Ecology Letters

Barabás, György; Pásztor, Liz; Meszéna, Géza; Ostling, Annette; Adler, Frederick

doi: 10.1111/ele.12350pmid: 25252135

Sensitivity analysis, the study of how ecological variables of interest respond to changes in external conditions, is a theoretically well‐developed and widely applied approach in population ecology. Though the application of sensitivity analysis to predicting the response of species‐rich communities to disturbances also has a long history, derivation of a mathematical framework for understanding the factors leading to robust coexistence has only been a recent undertaking. Here we suggest that this development opens up a new perspective, providing advances ranging from the applied to the theoretical. First, it yields a framework to be applied in specific cases for assessing the extinction risk of community modules in the face of environmental change. Second, it can be used to determine trait combinations allowing for coexistence that is robust to environmental variation, and limits to diversity in the presence of environmental variation, for specific community types. Third, it offers general insights into the nature of communities that are robust to environmental variation. We apply recent community‐level extensions of mathematical sensitivity analysis to example models for illustration. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the method, and some of the empirical questions the theoretical framework could help answer.

Morlon, Hélène; Kefi, Sonia; Martinez, Neo D.; Novotny, Vojtech

doi: 10.1111/ele.12356pmid: 25292331

Understanding how ecological processes determine patterns among species coexisting within ecosystems is central to ecology. Here, we explore relationships between species’ local coexistence and their trophic niches in terms of their feeding relationships both as consumers and as resources. We build on recent concepts and methods from community phylogenetics to develop a framework for analysing mechanisms responsible for community composition using trophic similarity among species and null models of community assembly. We apply this framework to 50 food webs found in 50 Adirondack lakes and find that species composition in these communities appears to be driven by both bottom‐up effects by which the presence of prey species selects for predators of those prey, and top‐down effects by which prey more tolerant of predation out‐compete less tolerant prey of the same predators. This approach to community food webs is broadly applicable and shows how species interaction networks can inform an increasingly large array of theory central to community ecology.

Trainor, Anne M.; Schmitz, Oswald J.; Jordan, Ferenc

doi: 10.1111/ele.12372pmid: 25250672

Community ecology involves studying the interdependence of species with each other and their environment to predict their geographical distribution and abundance. Modern species distribution analyses characterise species‐environment dependency well, but offer only crude approximations of species interdependency. Typically, the dependency between focal species and other species is characterised using other species’ point occurrences as spatial covariates to constrain the focal species’ predicted range. This implicitly assumes that the strength of interdependency is homogeneous across space, which is not generally supported by analyses of species interactions. This discrepancy has an important bearing on the accuracy of inferences about habitat suitability for species. We introduce a framework that integrates principles from consumer–resource analyses, resource selection theory and species distribution modelling to enhance quantitative prediction of species geographical distributions. We show how to apply the framework using a case study of lynx and snowshoe hare interactions with each other and their environment. The analysis shows how the framework offers a spatially refined understanding of species distribution that is sensitive to nuances in biophysical attributes of the environment that determine the location and strength of species interactions.

Britten, Gregory L.; Dowd, Michael; Minto, Cóilín; Ferretti, Francesco; Boero, Ferdinando; Lotze, Heike K.; De Leo, Giulio

doi: 10.1111/ele.12354pmid: 25224645

Fisheries exploitation has caused widespread declines in marine predators. Theory predicts that predator depletion will destabilise lower trophic levels, making natural communities more vulnerable to environmental perturbations. However, empirical evidence has been limited. Using a community matrix model, we empirically assessed trends in the stability of a multispecies coastal fish community over the course of predator depletion. Three indices of community stability (resistance, resilience and reactivity) revealed significantly decreasing stability concurrent with declining predator abundance. The trophically downgraded community exhibited weaker top‐down control, leading to predator‐release processes in lower trophic levels and increased susceptibility to perturbation. At the community level, our results suggest that high predator abundance acts as a stabilising force to the naturally stochastic and highly autocorrelated dynamics in low trophic species. These findings have important implications for the conservation and management of predators in marine ecosystems and provide empirical support for the theory of predatory control.

Morin, Xavier; Fahse, Lorenz; Mazancourt, Claire; Scherer‐Lorenzen, Michael; Bugmann, Harald; Rejmanek, Marcel

doi: 10.1111/ele.12357pmid: 25212251

Theory predicts a positive relationship between biodiversity and stability in ecosystem properties, while diversity is expected to have a negative impact on stability at the species level. We used virtual experiments based on a dynamic simulation model to test for the diversity–stability relationship and its underlying mechanisms in Central European forests. First our results show that variability in productivity between stands differing in species composition decreases as species richness and functional diversity increase. Second we show temporal stability increases with increasing diversity due to compensatory dynamics across species, supporting the biodiversity insurance hypothesis. We demonstrate that this pattern is mainly driven by the asynchrony of species responses to small disturbances rather than to environmental fluctuations, and is only weakly affected by the net biodiversity effect on productivity. Furthermore, our results suggest that compensatory dynamics between species may enhance ecosystem stability through an optimisation of canopy occupancy by coexisting species.

