Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rafael Molina-Venegas, Gianluigi Ottaviani, Giandiego Campetella, Roberto Canullo, Stefano Chelli
Summary: Evolutionary history and environmental filtering shape the phylogenetic and functional structure of regional assemblages. The biogeographic deconstruction approach can help identify eco-evolutionary signals in extant regional assemblages.
Article
Ecology
Michael D. Burns, Jason H. Knouft, Casey B. Dillman
Summary: Understanding why some clades diversify greatly while others do not is a major goal of evolutionary biology. The study finds that differences in abiotic habitat and community composition influence unequal morphological diversification in spatiotemporally diffuse radiations.
Article
Ecology
Maxwell J. Farrell, Mohamad Elmasri, David A. Stephens, T. Jonathan Davies
Summary: This study predicts missing links in global mammal-parasite networks using available data and demonstrates how these predictions can guide the collection of interaction data, ultimately increasing the completeness of global species interaction networks. The study provides insights into the use of phylogenies for predicting host-parasite interactions and highlights the importance of iterated prediction and targeted search in collecting information on host-parasite interactions.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Katie Peterson, Megan Ruffley, Christine E. Parent
Summary: The study evaluated the effects of fragmentation on community assembly in Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Through traditional metrics and machine-learning models, it was found that neutral and filtering processes influenced the formation of plant communities in the fragmented system. Different kipukas exhibited varying ecological characteristics, with model support for competition decreasing as species richness increased and habitat filtering being more prominent in lower elevation kipukas.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Reid G. Griggs, Kerri L. Steenwerth, David A. Mills, Dario Cantu, Nicholas A. Bokulich
Summary: Microbiomes play a crucial role in viticulture and winemaking, affecting grape health and wine quality. Understanding the sources and diversity of microbiota in vineyards is important for assessing wine quality and regional characteristics. The microbiota in fruit contributes to wine flavor and aroma, and studying these microbes is essential for evaluating the characteristics of regional wines.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
George Hajishengallis, Richard J. Lamont, Hyun Koo
Summary: Oral microbial communities form complex spatial structures and regulate their collective function and adaptability through sophisticated physical and chemical signaling systems. The balance or dysbiosis of these communities, influenced by intra-community interactions, host and environmental factors, plays a crucial role in oral diseases such as periodontitis and dental caries. Dysbiosis in oral polymicrobial communities also has systemic effects, partly due to the colonization of oral pathogens in extra-oral tissues.
CELL HOST & MICROBE
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Yvonne M. Buckley, Javier Puy
Summary: Population ecologists study how and why populations change or stay stable, and develop management strategies based on their findings. Comparative ecology of populations, population macroecology, is used to develop generalizations within and between species across different scales, using available demographic, environmental, life history, occurrence, and trait data.
Article
Ecology
Genevieve Lajoie, Steven W. Kembel
Summary: Phyllosphere bacterial diversity is influenced by interactions between hosts and microbes, with host taxonomic identity and traits being important drivers. Dispersal of bacteria from neighboring communities plays a role in homogenizing bacterial communities and may constrain the match between tree species and their symbionts, particularly at range limits. Considering host-associated microbial communities as part of metacommunities within the host landscape is a promising tool for understanding host-symbiont matching.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Daniel S. Jones, Irene Schaperdoth, Diana E. Northup, Rodolfo Gomez-Cruz, Jennifer L. Macalady
Summary: In this study, we examined microbial communities from extremely acidic biofilms and found low biodiversity dominated by Acidithiobacillus bacteria. Interestingly, Acidithiobacillus populations on different continents were substantially divergent, suggesting random colonization from local sources and strong environmental selection.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Gabriel M. De la Torre, Alan Fecchio, Jeffrey A. Bell, Karla M. Campiao
Summary: This study assessed the influence of host ecology, evolutionary history, and environmental factors on the composition of Plasmodium parasite within the Atlantic Forest. The results showed that host phylogeny is the main driver of regional Plasmodium assemblages, while environmental variables, especially temperature seasonality, also influenced the lineage composition. These findings are important for understanding the ecology and parasitism of Plasmodium.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Qing-Lin Chen, Hang-Wei Hu, Zhen-Zhen Yan, Chao-Yu Li, Bao-Anh Thi Nguyen, An-Qi Sun, Yong-Guan Zhu, Ji-Zheng He
Summary: The study found that microbial communities in termite mounds exhibit a significant distance-decay pattern, with fungi having a stronger distance-decay relationship than bacteria. Deterministic selection, rather than stochastic forces, predominated the microbial community assembly in termite mounds. The findings also show that mean annual temperature was the most important predictor of both bacterial and fungal profiles in termite mounds.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Melanie Tietje, Alexandre Antonelli, William J. Baker, Rafael Govaerts, Stephen A. Smith, Wolf L. Eiserhardt
