Article
Environmental Sciences
Jenny Fong, Peter A. Todd
Summary: The study reveals that interactions between corals and macroalgae vary greatly across sites and seasons, with different coral species showing varying effects on macroalgae. It is important to consider seasonal fluctuations of macroalgae for understanding their overall long-term impacts.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiwei Li, Gregory P. Asner
Summary: Three-dimensional shallow benthic complexity provides valuable information for coral reef conservation and management, as it reflects the physical conditions and biodiversity of shallow coral reef environments. This study mapped global shallow water benthic complexity using satellite images and found that high complexity regions are mainly concentrated in areas with high benthic biodiversity. However, a significant portion of coral reef regions with high benthic complexity remains unprotected. The global coral reef benthic complexity map generated in this study can contribute to improving marine protected areas, reef conservation, and management.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jenny Fong, Peggy P. Y. Tang, Lindsey K. Deignan, Jovena C. L. Seah, Diane McDougald, Scott A. Rice, Peter A. Todd
Summary: The allelopathic effects of four macroalgal species on the health and microbiomes of three coral species were investigated in a field experiment. The crude extracts of the macroalgae caused coral tissue bleaching and reduction in effective quantum yield, but the corals were able to recover within 72 hours, except when exposed to Lobophora challengeriae. While some macroalgal extracts increased the alpha diversity of coral microbiomes, there were no significant differences in the composition and variability of coral microbiomes between controls and macroalgal extracts. Overall, the chemically mediated interactions with macroalgae had limited impact on coral microbiomes and corals showed quick recovery from the effects of macroalgal chemicals.
Article
Biology
Sterling B. Tebbett, Samantha K. Crisp, Richard D. Evans, Christopher J. Fulton, Albert Pessarrodona, Thomas Wernberg, Shaun K. Wilson, David R. Bellwood
Summary: Different definitions of dominance can greatly influence the understanding of ecosystem shifts, as exemplified by coral reefs. Exclusion of crucial algal groups and variations in categorizing other benthic communities can alter perceptions of coral dominance and the detection of ecosystem phase shifts. Therefore, consensus on the application of dominance concepts is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem changes in aquatic and terrestrial settings.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wentao Zhu, Yuxiao Ren, Xiangbo Liu, Duanjie Huang, Jingquan Xia, Ming Zhu, Hongyang Yin, Rouwen Chen, Xiubao Li
Summary: This study examines the impact of the Qiongdong upwelling on the coastal coral reefs of Hainan Island. The results show significant differences in environmental variables between upwelling and non-upwelling areas, with colder and saltier water and lower coral coverage in the upwelling areas. The upwelling areas also face severe threats from coastal development and local anthropogenic activities.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Madhuri R. Paul, Dereje T. Demie, Sabine J. Seidel, Thomas F. Doering
Summary: The study aims to understand the early dominance and its potential effects on later growth stages in cereal legume mixtures. Field trials were conducted in conventional and organic sites, including monocultures and mixtures of spring wheat and faba bean. The results showed that spring wheat dominated the mixtures and early dominance favored later growth stages, leading to higher biomass.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
William S. Fisher
Summary: The goal of coral reef management is to provide habitat for fish populations, and it requires reliable methods to characterize reef features that contribute to fish habitat. By examining data from broad-area reef surveys, correlations were found between fish population measures and physical coral features, particularly coral colony height. Characterizing this relationship will improve fishery management tools and support assessment of the decline in the physical stature of reefs worldwide.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carsten G. B. Grupstra, Lauren I. Howe-Kerr, Jesse A. van der Meulen, Alex J. Veglia, Samantha R. Coy, Adrienne M. S. Correa
Summary: Animal waste is an important part of nutrient cycles and can transmit diverse microorganisms through trophic interactions. The feces of grazers/detritivores were found to cause more frequent and larger lesions on corals compared to the feces of corallivores, indicating the harmful microbial activity in grazer/detritivore feces. Analysis of bacterial diversity in feces from different fish species revealed potential differences in coral-associated bacteria and coral pathogens, suggesting the role of consumers in coral symbiont dispersal. These findings have significant implications for environmental management.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jacey C. Van Wert, Leila Ezzat, Katrina S. Munsterman, Kaitlyn Landfield, Nina M. D. Schiettekatte, Valeriano Parravicini, Jordan M. Casey, Simon J. Brandl, Deron E. Burkepile, Erika J. Eliason
Summary: Consumers play a crucial role in nutrient cycling through excretion and egestion. While the excretion of fish-derived inorganic nutrients has been studied extensively, the importance of egestion for nutrient cycling has been neglected. This study investigated the fecal nutrient content of different fish species on a coral reef and found that different species exhibit unique fecal nutrient concentrations.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Mark Hamilton, James P. W. Robinson, Cassandra E. Benkwitt, Shaun K. Wilson, M. Aaron MacNeil, Ameer Ebrahim, Nicholas A. J. Graham
