and decreased for the elevational segment above c. 4200 m. We consider this pattern to be a result of the interaction of geophysical (e.g. plate tectonics) and eco-evolutionary processes (e.g. niche conservatism and trait convergence). We speculate on the mechanisms that might have generated this zig-zag pattern of phylogenetic dispersion.

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