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... The Amazon rainforest has experienced rapid land-use changes, including extensive deforestation of riparian areas, putting at risk among the most diverse freshwater fish assemblages on the planet. At nine study reaches distributed among three Colombian blackwater streams, we described and quantified how variability in riparian vegetation structure—during both dry and rainy seasons—influenced the t ...
artificial reefs; biomass; detritivores; functional diversity; habitats; pH; salinity; sediments; species richness; temperature; China
Abstract:
... Understanding the relationship between artificial reef (AR) construction and the functional diversity of marine organisms could facilitate the restoration of marine biodiversity, which has been severely reduced over the past decades. In the current research, we assessed the changes in macrobenthic functional feeding groups (FFGs) and environmental variables associated with those changes in both th ...
... The reproductive activity of the fish assemblage in a large Neotropical reservoir was evaluated by surveying the occurrence of ichthyoplankton in response to spatial and temporal variation in environmental factors. Fish reproduction was investigated by capturing larvae along representative spatial gradients in the main body (longitudinal) and arms (lateral) of the reservoir. After identification, ...
... The northern Pacific Ocean is one of the most sensitive areas globally to climate change. Copepods typically account for between 60% and 90% of mesozooplankton in the open ocean. Because copepods are a key link in marine food webs, their response to environmental changes is an important topic in marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships. The relationship between copepod assemblag ...
... Evaluation of traits and functional diversity make assessments more robust when determining the nature and strength of the relationship between species and ecosystem processes. We investigated how anthropic interference and physical and limnological characteristics of streams changed fish functional trait distribution and their functional diversity in Neotropical streams located in Southern Brazil ...
... Lowland oak forests host high biodiversity throughout Europe, and to maintain their high biodiversity potential we need to understand how current silviculture practices influence these ecosystems. The most common harvest approach in oak woodlands remains clear-cutting followed by site preparation for reforestation. The site preparation can vary in intensity and possibly affect forest biodiversity ...
... There is a growing consensus for assessing the multifaceted marine biodiversity by analyzing morphological taxonomy and biological traits to link the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships (BEF) to environmental variability. We applied taxonomic and functional diversity indices to relate copepod biodiversity with ecosystem functioning along different biogeographic zones from the Sout ...
... Ammonium has detrimental effects on the survival and physiology of freshwater invertebrates, however, the effects of ammonium on the functionality of hyporheic invertebrate assemblages have never been investigated. In this study, we applied a mixed (taxonomy- and trait-based) approach to explore the taxonomic and functional trait variation along a gradient of ammonium contamination in the hyporhei ...
... Given the massive and growing environmental impacts of conventional agriculture, humanity needs new methods for growing food that not only meet dietary needs but also provide for multiple ecosystem functions with potential benefits to people and biodiversity. Concepts from ecology and complex adaptive systems suggest that persistent structural heterogeneity and functional diversity are key for sup ...
... Forest clearance is a pervasive disturbance worldwide, but many of its impacts are regarded as transient, diminishing in intensity as forest recovers. However, forests can take decades to centuries to recover after severe disturbances, and temporal lags in recovery of ecosystem properties for different forest habitats are mostly unknown. This includes forest streams, where most studies of the impa ...
... Functional diversity can reflect the overall differences in functional traits and indicate their response to environmental disturbance. Macrofaunal feeding functional groups and functional diversity were studied in the adjacent waters of the Yangtze River Estuary. The detritivorous group had the highest species number, abundance and secondary productivity while the canivorous group had the highest ...
agricultural land; detritivores; diet; ecosystems; electrical conductivity; fish communities; foraging; forests; functional diversity; habitats; indigenous species; land use change; landscapes; silviculture; streams; urban areas; water quality; water temperature; Brazil
Abstract:
... Changes in landscape composition caused by conversion of natural habitats into human-altered ecosystems can directly influence the physical characteristics of stream networks. Such impacts can modify the functional structure of fish communities, although the exact consequences of anthropic land-use changes can be context-dependent. This study investigated the influence of different land-use classe ...
Reynoutria; community structure; detritivores; ecological balance; functional diversity; palatability; soil; soil food webs; France
Abstract:
... Invasive plants often modify the structure of the community of native plants and animals, but their potential impact on the plant–soil interface is poorly studied. In this study, we looked at the impact of invasive knotweed (Reynoutria spp.) on the taxonomic and functional structure of three trophic levels (plants, detritivores and predators). We wanted to determine if knotweed had a cascading imp ...
