Article
Ecology
Qinfeng Guo, Hong Qian, Jian Zhang
Summary: This study explores the relationship between species diversity and species range size at a global level and finds a nearly universal negative correlation between species diversity and range size. Species diversity is a better predictor of range size than latitude, temperature, or temperature variability. These findings have significant implications for species invasion biology and conservation.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Joseph L. Mruzek, William R. Budnick, Chad A. Larson, Dinh K. Luc, Sophia Passy
Summary: This study investigated the impact of niche and dispersal processes on biodiversity in stream algae, insects, and fish in seven latitudinal zones in central United States. The results showed that niche processes had a greater influence on alpha-diversity, while dispersal processes were not always associated with ecological specialization and range size. This suggests that climate-based biodiversity theories may not be particularly relevant for streams, emphasizing the primary role of the environment.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Melissa Whitman, Reed S. Beaman, Rimi Repin, Kanehiro Kitayama, Shin-Ichiro Aiba, Sabrina E. Russo
Summary: This study found that plants associated with ultramafic soil have larger range-sizes and greater richness, while non-ultramafic species have smaller range-sizes and lower richness. Tolerance of resource limitation may be associated with wider range-sizes, whereas species intolerant of edaphic stress may have narrower range-sizes, possibly owing to more intense competition in favorable soil types. These results highlight how ecological constraints, such as edaphic association, structure elevational range-size patterns and may limit species' ability to migrate in response to climate change.
Article
Biology
Alessio Maccagni, Yvonne Willi
Summary: High-elevation species have larger elevational ranges and are associated with spatial thermal variability. However, thermal variability is not associated with niche breadth or trait plasticity. Adaptive constraints are seen in the trade-off between frost and heat resistance, and phylogenetic niche conservatism.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jianchao Liang, Huijian Hu, Zhifeng Ding, Ganwen Lie, Zhixin Zhou, Paras Bikram Singh, Zhixiang Zhang, Shengnan Ji
Summary: In this study, elevational variations in the range sizes of vascular plants in the Gyirong Valley of China's Himalayas were assessed, showing that climate is the main driver of increasing trends in vascular plant range sizes. The results support the notion that Rapoport's rule applies in regions where the influence of climate is most pronounced and underline the importance of closely monitoring the impact of climate change to prevent species range contraction and extinction.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Martin Macek, Miroslav Dvorsky, Martin Kopecky, Jan Wild, Jiri Dolezal
Summary: Elevational range size patterns are influenced by both geometric constraints and species richness gradients, leading to conflicting results regarding Rapoport's elevational rule. Null models accounting for these confounding factors show that the range size of vascular plants in the Himalayas does not actually increase with elevation, highlighting the importance of controlling for these effects when testing elevational patterns.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yannick Mahlich, Chengsheng Zhu, Henri Chung, Pavan K. Velaga, M. Clara De Paolis Kaluza, Predrag Radivojac, Iddo Friedberg, Yana Bromberg
Summary: This study describes a novel approach to exploring bacterial functional repertoires without reference databases, which outperforms marker genes in assigning taxonomic clades. The Fusion-taxa method is robust to the addition of novel organisms and can capture environment-driven bacterial diversity. The Siamese Neural Network model created using Fusion functions allows finding shared functionality of very distant microbial homologs. This study helps annotate functional repertoires of bacterial organisms and guide our understanding of microbial communities.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Monica Meraz, Roxana Carbo, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jose Alvarez-Ramirez
Summary: This work presents an approach based on fractal scaling analysis to characterize the organization of the Covid-19 genome sequences. The method employs a multivariate version of the fractal rescaled range analysis implemented on a sliding window scheme to detect variations of long-range correlations over the genome sequence domains. The analysis reveals that the Covid-19 virus possesses a more diverse genomic structure for replication and infection compared to the primitive SARS virus, and the Covid-19 sequence is less random in the surface glycoprotein region, indicating more ordered replications of the spike protein. The Omicron variation shows interesting patterns with similarities in randomness with other SARS and Covid-19 genome sequences.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Carly J. Prior, Jeremiah W. Busch
Summary: The study found that selfing rates varied less for woody species compared to herbaceous species, likely due to the lower average selfing rate of woody species. Relationships between selfing and peripherality or abundance significantly varied among species in their direction and magnitude. However, there was no general pattern of increased selfing towards range edges.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yuzhu Dong, Shanghua Wu, Haonan Fan, Xianglong Li, Yijing Li, Shengjun Xu, Zhihui Bai, Xuliang Zhuang
Summary: The study found that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution can select bacterial taxa with larger genome sizes. These bacteria are more adapted to polluted environments and have increased horizontal transfer capacity of degrading genes in the co-occurrence network. This finding is of great importance for community stability and potential biodegradation strategies.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Jian Sheng Boey, Redmond Mortimer, Agathe Couturier, Katie Worrallo, Kim M. Handley
Summary: The study found that estuarine prokaryotic communities and nitrogen cycling fractions are highly sensitive to changes in sedimentary mud content, with significant impacts even with just a 3% increase in mud. Expression of nitrogen cycling genes was higher in muddier sediments, indicating an increased potential for coupled nitrification-denitrification.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Diana Montenegro, M. Teresa Gonzalez, Tony Hickey, Mostafa Rahnama, Saras Green, Gavin Lear
Summary: The study evaluated responses to and effects of marine pollution in Auckland, New Zealand using biomarkers. Fish at highly contaminated sites showed higher expression of certain genes, histological lesions, and lower Fulton condition factors, indicating negative impacts of chemical presence. The multivariate approach integrated biological markers to provide a holistic view of the complex chemical mixtures and their effects on the blennioid fish species.
