Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lamei Jiang, Guanghui Lv, Yanming Gong, Yan Li, Hengfang Wang, Deyan Wu
Summary: In desert ecosystems, herbaceous plants have the highest beta diversity, followed by shrubs and trees. Changes in beta diversity of herbs and shrubs are more strongly correlated with the environment, while spatial distance plays a larger role in tree composition variation.
Article
Ecology
Nicole A. Stewart, Tiffany A. Schriever
Summary: Understanding the role of environmental filtering and spatial processes in assembling and maintaining rare aquatic communities is crucial for conservation. This study examined the influence of environmental and spatial factors on the diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in wetlands along the coastline of Lake Michigan. The results showed that species diversity and composition varied along the coastline due to environmental gradients, with high species replacement and correlation with local and regional environmental variables. The study emphasized the importance of considering coastline connectivity for maintaining freshwater biodiversity.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jonathan D. D. Bakker, Jodi N. N. Price, Jeremiah A. A. Henning, Evan E. E. Batzer, Timothy J. J. Ohlert, Claire E. E. Wainwright, Peter B. B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Carlos Alberto Arnillas, Lori A. A. Biederman, Elizabeth T. T. Borer, Lars A. A. Brudvig, Yvonne M. M. Buckley, Miguel N. N. Bugalho, Marc W. W. Cadotte, Maria C. C. Caldeira, Jane A. A. Catford, Qingqing Chen, Michael J. J. Crawley, Pedro Daleo, Chris R. R. Dickman, Ian Donohue, Mary Ellyn DuPre, Anne Ebeling, Nico Eisenhauer, Philip A. A. Fay, Daniel S. S. Gruner, Sylvia Haider, Yann Hautier, Anke Jentsch, Kevin Kirkman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Luciola S. Lannes, Andrew S. S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. L. McCulley, Rachel M. M. Mitchell, Joslin L. L. Moore, John W. W. Morgan, Brent Mortensen, Harry Olde Venterink, Pablo L. L. Peri, Sally A. A. Power, Suzanne M. M. Prober, Christiane Roscher, Mahesh Sankaran, Eric W. W. Seabloom, Melinda D. D. Smith, Carly Stevens, Lauren L. L. Sullivan, Michelle Tedder, G. F. (Ciska) Veen, Risto Virtanen, Glenda M. M. Wardle
Summary: Human activities are causing changes in ecological communities globally. Understanding these changes requires considering the composition of these communities, which can be summarized by various metrics influenced by different ecological processes. A global experiment on 60 grasslands demonstrated high compositional variation within sites, with most variation being due to replacement processes. The variation was related to predictors such as environmental heterogeneity and biomass production. Considering multiple metrics simultaneously enhances our understanding of compositional variation at a site.
Article
Plant Sciences
William S. Pearman, Grant A. Duffy, Xiaoyue P. Liu, Neil J. Gemmell, Sergio E. Morales, Ceridwen Fraser
Summary: This study examines the coupled biogeography of the model macroalga Durvillaea and its microbiome using a combination of genotyping by sequencing (host) and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing (microbiome). The results show that the host and microbiome exhibit shared biogeographical structure arising from different processes, with host biogeography showing geographical distance decay and the microbiome showing environmental distance decay. The abundance of microbes is linked to environmental selection, and as microbes become less common, ecological processes shift towards neutral processes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pengfei Gao, Peng Wang, Mingjun Ding, Hua Zhang, Gaoxiang Huang, Minghua Nie, Guangwei Wang
Summary: The composition of bacterial communities in Chinese lakes significantly varies among different climatic regions and lake habitats. Geographical factors play a dominant role in shaping the distribution of water and sediment bacterial communities, while temperature has a stronger association with water bacterial communities in different climatic regions.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Lin Bo, Yongpeng Wang, Wenying Wang, Lei Wang, Fujin Li, Min Zuo, Yanzhen Ma, Degang Zhao
Summary: The study fabricated Cu3-xNixSbSe4 materials with specific process and evaluated the influences of grain size and compositional gradient on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties. Cu2.97Ni0.03SbSe4 showed significantly improved thermoelectric performance compared to Cu3SbSe4, with a maximum zT value of 0.62.
