Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laura E. D'Acunto, Leonard Pearlstine, Stephanie S. Romanach
Summary: The restoration of the Florida Everglades is one of the largest ongoing ecosystem restoration projects in the world, with decision-makers relying on ecological models to predict wildlife response to changes in water management. By using a joint species distribution model, researchers were able to improve the accuracy and applicability of wading bird distribution models in the Everglades, considering the impact of annual hydrologic conditions and landscape characteristics on multiple species simultaneously.
Article
Biology
Travis Gallo, Mason Fidino, Brian Gerber, Adam A. Ahlers, Julia L. Angstmann, Max Amaya, Amy L. Concilio, David Drake, Danielle Gay, Elizabeth W. Lehrer, Maureen H. Murray, Travis J. Ryan, Colleen Cassady St Clair, Carmen M. Salsbury, Heather A. Sander, Theodore Stankowich, Jaque Williamson, J. Amy Belaire, Kelly Simon, Seth B. Magle
Summary: This study investigates the variability of mammal behavior within the 24-hour light-dark cycle and its correlation with environmental factors. The results show that mammal species exhibit diverse diel activity patterns and their behavior is influenced by population density, land cover, greenspace, vegetation cover, and daily temperature. The findings highlight the complexity of temporal activity patterns and suggest that urban mammals may adjust their behavior in response to natural and anthropogenic risks to persist and thrive in human-dominated ecosystems.
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Hyo Won Lee, Donald L. DeAngelis, Simeon Yurek, Stephen Tennenbaum
Summary: This mathematical modeling study examines the impact of foraging strategies on the total energetic intake of wading birds over the course of a day. The results show how the assumptions of prey distribution among patches affect the total intake, and provide insights for understanding the foraging behavior of wading birds and wetland management.
MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Corrado Alessandrini, Davide Scridel, Luigi Boitani, Paolo Pedrini, Mattia Brambilla
Summary: Fine-scale habitat selection modelling allows for a better understanding of habitat selection processes and the effects of climate and habitat changes on biodiversity. Remotely sensed data, especially in high-elevation areas, provides high-resolution environmental variables for constructing fine-scale habitat models. By studying white-winged snowfinches, it was found that temperature interacted with other environmental drivers to influence habitat selection, indicating a trade-off between habitat profitability and thermoregulation. The results confirmed the species' reliance on climate-sensitive microhabitats and the usefulness of satellite-derived fine-scale modelling.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hila Shamon, Zoe Paraskevopoulou, Justin Kitzes, Emily Card, Jessica L. Deichmann, Andy J. Boyce, William J. McShea
Summary: Ecoacoustics is an emerging field that helps infer biodiversity trends and ecosystem health. This study assessed the use of acoustic indices in a Northern Great Plains grassland system, finding that the Bioacoustic Index and Acoustic Complexity Index had the highest correlation with bird richness, with the latter having a surprising negative correlation. The researchers also explored the relationship between indices and landscape gradients to further validate each index.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Brett T. McClintock, Michelle E. Lander
Summary: The identification of important habitats and associated behaviors is crucial for conservation and management decisions. This study presents a statistical method for inferring behavior-specific habitat selection and utilization distributions in continuous time, providing a valuable tool for understanding and managing animal populations.
