High mortality and enhanced recovery: modelling the countervailing effects of disturbance on population dynamics

Laura E. McMullen; Patrick De Leenheer; Jonathan D. Tonkin; David A. Lytle

doi:10.1111/ele.12866

High mortality and enhanced recovery: modelling the countervailing effects of disturbance on population dynamics

Ecology Letters ◽

10.1111/ele.12866 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 (12) ◽

pp. 1566-1575 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Laura E. McMullen ◽

Patrick De Leenheer ◽

Jonathan D. Tonkin ◽

David A. Lytle

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

High Mortality ◽

Enhanced Recovery

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of High mortality and enhanced recovery: modelling the countervailing effects of disturbance on population dynamics.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.732394087.793541133 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Donald DeAngelis ◽

Bo Zhang

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

High Mortality ◽

Enhanced Recovery

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Climate, Grazing and Disturbance, and the Population Dynamics of Leucochrysum albicans at Ross, Tasmania

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt9940417 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 417 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

L Gilfedder ◽

JB Kirkpatrick

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

High Mortality ◽

Seedling Establishment ◽

Rare Species ◽

The Future ◽

Axillary Branches ◽

Adult Plants

A population of an endangered daisy, Leucochrysum albicans (syn. Helipterum albicans), was monitored monthly in grazed and ungrazed plots for several years in a paddock near Ross, Tasmania. The population declined dramatically during the extremely dry summer of 1987, and also experienced high mortality in the dry summer of 1988. Adult plants and germinates were more abundant in grazed than in ungrazed plots for most of the period after this decline. The development of axillary branches on adult plants was much more prominent outside than inside the exclosures. Seedling establishment preferentially occurred on ground dominated by herbs, with establishment being low and extremely brief on grass-covered ground. The frequently disturbed margins of the exclosures were the most favourable sites for establishment of new individuals. The future of this unpalatable rare species seems to be dependent upon management that maintains open and, preferably, disturbed ground.

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Environmental stress and parasitism as drivers of population dynamics of Mesodesma donacium at its northern biogeographic range

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsr026 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (5) ◽

pp. 823-833 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

José M. Riascos ◽

Olaf Heilmayer ◽

Marcelo E. Oliva ◽

Jürgen Laudien

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

Environmental Stress ◽

Body Mass ◽

High Mortality ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Rank Correlation ◽

Parasite Load ◽

Parasite Prevalence ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Somatic Production

Abstract Riascos, J. M., Heilmayer, O., Oliva, M. E., and Laudien, J. 2011. Environmental stress and parasitism as drivers of population dynamics of Mesodesma donacium at its northern biogeographic range. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 823–833. Mesodesma donacium is a commercially important bivalve in Chile and Peru. During strong El Niño events, populations at the northern end of its geographic distribution are wiped out, so to understand its threshold responses to biotic and abiotic factors, the population dynamics of one of the northernmost population remnants was analysed between 2005 and 2007. Strong interannual differences were found in abundance, body mass, growth rate, somatic production, and the prevalence of the parasite Polydora bioccipitalis. A Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that changes in beach slope, seemingly linked to repeated storm surges, negatively affected the clam's abundance and seemingly also affected growth, mortality, body mass somatic production, and parasite prevalence. Infestation by P. bioccipitalis was restricted to adult clams. Juvenile clams suffered high mortality because they inhabit the intertidal zone, where wave action is strong. Larger clams also showed high mortality, which seemed best explained by a synergistic effect of parasite load and environmental stress. This parasite-climate-driven mortality of larger clams had a strong impact on somatic production and implied a dramatic loss of fecundity (82%), which may significantly affect the ability of the species to recover its former abundance and distribution.

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