Publication Search Results

ID: 150713
Type: article
Authors: Adamowicz, Wiktor; Calderon-Etter, Laura; Entem, Alicia; Fenichel, Eli P.; Hall, Jefferson S.; Lloyd-Smith, Patrick; Ogden, Fred L.; Regina, Jason A.; Rad, Mani Rouhi; Stallard, Robert F.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Conventional markets can underprovide ecosystem services. Deliberate creation of a market for ecosystem services e.g., a payments for ecosystem services (PES) scheme] can close the gap. The new ecosystem service market alters behaviors and quantities of ecosystem service provided and reveals prices for the ecosystems service: a market-clearing equilibrium. Assessing the potential for PES programs, which often act as ecological infrastructure investment mechanisms, requires forecasting the market-clearing equilibrium. Forecasting the equilibrium is complicated, especially at relevant social and ecological scales. It requires greater disciplinary integration than valuing ecosystem services or computing the marginal cost of making a land-use change to produce a service. We conduct an ex ante benefit–cost assessment and forecast market-clearing prices and quantities for ecological infrastructure investment contracts in the Panama Canal Watershed. The Panama Canal Authority could offer contracts to private farmers to change land use to increase dry-season water flow and reduce sedimentation. A feasible voluntary contracting system yields a small program of about 1,840 ha of land conversion in a 279,000-ha watershed and generates a 4.9 benefit–cost ratio. Physical and social constraints limit market supply and scalability. Service delays, caused by lags between the time payments must be made and the time services stemming from ecosystem change are realized, hinder program feasibility. Targeting opportunities raise the benefit–cost ratio but reduce the hectares likely to be converted. We compare and contrast our results with prior state-of-the-art assessments on this system.

ID: 151812
Type: article
Authors: Adams, Benjamin J.; Schnitzer, Stefan A.; Yanoviak, Stephen P.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Understanding how habitat structure and resource availability affect local species distributions is a key goal of community ecology. Where habitats occur as a mosaic, variation in connectivity among patches influences both local species richness and composition, and connectivity is a key conservation concern in fragmented landscapes. Similarly, availability of limiting resources frequently determines species co-existence or exclusion. For primarily cursorial arthropods like ants, gaps between neighboring trees are a significant barrier to movement through the forest canopy. Competition for limited resources such as nest sites also promotes antagonistic interactions. Lianas (woody vines) connect normally isolated neighboring tree crowns and often have hollow stems inhabited by ants. We used two large-scale liana removal experiments to determine how connectivity and nest site availability provided by lianas affect arboreal ant species richness, species composition, and β-diversity in a lowland tropical forest in Panama. Removing lianas from a tree crown reduced ant species richness up to 35%, and disproportionately affected species that require large foraging areas. Adding artificial connectivity to trees mitigated the effects of liana removal. Ant colonization of artificial nests was higher (73% occupied) in trees without lianas vs. trees with lianas (28% occupied). However, artificial nests typically were colonized by existing polydomous, resident ant species. As a result, nest addition did not affect ant community structure. Collectively, these results indicate that lianas are important to the maintenance of arboreal ant diversity specifically by providing connectivity among neighboring tree crowns. Anticipated increases in liana abundance in this forest could increase the local (tree-level) species richness of arboreal ants, with a compositional bias toward elevating the density of broad-ranging specialist predators. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ID: 151538
Type: article
Authors: Aguilar-Rodríguez, Pedro Adrián; Tschapka, Marco; García-Franco, José G.; Krömer, Thorsten; MacSwiney G, ,M.Cristina
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Pollinators can be a limited resource and natural selection should favour differences in phenotypic characteristics to reduce competition among plants. Bats are important pollinators of many Neotropical plants, including the Bromeliaceae; however, the pre-pollination mechanisms for isolation among sympatric bat-pollinated bromeliads are unknown. Here, we studied the mechanisms for reproductive segregation between Pitcairnia recurvata, Pseudalcantarea viridiflora, Werauhia noctiflorens and W. nutans. The study was conducted at Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, in Veracruz, Mexico We carried out ex situ and in situ manual pollination treatments to determine the breeding system by assessing fruiting and seedling success and sampled bat visitors using mist-nets and infrared cameras. We determined the nocturnal nectar production pattern, estimating the energetic content of this reward. All four bromeliads are self-compatible, but only P. recurvata appears to require pollinators, because the physical separation between anthers and stigma prevents self-pollination, it is xenogamous and presents a strictly nocturnal anthesis. The bats Anoura geoffroyi, Glossophaga soricina and Hylonycteris underwoodi are probable pollinators of three of the studied bromeliads. We did not record any animal visiting the fourth species. The flowering season of each species is staggered throughout the year, with minimal overlap, and the floral morphology segregates the locations on the body of the bat where the pollen is deposited. The most abundant nectar per flower is provided by P. viridiflora, but P. recurvata offers the best reward per hectare, considering the density of flowering plants. Staggered flowering, different pollen deposition sites on the body of the pollinator and differences in the reward offered may have evolved to reduce the competitive costs of sharing pollinators while providing a constant supply of food to maintain a stable nectarivorous bat community.

