Publications
142 results found
Tylianakis JM, Casanovas P, Goldson SL, 2017, Food Webs, Multiple Enemies and Biological Control, 5th International Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods, Publisher: CABI PUBLISHING-C A B INT, Pages: 35-37
Hudson LN, Newbold T, Contu S, et al., 2016, The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project, Ecology and Evolution, Vol: 7, Pages: 145-188, ISSN: 2045-7758
The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
Bell T, Tylianakis JM, 2016, Microbes in the Anthropocene: spillover of agriculturally selected bacteria and their impact on natural ecosystems, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol: 283, ISSN: 0962-8452
Soil microbial communities are enormously diverse, with at least millions of species and trillions of genes unknown to science or poorly described. Soil microbial communities are key components of agriculture, for example in provisioning nitrogen and protecting crops from pathogens, providing overall ecosystem services in excess of $1000bn per year. It is important to know how humans are affecting this hidden diversity. Much is known about the negative consequences of agricultural intensification on higher-organisms, but almost nothing is known about how alterations to landscapes affect microbial diversity, distributions and processes. Wereview what is known about spatial flows of microbes and their response to land use change, and outline nine hypotheses to advance research of microbiomes across landscapes. We hypothesise that intensified agriculture selects for certain taxa and genes, which then “spill over” into adjacent unmodified areas and generate a halo of genetic differentiation around agricultural fields.Consequently, the spatial configuration and management intensityof different habitats combines with the dispersal ability of individual taxa to determine the extent of spillover, which canimpact the functioning of adjacent unmodified habitats. When landscapes are heterogeneous and dispersal rates are high, this will select for large genomes that allow exploitation of multiple habitats, a process that may be accelerated through horizontal gene transfer.Continued expansion of agriculture will increase genotypic similarity, making microbial community functioning increasingly variable in human-dominated landscapes, potentially also impactingthe consistent provisioning of ecosystem services.While the resulting economic costs have not been calculated, it is clear that dispersal dynamics of microbes s
Tylianakis JM, Frost CM, Peralta G, et al., 2016, Apparent competition drives community-wide parasitism rates and changes in host abundance across ecosystem boundaries, Nature Communications, Vol: 7, ISSN: 2041-1723
Species have strong indirect effects on others, and predicting these effects is a central challenge in ecology. Prey species sharing an enemy (predator or parasitoid) can be linked by apparent competition, but it is unknown whether this process is strong enough to be a community-wide structuring mechanism that could be used to predict future states of diverse food webs. Whether species abundances are spatially coupled by enemy movement across different habitats is also untested. Here, using a field experiment, we show that predicted apparent competitive effects between species, mediated via shared parasitoids, can significantly explain future parasitism rates and herbivore abundances. These predictions are successful even across edges between natural and managed forests, following experimental reduction of herbivore densities by aerial spraying over 20ha. This result shows that trophic indirect effects propagate across networks and habitats in important, predictable ways, with implications for landscape planning, invasion biology and biological control.
De Palma A, Purvis A, 2016, Predicting bee community responses to land-use changes: effects of geographic and taxonomic biases, Scientific Reports, Vol: 6, ISSN: 2045-2322
Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human impacts. The available data are, however, geographically and taxonomically unrepresentative; most data are from North America and Western Europe, overrepresenting bumblebees and raising concerns that model results may not be generalizable to other regions and taxa. To assess whether the geographic and taxonomic biases of data could undermine effectiveness of models for conservation policy, we have collated from the published literature a global dataset of bee diversity at sites facing land-use change and intensification, and assess whether bee responses to these pressures vary across 11 regions (Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe; North, Central and South America; Australia and New Zealand; South East Asia; Middle and Southern Africa) and between bumblebees and other bees. Our analyses highlight strong regionally-based responses of total abundance, species richness and Simpson's diversity to land use, caused by variation in the sensitivity of species and potentially in the nature of threats. These results suggest that global extrapolation of models based on geographically and taxonomically restricted data may underestimate the true uncertainty, increasing the risk of ecological surprises.