... Anthropogenic impacts on freshwater ecosystems cause critical losses of biodiversity that can in turn impair key processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. Forest streams are mainly subsidized by terrestrial organic detritus, so their functioning and conservation status can be altered by changes in forest biodiversity and composition, particularly if these changes involve the replacemen ...
... Soil faunal activity can be a major control of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soil. Effects of single faunal species, genera or families have been investigated, but it is unknown how soil fauna diversity may influence emissions of both carbon dioxide (CO₂, end product of decomposition of organic matter) and nitrous oxide (N₂O, an intermediate product of N transformation processes, in particul ...
... Litter decomposition is a major component of the nutrient cycle in forest ecosystems. It is generally accepted that higher initial quality and litter mixture contribute to increased mass loss, and the effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition is context-dependent. Meanwhile, the formation of gaps alters the hydrological and thermal conditions of the forest through the redistribution of light a ...
carbon nitrogen ratio; detritivores; ecosystems; functional diversity; natural regeneration; soil; species richness; trees; tropical forests; vegetation structure; Brazil
Abstract:
... Restoration projects may have broad and complex ecological goals that require distinct and integrative measures for evaluating restoration development and success. However, most studies usually evaluate structural and species composition parameters, with less emphasis on ecological processes and functioning. The main objective of this study is to use an integrated approach that considers structura ...
Centaurea stoebe subsp. stoebe; DNA barcoding; arid lands; arthropod communities; arthropods; detritivores; ecological invasion; ecosystems; energy flow; forbs; functional diversity; grasslands; grazing; habitats; herbivores; introduced plants; invasive species; perennials; pitfall traps; planning; seasonal variation; species diversity; surveys; sweep nets; trophic levels; British Columbia
Abstract:
... Biological invasions are of particular concern in grasslands, as these systems are highly susceptible to changes in ecosystem energy flows following invasions by exotic plants. Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe L.), a Eurasian, perennial forb, is considered one of the most ecologically harmful invasive plants in North American grasslands and may lead to changes in trophic dynamics, particularly w ...
Jamile Queiroz‐Sousa; Sally A. Keith; Gianmarco S. David; Heleno Brandão; André B. Nobile; Jaciara V. K. Paes; Ana C. Souto; Felipe P. Lima; Reinaldo J. Silva; Raoul Henry; Katherine Richardson
detritivores; fish communities; freshwater; freshwater fish; functional diversity; introduced species; piscivores; species abundance; species richness; Brazil
Abstract:
... In this study, the inverted trophic hypothesis was tested in the freshwater fish communities of a reservoir. The distribution of fish species in three freshwater habitats in the Jurumirim Reservoir, Brazil, was examined using both species richness and the relative proportions of different trophic groups. These groups were used as a proxy for functional structure in an attempt to test the ability o ...
Formicidae; Isoptera; altitude; baits; chickens; climatic factors; community structure; detritivores; ecosystems; feces; food choices; foraging; functional diversity; insects; melezitose; mutualism; nectar feeding; predation; species diversity; sucrose; understory; Papua New Guinea
Abstract:
... Elevational gradients provide an interesting opportunity for studying the effect of climatic drivers over short distances on the various facets of biodiversity. It is globally assumed that the decrease in species richness with increasing elevation follows mainly the decrease in ecosystem productivity, but studies on functional diversity still remain limited. Here, we investigated how resource use ...
soil organic carbon; Fluvisols; total nitrogen; trees; phosphorus; land use; forests; functional diversity; salt concentration; coasts; soil salts; Populus canadensis; soil density; omnivores; community structure; Metasequoia glyptostroboides; cropland; soil nutrients; detritivores; edaphic factors; pH; habitats; China
Abstract:
... The long-term succession of the soil macro-faunal community after reclamation at coastal areas is not well understood, especially at the time scale of centuries. The objective of this work was to analyze soil development by measuring its principal physico-chemical properties and study the macro-faunal biodiversity succession along the successional trajectory created by intermittent reclamation. We ...
... Understanding the relationships between mangrove forest succession and the functional diversity of mangrove fauna could facilitate the restoration of mangrove ecosystems, which have been severely damaged in recent decades. The current report describes changes in macrobenthic functional diversity in a mangrove chronosequence that included a primary community (unvegetated shoal), an early community ...
... The soil decomposer community is a primary driver of carbon cycling in forest ecosystems. Understanding the processes that structure this community is critical to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. In North American forests, soil fungal communities are regulated by grazing soil invertebrates, which are in turn controlled by the predatory red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). The p ...
... Theory suggests that bottom‐up effects of resource diversity to upper trophic levels increases ecosystem functioning. In particular, energy flux from the detritus to other organisms in an ecosystem affects food web dynamics. To our knowledge, no empirical studies have examined how detritivore diversity alters the energy flux to upper trophic levels in a food web. Here we test the hypothesis that t ...