ID: 151543
Type: article
Authors: Almeida, Danilo R. A.; Stark, Scott C.; Schietti, Juliana; Camargo, Jose L. C.; Amazonas, NinoT; Gorgens, Eric B.; Rosa, Diogo M.; Smith, Marielle N.; Valbuena, Ruben; Saleska, Scott; Andrade, Ana; Mesquita, Rita; Laurance, Susan G.; Laurance, William F.; Lovejoy, Thomas E.; Broadbent, Eben N.; Shimabukuro, Yosio E.; Parker, Geoffrey G.; Lefsky, Michael; Silva, Carlos A.; Brancalion, Pedro H. S.
Keywords: STRI; SERC; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Assessing the persistent impacts of fragmentation on above ground structure of tropical forests is essential to understanding the consequences of land use change for carbon storage and other ecosystem functions. We investigated the influence of edge distance and fragment size on canopy structure, aboveground woody biomass (AGB), and AGB turnover in the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) in central Amazon, Brazil, after 22+ years of fragment isolation, by combining canopy variables collected with Portable Canopy profiling lidar and airborne laser scanning surveys with long-term forest inventories. Forest height decreased by 30% at edges of large fragments (> 10 ha) and interiors of small fragments (< 3 ha). In larger fragments, canopy height was reduced up to 40 m from edges. Leaf area density profiles differed near edges: the density of understory vegetation was higher and midstory vegetation lower, consistent with canopy reorganization via increased regeneration of pioneers following post-fragmentation mortality of large trees. However, canopy openness and leaf area index remained similar to control plots throughout fragments, while canopy spatial heterogeneity was generally lower at edges. AGB stocks and fluxes were positively related to canopy height and negatively related to spatial heterogeneity. Other forest structure variables typically used to assess the ecological impacts of fragmentation (basal area, density of individuals, and density of pioneer trees) were also related to lidar-derived canopy surface variables. Canopy reorganization through the replacement of edge-sensitive species by disturbance-tolerant ones may have mitigated the biomass loss effects due to fragmentation observed in the earlier years of BDFFP. Lidar technology offered novel insights and observational scales for analysis of the ecological impacts of fragmentation on forest structure and function, specifically aboveground biomass storage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ID: 150608
Type: article
Authors: Aninta, Sabhrina G.; Rocha, Ricardo; López-Baucells, Adrià; Meyer, Christoph F. J.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: The traditional focus on taxonomic diversity metrics for investigating species responses to habitat loss and fragmentation has limited our understanding on how biodiversity is impacted by habitat modification. This is particularly true for taxonomic groups such as bats which exhibit species-specific responses. Here, we investigate phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity of Neotropical bat assemblages across two environmental gradients, one in habitat quality and one in habitat amount. We surveyed bats in 39 sites located across a whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon, representing a gradient of habitat quality (interior-edge-matrix, hereafter IEM) in both continuous forest and forest fragments of different sizes (1, 10, and 100 ha; forest size gradient). For each habitat category, we quantified alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity, then used linear models and cluster analysis to explore how forest area and IEM gradient affect phylogenetic diversity. We found that the secondary forest matrix harboured significantly lower total evolutionary history compared to the fragment interiors, especially the 1 ha fragments, containing bat assemblages with more closely related species. Forest fragments ≥10 ha had levels of phylogenetic richness similar to continuous forest, suggesting that large fragments retain considerable levels of evolutionary history. The edge and matrix adjacent to large fragments tend to have closely related lineages nonetheless, suggesting phylogenetic homogenization in these IEM gradient categories. Thus, despite the high mobility of bats, fragmentation still induces considerable levels of erosion of phylogenetic diversity, suggesting that the various evolutionary history might not be able to persist in present-day human-modified landscapes.

