| 1. |
- Birkhofer, Klaus, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial-pattern analysis in a territorial spider: evidence for multi-scale effects
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 29:5, s. 641-648
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Territorial animals maintain a certain distance to neighbouring conspecifics, presumably leading to a regular spatial pattern through social spacing. Nevertheless, most animal populations are assumed to show aggregation at certain distance ranges, reflecting the scale dependency of spatial patterns. Leucorchestris arenicola (Araneae: Sparassidae) is a burrow-living spider species that shows territorial behaviour against conspecifics. A multi-scale approach in spatial analysis revealed that territory owners had fewer neighbours than expected under spatial randomness at distances up to 6 m. Behavioural field experiments showed that territory owners were able to perceive and react to burrow constructing neighbours up to at least 4 m distance from their own burrow. At larger distances individuals were often more aggregated than expected under spatial randomness. Analysing adult and immature relationships showed attraction between different development stages at small distances and avoidance at larger distances. The analysis reveals diverse spatial patterns in a territorial and cannibalistic species, showing that both behaviour and environment affect pattern development at different distances. The study outlines the importance of multi-scale approaches for spatial analysis and the need for accompanying experiments to facilitate the interpretation of results.
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| 2. |
- Brattström, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
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Placing butterflies on the map - testing regional geographical resolution of three stable isotopes in Sweden using the monophagus peacock Inachis io
- 2008
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 31:4, s. 490-498
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stable isotope analyses of tissues have been used to help delineate natal regions and routes of migratory animals. The foundations of such studies are isotopic gradients or differences representing geographic regions and habitat used by the organism that are retained in selected tissues. We sampled peacock butterflies Inachis io on a regional level in southern Sweden to study natural variation and the resolving power of the stable isotope method to delineate individuals from known areas on a smaller scale than has typically been used in previous studies. Hydrogen (delta D), carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) isotopes were obtained from butterflies at seven different locations in an area of 250x250 km over three years (2002-2004). We found sufficient isotopic differences on this regional scale to delineate approximate origins. Of the three isotopes, deuterium showed good discrimination between sites, carbon isotopes showed weaker differentiation, whereas nitrogen isotopes proved unsuitable for small scale studies in this region due to high and unpredictable variation. We found there was enough variation in delta D between years to prevent a general application of the technique to resolve sub-regional variation. Substantial part of this variation was probably caused by seasonal changes in delta D of precipitation. These differences produce significant variation in delta D between years in animals having short and variable tissue development times, and are difficult to estimate in natural situations. We conclude that stable isotopes are potentially powerful predictors for studies of migratory butterflies in Europe. However, without good knowledge about the sampled individuals' previous life-history, a lot of the natural environmental variation in tissue delta D cannot be controlled for. In the case of migratory species, this information is difficult to obtain, making the confidence intervals for prediction of natal areas fairly wide and probably only suitable for longer distance migration.
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| 3. |
- Bruun, Hans Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Distinct patterns in alpine vegetation around dens of the Arctic fox
- 2005
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 28:1, s. 81-87
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The arctic fox Alopex lugopus excavates its dens in gravely ridges and hillocks, and creates a local environment quite distinct from the surrounding tundra or heath landscape. In northern Sweden, the vegetation of 18 dens of the arctic fox was investigated, as well as reference areas off the dens but in geologically and topographically similar locations. The species composition showed considerable differences between den and reference areas, with grasses and forbs occurring more abundantly on the dens, and evergreen dwarf-shrubs occurring more in reference areas. The effect of the foxes' activities is thought to be either through mechanical soil disturbance, or through nutrient enrichment via scats, urine, and carcasses. This was expected to result in differences in plant traits with key functional roles in resource acquisition and regeneration, when comparing dens with reference areas. We hypothesised that the community mean of specific leaf area (SLA) would differ if nutrient enrichment was the more important effect, and that seed weight, inversely proportional to seed number per ramet and hence dispersal ability, would differ if soil disturbance was the more important effect. Specific leaf area showed a significant difference, indicating nutrient enrichment to be the most important effect of the arctic fox on the vegetation on its dens. Arctic foxes act as ecosystems engineers on a small scale, maintaining niches for relatively short-lived nutrient demanding species on their dens in spite of the dominance of long-lived ericaceous dwarf-shrubs in the landscape matrix. Thus, foxes contribute to the maintenance of species richness on the landscape level.
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| 4. |
- Cronberg, Nils, et al.
(författare)
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Clonal structure and genet-level sex ratios suggest different roles of vegetative and sexual reproduction in the clonal moss Hylocomium splendens
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 29:1, s. 95-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The allozyme haplotype was determined for 157 ramets of the unisexual, perennial, clonal moss Hylocomium splendens within five 10×10 cm plots, which had been the subject of demographic studies over a 5-yr period. In addition, 25 shoots were analyzed from outside the plots and from four neighbouring patches. Only four haplotypes were encountered within the plots; one female type occurred in all plots and one male type in four plots, whereas two male haplotypes occurred in only one plot. Genets grew intermingled in all but one plot. The sex ratio within the five plots was female-biased at the ramet level (male:female=1:2.6), but male-biased at the genet level (3:1). Sporophytes were produced abundantly during the study period, but no signs of recruitment from spores were observed in the plots. Nine additional genets were encountered in neighbouring patches but from only one patch each. Four (44%) of these could potentially have been derived from spores generated within the plots. Our results suggest that each patch of H. splendens is colonized by a small number of genets, whereas different patches have different sets of genets, i.e. clonal diversity is determined by vegetative reproduction at within-patch scales and structured by sexual processes at among-patch scales.
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| 5. |
- Hellgren, Olof, et al.
(författare)
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Population structure and migratory directions of Scandinavian bluethroats (Luscinia svecica) -a molecular, morphological and stable isotope analysis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 31:1, s. 95-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract in UndeterminedMany species of birds show evidence of secondary contact zones and subspeciation in their Scandinavian distribution range, presumably resulting from different post-glacial recolonization routes. We investigated whether this is the case also in the Scandinavian bluethroat Luscinia svecica, a species that has been suggested to consist of two separate populations: one SW-migrating and long-winged (L. s. gaetkei) breeding in southern Norway, and one shorter-winged ESE-migrating (L. s. svecica) in northern Scandinavia. We sampled males at eleven breeding sites from southern Norway to northernmost Sweden. There were no morphological differences or latitudinal trends within the sample, neither were there any genetic differences or latitudinal trends as measured by variation in AFLP and microsatellite markers. Stable isotope ratios of throat feathers moulted on the wintering grounds showed no, or possibly marginal differences between birds from southern Norway and northern Sweden. We also re-measured old museum skins that in previous studies were classified as L. s. gaetkei, and found marginally longer wings in birds from the southern part of the Scandinavian breeding range. The difference, however, was much smaller than proposed in earlier studies. We conclude that there is no evidence of a genetic population structure among Scandinavian bluethroats that would suggest the presence of a zone of secondary contact. Finally we discuss whether the presumed subspecies gaetkei ever existed.
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| 6. |
- Sunde, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Combining information from range use and habitat selection: sex-specific spatial responses to habitat fragmentation in tawny owls Strix aluco
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 29:2, s. 152-158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How individuals respond to habitat heterogeneity is usually measured as variation in range size and by ranking the relative importance of habitat types (habitat selection). The combined effect of how individuals incorporate different habitat types in their home ranges and allocate their time budget between them is rarely derived. Additionally, when home range size varies between individuals, habitat selection analyses might be flawed if foraging decisions are based on variation in absolute rather than proportional availability. We investigated the suitability of standard analytical approaches by measuring the spatial responses of tawny owls to habitat fragmentation. These owls inhabited woodland of various sizes, representing a fragmentation gradient from open farmland with small, isolated woodland patches, to continuous woodland within their home ranges. In 17 territories within open farmland, the available area covered by woodland increased with the square root of the area of open land embraced in the home range. The owls did not display functional response in habitat selection, but females selected woodland more strongly than males. Females utilised woodland 10 times more intensively in farmland than in continuous woods, whereas males utilised farmland woods 3.2 times more intensively. Moreover, females in farmland exploited woodland 3.2 times as intensively as males, apparently because of higher travel costs in open areas. Since the extensive variation in intensity of use as a function of total availability was not indicated from the analysis of habitat selection, we suggest that information about intensity of use be more widely used as a supplementary measure of habitat use patterns than appears to be the practice at present.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Bergman, Karl-Olof, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Population viability analysis of the butterfly Lopinga achine in a changing landscape in Sweden
- 2004
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 27:1, s. 49-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Metapopulation theory has generally focused only on the stochastic turn-over rate among populations and assumed that the number and location of suitable habitat patches will remain constant through time. This study combines in a PVA both the deterministic landscape dynamics and the stochastic colonisations and extinctions of populations for the butterfly Lopinga achine in Sweden. With data on occupancy pattern and the rate of habitat change, we built a simulation model and examined five different scenarios with different assumptions of landscape changes for L. achine. If no landscape changes would be expected, around 80 populations are predicted to persist during the next 100 yr. Adding the knowledge that many of the sites are unmanaged and that the host plant will slowly deteriorate as canopies close over, and adding environmental variation and synchrony, showed that the number of populations will decrease to around of 4.3 and 2.8 respectively, with an extinction risk of 34% - quite different from the first scenario based only on the metapopulation model. This study has shown the importance of incorporating both deterministic and stochastic events when making a reliable population viability analysis. Even though one can not expect that the long-term predictions of either occupied patches or extinction risks will be accurate quantitatively, the qualitative implications are correct. The extinction risk will be high if grazing is not applied to more patches than is the case today. The simulations indicate that an absolute minimum of 10-30 top-ranked patches needs to be managed for the persistence of the metapopulation of L. achine in the long term. The same problem of abandoned and overgrowing habitats affects many other threatened species in the European landscape and a similar approach could also be applied to them.
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| 9. |
- Bradshaw, Richard H. W., et al.
(författare)
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Long-term succession in a Danish temperate deciduous forest
- 2005
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 28:2, s. 157-164
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forest successional trajectories covering the last 2000 yr from a mixed deciduous forest in Denmark show a gradual shift in dominance from Tilia cordata to Fagus sylvatica and a recent increase in total forest basal area since direct management ceased in 1948. The successions are reconstructed by combining a fifty-year record of direct tree observations with local pollen diagrams from Draved Forest, Denmark. Five of the seven successions record a heathland phase of Viking Age dating from 830 AD. The anthropogenic influence is considerable throughout the period of study even though Draved contains some of the most pristine forest stands in Denmark. Anthropogenic influence including felling masks the underlying natural dynamics, with the least disturbed sites showing the smallest compositional change. Some effects of former management, such as loss of Tilia cordata dominance, are irreversible. Artificial disturbance, particularly drainage, has accelerated and amplified the shift towards Fagus dominance that would have occurred on a smaller scale and at a slower rate in the absence of human intervention. Copyright © Ecography 2005.
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| 10. |
- De Block, Marjan, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating life history and physiology to understand latitudinal size variation in a damselfly
- 2008
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 31, s. 115-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our understanding of latitudinal life history patterns may benefit by jointly considering age and mass at maturity and growth rate. Additional insight may be gained by exploring potential constraints through pushing growth rates to their maximum and scoring physiological cost-related variables. Therefore, we reared animals of a univoltine Spanish and Belgian population and of a semivoltine Swedish population of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum (spanning a latitude gradient of ca 2350 km) in a common environment from the eggs until adult emergence and exposed them to a transient starvation period to induce compensatory growth. Besides age and mass at maturity and growth rate we also scored investment in energy storage (i.e. triglycerides) and immune function (i.e. total activity of phenoloxidase). At emergence, body mass was greater in Spain and Sweden and lower in Belgium, suggesting a genetic component for the U-shaped latitudinal pattern that was found also in a previous study based on field-collected adults. The mass difference between univoltine populations can be explained by the shorter development time in the Belgian population, and this despite a higher growth rate, a pattern consistent with undercompensating countergradient variation. In line with the assumed shorter growth seasons, Belgian and Swedish animals showed higher routine growth rates and compensatory growth after transient starvation. Despite a strong link with metabolic rates (as measured by oxygen consumption) populations with higher routine growth rates had no lower fat content and had higher immune function (i.e. immune function decreased from Sweden to Spain), which was unexpected. Rapid compensatory growth did, however, result in a lowered immune function. This may contribute to the absence of perfect compensating countergradient variation in the Belgian population and the lowest routine growth rates in the Spanish population. Our results underscore the importance of integrating key life historical with physiological traits for understanding latitudinal population differentiation.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Variation in the abundance of fungal endophytes in fescue grasses along altitudinal and grazing gradients
