Article
Ecology
Stephanie A. A. Rivest, E. M. Wolkovich, Heather M. M. Kharouba
Summary: The study explored the impact of non-native plants on native butterflies and found that non-native plants can positively interact with native butterflies by providing nectar. The flowering time of plants directly influences butterfly visitation and nectar availability. The study also revealed that non-native plants were well integrated into butterfly diets and were preferred by butterflies over native plants. This suggests that non-native plants can be a valuable resource for native butterflies.
Article
Forestry
Austin M. Yantes, Samuel P. Reed, Anna M. Yang, Rebecca A. Montgomery
Summary: Temperate savannas are unique and biodiverse ecosystems that have experienced extensive habitat conversion worldwide. In the midwestern United States, the majority of historic oak savanna area has been lost, and the remaining patches are degraded due to the absence of fire and large herbivore disturbances. Restoring the degraded savanna remnants is challenging due to a lack of understanding of how to effectively mimic historic disturbance dynamics.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Mark A. Davis
Summary: The restoration of oak savanna habitats in the Upper Midwest involves reintroducing fire to reduce unwanted tree species, preserve larger oaks, and promote the growth of desired oak species. Long-term demographic studies are necessary to assess the impact of frequent fires on achieving restoration goals. Frequent burning can reduce unwanted tree abundance but may also pose a threat to desirable oak species, requiring careful monitoring and management strategies.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tamilis Rocha Silva, Silvia Barbosa Rodrigues, Joao Bernardo de Azevedo Bringel, Alexandre Bonesso Sampaio, Edson Eyji Sano, Daniel Luis Mascia Vieira
Summary: This study investigates the regeneration of native vegetation in the pastures of the Cerrado region and evaluates the factors contributing to this process. The study analyzes pasture plant communities and various attributes across 93 active pastures and 15 abandoned pastures. The results show that pasture management is the main predictor of savanna regeneration on cultivated pastures, while time since abandonment is the main predictor on abandoned pastures.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu Okamura, Ai Sato, Lina Kawaguchi, Atsushi J. Nagano, Masashi Murakami, Heiko Vogel, Juergen Kroymann
Summary: Herbivorous insects have evolved counteradaptations to overcome chemical defences of their host plants. The diversity of host plants shapes the diversity of insect counteradaptations. Different butterfly species show different patterns of host plant use and adaptation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Travis J. Guy, Matthew C. Hutchinson, Katherine C. R. Baldock, Elisha Kayser, Benjamin Baiser, Phillip P. A. Staniczenko, Jacob R. Goheen, Robert M. Pringle, Todd M. Palmer
Summary: Pollination by animals is an important ecosystem service and interactions between plants and pollinators provide a model system for studying ecological networks. However, plant-pollinator networks are often studied in isolation from broader ecosystems. Large herbivores can impact plant-pollinator networks by reducing resource availability through consumption of flowers.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joan C. Hinojosa, Cecilia Montiel-Pantoja, Miguel Sanjurjo-Franch, Isabel Martinez-Perez, Kyung Min Lee, Marko Mutanen, Roger Vila
Summary: It is commonly acknowledged that the relationship between phytophagous insects and their host plants impacts insect diversification. However, research on host-associated genetic differentiation and reproductive isolation mechanisms in insect populations is still limited. This study examined the geranium argus butterfly and found evidence of host-associated genetic differentiation and reproductive isolation, with the extent of isolation correlating with the taxonomic relatedness of the host plants.
Article
Ecology
Kyle J. Haynes, Geoffrey D. Miller, Madaris C. Serrano-Perez, Melissa H. Hey, Lauren K. Emer
Summary: Most research on the effects of artificial light at night focuses on nocturnal species, with few studies on herbivores. This study found that artificial light at night significantly increases feeding frequency of monarch butterfly larvae, but has no significant effects on their host plant's growth or defensive traits.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lauren J. Smith, Jennifer L. Williams
Summary: Changes in precipitation have significant effects on plant productivity, but the impact on herbivore communities remains unclear.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Paul M. Severns, Melinda Guzman-Martinez
Summary: Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, a critically endangered species in northwestern North America, is facing a threat from an invasive plant pathogen that is causing the death of its primary food plant, English plantain, during the winter months. The invasion has disrupted the eco-evolutionary foodplant interactions and poses a risk of extinction to butterfly populations. Despite the presence of a native larval food plant Collinsia parviflora, it is rare in Taylor's checkerspot habitat and may only be suitable for Washington populations.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pengpeng Dou, Zhengzhou Miao, Jie Wang, Jing Huang, Qian Gao, Kaili Wang, Kun Wang
Summary: Changes in the composition of species and the diversity-productivity relationships during vegetation succession are important for restoring degraded grasslands. However, current restoration efforts mainly focus on either the ecological (diversity) or production (biomass) function of grasslands, without fully considering their relationship to improve restoration effects. This study explores the changes in species composition, diversity, and diversity-productivity relationships during the restoration of a temperate savanna. The results show shifts in plant types and significant increases in species richness and diversity throughout the restoration process. Latitude is negatively correlated with species diversity. The study emphasizes the need to consider both ecological and productive functions of grasslands in restoration strategies.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aapo Kahilainen, Vicencio Oostra, Panu Somervuo, Guillaume Minard, Marjo Saastamoinen
Summary: Predicting the effects of climate change on plant-insect herbivore interactions is challenging, with responses to water limitation-induced host plant quality change in a Glanville fritillary butterfly metapopulation showing marked variability. Intraspecific variability in plasticity suggests potential for buffering against drought-induced changes in host plant quality within the Finnish M. cinxia metapopulation.
Article
Ecology
Jillian Pastick, Deborah Maurer, Robert T. Fahey
Summary: The study implemented a large-scale adaptive management experiment in Lake County, IL, to investigate low-intensity management alternatives for oak ecosystems in urban-exurban areas. Different canopy manipulation treatments were applied and evaluated for their effects on understory light environment, groundlayer plant communities, and oak seedling survival and growth. Results show differences in understory light availability and groundlayer communities among treatments, with high seedling survival rates suggesting potential for oak regeneration. Long-term monitoring will be necessary to assess seedlings' transition to canopy layers.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Charlyn G. Partridge, Priscilla Nyamai, Alexis Hoskins, Syndell Parks
Summary: Habitat degradation has significant effects on native species in natural ecosystems. The study focused on the genetic diversity and population structure of wild lupine in central and west Michigan. The results showed significant population structure and the presence of at least two genetic clusters of wild lupine.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lewis Greenstein, Christen Steele, Caz M. Taylor
Summary: The preference-performance hypothesis explains host specificity in phytophagous insects, but the components of host specificity are non-binary and not necessarily correlated. Our study classified host plants for monarch butterflies and found that cardenolide concentration is an important predictor of host status.