ID: 148506
Type: article
Authors: Arellano, Gabriel; Medina, Nagore G.; Tan, Sylvester; Mohamad, Mohizah; Davies, Stuart J.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: What causes individual tree death in tropical forests remains a major gap in our understanding of the biology of tropical trees and leads to significant uncertainty in predicting global carbon cycle dynamics. We measured individual characteristics (diameter at breast height, wood density, growth rate, crown illumination and crown form) and environmental conditions (soil fertility and habitat suitability) for 26 425 trees ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height belonging to 416 species in a 52-ha plot in Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysia. We used structural equation models to investigate the relationships among the different factors and tree mortality. Crown form (a proxy for mechanical damage and other stresses) and prior growth were the two most important factors related to mortality. The effect of all variables on mortality (except habitat suitability) was substantially greater than expected by chance. Tree death is the result of interactions between factors, including direct and indirect effects. Crown form/damage and prior growth mediated most of the effect of tree size, wood density, fertility and habitat suitability on mortality. Large-scale assessment of crown form or status may result in improved prediction of individual tree death at the landscape scale.

ID: 151915
Type: article
Authors: Baranov, Viktor; Kvifte, Gunnar M.; Müller, Patrick; Bernal, Ximena E.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Frog-biting midges (Diptera: Corethrellidae) are hematophagous flies in which females feed on anuran blood using the mating calls produced by calling male frogs. This family is of large ecological, evolutionary and ethological interest, but its geological history is poorly known. We describe a new species of frog-biting midge (Diptera, Corethrellidae), Corethrella patula sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma). This new species is distinct from Corethrella andersoni, known from the same deposit, differing in having more slender mid femora and a triangular bifid tarsal segment 5 without scales. These two species, however, share an apparent synapomorphy in the wing; R2 vein diverting from R2+3 at 75° angle in relation to R3. The well-preserved male genitalia of the new species suggest C. patula and C. andersoni are a distinct, early lineage not easily placeable within either of the described subgenera of Corethrella.