RESULTS IN PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Ming-Qiang Wang, Zhixin Wen, Jinzhao Ke, Douglas Chesters, Yi Li, Jing-Ting Chen, Arong Luo, Xiaoyu Shi, Qing-Song Zhou, Xiao-Juan Liu, Keping Ma, Helge Bruelheide, Andreas Schuldt, Chao-Dong Zhu
Summary: This study investigates the patterns and determinants of species turnover of Lepidoptera herbivores based on comprehensive datasets from the largest tree diversity experiment worldwide. The results highlight the important role of plant community characteristics in driving caterpillar compositional turnover and provide implications for forest management and conservation.
Article
Oceanography
Chuang Tian, Weixin Luan, Dongni You, Min Su, Xiaoming Jin
Summary: This study examines the spatial trends and changes in seafood availability in China using a distance decay model. The results reveal a core periphery circle structure in the distribution of seafood restaurants and a distance decay effect on seafood availability. Coastal proximity and distance decay jointly determine the geographical scope of seafood availability.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Niv DeMalach, Jaime Kigel, Marcelo Sternberg
Summary: The composition of the seed bank differs from the standing vegetation over the years, with small-seeded and dormant-seeded species having higher frequency in the seed bank. There is no significant difference in the year-to-year variability between the seed bank and vegetation, but long-term compositional trends are weaker in the seed bank compared to the vegetation.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Caio Graco-Roza, Sonja Aarnio, Nerea Abrego, Alicia T. R. Acosta, Janne Alahuhta, Jan Altman, Claudia Angiolini, Jukka Aroviita, Fabio Attorre, Lars Baastrup-Spohr, Jose J. Barrera-Alba, Jonathan Belmaker, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Helge Bruelheide, Sabina Burrascano, Marta Carboni, Pedro Cardoso, Jose C. Carvalho, Giuseppe Castaldelli, Morten Christensen, Gilsineia Correa, Iwona Dembicz, Jurgen Dengler, Jiri Dolezal, Patricia Domingos, Tibor Eros, Carlos E. L. Ferreira, Goffredo Filibeck, Sergio R. Floeter, Alan M. Friedlander, Johanna Gammal, Anna Gavioli, Martin M. Gossner, Itai Granot, Riccardo Guarino, Camilla Gustafsson, Brian Hayden, Siwen He, Jacob Heilmann-Clausen, Jani Heino, John T. Hunter, Vera L. M. Huszar, Monika Janisova, Jenny Jyrkankallio-Mikkola, Kimmo K. Kahilainen, Julia Kemppinen, Lukasz Kozub, Carla Kruk, Michel Kulbiki, Anna Kuzemko, Peter Christiaan le Roux, Aleksi Lehikoinen, Domenica Teixeira de Lima, Angel Lopez-Urrutia, Balazs A. Lukacs, Miska Luoto, Stefano Mammola, Marcelo M. Marinho, Luciana S. Menezes, Marco Milardi, Marcela Miranda, Gleyci A. O. Moser, Joerg Mueller, Pekka Niittynen, Alf Norkko, Arkadiusz Nowak, Jean P. Ometto, Otso Ovaskainen, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Felipe S. Pacheco, Virpi Pajunen, Salza Palpurina, Felix Picazo, Juan A. C. Prieto, Ivan F. Rodil, Francesco M. Sabatini, Shira Salingre, Michele De Sanctis, Angel M. Segura, Lucia H. S. da Silva, Zora D. Stevanovic, Grzegorz Swacha, Anette Teittinen, Kimmo T. Tolonen, Ioannis Tsiripidis, Leena Virta, Beixin Wang, Jianjun Wang, Wolfgang Weisser, Yuan Xu, Janne Soininen
Summary: This study provides the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance. The results demonstrate that taxonomic distance decay is stronger than functional distance decay, with the fastest decay rates observed in datasets from mid-latitudes. Overall, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research, while functional distance decay may be a cost-effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kel Cook, Jyotsna Sharma, Andrew D. Taylor, Ian Herriott, D. Lee Taylor
Summary: This study explored the spatial structure and substrate specificity of fungal communities in the canopy of a Costa Rican tropical rainforest. The results showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation and distance decay of similarity of fungal communities at small scales, with high turnover and low similarity among samples. The composition and diversity of fungal communities varied among substrate types.
