TY - JOUR A1 - Zurell, Damaris A1 - König, Christian A1 - Malchow, Anne-Kathleen A1 - Kapitza, Simon A1 - Bocedi, Greta A1 - Travis, Justin M. J. A1 - Fandos, Guillermo T1 - Spatially explicit models for decision-making in animal conservation and restoration JF - Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology / Nordic Ecologic Society Oikos N2 - Models are useful tools for understanding and predicting ecological patterns and processes. Under ongoing climate and biodiversity change, they can greatly facilitate decision-making in conservation and restoration and help designing adequate management strategies for an uncertain future. Here, we review the use of spatially explicit models for decision support and to identify key gaps in current modelling in conservation and restoration. Of 650 reviewed publications, 217 publications had a clear management application and were included in our quantitative analyses. Overall, modelling studies were biased towards static models (79%), towards the species and population level (80%) and towards conservation (rather than restoration) applications (71%). Correlative niche models were the most widely used model type. Dynamic models as well as the gene-to-individual level and the community-to-ecosystem level were underrepresented, and explicit cost optimisation approaches were only used in 10% of the studies. We present a new model typology for selecting models for animal conservation and restoration, characterising model types according to organisational levels, biological processes of interest and desired management applications. This typology will help to more closely link models to management goals. Additionally, future efforts need to overcome important challenges related to data integration, model integration and decision-making. We conclude with five key recommendations, suggesting that wider usage of spatially explicit models for decision support can be achieved by 1) developing a toolbox with multiple, easier-to-use methods, 2) improving calibration and validation of dynamic modelling approaches and 3) developing best-practise guidelines for applying these models. Further, more robust decision-making can be achieved by 4) combining multiple modelling approaches to assess uncertainty, and 5) placing models at the core of adaptive management. These efforts must be accompanied by long-term funding for modelling and monitoring, and improved communication between research and practise to ensure optimal conservation and restoration outcomes. KW - adaptive management KW - biodiversity conservation KW - cost optimisation KW - ecosystem restoration KW - global change KW - predictive models Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05787 SN - 1600-0587 IS - 4 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schittko, Conrad A1 - Onandia, Gabriela A1 - Bernard-Verdier, Maud A1 - Heger, Tina A1 - Jeschke, Jonathan M. A1 - Kowarik, Ingo A1 - Maaß, Stefanie A1 - Joshi, Jasmin T1 - Biodiversity maintains soil multifunctionality and soil organic carbon in novel urban ecosystems JF - Journal of ecology N2 - Biodiversity in urban ecosystems has the potential to increase ecosystem functions and support a suite of services valued by society, including services provided by soils. Specifically, the sequestration of carbon in soils has often been advocated as a solution to mitigate the steady increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere as a key driver of climate change. However, urban ecosystems are also characterized by an often high level of ecological novelty due to profound human-mediated changes, such as the presence of high numbers of non-native species, impervious surfaces or other disturbances. Yet it is poorly understood whether and how biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning and services of urban soils under these novel conditions. In this study, we assessed the influence of above- and below-ground diversity, as well as urbanization and plant invasions, on multifunctionality and organic carbon stocks of soils in non-manipulated grasslands along an urbanization gradient in Berlin, Germany. We focused on plant diversity (measured as species richness and functional trait diversity) and, in addition, on soil organism diversity as a potential mediator for the relationship of plant species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Our results showed positive effects of plant diversity on soil multifunctionality and soil organic carbon stocks along the entire gradient. Structural equation models revealed that plant diversity enhanced soil multifunctionality and soil organic carbon by increasing the diversity of below-ground organisms. These positive effects of plant diversity on soil multifunctionality and soil fauna were not restricted to native plant species only, but were also exerted by non-native species, although to a lesser degree. Synthesis. We conclude that enhancing diversity in plants and soil fauna of urban grasslands can increase the multifunctionality of urban soils and also add to their often underestimated but very valuable role in mitigating effects of climate change. KW - Anthropocene KW - biological invasions KW - ecosystem function and services; KW - functional diversity KW - global change KW - non-native species KW - novel KW - ecosystems KW - urbanization Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13852 SN - 0022-0477 SN - 1365-2745 VL - 110 IS - 4 SP - 916 EP - 934 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kürschner, Tobias A1 - Scherer, Cédric A1 - Radchuk, Viktoriia A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie T1 - Movement can mediate temporal mismatches between resource availability and biological events in host-pathogen interactions JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Global change is shifting the timing of biological events, leading