ID: 151807
Type: article
Authors: Bashevkin, Samuel M.; Christy, John H.; Morgan, Steven G.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Plankton live under the countervailing selective pressures of predation and ultraviolet radiation (UVR). In lakes, zooplankton are transparent reducing visibility to predatory fishes but are pigmented in the absence of fishes, hypothetically reducing UVR damage. In the sea, planktivorous fishes are widespread, so plankton typically are transparent and ascend to productive surface waters at night to forage and descend during the day to reduce visibility to predators. However, larvae of some species face the unique constraint of traveling in surface currents in the daytime during migrations between adult and larval habitats. We would expect these larvae to be transparent since companion studies demonstrated increased predation risk of pigmented larvae under strong sunlight. Paradoxically, larvae range from being darkly to lightly pigmented. We hypothesize that some larvae are more heavily pigmented to reduce UVR damage, while other species travelling in subsurface currents with low UVR might be more transparent. Linking larval morphology to depth-dependent selective pressures would add a key element to help improve predictions of larval vertical distributions, which are important for simulating larval transport trajectories. We quantitatively tested the hypothesis that selection may have favored photoprotective pigmentation for larvae in the predominantly transparent plankton community while testing the differential effects of UVA and UVB radiation. We measured larval pigmentation of 12 species of crabs and exposed them to visible light only, visible + UVA, or visible + UVA + UVB in the tropics. Controlling for phylogeny, more pigmented species survived UVR better than less pigmented species, especially on sunnier days, though intraspecific comparisons for four species were equivocal. Most species died even from UVA exposure, which has long been regarded as relatively harmless despite penetrating deeper underwater than UVB. Thus, we demonstrate with a phylogenetically controlled analysis that crab larvae are pigmented in the predominantly transparent planktonic community to protect from UVR, improving our understanding of the selective forces acting on animal coloration and the factors determining planktonic distributions, survival, and dispersal. This linkage of morphology with susceptibility will be important for developing mechanistic models of environmental stress responses to better predict larval dispersal in current and future climates. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ID: 151496
Type: article
Authors: Basset, Yves; Ctvrtecka, Richard; Dahl, Chris; Miller, Scott E.; Quicke, Donald L. J.; Segar, Simon T.; Barrios, Hector; Beaver, Roger A.; Brown, John W.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Gripenberg, Sofia; Knizek, Milos; Kongnoo, Pitoon; Lewis, Owen T.; Pongpattananurak, Nantachai; Pramual, Pairot; Sakchoowong, Watana; Schutze, Mark
Keywords: STRI; NMNH; NH-Entomology; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Insect seed predators are important agents of mortality for tropical trees, but little is known about the impact of these herbivores in rainforests. During 3 years at Khao Chong (KHC) in southern Thailand we reared 17,555 insects from 343.2 kg or 39,252 seeds/fruits representing 357 liana and tree species. A commented list of the 243 insect species identified is provided, with details about their host plants. We observed the following. (i) Approximately 43% of identified species can be considered pests. Most were seed eaters, particularly on dry fruits. (ii) Approximately 19% of parasitoid species (all Opiinae) for which we could determine whether their primary insect host was a pest or not (all Bactrocera spp. breeding in fruits) can be considered beneficials. (iii) The seeds/fruits of approximately 28% of the plant species in this forest were free of attack. Phyllanthaceae, Rubiaceae and Meliaceae were attacked relatively infrequently; in contrast, Annonaceae, Fabaceae, Sapindaceae and Myristicaceae were more heavily attacked. There was no apparent effect of plant phylogeny on rates of attack but heavily attacked tree species had larger basal area in the KHC plot than rarely attacked tree species. (iv) Insects reared from fleshy fruits were more likely to show relatively stable populations compared to insects reared from dry fruits, but this was not true of insects reared from dipterocarps, which appeared to have relatively stable populations throughout the study period. We tentatively conclude that insects feeding on seeds and fruits have little effect on observed levels of host abundance in this forest.

ID: 151751
Type: article
Authors: Basset, Yves; Lamarre, Greg P. A.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed

ID: 149830
Type: article
Authors: Basset, Yves; Miller, Scott E.; Gripenberg, Sofia; Ctvrtecka, Richard; Dahl, Chris; Leather, Simon R.; Didham, Raphael K.
Keywords: STRI; NMNH; NH-Entomology; Peer-reviewed

ID: 151480
Type: article
Authors: Baudier, Kaitlin M.; Ostwald, Madeleine M.; Grüter, Christoph; Segers, Francisca H. I. D.; Roubik, David Ward; Pavlic, Theodore P.; Pratt, Stephen C.; Fewell, Jennifer H.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Colonies of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula have few highly specialized, morphologically distinct nest defenders. Colonies balance this developmental s

ID: 149780
Type: article
Authors: Beaudrot, Lydia; Ahumada, Jorge; O’Brien, Timothy G.; Jansen, Patrick A.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed

ID: 151815
Type: article
Authors: Bemmels, Jordan B.; Knowles, L. L.; Dick, Christopher W.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Temperate species experienced dramatic range reductions during the Last Glacial Maximum, yet refugial populations from which modern populations are descended have never been precisely located. Climate-based models identify only broad areas of potential habitat, traditional phylogeographic studies provide poor spatial resolution, and pollen records for temperate forest communities are difficult to interpret and do not provide species-level taxonomic resolution. Here we harness signals of range expansion from large genomic datasets, using a simulation-based framework to infer the precise latitude and longitude of glacial refugia in two widespread, codistributed hickories (Carya spp.) and to quantify uncertainty in these estimates. We show that one species likely expanded from close to ice sheet margins near the site of a previously described macrofossil for the genus, highlighting support for the controversial notion of northern microrefugia. In contrast, the expansion origin inferred for the second species is compatible with classic hypotheses of distant displacement into southern refugia. Our statistically rigorous, powerful approach demonstrates how refugia can be located from genomic data with high precision and accuracy, addressing fundamental questions about long-term responses to changing climates and providing statistical insight into longstanding questions that have previously been addressed primarily qualitatively.