... We performed a greenhouse experiment to test how the functional diversity of earthworms, the dominant group of soil macro-invertebrates in many terrestrial ecosystems, affects nitrogen cycling and plant growth. Three species were chosen to represent a range of functional traits: Lumbricus terrestris (large, mainly detritivorous, makes vertical permanent burrows open at the surface), Aporrectodea l ...
... A better understanding of the mechanisms driving litter diversity effects on decomposition is needed to predict how biodiversity losses affect this crucial ecosystem process. In a microcosm study, we investigated the effects of litter functional diversity and two major groups of soil macro-detritivores on the mass loss of tree leaf litter mixtures. Furthermore, we tested the effects of litter trai ...
... Functional diversity (FD) as a biodiversity measure has an explicit role in ecosystem functioning because the effects of environmental changes in ecosystems are determined by biological functions, such as feeding type and trophic position, of particular species. We evaluated the usability of functional characterization and FD of an aquatic keystone group (Crustacea: Cladocera) for enhancing the un ...
Araneae; Carabidae; Hymenoptera; Tamarix; arthropod communities; community structure; detritivores; functional diversity; habitats; hydrology; omnivores; phytomass; pitfall traps; predators; riparian areas; river regulation; rivers; shrubs; soil arthropods; species diversity; summer; Arizona; Colorado River
Abstract:
... The disturbance history, plant species composition, productivity, and structural complexity of a site can exert bottom-up controls on arthropod diversity, abundance, and trophic structure. Regulation alters the hydrology and disturbance regimes of rivers and affects riparian habitats by changing plant quality parameters. Fifty years of regulation along the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon ...
Procambarus clarkii; biomass; chlorophyll; community structure; crayfish; detritivores; ecosystems; functional diversity; macroinvertebrates; macrophytes; ponds; sediments; tanks; total suspended solids; turbidity
Abstract:
... Temporary ponds, acknowledged for their conservation value, are colonized by the invasive crayfish Procambarus clarkii. We have tested the consequences of this colonization for the ecosystem under two contrasted scenarios: one single individual arrival or three individuals arrival. We recreated the temporary pond ecosystem in 1 m² tanks to investigate the impact of the two crayfish densities. We s ...
algal blooms; benthic organisms; continental shelf; detritivores; fauna; functional diversity; multivariate analysis; nutrients; omnivores; organic matter; oxygen; sediments; species diversity; British Columbia
Abstract:
... Benthic communities play a major role in organic matter remineralization but the role played by macrofauna functional and taxonomic diversity remains elusive. To investigate this topic, we collected sediment cores from two different continental shelf locations near British Columbia, Canada, that differed in diversity to determine how the communities would respond to organic enrichment in the short ...
... Higher-tier ecological risk assessment of chemicals often relies upon studies in dynamic and/or static mesocosms. Physico-chemical and hydrological properties of each type of mesocosm result in specific chemicals fate, community functioning, and potential recovery. In the present study, macroinvertebrate abundance- and biomass-weighted biological and ecological trait matrices were used to assess t ...
... The role of biodiversity for soil processes remains poorly understood. Existing evidence suggests that functional diversity rather than species richness is relevant for soil functioning. However, the importance of functional diversity has rarely been assessed simultaneously at more than one trophic level, critically limiting the prediction of consequences of biodiversity loss for soil functioning. ...
... Staphylinid beetles are recommended bioindicators for the pre-market environmental risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) insect protected maize expressing the Cry3Bb1 toxin. Our multiannual study is a unique European analysis of a staphylinid community within a 14 ha maize field. GM maize, its near-isogenic hybrid (with or without insecticide treatment), and two other reference hybrids were ...
... The invasive tree Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (tree of heaven) is considered as an ecosystem transformer, which alters plant communities in open areas and forests. Nothing is yet known about its potential effects on forest soil biota and ecosystem functioning. We present here the first study assessesing the impact of A. altissima on soil and litter invertebrate communities in a temperate f ...
detritivores; drought; estuaries; estuarine fish; fish communities; functional diversity; hydrology; microhabitats; omnivores; piscivores; salinity; species diversity; temperature; water pollution
Abstract:
... The functional diversity of the fish assemblages of the Mondego estuary was studied for a discontinuous 30-year period (1988–2012). During this time, hydrological changes occurred due to man-induced alterations and weather extremes. These changes led to alterations in the structure and function of the fish community. Species richness and functional richness decreased over time and the fish communi ...