to temporal mismatches between biological events and resource availability. These temporal mismatches can threaten species' populations. Importantly, temporal mismatches not only exert strong pressures on the population dynamics of the focal species, but can also lead to substantial changes in pairwise species interactions such as host-pathogen systems. We adapted an established individual-based model of host-pathogen dynamics. The model describes a viral agent in a social host, while accounting for the host's explicit movement decisions. We aimed to investigate how temporal mismatches between seasonal resource availability and host life-history events affect host-pathogen coexistence, that is, disease persistence. Seasonal resource fluctuations only increased coexistence probability when in synchrony with the hosts' biological events. However, a temporal mismatch reduced host-pathogen coexistence, but only marginally. In tandem with an increasing temporal mismatch, our model showed a shift in the spatial distribution of infected hosts. It shifted from an even distribution under synchronous conditions toward the formation of disease hotspots, when host life history and resource availability mismatched completely. The spatial restriction of infected hosts to small hotspots in the landscape initially suggested a lower coexistence probability due to the critical loss of susceptible host individuals within those hotspots. However, the surrounding landscape facilitated demographic rescue through habitat-dependent movement. Our work demonstrates that the negative effects of temporal mismatches between host resource availability and host life history on host-pathogen coexistence can be reduced through the formation of temporary disease hotspots and host movement decisions, with implications for disease management under disturbances and global change. KW - classical swine fever KW - dynamic landscapes KW - global change KW - host– pathogen dynamics KW - individual‐ based model KW - movement ecology Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7478 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 11 IS - 10 SP - 5728 EP - 5741 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarzer, Christian A1 - Joshi, Jasmin Radha T1 - Ecotypic differentiation, hybridization and clonality facilitate the persistence of a cold-adapted sedge in European bogs JF - Biological journal of the Linnean Society : a journal of evolution N2 - Recent research has shown that many cold-adapted species survived the last glacial maximum (LGM) in northern refugia. Whether this evolutionary history has had consequences for their genetic diversity and adaptive potential remains unknown. We sampled 14 populations of Carex limosa, a sedge specialized to bog ecosystems, along a latitudinal gradient from its Scandinavian core to the southern lowland range-margin in Germany. Using microsatellite and experimental common-garden data, we evaluated the impacts of global climate change along this gradient and assessed the conservation status of the southern marginal populations. Microsatellite data revealed two highly distinct genetic groups and hybrid individuals. In our common-garden experiment, the two groups showed divergent responses to increased nitrogen/phosphorus (N/P) availability, suggesting ecotypic differentiation. Each group formed genetically uniform populations at both northern and southern sampling areas. Mixed populations occurred throughout our sampling area, an area that was entirely glaciated during the LGM. The fragmented distribution implies allopatric divergence at geographically separated refugia that putatively differed in N/P availability. Molecular data and an observed low hybrid fecundity indicate the importance of clonal reproduction for hybrid populations. At the southern range-margin, however, all populations showed effects of clonality, lowered fecundity and low competitiveness, suggesting abiotic and biotic constraints to population persistence. KW - biogeography KW - bog/mire plants KW - Carex limosa KW - climate change KW - glacial divergence KW - global change KW - leading/trailing edge KW - population differentiation KW - sexual/asexual reproduction Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz141 SN - 0024-4066 SN - 1095-8312 VL - 128 IS - 4 SP - 909 EP - 925 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Penone, Caterina A1 - Allan, Eric A1 - Soliveres, Santiago A1 - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Seibold, Sebastian A1 - Simons, Nadja K. A1 - Schall, Peter A1 - van der Plas, Fons A1 - Manning, Peter A1 - Manzanedo, Ruben D. A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Ammer, Christian A1 - Bauhus, Juergen A1 - Buscot, Francois A1 - Ehbrecht, Martin A1 - Goldmann, Kezia A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Mueller, Joerg A1 - Mueller, Joerg C. A1 - Pena, Rodica A1 - Polle, Andrea A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Ruess, Liliane A1 - Schoenig, Ingo A1 - Schrumpf, Marion A1 - Solly, Emily F. A1 - Tschapka, Marco A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Wubet, Tesfaye A1 - Fischer, Markus T1 - Specialisation and diversity of multiple trophic groups are promoted by different forest features JF - Ecology letters N2 - While forest management strongly influences biodiversity, it remains unclear how the structural and compositional changes caused by management affect different community dimensions (e.g. richness, specialisation, abundance or completeness) and how this differs between taxa. We assessed the effects of nine forest features (representing stand structure, heterogeneity and tree composition) on thirteen above- and belowground trophic groups of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria in 150 temperate forest plots differing in their management type. Canopy cover decreased light resources, which