ID: 151372
Type: article
Authors: Bennett, Kelly L.; Gómez Martínez, Carmelo; Almanza, Alejandro; Rovira, Jose R.; McMillan, W. O.; Enriquez, Vanessa; Barraza, Elia; Diaz, Marcela; Sanchez-Galan, Javier; Whiteman, Ari; Gittens, Rolando A.; Loaiza, Jose R.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The long-distance dispersal of the invasive disease vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus has introduced arthropod-borne viruses into new geographical regions, causing a significant medical and economic burden. The used-tire industry is an effective means of Aedes dispersal, yet studies to determine Aedes occurrence and the factors influencing their distribution along local transport networks are lacking. To assess infestation along the primary transport network of Panama we documented all existing garages that trade used tires on the highway and surveyed a subset for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. We also assess the ability of a mass spectrometry approach to classify mosquito eggs by comparing our findings to those based on traditional larval surveillance. RESULTS: Both Aedes species had a high infestation rate in garages trading used tires along the highways, providing a conduit for rapid dispersal across Panama. However, generalized linear models revealed that the presence of Ae. aegypti is associated with an increase in road density by a log-odds of 0.44 (0.73 ± 0.16; P = 0.002), while the presence of Ae. albopictus is associated with a decrease in road density by a log-odds of 0.36 (0.09 ± 0.63; P = 0.008). Identification of mosquito eggs by mass spectrometry depicted similar occurrence patterns for both Aedes species as that obtained with traditional rearing methods. CONCLUSIONS: Garages trading used tires along highways should be targeted for the surveillance and control of Aedes-mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit. The identification of mosquito eggs using mass spectrometry allows for the rapid evaluation of Aedes presence, affording time and cost advantages over traditional vector surveillance; this is of importance for disease risk assessment.

ID: 151925
Type: article
Authors: Bernal, Moisés A.; Dixon, Groves B.; Matz, Mikhail V.; Rocha, Luiz A.
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Background Coral reefs are major hotspots of diversity for marine fishes, yet there is still ongoing debate on the mechanisms that promote divergence in these rich ecosystems. Our understanding of how diversity originates in this environment could be enhanced by investigating the evolutionary dynamics of closely related fishes with overlapping ranges. Here, we focus on grunts of the genus Haemulon, a group of coral reef fishes with 15 species in the Western Atlantic, 11 of which are syntopic. Methods Wild fish samples from three sympatric species of the Caribbean: Haemulon flavolineatum, H. carbonarium and H. macrostomum, were collected while SCUBA diving. RNA was extracted from livers, and the transcriptomes were assembled and annotated to investigate positive selection (Pairwise dN/dS) and patterns of gene expression between the three species. Results Pairwise dN/dS analyses showed evidence of positive selection for genes associated with immune response, cranial morphology and formation of the anterior–posterior axis. Analyses of gene expression revealed that despite their sympatric distribution, H. macrostomum showed upregulation of oxidation-reduction machinery, while there was evidence for activation of immune response in H. carbonarium. Discussion Overall, our analyses suggest closely related grunts show important differences in genes associated with body shape and feeding morphology, a result in-line with previous morphological studies in the group. Further, despite their overlapping distribution they interact with their environment in distinct fashions. This is the largest compendium of genomic information for grunts thus far, representing a valuable resource for future studies in this unique group of coral reef fishes.