Summary: Species richness varies greatly around the world, and diversification rate is not the main factor explaining this variation. The study found that diversification rates are highest in dry areas with high edaphic diversity, contrary to the predictions of the Metabolic Theory of Ecology. Climate and environmental heterogeneity were confirmed as the main drivers of species richness, but there is no direct mechanistic link between diversification rate and species richness.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Diane S. Srivastava, A. Andrew M. MacDonald, Valerio D. Pillar, Pavel Kratina, Vanderlei J. Debastiani, Laura Melissa Guzman, Mark Kurtis Trzcinski, Olivier Dezerald, Ignacio M. Barberis, Paula M. de Omena, Gustavo Q. Romero, Fabiola Ospina-Bautista, Nicholas A. C. Marino, Celine Leroy, Vinicius F. Farjalla, Barbara A. Richardson, Ana Z. Goncalves, Bruno Corbara, Jana S. Petermann, Michael J. Richardson, Michael C. Melnychuk, Merlijn Jocque, Jacqueline T. Ngai, Stanislas Talaga, Gustavo C. O. Piccoli, Guillermo Montero, Kathryn R. Kirby, Brian M. Starzomski, Regis Cereghino
Summary: This study examines the influence of environmental gradients on species composition and trait-based assembly patterns of aquatic macroinvertebrates in tropical bromeliads.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sylvie Estrela, Jean C. C. Vila, Nanxi Lu, Djordje Bajic, Maria Rebolleda-Gomez, Chang -Yu Chang, Joshua E. Goldford, Alicia Sanchez-Gorostiaga, Alvaro Sanchez
Summary: The study found that family-level convergence in microbial communities reflects a reproducible metabolic organization, while taxonomic divergence among replicate communities arises from multistability in population dynamics. Multistability can lead to alternative functional states in closed ecosystems but not in metacommunities.
Article
Ecology
Emily B. Graham, Joseph E. Knelman
Summary: Understanding the processes of microbial community assembly is crucial for comprehending the role of microorganisms in ecosystem restoration and for optimizing management strategies. Important factors to consider when evaluating microbial community structure in the context of ecosystem recovery include: variations in community assembly processes, linkages to ecosystem function, and measurable microbial community attributes.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Conor Waldock, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Camille Albouy, William W. L. Cheung, Graham J. Edgar, David Mouillot, Jerry Tjiputra, Loic Pellissier
Summary: The contributions of species to ecosystem functions or services depend on their presence and local abundance, but current predictive spatial models focus more on species occurrence rather than abundance. The study found significant variation in the performance of abundance-based models, with random forests providing the best predictions in certain scenarios.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nestor E. Bosch, Matthew McLean, Salvador Zarco-Perello, Scott Bennett, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Adriana Verges, Albert Pessarrodona, Fernando Tuya, Tim Langlois, Claude Spencer, Sahira Bell, Benjamin J. Saunders, Euan S. Harvey, Thomas Wernberg
Summary: Extreme climatic events can reshape the functional structure of ecological communities and have potential flow-on effects on ecosystem functioning. This study examined the changes in the trait structure of herbivorous fish and their impact on herbivory-related functions and macroalgal recovery in a temperate reef system after an extreme marine heatwave. The results showed that the trait structure of the herbivorous fish assemblage shifted after the heatwave, leading to changes in herbivory roles and limited recovery of the ecosystem.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Erin McCosker, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Graham J. Edgar, Peter D. Steinberg, Adriana Verges
Summary: Temperate marine systems globally are warming at accelerating rates, facilitating the poleward movement of warm-water species, which are tropicalizing higher-latitude reefs. While temperature plays a key role in structuring species distributions, less is known about how species' early life stages are responding to warming-induced changes in preferred nursery habitat availability. We aim to identify key ecological and environmental drivers of juvenile reef fishes' distributions in the context of ocean warming.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Arthur Escalas, Amandine Avouac, Jonathan Belmaker, Thierry Bouvier, Valentin Cledassou, Franck Ferraton, Fabien Rieuvilleneuve, Gil Rilov, Anna Rovirosa Mulet, Daphna Shapiro Goldberg, Sebastien Villeger
Summary: This study provides evidence that invasive rabbitfish can affect both planktonic and benthic microbial communities through the release of dissolved nutrients and feces, leading to changes in community structure and diversity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Nina M. D. Schiettekatte, Simon J. Brandl, Jordan M. Casey, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Diego R. Barneche, Deron E. Burkepile, Jacob E. Allgeier, Jesus E. Arias-Gonzalez, Graham J. Edgar, Carlos E. L. Ferreira, Sergio R. Floeter, Alan M. Friedlander, Alison L. Green, Michel Kulbicki, Yves Letourneur, Osmar J. Luiz, Alexandre Merciere, Fabien Morat, Katrina S. Munsterman, Enrico L. Rezende, Fabian A. Rodriguez-Zaragoza, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Laurent Vigliola, Sebastien Villeger, Valeriano Parravicini
Summary: By integrating bioenergetic models and global coral reef fish community surveys, this study quantifies five key ecosystem functions mediated by coral reef fishes and reveals the critical trade-offs driven by varying community structures. The study also highlights the dominance of few species in local functions and the variation of dominant species at the global scale.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Nina M. D. Schiettekatte, Francesca Conte, Beverly French, Simon J. Brandl, Christopher J. Fulton, Alexandre Merciere, Tommy Norin, Sebastien Villeger, Valeriano Parravicini
Summary: This study estimates the metabolic rates and activity scope of six coral reef fish species using laboratory and field observations. The findings suggest that the variability in activity scope can have a potential impact on community metabolic demand.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Nicolas Loiseau, Sebastien Villeger, Charles Le Bozec, Marie Gimenez, Seiji Leo Kawahara, Thomas Claverie
Summary: Mesophotic reefs, located between 30 m and 150 m, have received less attention compared to shallower reefs. This study found that shallow and mesophotic reefs have different species compositions, but share similar trait richness combinations. However, functional structure of assemblages differs along the depth gradient, indicating the need to consider both species and trait composition when assessing mesophotic fishes.