Rohr RP, Saavedra S, Peralta G, et al., 2016, Persist or Produce: A Community Trade-Off Tuned by Species Evenness, American Naturalist, Vol: 188, Pages: 411-422, ISSN: 1537-5323
Understanding the effects of biodiversity on community persistence and productivity is key to managing both natural and production systems. Because rare species face greater danger of extinction, species evenness, a measure of how similar abundances are across species in a community, is seen as a key component of biodiversity. However, previous studies have failed to find a consistent association of species evenness with species survival and biomass production. Here we provide a theoretical framework for the relationship among these three elements. We demonstrate that the lack of consistent outcomes is not an idiosyncratic artifact of different studies but can be unified under one common framework. Applying a niche theory approach, we confirm that under demographic stochasticity evenness is a general indicator of the risk of future species extinctions in a community, in accordance with the majority of empirical studies. In contrast, evenness cannot be used as a direct indicator of the level of biomass production in a community. When a single species dominates, as expressed by the constraints imposed by the population dynamics, biomass production depends on the niche position of the dominating species and can increase or decrease with evenness. We demonstrate that high species evenness and an intermediate level of biomass production is the configuration that maximizes the average species survival probability in response to demographic stochasticity.
Emer C, Memmott J, Vaughan IP, et al., 2016, Species roles in plant-pollinator communities are conserved across native and alien ranges, Diversity and Distributions, Vol: 22, Pages: 841-852, ISSN: 1366-9516
AimAlien species alter interaction networks by disrupting existing interactions, for example between plants and pollinators, and by engaging in new interactions. Predicting the effects of an incoming invader can be difficult, although recent work suggests species roles in interaction networks may be conserved across locations. We test whether species roles in plant–pollinator networks differ between their native and alien ranges and whether the former can be used to predict the latter.LocationWorld-wide.MethodsWe used 64 plant–pollinator networks to search for species occurring in at least one network in its native range and one network in its alien range. We found 17 species meeting these criteria, distributed in 48 plant–pollinator networks. We characterized each species’ role by estimating species-level network indices: normalized degree, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality and two measures of contribution to modularity (c- and z-scores). Linear mixed models and linear regression models were used to test for differences in species role between native and alien ranges and to predict those roles from the native to the alien range, respectively.ResultsSpecies roles varied considerably across species. Nevertheless, although species lost their native mutualists and gained novel interactions in the alien community, their role did not differ significantly between ranges. Consequently, closeness centrality and normalized degree in the alien range were highly predictable from the native range networks.Main conclusionsSpecies with high degree and centrality define the core of nested networks. Our results suggest that core species are likely to establish interactions and be core species in the alien range, whilst species with few interactions in their native range will behave similarly in their alien range. Our results provide new insights into species role conservatism and could help ecologists to predict alien species impact at the communi
Gravel D, Baiser B, Dunne JA, et al., 2016, Bringing Elton and Grinnell Together: a quantitative framework to represent the biogeography of ecological interaction networks
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Biogeography has traditionally focused on the spatial distribution and abundance of species. Both are driven by the way species interact with one another, but also by the way these interactions vary across time and space. Here, we call for an integrated approach, adopting the view that community structure is best represented as a network of ecological interactions, and show how it translates to biogeography questions. We propose that the ecological niche should encompass the effect of the environment on species distribution (the Grinnellian dimension of the niche) and on the ecological interactions among them (the Eltonian dimension). Starting from this concept, we develop a quantitative theory to explain turnover of interactions in space and time<jats:italic>i.e</jats:italic>. a novel approach to interaction distribution modelling. We apply this framework to host parasite interactions across Europe and find that two aspects of the environment (temperature and precipitation) exert a strong imprint on species co-occurrence, but not on species interactions. Even where species co-occur, interaction proves to be stochastic rather than deterministic, adding to variation in realized network structure. We also find that a large majority of host-parasite pairs are never found together, thus precluding any inferences regarding their probability to interact. This first attempt to explain variation of network structure at large spatial scales opens new perspectives at the interface of species distribution modelling and community ecology.</jats:p>
Coux C, Rader R, Bartomeus I, et al., 2016, Linking Species Functional Roles To Their Network Roles, Ecology Letters, Vol: 19, Pages: 762-770, ISSN: 1461-0248
Species roles in ecological networks combine to generate their architecture, which contributes to their stability. Species trait diversity also affects ecosystem functioning and resilience, yet it remains unknown whether species’ contributions to functional diversity relate to their network roles. Here we use 21 empirical pollen transport networks to characterise this relationship. We found that, apart from a few abundant species, pollinators with original traits either had few interaction partners or interacted most frequently with a subset of these partners. This suggests that narrowing of interactions to a subset of the plant community accompanies pollinator niche specialisation, congruent with our hypothesised trade-off between having unique traits vs. being able to interact with many mutualist partners. Conversely, these effects were not detected in plants, potentially because key aspects of their flowering traits are conserved at a family level. Relating functional and network roles can provide further insight into mechanisms underlying ecosystem functioning.