Article
Plant Sciences
Glenda Mendieta-Leiva, Hannah L. Buckley, Gerhard Zotz
Summary: Deterministic and stochastic processes driving community assembly in community ecology, focused on vascular epiphytes in this study. The research suggests that niche-based mechanisms dominate the temporal changes of vascular epiphyte assemblages, with host size being the most important environmental filter for establishment.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Marta Gaia Sperandii, Francesco de Bello, Enrique Valencia, Lars Gotzenberger, Manuele Bazzichetto, Thomas Galland, Anna E-Vojtko, Luisa Conti, Peter B. Adler, Hannah Buckley, Jiri Danihelka, Nicola J. Day, Juergen Dengler, David J. Eldridge, Marc Estiarte, Ricardo Garcia-Gonzalez, Eric Garnier, Daniel Gomez-Garcia, Lauren Hallett, Susan Harrison, Tomas Herben, Ricardo Ibanez, Anke Jentsch, Norbert Juergens, Miklos Kertesz, Duncan M. Kimuyu, Katja Klumpp, Mike Le Duc, Frederique Louault, Rob H. Marrs, Gabor Onodi, Robin J. Pakeman, Meelis Partel, Begona Peco, Josep Penuelas, Marta Rueda, Wolfgang Schmidt, Ute Schmiedel, Martin Schuetz, Hana Skalova, Petr Smilauer, Marie Smilauerova, Christian Smit, Ming-Hua Song, Martin Stock, James Val, Vigdis Vandvik, Karsten Wesche, Susan K. Wiser, Ben A. Woodcock, Truman P. Young, Fei-Hai Yu, Amelia A. Wolf, Martin Zobel, Jan Leps
Summary: Analyzing temporal patterns in plant communities is crucial for understanding ecological changes. The LOTVS initiative provides a global collection of vegetation time-series, with 79 datasets from five continents, making it the largest collection of fine-grained vegetation time-series derived from permanent plots. This resource has the potential to support innovative research in vegetation science, plant ecology, and temporal ecology.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Catherine M. Nottingham, Hannah L. Buckley, Bradley S. Case, Alistair S. Glen, Margaret C. Stanley
Summary: Managing invasive species requires understanding their ecology, including distribution and habitat use. Specifically, managing feral cat populations requires spatially explicit knowledge for effective management and monitoring. Research has found that male feral cats have larger home ranges, but the influence of season, competitors, habitat heterogeneity, or land use on feral cat home range is not statistically significant. Future research should consider additional factors to better understand the variability in home range size and improve feral cat management in introduced ecosystems.
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Mateo Scoggins, Derek B. Booth, Tim Fletcher, Megan Fork, Ana Gonzalez, Rebecca L. Hale, Robert J. Hawley, Allison H. Roy, Erika E. Bilger, Nick Bond, Matthew James Burns, Kristina G. Hopkins, Kate H. Macneale, Eugenia Marti, S. Kyle McKay, Martin W. Neale, Michael J. Paul, Blanca Rios-Touma, Kathryn L. Russell, Robert F. Smith, Staryn Wagner, Seth Wenger
Summary: Urban streams can provide benefits to city dwellers, but when they become degraded, those benefits are diminished and may even cause harm. To improve the values and services of urban streams, it is important to involve community members in project development and implementation, as their input can help align project objectives with community desires and needs, thus increasing the chances of success.
FRESHWATER SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Mark A. K. Gillespie, Hannah L. Buckley, Leo Condron, Stephen D. Wratten
Summary: This study examines the direct and indirect effects of N fertilisation and mowing on above-ground biodiversity and below-ground soil chemistry in long-term field experiments. The results show that plants and soil properties did not respond to N fertiliser treatments, but subtle changes in soil properties were observed under different mowing regimes, and plant richness was consistently higher under all mowing treatments. The indirect effects of mowing on plant and arthropod richness are likely to be mediated by changes in soil chemistry.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Bradley S. Case, Adam S. Forbes, Margaret C. Stanley, Graham Hinchliffe, David A. Norton, Febyanna Suryaningrum, Rebecca Jarvis, David Hall, Hannah L. Buckley
Summary: The incorporation of native vegetation into New Zealand's agricultural ecosystems is a nature-based solution for addressing environmental issues, biodiversity loss, and climate change. To achieve this at scale, a systematic framework is needed for identifying and assessing opportunities for native revegetation that align with national priorities, support landscape-scale processes, and consider farm-scale decision-making. In this forum discussion, we outline the requirements for a spatial decision support system and address the challenges associated with implementing effective and targeted native revegetation across the country, with the goal of engaging scientists, policymakers, landowners, and communities in the restoration of biodiverse and resilient agroecosystems.
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Matthew A. Krna, Kevin R. Tate, Surinder Saggar, Hannah L. Buckley, Gillian L. Rapson
Summary: In this study, the researchers aimed to understand the relationship between decomposition rates and temperature in natural conditions. They conducted experiments in a snow-grassland in New Zealand and found that altitude did not significantly affect the decomposition rate, indicating that temperature does not have a direct impact on decomposition rates.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Chloe A. Price, Kevin S. Simon, Martin Neale
Summary: Biodiversity offsetting aims to address the negative impacts of human development, but it is currently not achieving its goal of No Net Loss due to failures in practice and process.
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Syrie M. Hermans, Gavin Lear, Bradley S. Case, Hannah L. Buckley
Summary: Regenerative agriculture is gaining popularity as a method to meet increasing food demands while minimizing environmental consequences. Considering the soil microbiome in research is crucial for understanding the complex relationships between regenerative agriculture practices and the environment. Development of monitoring tools based on insights into microbial communities in regenerative agriculture soils can help address key environmental issues.
Article
Plant Sciences
Xinglei Cui, Dachuan Dai, Congde Huang, Bilei Wang, Shuting Li, Chengming You, Adrian M. Paterson, George L. W. Perry, Hannah L. Buckley, Josep Padulles Cubino, Sarah V. Wyse, Md Azharul Alam, Shixing Zhou, Lin Xiao, Dongyu Cao, Zhenfeng Xu, Timothy J. Curran
Summary: Plant flammability, determined by various functional traits, is influenced by climatic conditions, especially for species originating from nonfire-prone habitats. Shoot moisture content and leaf size are important factors affecting flammability in these species. However, climatic factors have no significant effect on shoot flammability in species from fire-prone habitats.
Article
Ecology
Chanenath Sriaporn, Kathleen A. Campbell, Martin J. Van Kranendonk, Kim M. Handley
Summary: This study analyzed sediment samples from multiple hot spring sites in the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand and found that temperature and pH significantly influenced the composition of bacterial and archaeal communities. However, certain bacterial and archaeal lineages were prevalent across diverse hot springs. Metagenomic analysis revealed distinct metabolic potentials associated with each lineage for sulfur, nitrogen, and hydrogen metabolism.
ISME COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Emilie Gios, Olivia E. Mosley, Louise Weaver, Murray Close, Chris Daughney, Kim M. Handley
Summary: This study characterized ultra-small microbial communities in aquifers using a multi-omics approach and found a widespread presence of these organisms globally. The abundance of these microorganisms was significantly influenced by groundwater physicochemistries, while their transcriptional activity played a major role in groundwater community activity. The ultra-small prokaryotes exhibited metabolic adaptations and transcriptional responses depending on the oxygen content of groundwater.
ISME COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Victor Gambarini, Olga Pantos, Joanne M. Kingsbury, Louise Weaver, Kim M. Handley, Gavin Lear
Summary: The PlasticDB web application is a database that contains information on microorganisms and proteins reported to degrade plastics, and it also provides analytical tools for users to analyze their own datasets.
DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION
(2022)