Article
Ecology
Camille Magneville, Marie-Lou Lereec Le Bricquir, Thanos Dailianis, Grigorios Skouradakis, Thomas Claverie, Sebastien Villeger
Summary: Fish play a key role in the marine environment by controlling food-webs through top-down impacts. Using long-duration remote underwater cameras, this study accurately assessed the abundance and grazing activity of different fish species, and their contribution to ecosystem functioning.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tyson J. J. Bessell, Sharon A. A. Appleyard, Rick D. D. Stuart-Smith, Olivia J. J. Johnson, Scott D. D. Ling, Freddie J. J. Heather, Tim P. P. Lynch, Neville S. S. Barrett, Jemina Stuart-Smith
Summary: This study aimed to understand the effort required to search for undiscovered populations of small, cryptic, marine species in shallow vegetated coastal habitats and track population numbers, using the Critically Endangered red handfish as a representative species. The results showed that eDNA assays performed relatively poorly in situ, while underwater searches by scuba divers had a higher detection probability.
AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Francois Munoz, Christopher A. Klausmeier, Pierre Gauzere, Gaurav Kandlikar, Elena Litchman, Nicolas Mouquet, Annette Ostling, Wilfried Thuiller, Adam C. Algar, Arnaud Auber, Marc W. Cadotte, Leo Delalandre, Pierre Denelle, Brian J. Enquist, Claire Fortunel, Matthias Grenie, Nicolas Loiseau, Lucie Mahaut, Anthony Maire, David Mouillot, Catalina Pimiento, Cyrille Violle, Nathan J. B. Kraft
Summary: Recent work has demonstrated that evaluating the distinctiveness of functional traits, which is the average trait distance of a species to other species in a community, can provide valuable insights into the dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, the underlying ecological mechanisms that drive the emergence and persistence of functionally distinct species are not well understood. In this study, we address this issue by considering a heterogeneous fitness landscape, where functional dimensions encompass peaks that represent trait combinations resulting in positive population growth rates in a community. We identify four ecological cases that contribute to the emergence and persistence of functionally distinct species and provide examples and guidelines to distinguish between them. Additionally, we explore how stochastic dispersal limitation can lead to functional distinctiveness. Our framework offers a novel perspective on the relationship between fitness landscape heterogeneity and the functional composition of ecological assemblages.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Michael R. Heithaus, Michelle R. Heupel, M. Aaron MacNeil, Mark Meekan, Euan Harvey, C. Samantha Sherman, Leanne M. Currey-Randall, Jordan S. Goetze, Jeremy J. Kiszka, Matthew J. Rees, Conrad W. Speed, Vinay Udyawer, Mark E. Bond, Kathryn I. Flowers, Gina M. Clementi, Jasmine Valentin-Albanese, M. Shiham Adam, Khadeeja Ali, Jacob Asher, Eva Aylagas, Oceane Beaufort, Cecilie Benjamin, Anthony T. F. Bernard, Michael L. Berumen, Stacy Bierwagen, Chico Birrell, Erika Bonnema, Rosalind M. K. Bown, Edward J. Brooks, J. Jed Brown, Dayne Buddo, Patrick J. Burke, Camila Caceres, Marta Cambra, Diego Cardenosa, Jeffrey C. Carrier, Sara Casareto, Jennifer E. Caselle, Venkatesh Charloo, Joshua E. Cinner, Thomas Claverie, Eric E. G. Clua, Jesse E. M. Cochran, Neil Cook, Jessica E. Cramp, Brooke M. D'Alberto, Martin de Graaf, Mareike C. Dornhege, Mario Espinoza, Andy Estep, Lanya Fanovich, Naomi F. Farabaugh, Daniel Fernando, Carlos E. L. Ferreira, Candace Y. A. Fields, Anna L. Flam, Camilla Floros, Virginia Fourqurean, Laura Gajdzik, Laura Garcia Barcia, Ricardo Garla, Kirk Gastrich, Lachlan George, Tommaso Giarrizzo, Rory Graham, Tristan L. Guttridge, Valerie Hagan, Royale S. Hardenstine, Stephen M. Heck, Aaron C. Henderson, Patricia Heithaus, Heidi Hertler, Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, Robert E. Hueter, Rima W. Jabado, Jean-Christophe Joyeux, Vanessa Jaiteh, Mohini Johnson, Stacy D. Jupiter, Muslimin Kaimuddin, Devanshi Kasana, Megan Kelley, Steven T. Kessel, Benedict Kiilu, Taratau Kirata, Baraka Kuguru, Fabian Kyne, Tim Langlois, Frida Lara, Jaedon Lawe, Elodie J. I. Ledee, Steve Lindfield, Andrea Luna-Acosta, Jade Q. Maggs, B. Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto, Andrea Marshall, Lucy Martin, Daniel Mateos-Molina, Philip Matich, Erin McCombs, Ashlie McIvor, Dianne McLean, Llewelyn Meggs, Stephen Moore, Sushmita Mukherji, Ryan Murray, Stephen J. Newman, Josep Nogues, Clay Obota, Domingo Ochavillo, Owen O'Shea, Kennedy E. Osuka, Yannis P. Papastamatiou, Nishan Perera, Bradley Peterson, Caio R. Pimentel, Fabian Pina-Amargos, Hudson T. Pinheiro, Alessandro Ponzo, Andhika Prasetyo, L. M. Sjamsul Quamar, Jessica R. Quinlan, Jose Amorim Reis-Filho, Hector Ruiz, Alexei Ruiz-Abierno, Enric Sala, Pelayo Salinas-de-Leon, Melita A. Samoilys, William R. Sample, Michelle Schaerer-Umpierre, Audrey M. Schlaff, Kurt Schmid, Sara N. Schoen, Nikola Simpson, Adam N. H. Smith, Julia L. Y. Spaet, Lauren Sparks, Twan Stoffers, Akshay Tanna, Ruben Torres, Michael J. Travers, Maurits van Zinnicq Bergmann, Laurent Vigliola, Juney Ward, Joseph D. Warren, Alexandra M. Watts, Colin K. Wen, Elizabeth R. Whitman, Aaron J. Wirsing, Aljoscha Wothke, Esteban Zarza-Gonzalez, Demian D. Chapman
Summary: A global survey of coral reefs highlights the alarming decline in resident shark species due to overfishing, leading to a decrease in diversity among reef elasmobranch assemblages. The study reveals a significant decline of 60 to 73% in population for five common resident reef shark species, with shark absence detected in 34 to 47% of surveyed reefs. As shark populations decline, rays become the dominant species in these assemblages. However, shark-dominated assemblages are still found in wealthy nations with strong governance and highly protected areas, while impoverished regions with weak governance and inadequate shark management have depleted assemblages mainly composed of rays.
Article
Ecology
Noemie Coulon, Martin Lindegren, Eric Goberville, Aurele Toussaint, Aurore Receveur, Arnaud Auber
Summary: The aim of this study is to investigate whether threatened species are also functionally rare and to identify which traits determine extinction risk. The results of the study show that in European continental shelf seas, 38% of the species threatened with extinction (9 out of 24 species) were identified as the most functionally distinct. The study emphasizes that species traits, especially functional rarity, should become an indispensable step in the development of conservation management plans.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel Ovando, Owen Liu, Renato Molina, Ana Parma, Cody Szuwalski
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jessica Zamborain-Mason, Joshua E. Cinner, M. Aaron Macneil, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Andrew S. Hoey, Maria Beger, Andrew J. Brooks, David J. Booth, Graham J. Edgar, David A. Feary, Sebastian C. A. Ferse, Alan M. Friedlander, Charlotte L. A. Gough, Alison L. Green, David Mouillot, Nicholas V. C. Polunin, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Laurent Wantiez, Ivor D. Williams, Shaun K. Wilson, Sean R. Connolly
Summary: Sustainably managing fisheries requires evaluation of stock status, but many multispecies reef fisheries lack research and monitoring capacity to assess stocks against sustainable reference points. In this study, fish biomass data from >2000 coral reefs were used to estimate site-specific sustainable reference points for coral reef fisheries. The results show that >50% of sites and jurisdictions with available information have stocks of conservation concern. The study highlights the ecological benefits of increasing sustainability and provides a promising means for enhancing the sustainability of global coral reef fisheries.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)