Article
Plant Sciences
T. Shen, L. Song, R. T. Corlett, A. Guisan, J. Wang, W. -Z. Ma, L. Mouton, A. Vanderpoorten, F. Collart
Summary: Epiphytic bryophyte community composition is primarily driven by environmental filtering, with a secondary role of biotic interactions and minimal contribution of competitive exclusion.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chunyan Qin, Yifei Ge, Jin Gao, Shengli Zhou, Jian Yu, Beixin Wang, Thibault Datry
Summary: Identifying ecological drivers and understanding their effects on metacommunity and beta diversity are crucial for bioassessment and river management. This study explored the impacts of anthropogenic influences on macroinvertebrate communities in the Yangtze River Delta, China, and found that both species sorting and dispersal shaped the communities, with their importance varying with the levels of anthropogenic impacts. Environmental variables and spatial processes should be considered for effective ecosystem management.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Natasha de Manincor, Benjamin Andreu, Bruno Buatois, Hineiti Lou Chao, Nina Hautekeete, Francois Massol, Yves Piquot, Bertrand Schatz, Eric Schmitt, Mathilde Dufay
Summary: Our study compared the floral scents of four generalist plant species along an environmental gradient in six calcareous grasslands, using VOC analysis in both field and greenhouse conditions to explore geographical variation. We found differences in VOC composition among species and populations, with a significant effect of pollinator communities on scent emission, indicating stability in compounds attractive to specific pollinators. Genetic-based geographical variation was observed in some cases, but phenotypic plasticity also played a role, highlighting the importance of studying floral volatiles in natural populations.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Peng-Tao Pei, Lu Liu, Xiao-Li Jing, Xiao-Lu Liu, Lu-Yang Sun, Chen Gao, Xiao-Han Cui, Jing Wang, Zhong-Lian Ma, Shu-Yue Song, Zhi-Hua Sun, Chang-Yun Wang
Summary: The study found that the geographical factors have a stronger influence on the structure of coral microbiota than the host species. As the geographical distance increases, the deterministic process plays a more significant role in shaping the bacterial community composition.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chiara Lelli, Alessandro Chiarucci, Marcello Tomaselli, Michele Di Musciano, Cesare Lasen, Gianni Poloniato, Juri Nascimbene
Summary: Global changes are recognized as one of the main drivers of biodiversity changes over time, especially in mountain ecosystems. Vegetation surveys are a key approach to investigate the effect of climate and land use change on these ecosystems. This study used resurvey of historical vegetation data to assess temporal beta-diversity patterns within and between subalpine and alpine vegetation types in the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. The results revealed a pattern of floristic homogenization in grasslands and snowbeds, indicating a decreasing heterogeneity associated with different components of global change. The highest temporal beta diversity and floristic homogenization were detected in snowbeds.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fabrizio Buldrini, Giovanna Pezzi, Martina Barbero, Alessandro Alessandrini, Lucia Amadei, Sebastiano Andreatta, Nicola Maria Giuseppe Ardenghi, Stefano Armiraglio, Simonetta Bagella, Rossano Bolpagni, Ilaria Bonini, Daniela Bouvet, Lisa Brancaleoni, Giuseppe Brundu, Massimo Buccheri, Gabriella Buffa, Simona Ceschin, Alessandro Chiarucci, Annalena Cogoni, Gianniantonio Domina, Luigi Forte, Riccardo Guarino, Leonardo Gubellini, Laura Guglielmone, Nicole Hofmann, Mauro Iberite, Lorenzo Lastrucci, Fernando Lucchese, Rossella Marcucci, Giacomo Mei, Umberto Mossetti, Juri Nascimbene, Nicodemo Giuseppe Passalacqua, Simonetta Peccenini, Filippo Prosser, Giovanni Repetto, Gabriele Rinaldi, Enrico Romani, Leonardo Rosati, Annalisa Santangelo, Anna Scoppola, Giovanni Spampinato, Adriano Stinca, Maria Tavano, Fulvio Tomsich Caruso, Roberta Vangelisti, Roberto Venanzoni, Marisa Vidali, Thomas Wilhalm, Francesco Zonca, Carla Lambertini