Summary: Changes in fish assemblages after coral bleaching and mortality can affect fisheries, particularly fish productivity and turnover. In Seychelles, fish productivity increased on reefs recovering to coral-dominated habitats, especially in fished areas, while it remained stable on reefs that shifted to macroalgae-dominated regimes. The benthic recovery trajectory strongly influenced post-bleaching fish productivity, emphasizing the importance of herbivore and invertivore species in sustaining small-scale inshore fisheries following climate disturbances.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Juan Shi, Chunhou Li, Teng Wang, Jinfa Zhao, Yong Liu, Yayuan Xiao
Summary: Coral reefs, known as tropical rainforests in the ocean, have a rich diversity of fish species. China has 2855 species of coral reef fishes, which can be categorized into nearshore and offshore. The diversity of coral reef fish species has a significant positive correlation with coral species diversity.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lauren T. Toth, Travis A. Courtney, Michael A. Colella, Rob R. Ruzicka
Summary: SCTLD has had an unprecedented impact on the western Atlantic coral-reef ecosystems, causing a decline in reef-accretion potential and altering the composition of coral assemblages. The loss of reef-building corals has significantly decreased carbonate production, leading to a decline in their capacity for growth.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Peter L. Harrison, Dexter W. dela Cruz, Kerry A. Cameron, Patrick C. Cabaitan
Summary: Loss of foundation reef-corals is damaging reef communities globally, leading to a decline in ecosystem function. Active intervention and effective coral restoration techniques are needed to enhance coral recruitment and density. Enhancing larval supply significantly increases settlement on reefs, facilitating rapid re-establishment of breeding coral populations and enhancing fish abundance.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rachel J. Crisp, Lauren J. N. Brent, Gerald G. Carter
Summary: A study on female common vampire bats revealed that their social rank was not influenced by body size, age, reproductive status, or kinship, grooming, and food sharing. Competitive interactions did not affect the social hierarchy among female vampire bats, possibly due to limited direct competition for food in the wild among frequently roosting females.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
A. Nassiri, O. Thebaud, S. J. Holbrook, M. Lauer, A. Rassweiler, R. J. Schmitt, J. Claudet
Summary: This evaluation using the two-stage Rosen's model aims to deduce the implicit prices of coral-reef fish species commonly encountered in the road-side market in Moorea, French Polynesia during 2014-2015. The results show positive cross-species elasticities, indicating complementarity between reef species in bundles which enhances the value of catches. These findings demonstrate the importance of empirical economic analysis in understanding small-scale coral-reef fisheries in the Pacific.
Article
Ecology
Eva Conquet, Arpat Ozgul, Daniel T. Blumstein, Kenneth B. Armitage, Madan K. Oli, Julien G. A. Martin, Tim H. Clutton-Brock, Maria Paniw
Summary: The effects of changes in the strength of vital-rate periodicity on different species were investigated in this study. It was found that these changes had strong effects on population dynamics across all three study species. This suggests that environmentally driven vital-rate periodic patterns may have significant impacts on population dynamics, even for populations that are adapted to inter-annual vital-rate variation.
Article
Zoology
K. Uchida, A. A. Burkle, D. T. Blumstein
Summary: Through studying yellow-bellied marmots, it was found that cameras can distract marmots but do not affect their risk assessment. However, capturing their attention may reduce their ability to be alert to predators, increasing their vulnerability to predation. Regulation of photography may be necessary in high-risk areas and habitats of vulnerable species.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
B. E. Barbee, M. K. R. Lin, I. A. Min, A. M. Takenami, C. S. Philson, D. T. Blumstein
Summary: This study examined the effects of nutrient enrichment on risk assessment in giant clams. The results showed that nutrient-enriched clams increased their hiding time when faced with simulated predators. This provides support for previous research on state-dependent risk assessment and suggests that nutrient-enriched clams are less likely to take risks to forage.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Conner S. Philson, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: The frequency and type of individual's social interactions have important fitness consequences. This study used social network analysis to quantify social group structure and found that female yellow-bellied marmots living in more fragmentable social groups weaned larger litters. This suggests that the individual's position within the group and its social phenotype may be more important for fitness than the group's social phenotype.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Leanne K. van der Weyde, Daniel T. Blumstein, Mike Letnic, Katherine Tuft, Ned Ryan-Schofield, Katherine E. Moseby
Summary: Prey species that are naive to novel predators are at increased risk of predation and potential extinction. Exposure to native predators can improve anti-predator traits in prey, but this advantage may not apply to novel predators with different behaviors. Predator naivety negatively affects reintroduction success, especially when prey encounters predators without evolutionary experience. Exposing prey to native predators first may be an effective way to improve their responses to evolutionarily novel predators.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Elle Overs, Sydney Stump, Isabel Severino, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: Visual cues play an important role in communication among different species as well as within the same species. The species confidence hypothesis suggests that animals are more attracted to their own color and repelled by other colors. A study on dusky damselfish in the marine environment tested this hypothesis and found that individuals tolerated a closer approach when the approaching stimulus was of the same color. This research is relevant to ecotourists' choice of swimsuit and wetsuit colors as it may influence natural antipredator behavior.