increased community specialisation but reduced overall diversity and abundance. Features increasing resource types and diversifying microhabitats (admixing of oaks and conifers) were important and mostly affected richness. Belowground groups responded differently to those aboveground and had weaker responses to most forest features. Our results show that we need to consider forest features rather than broad management types and highlight the importance of considering several groups and community dimensions to better inform conservation. KW - biodiversity exploratories KW - dark diversity KW - forest management KW - global change KW - land-use KW - multidiversity KW - specialisation KW - temperate forests Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13182 SN - 1461-023X SN - 1461-0248 VL - 22 IS - 1 SP - 170 EP - 180 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heger, Tina A1 - Bernard-Verdier, Maud A1 - Gessler, Arthur A1 - Greenwood, Alex D. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Hilker, Monika A1 - Keinath, Silvia A1 - Kowarik, Ingo A1 - Küffer, Christoph A1 - Marquard, Elisabeth A1 - Mueller, Johannes A1 - Niemeier, Stephanie A1 - Onandia, Gabriela A1 - Petermann, Jana S. A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. A1 - Rodel, Mark-Oliver A1 - Saul, Wolf-Christian A1 - Schittko, Conrad A1 - Tockner, Klement A1 - Joshi, Jasmin Radha A1 - Jeschke, Jonathan M. T1 - Towards an Integrative, Eco-Evolutionary Understanding of Ecological Novelty: Studying and Communicating Interlinked Effects of Global Change JF - Bioscience N2 - Global change has complex eco-evolutionary consequences for organisms and ecosystems, but related concepts (e.g., novel ecosystems) do not cover their full range. Here we propose an umbrella concept of "ecological novelty" comprising (1) a site-specific and (2) an organism-centered, eco-evolutionary perspective. Under this umbrella, complementary options for studying and communicating effects of global change on organisms, ecosystems, and landscapes can be included in a toolbox. This allows researchers to address ecological novelty from different perspectives, e.g., by defining it based on (a) categorical or continuous measures, (b) reference conditions related to sites or organisms, and (c) types of human activities. We suggest striving for a descriptive, non-normative usage of the term "ecological novelty" in science. Normative evaluations and decisions about conservation policies or management are important, but require additional societal processes and engagement with multiple stakeholders. KW - Anthropocene KW - eco-evolutionary experience KW - global change KW - novel ecosystems KW - shifting baselines Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz095 SN - 0006-3568 SN - 1525-3244 VL - 69 IS - 11 SP - 888 EP - 899 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koussoroplis, Apostolos-Manuel A1 - Pincebourde, Sylvain A1 - Wacker, Alexander T1 - Understanding and predicting physiological performance of organisms in fluctuating and multifactorial environments JF - Ecological monographs : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. N2 - Understanding how variance in environmental factors affects physiological performance, population growth, and persistence is central in ecology. Despite recent interest in the effects of variance in single biological drivers, such as temperature, we have lacked a comprehensive framework for predicting how the variances and covariances between multiple environmental factors will affect physiological rates. Here, we integrate current theory on variance effects with co-limitation theory into a single unified conceptual framework that has general applicability. We show how the framework can be applied (1) to generate mathematically tractable predictions of the physiological effects of multiple fluctuating co-limiting factors, (2) to understand how each co-limiting factor contributes to these effects, and (3) to detect mechanisms such as acclimation or physiological stress when they are at play. We show that the statistical covariance of co-limiting factors, which has not been considered before, can be a strong driver of physiological performance in various ecological contexts. Our framework can provide powerful insights on how the global change-induced shifts in multiple environmental factors affect the physiological performance of organisms. KW - co-limitation KW - covariance KW - eco-physiology KW - feeding rate KW - global change KW - multiple stressors KW - nonlinear averaging KW - nutrients KW - scale transition KW - temperature KW - temporal ecology KW - variance Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1247 SN - 0012-9615 SN - 1557-7015 VL - 87 SP - 178 EP - 197 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stanton, Richard A. A1 - Boone, Wesley W. A1 - Soto-Shoender, Jose A1 - Fletcher, Robert J. A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - McCleery, Robert A. T1 - Shrub encroachment and vertebrate diversity BT - a global meta-analysis JF - Global ecology and biogeography : a journal of macroecology N2 - Aim: Across the planet, grass-dominated biomes are experiencing shrub encroachment driven by atmospheric CO2 enrichment and land-use change. By altering resource structure and availability, shrub encroachment may have important impacts on vertebrate communities. We sought to determine the magnitude and variability of these effects across climatic gradients, continents, and taxa, and to learn whether shrub thinning restores the structure of vertebrate communities. Location: Worldwide. Time period: Contemporary. Major taxa studied: Terrestrial vertebrates. Methods: We estimated relationships between percentage shrub cover and the structure of terrestrial vertebrate communities (species richness, Shannon diversity and community abundance) in experimentally thinned