Scleractinia; algae; benthic organisms; community development; community structure; coral reefs; detritivores; ecosystems; fish; functional diversity; grazing intensity; herbivores; juveniles; lawns and turf; microhabitats; particulates; primary productivity
Abstract:
... Consumer-producer dynamics are critical for ecosystem functioning. In marine environments, primary production is often subject to strong consumer control, and on coral reefs, the grazing pressure exerted by herbivorous fishes has been identified as a major determinant of benthic community structure. Using experimental surfaces, we demonstrate that on coral reefs, microtopographic refuges decrease ...
... Forest fragments and their tree canopies may act as important reservoirs for biodiversity, but their role in supporting diversity is poorly understood in the context of their spatial arrangement. We examine the influence of landscape configuration and location within forest patches (e.g. canopy, edge or patch interior) on patterns of arthropod biodiversity associated with sugar maple trees across ...
... Despite ample experimental evidence indicating that biodiversity might be an important driver of ecosystem processes, its role in the functioning of real ecosystems remains unclear. In particular, the understanding of which aspects of biodiversity are most important for ecosystem functioning, their importance relative to other biotic and abiotic drivers, and the circumstances under which biodivers ...
Diptera; Sphagnum; body size; community structure; detritivores; ecosystems; fauna; functional diversity; insects; natural regeneration; peat; peatlands; species richness
Abstract:
... Peat mining causes major degradation to bogs and natural regeneration of these sites is slow and often incomplete. Thus, restoration is an important tool for re-establishing natural ecosystem properties (although perhaps not the original species pool) in mined bogs. Because faunal recovery cannot be taken for granted following plant restoration, we assessed community assembly of higher flies (Dipt ...
... 1. Primary production and decomposition, two fundamental processes determining the functioning of ecosystems, may be sensitive to changes in biodiversity and food web interactions. 2. The impacts of food web interactions on ecosystem functioning are generally quantified by experimentally decoupling these linked processes and examining either primary production‐based (green) or decomposition‐based ...
functional diversity; food webs; plant litter; detritivores; long term effects; aquatic environment; habitats; environmental factors; ecosystems; aquatic communities; leaves
Abstract:
... Understanding models of networks formation is fundamental to explore the role of the structure in the functioning of the systems they describe, and their ability to respond to change. In this work, we aimed to understand whether and how the modular (or compartmented) structure of a network composed by macroinvertebrates and leaf detritus in six pools of aquatic system was related with the decompos ...
... The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (B-EF) was investigated by examining top-down effects of aquatic detritivore diversity on the functional process of leaf-litter breakdown. This study was undertaken in tropical Hong Kong where the stream detritivore guild is depauperate and loss of one or a few species might have strong effects on processes. Effects of detritivore ric ...
... Sown, temporary field margins are a common agri-environment scheme (AES) in the Netherlands. Despite their wide application, though, there has been scarcely any long-term monitoring of the succession of invertebrates. In the field margins of 40 farms, invertebrate diversity and the abundance of three functional groups were assessed in relation to age. The diversity in terms of number of species gr ...
... This study evaluates the impact of agricultural management (organic vs. conventional) and landscape context on species richness and abundance of five soil arthropod taxa (ground beetles, spiders, springtails, millipedes, woodlice) and associated ecosystem functions (soil biological activity, weed seed predation, litter decomposition). A significant interaction between management type and landscape ...
... Theory predicts that the probability that an ecosystem will provide a consistent level of functioning over a given unit of time, i.e. the reliability of ecosystem processes, should increase with species richness. There is growing evidence that plant diversity increases the temporal stability of productivity, but only a few studies have investigated its impact on the reliability of ecosystem proces ...
... The productivity and diversity of plant communities are affected by soil organisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), root herbivores and decomposers. However, it is unknown how interactions between such functionally dissimilar soil organisms affect plant communities and whether the combined effects are additive or interactive. In a greenhouse experiment we investigated the individual and ...
... Impacts of belowground insecticide application on plant performance and changes in plant community structure almost uniformly have been ascribed to reduced belowground herbivory, although recent studies reported distinct side effects on detritivore soil animals, particularly on Collembola. Consequently, it remains controversial if the resulting soil feedbacks on plants are due to alterations in ar ...
... The aim of this study was to determine effects of clear-cutting and prescribed clear-cut burning on the abundance and diversity of soil meso- and macrofauna during the early (0-5 years) recovery/recolonisation phase. A 115-year-old stand of mixed Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies in central Sweden was clear-cut in March 1999. In June 1999, two plots on the clear-cut were burnt and two plots were le ...