Bartomeus I, Gravel D, Tylianakis JM, et al., 2016, A common framework for identifying linkage rules across different types of interactions, Functional Ecology, Vol: 30, Pages: 1894-1903, ISSN: 1365-2435
1.Species interactions, ranging from antagonisms to mutualisms, form the architecture of biodiversity and determine ecosystem functioning. Understanding the rules responsible for who interacts with whom, as well as the functional consequences of these interspecific interactions, is central to predict community dynamics and stability.2.Species traits sensu lato may affect different ecological processes by determining species interactions through a two-step process. First, ecological and life-history traits govern species distributions and abundance, and hence determine species co-occurrence and the potential for species to interact. Second, morphological or physiological traits between co-occurring potential interaction partners should match for the realization of an interaction. Here, we review recent advances on predicting interactions from species co-occurrence, and develop a probabilistic model for inferring trait matching.3.The models proposed here integrate both neutral and trait-matching constraints, while using only information about known interactions, thereby overcoming problems originating from under-sampling of rare interactions (i.e. missing links). They can easily accommodate qualitative or quantitative data, and can incorporate trait variation within species, such as values that vary along developmental stages or environmental gradients.4.We use three case studies to show that the proposed models can detect strong trait matching (e.g. predator-prey system), relaxed trait matching (e.g. herbivore-plant system) and barrier trait matching (e.g. plant-pollinator systems).5.Only by elucidating which species traits are important in each process (i.e. in determining interaction establishment and frequency), can we advance in explaining how species interact and the consequences of these interactions for ecosystem functioning.
Dickie IA, Wakelin AM, Martinez-Garcia L, et al., 2016, Oomycetes during 120,000 years of temperate rainforest ecosystem development
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The occurrence of plant-associated oomycetes in natural ecosystems and particularly during long-term ecosystem development is largely unknown, despite the importance of many oomycetes as plant pathogens. Using DNA sequencing from roots, we investigated the frequency and host relationships of plant-associated oomycete communities along a 120 000 year glacial chronosequence, comprising site ages with rapid compositional change (“early succession”; 5, 15, and 70 years old soil); relatively stable higher-diversity sites (“mature”, 280, 500, 1000, 5000, 12000 years); and ancient, nutrient-limited soils with declining plant diversity and stature (“retrogression”, 60 000, 120 000 years). Plant-associated oomycetes were frequent in all three early successional sites, occurring in 38 – 65% of plant roots, but rare (average 3%) in all older ecosystems. Oomycetes were highly host specific, and more frequent on those plant species that declined most strongly in abundance between ecosystem ages. The results support the particular importance of plant-associated oomycetes in early succession (up to 70 years). High host specificity and correlations of abundance of oomycete inside roots with declining plant species are consistent with oomycete-driven successional change.</jats:p>
Macfadyen S, Tylianakis JM, Letourneau DK, et al., 2016, The role of food retailers in improving resilience in global food supply, Global Food Security, Vol: 7, Pages: 1-8, ISSN: 2211-9124
We urgently need a more resilient food supply system that is robust enough to absorb and recover quickly from shocks, and to continuously provide food in the face of significant threats. The simplified global food supply chain we currently rely upon exacerbates threats to supply and is unstable. Much attention has been given to how producers can maximise yield, but less attention has been given to other stakeholders in the supply chain. Increasingly, transnational food retailers (supermarkets) occupy a critical point in the chain, which makes them highly sensitive to variability in supply, and able to encourage change of practice across large areas. We contend that the concentration in the chain down to a few retailers in each country provides an opportunity to increase resilience of future supply given appropriate, scale-dependent interventions. We make ten recommendations aimed at reducing variability in supply that can be driven by retailers (although some of the interventions will be implemented by producers). Importantly, resilience in our food supply requires the restoration and expansion of ecosystem services at the landscape-scale.
