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  - Sommer, Ulrich
A1  - Adrian, Rita
A1  - Domis, Lisette Nicole de Senerpont
A1  - Elser, James J.
A1  - Gaedke, Ursula
A1  - Ibelings, Bas
A1  - Jeppesen, Erik
A1  - Lurling, Miquel
A1  - Molinero, Juan Carlos
A1  - Mooij, Wolf M.
A1  - van Donk, Ellen
A1  - Winder, Monika
ED  - Futuyma, DJ
T1  - Beyond the Plankton Ecology Group (PEG) Model mechanisms driving plankton succession
JF  - Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics
JF  - Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics
N2  - The seasonal succession of plankton is an annually repeated process of community assembly during which all major external factors and internal interactions shaping communities can be studied. A quarter of a century ago, the state of this understanding was described by the verbal plankton ecology group (PEG) model. It emphasized the role of physical factors, grazing and nutrient limitation for phytoplankton, and the role of food limitation and fish predation for zooplankton. Although originally targeted at lake ecosystems, it was also adopted by marine plankton ecologists. Since then, a suite of ecological interactions previously underestimated in importance have become research foci: overwintering of key organisms, the microbial food web, parasitism, and food quality as a limiting factor and an extended role of higher order predators. A review of the impact of these novel interactions on plankton seasonal succession reveals limited effects on gross seasonal biomass patterns, but strong effects on species replacements.
KW  - lakes
KW  - oceans
KW  - seasonal patterns
KW  - pelagic zone
KW  - light
KW  - overwintering
KW  - grazing
KW  - parasitism
KW  - food quality
Y1  - 2012
SN  - 978-0-8243-1443-9
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110411-160251
SN  - 1543-592X
VL  - 43
IS  - 2-4
SP  - 429
EP  - 448
PB  - Annual Reviews
CY  - Palo Alto
ER  -