Article
Ecology
Chuanwu Chen, Chengxiu Zhan, Yanping Wang
Summary: This study examines nestedness and diversity in amphibian communities on islands in China. The results show a significant correlation between island characteristics, species traits, and nestedness. The study also found that less-isolated islands have higher functional and phylogenetic diversity.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stefano Zorzal-Almeida, Elaine C. Rodrigues Bartozek, Denise C. Bicudo
Summary: Eutrophication leads to biotic homogenization in tropical reservoirs, with an increase in total beta diversity, no change in turnover with eutrophication, but a positive relationship between nutrient enrichment and the nestedness component.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Ioanna Ioannidou, Paraskevi Manolaki, Vassilis D. Litskas, Ioannis N. Vogiatzakis
Summary: This study examined the spatiotemporal land use/land cover changes in the Larnaca Salt Lake on the island of Cyprus between 1963 and 2015 and its impact on ecosystem services. The results showed significant reductions in food provisioning service, carbon storage capacity, avifauna support capacity, and landscape aesthetics over the past fifty years. The main reason for these reductions was increased soil surface sealing due to construction activities, leading to the conversion of natural to artificial surfaces.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Limnology
Lauren K. Rodriguez, Sam M. Polus, Danielle I. Matuszak, Marcella R. Domka, Patrick J. Hanly, Qi Wang, Patricia A. Soranno, Kendra S. Cheruvelil
Summary: The LAGOS-US RESERVOIR data module uses a machine learning model to classify lakes in the conterminous U.S. into three categories: Natural Lakes (NLs), Reservoir Class A's (RSVR_A), and Reservoir Class B's (RSVR_Bs). The classification is based on visual interpretation of lake outlines and specific lake shape characteristics. The data can be integrated with other modules and national databases for studying reservoir lakes and NLs at a broad scale.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anne Bartels, Ulrike G. Berninger, Florian Hohenberger, Stephen Wickham, Jana S. Petermann
Summary: The study demonstrates that habitat parameters (lake size, habitat type) have a major influence on the structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in alpine lakes, while elevation itself does not have significant effects on the communities. However, under climate change scenarios, habitat parameters are likely to change and this may impact alpine lake macroinvertebrates.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Maria Marcolina Lima Cardoso, Wanessa Sousa, Jandeson Brasil, Mariana Rodrigues Amaral Costa, Vanessa Becker, Jose Luiz Attayde, Rosemberg F. Menezes
Summary: Extreme weather events are likely to increase in frequency due to climate change, posing a major challenge to communities. This study assessed the effects of a prolonged drought on environmental heterogeneity and plankton diversity in shallow lakes, finding that droughts decrease diversity and increase environmental heterogeneity.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Leidiane Pereira Diniz, Louizi de Souza Magalhaes Braghin, Thays Sharllye Alves Pinheiro, Pedro Augusto Mendes de Castro Melo, Claudia Costa Bonecker, Mauro de Melo Junior
Summary: The study found that despite significant compositional differences in different regions, taxonomic and functional beta-diversity of zooplankton did not differ between the two regions. Taxonomic and functional beta-diversity were mainly driven by environmental factors, indicating the dominance of niche assembly.
Article
Ecology
Jason D. Toft, Megan N. Dethier, Emily R. Howe, Emily Buckner, Jeffery R. Cordell
Summary: Living shorelines are a common restoration technique in human-impacted coastal ecosystems, with this study focusing on their effectiveness within the Salish Sea in Washington State, USA. Results show that certain beach metrics can restore quickly, while others take longer, and certain functions of living shorelines increase over time, providing improved support for food webs. Monitoring the trajectory of restoration efforts is crucial for addressing coastal defense needs in the face of increasing shoreline stressors from global change and sea level rise.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhili Xu, Bin Dong, Zezhu Wei, Zhipeng Lu, Xiao Liu, Haifeng Xu
Summary: This study analyzed the land use change of Chongming Dongtan and evaluated the habitat suitability of wintering cranes in the past 36 years. The results showed that the habitat suitability of wintering cranes in Chongming Dongtan has gradually changed from suitable to unsuitable, and the habitat quality is deteriorating. The study identified 208 potential habitat corridors, with higher density in the eastern part of the study area. The study also proposed methods for identifying important habitat corridors and analyzing habitat network structure to improve habitat network stability.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sophie Gentes, Brice Lohrer, Alexia Legeay, Agnes Feurtet Mazel, Pierre Anschutz, Celine Charbonnier, Emmanuel Tessier, Regine Maury-Brachet
Summary: The four largest freshwater lakes in southwestern France are important both ecologically and economically, but some are contaminated with mercury. Higher mercury levels were found in the northern lakes compared to the southern lakes, particularly in carnivorous fish. Methylmercury biomagnification was observed in the food webs of all four lakes, indicating the potential impact of anthropogenic inputs on mercury methylation in freshwater ecosystems.