ID: 151478
Type: article
Authors: Bernal, Rodrigo; Bacon, Christine D.; Balslev, Henrik; Hoorn, Carina; Bourlat, Sarah J.; Tuomisto, Hanna; Salamanca, Sonia; Manen, Milan Teunissen van; Romero, Ingrid; Sepulchre, Pierre; Antonelli, Alexandre
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: The rainforests of Amazonia comprise some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth. Despite this high biodiversity, little is known about how landscape changes that took place in deep history have affected the assembly of its species, and whether the impact of such changes on biodiversity can still be observed. Here, we present a hypothesis to explain our observation that plants typical of Neotropical coastal habitats also occur in western Amazonia, in some cases thousands of kilometres away from the coast. Evidence on their current distribution, dispersal biology and divergence times estimated from molecular phylogenies suggest that these plants may be the legacy of the large marine-influenced embayment that dominated the area for millions of years in the Neogene. We hypothesize that coastal plants dispersed along the shores of this embayment and persisted as inland relicts after the marine incursion(s) retreated, probably with the aid of changes in soil conditions caused by the deposition of marine sediments. This dispersal corridor may also have facilitated the colonization of coastal environments by Amazonian lineages. These scenarios could imply an unexpected coastal source that has contributed to Amazonia's high floristic diversity and led to disjunct distributions across the Neotropics. We highlight the need for future studies and additional evidence to validate and shed further light on this potentially important pattern.