Kümmerli, Rolf; Schiessl, Konstanze T.; Waldvogel, Tuija; McNeill, Kristopher; Ackermann, Martin; Baalen, Minus

doi: 10.1111/ele.12371pmid: 25250530

Bacteria typically rely on secreted metabolites, potentially shareable at the community level, to scavenge resources from the environment. The evolution of diffusible, shareable metabolites is, however, difficult to explain because molecules can get lost, or be exploited by cheating mutants. A key question is whether natural selection can act on molecule structure to control loss and shareability. We tested this possibility by collating information on diffusivity properties of 189 secreted iron‐scavenging siderophores and the natural habitats occupied by the siderophore‐producing species. In line with evolutionary theory, we found that highly diffusible siderophores have preferentially evolved in species living in structured habitats, such as soil and hosts, because structuring can keep producers and their shareable goods together. Poorly diffusible siderophores, meanwhile, have preferentially evolved in species living in unstructured habitats, such as seawater, indicating that these metabolites are less shareable and more likely provide direct benefits to the producers.

Crean, Angela J.; Kopps, Anna M.; Bonduriansky, Russell; Marshall, Dustin

doi: 10.1111/ele.12373pmid: 25270393

Newly discovered non‐genetic mechanisms break the link between genes and inheritance, thereby also raising the possibility that previous mating partners could influence traits in offspring sired by subsequent males that mate with the same female (‘telegony’). In the fly Telostylinus angusticollis, males transmit their environmentally acquired condition via paternal effects on offspring body size. We manipulated male condition, and mated females to two males in high or low condition in a fully crossed design. Although the second male sired a large majority of offspring, offspring body size was influenced by the condition of the first male. This effect was not observed when females were exposed to the first male without mating, implicating semen‐mediated effects rather than female differential allocation based on pre‐mating assessment of male quality. Our results reveal a novel type of transgenerational effect with potential implications for the evolution of reproductive strategies.

Carbone, Chris; Codron, Daryl; Scofield, Conrad; Clauss, Marcus; Bielby, Jon; Enquist, Brian

doi: 10.1111/ele.12375pmid: 25265992

Predator–prey relationships are vital to ecosystem function and there is a need for greater predictive understanding of these interactions. We develop a geometric foraging model predicting minimum prey size scaling in marine and terrestrial vertebrate predators taking into account habitat dimensionality and biological traits. Our model predicts positive predator–prey size relationships on land but negative relationships in the sea. To test the model, we compiled data on diets of 794 predators (mammals, snakes, sharks and rays). Consistent with predictions, both terrestrial endotherm and ectotherm predators have significantly positive predator–prey size relationships. Marine predators, however, exhibit greater variation. Some of the largest predators specialise on small invertebrates while others are large vertebrate specialists. Prey–predator mass ratios were generally higher for ectothermic than endothermic predators, although dietary patterns were similar. Model‐based simulations of predator–prey relationships were consistent with observed relationships, suggesting that our approach provides insights into both trends and diversity in predator–prey interactions.

Jucker, Tommaso; Bouriaud, Olivier; Avacaritei, Daniel; Coomes, David A.; Knops, Johannes

doi: 10.1111/ele.12382pmid: 25308256

Both theory and evidence suggest that diversity stabilises productivity in herbaceous plant communities through a combination of overyielding, species asynchrony and favourable species interactions. However, whether these same processes also promote stability in forest ecosystems has never been tested. Using tree ring data from permanent forest plots across Europe, we show that aboveground wood production is inherently more stable through time in mixed‐species forests. Faster rates of wood production (i.e. overyielding), decreased year‐to‐year variation in productivity through asynchronous responses of species to climate, and greater temporal stability in the growth rates of individual tree species all contributed strongly to stabilising productivity in mixed stands. Together, these findings reveal the central role of diversity in stabilising productivity in forests, and bring us closer to understanding the processes which enable diverse forests to remain productive under a wide range of environmental conditions.

Calcagno, Vincent; Grognard, Frédéric; Hamelin, Frédéric M.; Wajnberg, Éric; Mailleret, Ludovic; Hosken, David

doi: 10.1111/ele.12379pmid: 25331167

Understanding how often individuals should move when foraging over patchy habitats is a central question in ecology. By combining optimality and functional response theories, we show analytically how the optimal movement rate varies with the average resource level (enrichment) and resource distribution (patch heterogeneity). We find that the type of functional response predicts the effect of enrichment in homogeneous habitats: enrichment should decrease movement for decelerating functional responses, but increase movement for accelerating responses. An intermediate resource level thus maximises movement for type‐III responses. Counterintuitively, greater movement costs favour an increase in movement. In heterogeneous habitats predictions further depend on how enrichment alters the variance of resource distribution. Greater patch variance always increases the optimal rate of movement, except for type‐IV functional responses. While the functional response is well established as a fundamental determinant of consumer–resource dynamics, our results indicate its importance extends to the understanding of individual movement strategies.