and unmanipulated shrub-encroached grass-dominated biomes using systematic review and meta-analyses of 43 studies published from 1978 to 2016. We modelled the effects of continent, biome, mean annual precipitation, net primary productivity and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on the relationship between shrub cover and vertebrate community structure. Results: Species richness, Shannon diversity and total abundance had no consistent relationship with shrub encroachment and experimental thinning did not reverse encroachment effects on vertebrate communities. However, some effects of shrub encroachment on vertebrate communities differed with net primary productivity, amongst vertebrate groups, and across continents. Encroachment had negative effects on vertebrate diversity at low net primary productivity. Mammalian and herpetofaunal diversity decreased with shrub encroachment. Shrub encroachment also had negative effects on species richness and total abundance in Africa but positive effects in North America. Main conclusions: Biodiversity conservation and mitigation efforts responding to shrub encroachment should focus on low-productivity locations, on mammals and herpetofauna, and in Africa. However, targeted research in neglected regions such as central Asia and India will be needed to fill important gaps in our knowledge of shrub encroachment effects on vertebrates. Additionally, our findings provide an impetus for determining the mechanisms associated with changes in vertebrate diversity and abundance in shrub-encroached grass-dominated biomes. KW - biodiversity KW - global change KW - grasslands KW - grazing KW - pastoral abandonment KW - savannas KW - shrub encroachment KW - shrub thinning KW - species richness KW - woody encroachment Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12675 SN - 1466-822X SN - 1466-8238 VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 368 EP - 379 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Binzer, Amrei A1 - Guill, Christian A1 - Rall, Björn C. A1 - Brose, Ulrich T1 - Interactive effects of warming, eutrophication and size structure: impacts on biodiversity and food-web structure JF - Global change biology N2 - Warming and eutrophication are two of the most important global change stressors for natural ecosystems, but their interaction is poorly understood. We used a dynamic model of complex, size-structured food webs to assess interactive effects on diversity and network structure. We found antagonistic impacts: Warming increases diversity in eutrophic systems and decreases it in oligotrophic systems. These effects interact with the community size structure: Communities of similarly sized species such as parasitoid-host systems are stabilized by warming and destabilized by eutrophication, whereas the diversity of size-structured predator-prey networks decreases strongly with warming, but decreases only weakly with eutrophication. Nonrandom extinction risks for generalists and specialists lead to higher connectance in networks without size structure and lower connectance in size-structured communities. Overall, our results unravel interactive impacts of warming and eutrophication and suggest that size structure may serve as an important proxy for predicting the community sensitivity to these global change stressors. KW - complex food webs KW - extinctions KW - generalists KW - global change KW - size structure KW - specialists Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13086 SN - 1354-1013 SN - 1365-2486 VL - 22 SP - 220 EP - 227 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weyrich, Alexandra A1 - Lenz, Dorina A1 - Jeschek, Marie A1 - Tzu Hung Chung, A1 - Ruebensam, Kathrin A1 - Goeritz, Frank A1 - Jewgenow, Katarina A1 - Fickel, Jörns T1 - Paternal intergenerational epigenetic response to heat exposure in male Wild guinea pigs JF - Molecular ecology N2 - Epigenetic modifications, of which DNA methylation is the best studied one, can convey environmental information through generations via parental germ lines. Past studies have focused on the maternal transmission of epigenetic information to the offspring of isogenic mice and rats in response to external changes, whereas heterogeneous wild mammals as well as paternal epigenetic effects have been widely neglected. In most wild mammal species, males are the dispersing sex and have to cope with differing habitats and thermal changes. As temperature is a major environmental factor we investigated if genetically heterogeneous Wild guinea pig (Cavia aperea) males can adapt epigenetically to an increase in temperature and if that response will be transmitted to the next generation(s). Five adult male guinea pigs (F0) were exposed to an increased ambient temperature for 2 months, i.e. the duration of spermatogenesis. We studied the liver (as the main thermoregulatory organ) of F0 fathers and F1 sons, and testes of F1 sons for paternal transmission of epigenetic modifications across generation(s). Reduced representation bisulphite sequencing revealed shared differentially methylated regions in annotated areas between F0 livers before and after heat treatment, and their sons’ livers and testes, which indicated a general response with ecological relevance. Thus, paternal exposure to a temporally limited increased ambient temperature led to an ‘immediate’ and ‘heritable’ epigenetic response that may even be transmitted to the F2 generation. In the context of globally rising temperatures epigenetic mechanisms may become increasingly relevant for the survival of species. KW - adaptation KW - Cavia aperea KW - DNA methylation KW - environmental factor KW - global change KW - plasticity KW - temperature increase Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13494 SN - 0962-1083 SN - 1365-294X VL - 25 SP - 1729 EP - 1740 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER -