| 1. |
- Aguirre-Gutierrez, Jesus, et al.
(författare)
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Butterflies show different functional and species diversity in relationship to vegetation structure and land use
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 26:10, s. 1126-1137
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimBiodiversity is rapidly disappearing at local and global scales also affecting the functional diversity of ecosystems. We aimed to assess whether functional diversity was correlated with species diversity and whether both were affected by similar land use and vegetation structure drivers. Better understanding of these relationships will allow us to improve our predictions regarding the effects of future changes in land use on ecosystem functions and services. LocationThe Netherlands. MethodsWe compiled a dataset of c.3 million observations of 66 out of 106 known Dutch butterfly species collected across 6,075 sampling locations during a period of 7 years, together with very high-resolution maps of land use and countrywide vegetation structure data. Using a mixed-effects modelling framework, we investigated the relationship between functional and species diversity and their main land use and vegetation structure drivers. ResultsWe found that high species diversity does not translate into high functional diversity, as shown by their different spatial distribution patterns in the landscape. Functional and species diversity are mainly driven by different sets of structural and land use parameters (especially average vegetation height, amount of vegetation between 0.5 and 2m, natural grassland, sandy soils vegetation, marsh vegetation and urban areas). We showed that it is a combination of both vegetation structural characteristics and land use variables that defines functional and species diversity. Main conclusionsFunctional diversity and species diversity of butterflies are not consistently correlated and must therefore be treated separately. High functional diversity levels occurred even in areas with low species diversity. Thus, conservation actions may differ depending on whether the focus is on conservation of high functional diversity or high species diversity. A more integrative analysis of biodiversity at both species and trait levels is needed to infer the full effects of environmental change on ecosystem functioning.
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| 2. |
- Aguirre-Gutiérrez, Jesús, et al.
(författare)
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Functional traits help to explain half-century long shifts in pollinator distributions
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changes in climate and land use can have important impacts on biodiversity. Species respond to such environmental modifications by adapting to new conditions or by shifting their geographic distributions towards more suitable areas. The latter might be constrained by species’ functional traits that influence their ability to move, reproduce or establish. Here, we show that functional traits related to dispersal, reproduction, habitat use and diet have influenced how three pollinator groups (bees, butterflies and hoverflies) responded to changes in climate and land-use in the Netherlands since 1950. Across the three pollinator groups, we found pronounced areal range expansions (>53%) and modelled range shifts towards the north (all taxa: 17–22 km), west (bees: 14 km) and east (butterflies: 11 km). The importance of specific functional traits for explaining distributional changes varied among pollinator groups. Larval diet preferences (i.e. carnivorous vs. herbivorous/detritivorous and nitrogen values of host plants, respectively) were important for hoverflies and butterflies, adult body size for hoverflies, and flight period length for all groups. Moreover, interactions among multiple traits were important to explain species’ geographic range shifts, suggesting that taxon-specific multi-trait analyses are needed to predict how global change will affect biodiversity and ecosystem services.
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| 3. |
- Carvalheiro, Luisa G., et al.
(författare)
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Soil eutrophication shaped the composition of pollinator assemblages during the past century
- 2020
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 43, s. 209-221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atmospheric nitrogen deposition and other sources of environmental eutrophication have increased substantially over the past century worldwide, notwithstanding the recent declining trends in Europe. Despite the recognized susceptibility of plants to eutrophication, few studies evaluated how impacts propagate to consumers, such as pollinators. Here we aim to test if soil eutrophication contributes to the temporal dynamics of pollinators and their larval resources. We used a temporally and spatially explicit historical dataset with information on species occurrences to test if soil eutrophication, and more specifically nitrogen deposition, contributes to the patterns of change of plant and pollinator richness in the Netherlands over an 80 yr period. We focus on bees and butterflies, two groups for which we have good knowledge of larval resources that allowed us to define groups of species with different nitrogen related diet preferences. For each group we estimated richness changes between different 20-yr periods at local, regional and national scale, using analytical methods developed for analyzing richness changes based on collection data. Our findings suggest that the impacts of soil eutrophication on plant communities propagate to higher trophic levels, but with a time-lag. Pollinators with nitrogen-related diet preferences were particularly affected, in turn potentially impairing the performance of pollinator-dependent plants. Pollinator declines continued even after their focal plants started to recover. In addition, our results suggest that current levels of nitrogen deposition still have a negative impact on most groups here analyzed, constraining richness recoveries and accentuating declines. Our results indicate that the global increase in nitrogen availability plays an important role in the ongoing pollinator decline. Consequently, species tolerances to soil nitrogen levels should be considered across all trophic levels in management plans that aim to halt biodiversity loss and enhance ecosystems services worldwide.
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| 4. |
- Devictor, Vincent, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in the climatic debts of birds and butterflies at a continental scale
- 2012
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Ingår i: Nature Climate Change. - 1758-6798. ; 2:2, s. 121-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate changes have profound effects on the distribution of numerous plant and animal species(1-3). However, whether and how different taxonomic groups are able to track climate changes at large spatial scales is still unclear. Here, we measure and compare the climatic debt accumulated by bird and butterfly communities at a European scale over two decades (1990-2008). We quantified the yearly change in community composition in response to climate change for 9,490 bird and 2,130 butterfly communities distributed across Europe(4). We show that changes in community composition are rapid but different between birds and butterflies and equivalent to a 37 and 114 km northward shift in bird and butterfly communities, respectively. We further found that, during the same period, the northward shift in temperature in Europe was even faster, so that the climatic debts of birds and butterflies correspond to a 212 and 135 km lag behind climate. Our results indicate both that birds and butterflies do not keep up with temperature increase and the accumulation of different climatic debts for these groups at national and continental scales.
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| 5. |
- Termaat, Tim, et al.
(författare)
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Spearhead blues : How threats to the damselfly Coenagrion hastulatum changed over time
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Insect Conservation. - : Springer. - 1366-638X .- 1572-9753. ; 28, s. 211-224
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract: Given the rapid response of insects to environmental changes, their most prominent threats may change quickly as well. For effective insect species conservation it is therefore necessary to discriminate between former and current drivers of decline and to focus conservation efforts on the latter. We investigated how various environmental pressures, including former drivers of decline, have affected populations of the regionally endangered damselfly Coenagrion hastulatum and how their relevance has evolved over time. In our analysis, we compared water quality, vegetation properties and population trends across three distinct time spans: 1921–2000, 2001–2015 and 2016–2021. We included all known reproduction sites in the Netherlands, both current and historical, and also considered adjacent sites that were never inhabited. Ponds suitable for the species were characterised by mesotrophic conditions and high coverage of emergent and floating vegetation. Never inhabited ponds differed from inhabited ponds in being either more acidic or more eutrophic. Ponds where C. hastulatum disappeared between 2001 and 2015 had less of the mentioned vegetation structures and higher concentrations of various minerals. Ponds where the species disappeared after 2015 experienced severe droughts during 2018–2020. Most primary threats to C. hastulatum have shifted over time. In the past, changes in human use of ponds and increased sulphur and nitrogen deposition posed prominent threats. Presently, severe droughts, alongside nitrogen deposition have become the dominant concerns. Consequently, restoration of groundwater systems and rewetting measures are now first conservation priorities. Implications for insect conservation: Our study highlights how threats to insect populations can rapidly evolve. Consequently, conservation strategies need regular evaluation and adjustment.
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| 6. |
- van Langevelde, Frank, et al.
(författare)
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Declines in moth populations stress the need for conserving dark nights
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 24:3, s. 925-932
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Given the global continuous rise, artificial light at night is often considered a driving force behind moth population declines. Although negative effects on individuals have been shown, there is no evidence for effects on population sizes to date. Therefore, we compared population trends of Dutch macromoth fauna over the period 1985-2015 between moth species that differ in phototaxis and adult circadian rhythm. We found that moth species that show positive phototaxis or are nocturnally active have stronger negative population trends than species that are not attracted to light or are diurnal species. Our results indicate that artificial light at night is an important factor in explaining declines in moth populations in regions with high artificial night sky brightness. Our study supports efforts to reduce the impacts of artificial light at night by promoting lamps that do not attract insects and reduce overall levels of illumination in rural areas to reverse declines of moth populations.
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