Article
Biology
Rebecca M. Prather, Rebecca M. Dalton, Billy Barr, Daniel T. Blumstein, Carol L. Boggs, Alison K. Brody, David W. Inouye, Rebecca E. Irwin, Julien G. A. Martin, Rosemary J. Smith, Dirk H. Van Vuren, Caitlin P. Wells, Howard H. Whiteman, Brian D. Inouye, Nora Underwood
Summary: Climate can influence the timing of life events. Studies from around the world show that climate cues and species' responses can vary. We collected data on phenological events for multiple species in a high-elevation environment over 45 years and found significant variation in how climate affects phenology across taxa. Comparing the phenological responses of different taxa at a single location, we found that important cues often differ among species, which suggests that climate change may disrupt the synchrony of timing among taxa.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Daniel T. Blumstein, Loren D. Hayes, Noa Pinter-Wollman
Summary: Social behavior is crucial in understanding the impact of human-induced environmental changes on animal population resilience. Social structures of animal groups, which often have demographic consequences for group members, can be directly influenced or indirectly modified by environmental drivers through social interactions, group composition, or group size. We have developed a framework to study these demographic consequences and estimating the strength of direct and indirect pathways will provide insights for understanding and potentially managing the effects of human-induced rapid environmental changes.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Dana M. Williams, Samantha Beckert, Julien G. A. Martin, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: Individuals vary in their acceptance of predation risks and social relationships play a role in risk management. However, the specific ways in which different types of social relationships influence individual risk response are not well understood. This study focused on yellow-bellied marmots and found that docile individuals were less socially integrated and that certain measures of their positions in their agonistic social networks were associated with individual docility. These findings suggest that social network measures are part of a docility syndrome in yellow-bellied marmots.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Daniel T. Blumstein, McKenna Sanchez, Conner S. Philson, Louis Bliard
Summary: A study on flight initiation distance (FID) found no clear association with summer survival or winter survival, indicating that FID decisions may not have longer-term fitness consequences.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Friederike Zenth, Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro, Ana Solis, Stephanie Gee, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: Social group structure is not fixed due to demographic processes, and it is important to understand how different demographic social roles and loss of individuals with these roles modify group structure. A study on yellow-bellied marmots found that males played a key role in shaping social networks, with yearling males being a cohesive element and adult males being central players in agonistic networks. The structure of social networks is shaped by both demographic processes and individual social behavior.
Article
Biology
Joanie Van de Walle, Remi Fay, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Fanie Pelletier, Sandra Hamel, Marlene Gamelon, Christophe Barbraud, F. Guillaume Blanchet, Daniel T. Blumstein, Anne Charmantier, Karine Delord, Benjamin Larue, Julien Martin, James A. Mills, Emmanuel Milot, Francine M. Mayer, Jay Rotella, Bernt-Erik Saether, Celine Teplitsky, Martijn van de Pol, Dirk H. Van Vuren, Marcel E. Visser, Caitlin P. Wells, John Yarrall, Stephanie Jenouvrier
Summary: The slow-fast continuum is commonly used to describe variation in life-history strategies across species. However, it remains unclear whether this continuum explains life-history variation among individuals within a population.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Eleanor S. Diamant, Ian MacGregor-Fors, Daniel T. Blumstein, Pamela J. Yeh
Summary: After the COVID-19 pandemic, human activity in cities significantly changed as people worldwide stayed home. This provided an opportunity for researchers to study how urban animals respond to human disturbance, testing fundamental questions on the impact of urban behaviors on animal behavior. However, as human activity returned to cities, the effects of these shifts on wildlife in the short and long term became a concern.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Madison Pfau, Sam Degregori, Gina Johnson, Stavi R. Tennenbaum, Paul H. Barber, Conner S. Philson, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: There is a significant relationship between gut microbiome composition and social behavior in wild social mammals. Microbial diversity is negatively correlated with the number of social interactions an individual engaged in, and the relative abundance of certain microbes is negatively correlated with social network measures that quantify an individual's position in their social group.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Conner S. Philson, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: For social animals, the group social structure has significant consequences on disease and information spread. A long-term study on a wild population of yellow-bellied marmots showed that social structure had little to no relationship with survival, indicating that individual social phenotypes may not scale up to the group social phenotype. Winter survival showed a contrasting direction of selection between the group and previous research on the individual level, where less social individuals in more social groups had greater survival rates. This work provides valuable insights into the evolutionary implications of social phenotypic scales.