ID: 150294
Type: article
Authors: Bernal, Ximena E.; Rojas, Bibiana; Pinto-E, Maria Alejandra; Mendoza-Henao, Angela M.; Herrera-Montes, Adriana; Isabel Herrera-Montes, Maria; Caceres Franco, Andrea del Pilar; Ceron-Souza, Ivania; Paz, Andrea; Vergara, Daniela; Barragan Contreras, Leidy Alejandra; Salazar, Camilo; Bohorquez Alonso, Martha Lucia; Guarnizo, Carlos E.; Sanchez, Adriana; Olaya-Castro, Alexandra; Urbina-Cardona, Nicolas; Guayasamin, Juan M.; Uy, Floria Mora-Kepfer; Feris, Faride Lamadrid; Franco-Orozco, Barbara; Munoz, Martha M.; Patricia Rincon-Diaz, Martha; Sanchez Herrera, Melissa; Betancourth-Cundar, Mileidy; Tarvin, Rebecca D.; Marquez, Roberto; Lopez-Aguirre, Camilo; Ron, Santiago R.; Ramirez, Santiago; Paez-Vacas, Monica; Gaitan-Espitia, Juan Diego; Navarrete-Mendez, Maria J.; Vianna, Juliana A.; Varela-Jaramillo, Andrea; Sanchez-Martinez, Paola M.; Caminer Rodriguez, Marcel Adrian; Garcia-Robledo, Carlos; Kuprewicz, Erin K.; Gomez-Bahamon, Valentina; Chacon-Vargas, Katherine; Trillo, Alex; Ramirez Castaneda, Valeria; Buenaventura, Eliana; Carolina Monmany-Garzia, A.; Carolina Carnaval, Ana; Dick, Christopher W.; Jose Andrade-Nunez, Maria; Carvajal Castro, Juan David; Marcela Pinto, Diana; Camargo-Sanabria, Angela A.; Lips, Karen R.; Motta-Gonzalez, Diana; Canedo, Clarissa; Melissa Diaz, Jhandra; Navarro-Suarez, Adriana M.; Corredor, Karen; Roa-Varon, Adela; Flechas, Sandra V.; Andres Martinez-Lanfranco, Juan; Chiarioni Thome, Maria Tereza; Caldwell, Michael S.; Ballestas, Onil; Mejia M, Carolina; Chaverri, Gloriana; Rossi, Alejandra; Bonaccorso, Elisa; Pimiento, Catalina; Guerrero, Rafael F.; Warkentin, Karen M.; Montoya-Pachongo, Carolina; Alvarez, Silvia J.; Gonzalez-Duran, Gustavo; Anganoy-Criollo, Marvin; Martinez-Habibe, Maria Cristina; Ramirez, Juan P.; Burrowes, Patricia; Catenazzi, Alessandro; Riveros, Andre J.; Targino, Mariane; Velez, Alejandro; Vargas, Oscar M.; Zapata, Felipe; Waltrick, Camilla Spengler; Ceron, Karoline; Segovia Salcedo, Claudia; Silva-Velasco, Martha; Ochoa-Herrera, Valeria; Medina, Iliana; Narins, Peter M.; Alves Saccol, Suelen da Silva; de Castro Godinho, Marcela Brasil; Velasquez Escobar, Beatriz Eugenia; Velasco, Julian A.; Lomascolo, Silvia; Hoke, Kim; Zeidemann, Vivian; Almeida-Santos, Patricia; Paola Ferraro, Daiana; Araujo-Vieira, Katyuscia; da Rocha, Sabine Borges; Torres, Maria Fernanda; Daniel Cadena, Carlos; Collevatti, Rosane Garcia; Vasconcellos, Mariana Mira; Recart, Wilnelia; Mitchell Aide, T.; Bacon, Christine; Jeckel, Adriana Moriguchi; Diele-Viegas, Luisa Maria; Calijorne Lourenco, Ana Carolina; Santos, Danusy Lopes; Rieder Cholak, Luiza; Mendes, Roberta Graboski; Silva, Fernanda Magalhaes; Guedes, Thais; Lopez-Perilla, Yeny R.; Fusinatto, Luciana Ardenghi; Terra, Juliana de Souza; Rodriguez Brenes, Sofia; Narvaez, Andrea E.; Zina, Juliana; Calderon-Espinosa, Martha L.; Pardo-Diaz, Carolina; Abadie, Michelle; Maldonado-Chaparro, Adriana; Cespedes Arias, Laura N.; Montesinos, Rachel; Fenker, Jessica; Brunes, Tuliana Oliveira; Ferreira Lantyer Silva, Amanda Santiago; Vallejos, Johana Goyes; Costa Rodrigues, Ana Paula V.; Friol, Natalia Rizzo; Herrera-Alvarez, Santiago; de Souza, Eletra; Araujo, Olivia G. S.; Citeli, Nathalie Q. K.; Ruggeri, Joice; Fierro-Calderon, Eliana; Acevedo-Charry, Orlando; Barato, Paola; Campos-Cerqueira, Marconi; Mazzini, Flavia; Beltran, Ivan; Alejandra Meneses-Giorgi, Maria; Jerez, Adriana; Clavijo, Andrea P.; Neira Jimenez, Carolina; Dantas, Gisele P. M.; Nascimento, Luciana Barreto; Caballero, Susana J.; Henao Sepulveda, A. Carolina; Wolff, Marta; Barnabe, Paula Cristina; Quinones-Lebron, Shakira G.; Bressan, Raissa Fries; Gomez-Montoya, Nataly; Gomez, Camila; Colon-Pineiro, Zuania; Esquivel Dobles, Carolina; Bloch, Natasha; Stynoski, Jennifer L.; Arango, Daniel; Marisol Gonzalez, Tania; Luque Moreno, Francisco; Taylor, Ryan; Lawrence, J. P.; Briscoe, Adriana Darielle Mejia; Ortiz-Barrientos, Daniel; Elena Salerno, Patricia; Restrepo, Silvia; Pasukonis, Andrius; Damasceno, Roberta Pacheco; Cecilia Dalton, Maria; Proehl, Heike; Valdez-Ward, Evelyn; Andrea Rodriguez, Sabrina; Marquez Garcia, Marcela; Bianca Bonaparte, Eugenia; Molina Escobar, Jorge Alberto; Brown, Jason L.; Yeager, Justin; Kikuchi, David; Ringler, Max; Duran, Linda Hernandez; Schulte, Lisa M.; Vaira, Marcos; Pereyra, Laura; Astudillo Bravo, Diana; Jose Salica, Maria; Varga, Sandra; Eguren, Antonieta; Grattarola, Florencia; Bernal, Moises A.; Soledad Gaston, Maria; Ortega Chinchilla, Jesus Eduardo; Burdfield-Steel, Emily; Valencia, Lina M.; Ringler, Eva; Rada, Marco; Melendez-Ackerman, Elvia; Botero, Carlos A.; Estrada-Villegas, Sergio; Orizaola, German; Pinto, Brendan J.; Gonzalez-Bellido, Paloma; Hunter, Kimberly L.; Rueda Solano, Luis Alberto; Gordon, Swanne; Guerra, Monica A.; Jose Albo, Maria; Vega-Frutis, Rocio; Blundo, Cecilia; Castaneda-Gomez, Laura; Donnelly, Maureen A.; Escobar, Betsabe D. Castro; Isabel Moreno, Maria; Crawford, Andrew J.; Jiggins, Chris D.; Roessler, Daniela C.; Bravo Valencia, Laura; Sarmiento, Carolina; Munoz, Karen A.; Galeano, Sandra P.; del Rosario Castaneda, Maria; Caro Cardenas, Cindy Jeanet; Zalamea, Paul-Camilo; Arias, Monica; Zank, Caroline; Suarez-Mayorga, Angela M.; Colombo, Patrick; Cuervo, Andres M.; Coriolano, Iara Reinaldo; de Melo, Lilian Sayuri Ouchi; Buitrago Cardona, Alexandra; Elias, Marianne; Gonzalez, Mabel; Maria Aldana, Ana; Gubert, Carolina; Luis Parra, Juan; Contador, Tamara; Coelho, Lorena; Trillo, Mariana; Bordin, Kauane; Zulian, Viviane; Moreno Arias, Rafael; Loretto, Matthias-Claudio; Alejandra Medina, Claudia; Lyra, Mariana L.; Pulido-Santacruz, Paola; Rosser, Neil; Waldron, Talia; Moreno Duran, Carmen Helena; Pizano, Camila; Hoedl, Walter; Fratani, Jessica; Duport Bru, Ana Sofia; Grosso, Jimena; Vera Candioti, Florencia; Adarve Rengifo, Isabel
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed

ID: 151370
Type: article
Authors: Bonadies, Ernesto; Wcislo, William T.; Gálvez, Dumas; Hughes, William O. H.; Fernández-Marín, Hermógenes
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Parasites and their hosts use different strategies to overcome the defenses of the other, often resulting in an evolutionary arms race. Limited animal studies have explored the differential responses of hosts when challenged by differential parasite loads and different developmental stages of a parasite. The fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex sp. 10 employs three different hygienic strategies to control fungal pathogens: Grooming the antibiotic-producing metapleural glands (MGs) and planting or weeding their mutualistic fungal crop. By inoculating Trachymyrmex colonies with different parasite concentrations (Metarhizium) or stages (germinated conidia or ungermianted conidia of Metarhizium and Escovopsis), we tested whether ants modulate and change hygienic strategies depending on the nature of the parasite challenge. There was no effect of the concentration of parasite on the frequencies of the defensive behaviors, indicating that the ants did not change defensive strategy according to the level of threat. However, when challenged with conidia of Escovopsis sp. and Metarhizium brunneum that were germinated or not-germinated, the ants adjusted their thygienic behavior to fungal planting and MG grooming behaviors using strategies depending on the conidia germination status. Our study suggests that fungus-growing ants can adjust the use of hygienic strategies based on the nature of the parasites.

ID: 151797
Type: article
Authors: Broekman, Maarten J. E.; Muller-Landau, Helene; Visser, Marco D.; Jongejans, Eelke; Wright, S. J.; de Kroon, Hans
Keywords: STRI; Peer-reviewed
Abstract: Many empirical studies motivated by an interest in stable coexistence have quantified negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, or negative plant-soil feedback, but the links between these empirical results and ecological theory are not straightforward. Here, we relate these analyses to theoretical conditions for stabilisation and stable coexistence in classical competition models. By stabilisation, we mean an excess of intraspecific competition relative to interspecific competition that inherently slows or even prevents competitive exclusion. We show that most, though not all, tests demonstrating negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, and negative plant-soil feedback constitute sufficient conditions for stabilisation of two-species interactions if applied to data for per capita population growth rates of pairs of species, but none are necessary or sufficient conditions for stable coexistence of two species. Potential inferences are even more limited when communities involve more than two species, and when performance is measured at a single life stage or vital rate. We then discuss two approaches that enable stronger tests for stable coexistence-invasibility experiments and model parameterisation. The model parameterisation approach can be applied to typical density-dependence, frequency-dependence, and plant-soil feedback data sets, and generally enables better links with mechanisms and greater insights, as demonstrated by recent studies.