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Guodong Liu, Xinzhu Meng, Siyu Liu
Summary: This paper explores the impact of impulsive reaction-diffusion systems on lake ecological dynamics and biological structure. Through rigorous analysis and specific scenario simulations, it is found that impulsive effects have a certain influence on lake ecology.
MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erkan Azizoglu, Ridvan Kara, Emrah Celik
Summary: Wetlands are important habitats for both migrant and resident bird communities. The distribution and habitat preferences of birds in aquatic ecosystems are influenced by environmental and ecological factors. This study examined the effects of year, season, habitat, and species variables on the distribution and population dynamics of waterfowl and shorebirds in a wetland. The findings suggest that seasonal factors play a significant role in habitat composition.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Oceanography
Chhaya Chaudhary, Mark John Costello
Summary: Turnover in species composition can indicate habitat diversity and population fragmentation due to environmental stress. Latitudinal gradients in species diversity help to synthesize local diversity into more general patterns. Recent research has shown that marine species richness does not peak but dips at and peaks on either side of the Equator, indicating a bimodal gradient. However, species turnover does peak at the Equator, suggesting population fragmentation due to thermal stress.
PROGRESS IN OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Cristina Coccia, Bia A. Almeida, Andy J. Green, Ana Belen Gutierrez, Jose Antonio Carbonell
Summary: The study found that the functional diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in restored wetlands was lower in newly created ponds compared to natural reference sites. While the contribution of new ponds to regional functional beta diversity was similar to reference sites, the former contributed more to functional nestedness while the latter contributed more to functional turnover. Dispersal limitation and environmental filtering influenced the functional variation in communities between new ponds and reference sites, with differences in relative importance between beta components.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Adi Barocas, Julio Araujo Flores, Alejandro Alarcon Pardo, David W. Macdonald, Ronald R. Swaisgood
Summary: The study investigated how fish assemblages in freshwater ecosystems respond to disturbances both inside and outside protected areas, suggesting that extractive activities such as artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) may have indirect impacts on fish communities, leading to trophic downgrading. Protected lakes maintained the diversity of fish assemblages, with carnivores dominating, while disturbed lakes showed an increase in detritivores.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Christopher G. Meijer, Helen J. Warburton, Angus R. McIntosh
Summary: The study investigated the trophic interactions of critically endangered kowaro in New Zealand, finding that riparian canopy cover and stream drying intensity can interact to impact kowaro populations, with opposing effects. Local conditions such as riparian canopies play an important role in mitigating the effects of large-scale shifts like drought on aquatic communities.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Kevin M. Fraley, Helen J. Warburton, Phillip G. Jellyman, Dave Kelly, Angus R. McIntosh
Summary: Describing trophic structure within freshwater food webs using stable isotope and biomass structural equation models is a useful approach for understanding how abiotic and biotic habitat factors affect freshwater communities.
Article
Ecology
Nixie C. Boddy, Angus R. McIntosh
Summary: The spatial heterogeneity of abiotic influences like disturbance in riverscapes may influence the stability of fish assemblages, with higher mean fish abundance and more temporal stability observed in confluences with different flood disturbance regimes in branches. Conversely, confluences with similar flood disturbance conditions in the two stream branches tend to have lower fish abundance and higher temporal variability in fish density.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Cate Macinnis-Ng, Angus R. Mcintosh, Joanne M. Monks, Nick Waipara, Richard S. A. White, Souad Boudjelas, Charlie D. Clark, Michael J. Clearwater, Timothy J. Curran, Katharine J. M. Dickinson, Nicola Nelson, George L. W. Perry, Sarah J. Richardson, Margaret C. Stanley, Duane A. Peltzer
Summary: Rapid advances in eradicating invasive species from islands are improving conservation outcomes in biodiversity hotspots, but future climate change may exacerbate ecological impacts and require filling relevant knowledge gaps.(latitude).
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Hamish S. Greig, Peter A. McHugh, Ross M. Thompson, Helen J. Warburton, Angus R. McIntosh
Summary: The study found that habitat size can impact community stability and vulnerability to disturbances, with smaller ecosystems having higher resilience but not enough to offset their lower resistance, leading to greater variability in communities over time.