Article
Ecology
Qingyang Rao, Jianfeng Chen, Qingchuan Chou, Wenjing Ren, Te Cao, Meng Zhang, Huoqing Xiao, Zugen Liu, Jun Chen, Haojie Su, Ping Xie
Summary: Based on a 1-year manipulation experiment, this study constructed trait networks from 20 traits belonging to different organs of Potamogeton maackianus cultured under four different light intensity conditions. The results showed that trait network connectivity decreases in harsh environments, possibly due to increased trait modules responding independently to stress. Network connectivity was found to be positively related to plant relative growth rate (RGR), with hub traits such as specific stem length, leaf: root mass ratios, and leaf total non-structural carbohydrates playing a crucial role in plant adaptation and growth.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tim Jackson-Bue, Ally J. Evans, Peter J. Lawrence, Paul R. Brooks, Sophie L. Ward, Stuart R. Jenkins, Pippa J. Moore, Tasman P. Crowe, Simon P. Neill, Andrew J. Davies
Summary: This study investigated the influence of local physical structure on biotic assemblages at intertidal reef sites in Wales, UK. The results showed that local habitat structure had a significant impact on assemblage composition across regional environmental gradients. Artificial reefs had lower taxonomic richness and different physical structure compared to natural sites. Environmental variables and two metrics of physical structure together explained 40% of the variation in assemblage composition among sites, with the two structural metrics independently explaining 14.5% of the variation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kristen Ruegg, Eric C. Anderson, Marius Somveille, Rachael A. Bay, Mary Whitfield, Eben H. Paxton, Thomas B. Smith
Summary: Global loss of biodiversity has increased the urgency of understanding species responses to rapid environmental change, with specialized species facing challenges; using a genome-wide genetic approach, migratory routes of different populations of the willow flycatcher have been successfully mapped, further quantifying the differences in climate tolerances within populations.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rita F. Ramos, Aldina M. A. Franco, James J. Gilroy, Joao P. Silva
Summary: Elevated temperatures can have negative impacts on fitness, but access to microclimate refugia can help buffer individuals against high temperatures. This study used high resolution microclimate modelling and GPS tracking data to identify the use and availability of cooler microclimate refugia by little bustards. The results showed limited availability of cooler microclimate areas and increased use of these sites by the birds in extreme heat conditions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Nicholas L. James, Monica L. Bond, Arpat Ozgul, Derek E. Lee
Summary: Habitat selection is a dynamic process in which ungulates respond to environmental factors at multiple scales. In a study in Tanzania, it was found that browsers and grazers prefer habitat near rivers and with dense cover of preferred forage species, while mixed feeders are more heterogeneous in habitat selection. Seasonal habitat selection was also found to be significant.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Chaim J. J. Lasmar, Tom R. R. Bishop, Catherine L. L. Parr, Antonio C. M. Queiroz, Icaro Wilker, Rodrigo M. M. Feitosa, Fernando A. A. Schmidt, Carla R. R. Ribas
Summary: Animals integrate into the wider ecosystem by foraging and behavior, targeting scarce and atypical nutrients according to the compensation hypothesis. This study investigated the variation in resource use by ants across habitat strata and trophic levels in Neotropical biomes. The results showed consistent patterns of sugar and lipid preferences across biomes and trophic levels, indicating sugar limitation in the arboreal stratum and lipid limitation on the ground. However, there was no consistent pattern for amino acid and sodium preferences. Overall, the study suggests strong local niche partitioning of sugar and lipid use and the influence of large-scale processes on amino acid and sodium dynamics.
Article
Ecology
Shawna J. Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Kathryn M. Langin, Gregory T. Wann, R. Scott Cornman, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
Summary: The warming climate may expose alpine species to novel environmental conditions, potentially challenging their adaptation. Using genomic approaches to study adaptive divergence in the white-tailed ptarmigan may provide insights into how species adapt to harsh environments.
Article
Forestry
Scott H. Harris, Matthew G. Betts
Summary: A study on the impact of tree plantations on native bird biodiversity found that bird abundance changes dynamically during early plantation development, with many species peaking in abundance either very early in development or at canopy closure, then declining by the end of a 30-year period. Broadleaf cover only increased habitat longevity for one bird species (Wilson's warbler), contrary to the hypothesis.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jonathan P. Harris, Loren M. Smith, Scott T. McMurry
Summary: This study proposed a quantitative definition of habitat quality and created a habitat quality index based on spatial projections of habitat selection and survival probabilities. Using statistical models and GIS technology, the researchers calculated habitat selection and survival probabilities to determine the habitat quality index. The study found that at the research site, the habitat quality index was 0.85, indicating that the majority of highly selected habitat had a high probability of contributing to population growth.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)