Summary: We analysed the invasion history of two North American macrophytes (Elodea canadensis and E. nuttallii) in Italy, through an accurate census of all available herbarium and field records, dating between 1850 and 2019, and a rich literature collection describing the initial introduction and naturalisation phase that supports the results obtained by the occurrence records. The study found that both species had multiple invasion phases, with Elodea canadensis arriving before 1866 and experiencing two invasion phases, while E. nuttallii arrived in the 1970s and is still ongoing. Botanical gardens and fish farming played a crucial role in the dispersal and naturalisation of both species. The study also highlighted the importance of the River Po as a dispersal barrier and strategic monitoring site to prevent further invasion.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Gabriele Midolo, Tomas Herben, Irena Axmanova, Corrado Marceno, Ricarda Patsch, Helge Bruelheide, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Svetlana Acic, Ariel Bergamini, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Michele De Sanctis, Olga Demina, Jurgen Dengler, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Emmanuel Garbolino, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo, Friedemann Goral, Behlul Guler, Guillermo Hinojos-Mendoza, Florian Jansen, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Aaron Perez-Haase, Remigiusz Pielech, Vadim Prokhorov, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Eszter Ruprecht, Solvita Rusina, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Zvjezdana Stancic, Irina Tatarenko, Milan Chytry
Summary: This article presents a new dataset that identifies optimal positioning of European plant species along gradients of natural and anthropogenic disturbance. The dataset includes disturbance indicator values for 6382 vascular plant species. These indicator values are crucial for integrating disturbance niche optima into large-scale vegetation analyses and macroecological studies.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nicola Alessi, Gianmaria Bonari, Piero Zannini, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Emiliano Agrillo, Fabio Attorre, Roberto Canullo, Laura Casella, Marco Cervellini, Stefano Chelli, Michele Di Musciano, Riccardo Guarino, Stefano Martellos, Marco Massimi, Roberto Venanzoni, Stefan Zerbe, Alessandro Chiarucci
Summary: Assessing the performance of different sampling approaches for documenting community diversity is important for conservation and monitoring planning. This study compared probabilistic and preferential sampling approaches for estimating plant diversity in Italian forests and found that a combination of both approaches is recommended for detecting multiple aspects of plant community diversity.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lubomir Tichy, Irena Axmanova, Juergen Dengler, Riccardo Guarino, Florian Jansen, Gabriele Midolo, Michael P. P. Nobis, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Svetlana Acic, Fabio Attorre, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Helge Bruelheide, Juan Antonio Campos, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Mirjana Cuk, Renata Custerevska, Yakiv Didukh, Daniel Dite, Zuzana Dite, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Eduardo Fernandez-Pascual, Emmanuel Garbolino, Rosario G. G. Gavilan, Jean-Claude Gegout, Ulrich Graf, Behlul Guler, Michal Hajek, Stephan M. M. Hennekens, Ute Jandt, Anni Jaskova, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Philippe Julve, Stephan Kambach, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Gerhard Karrer, Ali Kavgaci, Ilona Knollova, Anna Kuzemko, Filip Kuzmic, Flavia Landucci, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Corrado Marceno, Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund, Pavel Novak, Aaron Perez-Haase, Tomas Peterka, Remigiusz Pielech, Alessandro Pignatti, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Solvita Rusina, Arne Saatkamp, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Milan Chytry
Summary: This study aims to create a harmonized data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values applicable at the European scale by incorporating indicator values from other European regions. The researchers collected and compared data from 13 data sets and provided a new data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values for 8908 European vascular plant species.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Elisa Marchetto, Daniele Da Re, Enrico Tordoni, Manuele Bazzichetto, Piero Zannini, Simone Celebrin, Ludovico Chieffallo, Marco Malavasi, Duccio Rocchini
Summary: Predicting species occurrence probability is influenced by the quality of training dataset and the ratio between presences and absences. Probability models with different sample prevalences cannot be directly compared, but favourability models can reduce uncertainty and improve predictive performance.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Giacomo Puglielli, Enrico Tordoni, Lauri Laanisto, Jesse M. Kalwij, Michael J. Hutchings, Aelys M. Humphreys
Summary: Efforts to understand the relationship between abiotic stress tolerance and range size and filling have yielded contradictory results. This study examines the impact of tolerance to multiple abiotic stressors on range size and filling. The results show that stress tolerance is negatively correlated with range size and is mostly independent of latitude and continent. Range filling, however, is mainly influenced by latitude.
PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Barbara Sladonja, Ivana Tlak Gajger, Mirela Uzelac, Danijela Poljuha, Clara Garau, Nediljko Landeka, Miroslav Bartak, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: Our study provides baseline information on Diptera and Vespidae diversity in the Mediterranean mosaic of agroecosystems and summarizes the impact of human activities on insect diversity. Through trapping near beehives, we conducted an inventory of Diptera in Croatia and identified pests and newly introduced species. The results indicate that species richness of Diptera and pests is influenced by human activities. The number of honeybee colonies negatively correlates with species richness, while anthropogenic influence has a positive effect.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Roberto De Carolis, Lucia Muggia, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: Lichens are a great example of fungal symbiosis, forming long-lived structures called thalli hosting various microorganisms. Among them, microfungi establish diverse trophic relationships with their lichen hosts. Parasitic lichenicolous fungi are the most specialized, and their diversity is still not fully understood as a proxy for lichen species diversity.
Article
Plant Sciences
Giacomo Trotta, Francesco Boscutti, Aurelien Jamoneau, Guillaume Decocq, Alessandro Chiarucci
Summary: Land use change, habitat fragmentation, and biological invasion are major drivers of global change that interact to alter ecosystems. Our study investigated whether invasion credit can be inferred from species-area relationship (SAR) residuals for native and alien plants, and if there is a trend linked to habitat fragmentation.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Piero Zannini, Gianluca Piovesan, Nicola Alessi, Alberto Basset, Carl Beierkuhnlein, Michele Di Musciano, Richard Field, John M. Halley, Samuel Hoffmann, Jacopo Iaria, Athanasios Kallimanis, Gabor L. Lovei, Albert Morera, Antonello Provenzale, Duccio Rocchini, Ole R. Vetaas, Alessandro Chiarucci
Summary: Protecting global biodiversity is crucial, and area-based conservation is essential for preserving ecosystems and species. Our analysis of strictly protected areas in Europe revealed limited coverage, with a bias towards higher elevations. We propose identifying potential areas for expansion with low economic and social costs, and emphasize the need for a coordinated effort and strategic plan to achieve continental-scale conservation.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Manuele Bazzichetto, Jonathan Lenoir, Daniele Da Re, Enrico Tordoni, Duccio Rocchini, Marco Malavasi, Vojtech Bartak, Marta Gaia Sperandii
Summary: The aim of this study was to assess how different sampling strategies affect the accuracy and precision of species response curves estimated by parametric species distribution models. The researchers simulated the occurrence of virtual plant species in Italy, using various sampling strategies, and compared the results to true coefficients. The study found that uniformly sampling the environmental space provided the best results for generalist species, while sampling occurrence data close to roads had the worst performance. For specialist species, all sampling designs showed comparable outcomes.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emanuele Fanfarillo, Claudia Angiolini, Enrico Tordoni, Giovanni Bacaro, Erika Bazzato, Maurizio Castaldini, Maria A. Cucu, Martina Grattacaso, Stefano Loppi, Michela Marignani, Stefano Mocali, Lucia Muggia, Elena Salerni, Simona Maccherini
Summary: Soil microbiota is important for agroecosystem biodiversity and has a significant impact on plant growth and agricultural services. This study found that arable plant communities can serve as a surrogate for bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of Elephant Garlic. The composition of plant communities was correlated with the composition of bacterial and fungal communities, with similar responses to geographic and environmental factors, and biotic interactions playing a role in fungal community composition.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Daniele Da Re, Enrico Tordoni, Jonathan Lenoir, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Sophie O. Vanwambeke, Duccio Rocchini, Manuele Bazzichetto
Summary: Habitat suitability models use occurrence data and environmental variables to infer the geographical distribution of species. Generating pseudo-absences in silico is a common approach due to difficulties in confirming real absences in the field. However, random sampling of pseudo-absences introduces location bias and class overlap. To address this issue, the uniform approach systematically samples pseudo-absences within a portion of the environmental space and effectively reduces sample location bias and class overlap.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Vazrick Nazari, Sofia Belardinelli, Andrea Pieroni, Riccardo Motti, Alessandro Chiarucci, Giovanni Destro Bisol, Giorgio Vacchiano, Eugenio Bortolini, Massimo Mezzavilla, Luigi Garaffa, Dietelmo Pievani
Summary: This study aims to explore the links between biological and cultural diversity in present-day Italy. Through a review of previous research, no significant attempts to quantitatively measure biocultural diversity in Italy were found. Although Italy shows a high number of mutual interactions, there is no clear evidence of common drivers and patterns between biological and cultural diversity.