Article
Fisheries
Kristy Hogsden, Sophie O'Brien, Stacey Bartlett, Helen Warburton, Hayley Devlin, Kathryn Collins, Catherine Febria, Brandon Goeller, Angus McIntosh, Jon Harding
Summary: Riparian plants provide energy for freshwater food webs through leaf litter, and planting mixed species in riparian buffers can enhance the resource supply for invertebrates. Leaf breakdown rates differ among plant species, but invertebrate colonisation is not affected, although some leaves have high abundance of consumers.
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Angus R. McIntosh, Hamish S. Greig, Simon Howard
Summary: Organisms with complex life cycles have populations that occupy different habitats at different stages, creating demographically open populations. The dynamics of these populations depend on the occurrence and timing of stochastic influences relative to density dependence. However, understanding these dynamics has been challenging, especially in the face of climate warming. In this study, a density-perturbation experiment was conducted using stream caddisflies, and it was found that density dependence occurs in the larval stage, offsetting variability associated with dispersal and driven by food resource abundance. The results also highlight the complementary nature of stochastic and deterministic influences on open populations.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Angus R. McIntosh
Summary: Disturbance can affect the occurrence and strength of trophic cascades by limiting predator distribution and reducing the abundance of defended herbivores.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Isabelle C. Barrett, Angus R. McIntosh, Catherine M. Febria, S. Elizabeth Graham, Francis J. Burdon, Justin P. F. Pomeranz, Helen J. Warburton
Summary: This study conducted an analysis of stream macroinvertebrate communities under different stressor gradients using trait-based approaches and found that anthropogenic stressors have stronger effects on community composition compared to natural stressors. The movement of communities along multiple axes in trait space is likely driven by limited adaptation to these novel stressors.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Matthias Vignon, Mingsha Zhou, Angus R. McIntosh, Cristian Correa, Peter A. H. Westley, Lisa Jacquin, Jacques Labonne, Andrew P. Hendry
Summary: The small population paradigm suggests that reduced genetic variation leads to limited phenotypic variation, affecting population resilience and adaptation. However, recent evidence challenges this paradigm, indicating that mechanisms independent of genetic variation may also play a role. In aquatic ecosystems, large-scale empirical examples are scarce.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amy L. Whitehead, John R. Leathwick, Douglas J. Booker, Angus R. McIntosh
Summary: Habitat modification and mammalian predation have different impacts on the range contraction of the threatened New Zealand riverine duck. Mammalian predation is the main driver of the catastrophic declines of this species, while habitat modification also contributes to its decline. The study identifies potential habitat areas for conservation of the riverine duck outside its current range, provided mammalian predator control is implemented.
Review
Ecology
Finnbar Lee, Nixie C. Boddy, Matthew Bloxham, Angus R. McIntosh, George L. W. Perry, Kevin S. Simon
Summary: Amphidromy is a unique life-history strategy of certain fish species where they spawn in fresh or brackish water, and then newly hatched larvae disperse to the sea where they develop for a brief period. They later return to freshwater as juveniles, grow and mature, and then spawn. The six amphidromous species from the Galaxias genus in the Southern Hemisphere are important for recreation, culture, and economy, particularly because their juveniles are harvested. However, the declining population and lack of important demographic information raise concerns about their management.
Article
Ecology
Brittany C. Earl, Angus R. McIntosh, Ryan P. O'Regan, Saskia K. Brown, Helen J. Warburton
Summary: Freshwater ecosystems, especially ponds, are facing increasing threats from invasive species like Australian brown tree frogs. These frogs have spread across New Zealand and breed in shallow fishless ponds, potentially impacting pond community structure and function.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ben R. J. Crichton, Michael J. H. Hickford, Angus McIntosh, David Schiel
Summary: The study found that quantifying the body size-specific habitat use of vulnerable species is crucial for accurately evaluating population health, identifying the effects of anthropogenic stressors, and directing effective habitat restoration. The total biomass of large kokopu was most affected by pool volume and forest cover, while the biomass of small kokopu was influenced by substrate size, bank cover, and pool volume. The study highlights the importance of considering the ontogenetic shift in species' habitat use.
Article
Ecology
Mark R. Herse, Phil O'b Lyver, Andrew M. Gormley, Nigel J. Scott, Angus R. McIntosh, David Fletcher, Jason Tylianakis
Summary: Scientific support can improve conservation and community livelihoods by assisting Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) in customary environmental management. This study developed a demographic model to help Ngai Tahu, a Maori tribe in New Zealand, manage a culturally important population of Black Swans. The model highlighted the importance of monitoring and limiting adult and subadult swan mortality for population and egg harvest sustainability, and suggested that closer monitoring of swan mortality could enhance Ngai Tahu's ability to practice customary harvest.
ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY
(2022)