Peralta G, Frost CM, Didham RK, et al., 2015, Phylogenetic diversity and co-evolutionary signals among trophic levels change across a habitat edge, JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Vol: 84, Pages: 364-372, ISSN: 0021-8790
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- Citations: 18
Martinez-Garcia LB, Richardson SJ, Tylianakis JM, et al., 2015, Host identity is a dominant driver of mycorrhizal fungal community composition during ecosystem development, NEW PHYTOLOGIST, Vol: 205, Pages: 1565-1576, ISSN: 0028-646X
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- Citations: 148
Didham RK, Barker GM, Bartlam S, et al., 2015, Agricultural Intensification Exacerbates Spillover Effects on Soil Biogeochemistry in Adjacent Forest Remnants, PLOS ONE, Vol: 10, ISSN: 1932-6203
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- Citations: 37
Frost CM, Didham RK, Rand TA, et al., 2015, Community-level net spillover of natural enemies from managed to natural forest, ECOLOGY, Vol: 96, Pages: 193-202, ISSN: 0012-9658
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- Citations: 48
Hudson LN, Newbold T, Contu S, et al., 2014, The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts, ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, Vol: 4, Pages: 4701-4735, ISSN: 2045-7758
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- Citations: 149
Garcia D, Martinez D, Stouffer DB, et al., 2014, Exotic birds increase generalization and compensate for native bird decline in plant-frugivore assemblages, JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Vol: 83, Pages: 1441-1450, ISSN: 0021-8790
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- Citations: 54
Tylianakis JM, Binzer A, 2014, Effects of global environmental changes on parasitoid-host food webs and biological control, BIOLOGICAL CONTROL, Vol: 75, Pages: 77-86, ISSN: 1049-9644
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- Citations: 63
Rader R, Bartomeus I, Tylianakis JM, et al., 2014, The winners and losers of land use intensification: pollinator community disassembly is non-random and alters functional diversity, DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Vol: 20, Pages: 908-917, ISSN: 1366-9516
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- Citations: 121
Peralta G, Frost CM, Rand TA, et al., 2014, Complementarity and redundancy of interactions enhance attack rates and spatial stability in host-parasitoid food webs, ECOLOGY, Vol: 95, Pages: 1888-1896, ISSN: 0012-9658
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- Citations: 65
Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Gardner TA, et al., 2014, BIOFRAG - a new database for analyzing BIOdiversity responses to forest FRAGmentation, Ecology and Evolution, Vol: 4, Pages: 1524-1537, ISSN: 2045-7758
Tylianakis JM, Coux C, 2014, Tipping points in ecological networks, TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE, Vol: 19, Pages: 281-283, ISSN: 1360-1385
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- Citations: 20
Goldson SL, Wratten SD, Ferguson CM, et al., 2014, If and when successful classical biological control fails, BIOLOGICAL CONTROL, Vol: 72, Pages: 76-79, ISSN: 1049-9644
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- Citations: 38
Graham SL, Hunt JE, Millard P, et al., 2014, Effects of Soil Warming and Nitrogen Addition on Soil Respiration in a New Zealand Tussock Grassland, PLOS ONE, Vol: 9, ISSN: 1932-6203
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- Citations: 46
Gornish ES, Tylianakis JM, 2013, COMMUNITY SHIFTS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE: MECHANISMS AT MULTIPLE SCALES, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY, Vol: 100, Pages: 1422-1434, ISSN: 0002-9122
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- Citations: 38
Dickie IA, Martinez-Garcia LB, Koele N, et al., 2013, Mycorrhizas and mycorrhizal fungal communities throughout ecosystem development, PLANT AND SOIL, Vol: 367, Pages: 11-39, ISSN: 0032-079X
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- Citations: 128
, 2013, Pollination Decline in Context Response, SCIENCE, Vol: 340, Pages: 924-+, ISSN: 0036-8075
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- Citations: 4
Eklof A, Jacob U, Kopp J, et al., 2013, The dimensionality of ecological networks, ECOLOGY LETTERS, Vol: 16, Pages: 577-583, ISSN: 1461-023X
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- Citations: 196
Tylianakis JM, 2013, The Global Plight of Pollinators, SCIENCE, Vol: 339, Pages: 1532-1533, ISSN: 0036-8075
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- Citations: 69
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