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 30:3, s. 422-430
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Epichloë festucae, a common fungal symbiont of the genus Festuca (family Poaceae), can provide its host plant with protection against herbivores. However, infection might also be associated with a cost to its host plant. We examined the distribution of Epichloë festucae infection in natural populations of three fescue grasses, Festuca rubra, F. ovina and F. vivipara, on mountains in northern Sweden to determine whether infection frequency varied with reindeer Rangifertarandus grazing pressure and altitude. Two differently-scaled approaches were used: 1) infection frequency was measured at a local scale along ten elevational transects within a ca 400 km2 area and 2) infection frequency was measured on a regional scale along elevational transects on 17 mountains classified as having a history of high or low reindeer grazing pressure. Mean infection frequencies in F. rubra were 10% (vegetative tillers at a local scale), and 23% (flowering culms at a regional scale), and in F. ovina they were 13% (local scale) and 15% (regional scale). Endophyte infection frequency in F. vivipara, was, on average, 12% (local scale) and 37% (regional scale). In F. rubra, infection decreased significantly with increasing altitude at both the local and regional scale, and was positively correlated with grazing pressure. In F. ovina, an opposite trend was found at the regional scale: infection frequency increased significantly with increasing altitude, while no discernible distribution pattern was observed at the local scale. No elevational trends were observed in infection of F. vivipara. These patterns in the distribution of endophyte-infected grasses in non-agricultural ecosystems may be explained by both biotic (grazing) and abiotic factors (altitude). Differences in ecology and life history of the studied grass species may also be of importance for the different results observed among species.
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| 14. |
- Jansson, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Factors related to the occurrence of hybrids between brown hares Lepus europaeus and mountain hares L. timidus in Sweden
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 30:5, s. 709-715
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hybridization occurs among many species, and may have implications for conservation as well as for evolution. Interspecific gene flow between brown hares Lepus europaeus and mountain hares L. timidus has been documented in Sweden and in continental Europe, and has probably to some extent occurred throughout history in sympatric areas. What local factors or ecological relationships that correlate with or trigger hybridization between these species has however been unclear. We studied spatial distribution of hybrids between brown hares and mountain hares in Sweden in relation to characteristics of the sampled localities (hunting grounds). In a sample of 70 brown hares collected from 39 populations in south-central Sweden during 2003–2005, 11 (16%) showed introgressed mtDNA from mountain hares. Among the brown hares from their northern range, i.e. in general the most recent establishments, the corresponding figure was 75% (9/12). The frequency of samples with hybrid ancestry increased significantly with latitude, altitude and hilliness, and were higher (p<0.1) in recently established populations and/or where the proportion of arable land was low. Several site-specific parameters were correlated, e.g. latitude as expected to hilliness, and no parameter explained the occurrence of hybrids exclusively. Instead, the appearance of mountain hare mtDNA among brown hares was associated with a conglomerate of parameters reflecting landscapes atypical for the brown hare, e.g. forest dominated and steep areas where the species quite recently was established. We suggest that these abiotic factors mirror the main aspect influencing hybridization frequency, namely the density or relative frequency of the two species. In atypical brown hare landscapes with recent establishment, mountain hares are probably relatively more common. When one species dominate in numbers, or when both species display low densities, increased frequency of hybridization is expected due to low availability of conspecific partners, a phenomenon referred to as Hubbs' principle.
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| 15. |
- Kolseth, Anna-Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic structure of Euphrasia stricta on the Baltic island of Gotland, Sweden
- 2005
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 28:4, s. 443-452
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic differentiation between and within five varieties of Euphrasia stricta (var. brevipila, var. gotlandica, var. stricta, var. suecica and var. tenuis) on Gotland was investigated, using amplified fragment length polymorphism, AFLP. The varieties are described in the literature by morphology and association to habitat type. We wanted to investigate whether the varieties are locally adapted populations to the typical habitat type for each variety or if they are preadapted to certain habitat types and have colonized Gotland in their present form. A constrained principal coordinate analysis revealed three genetically differentiated subunits within the species. The two early-flowering varieties suecica and tenuis each formed a distinct group, while the three late-flowering varieties brevipila, gotlandica and stricta together formed the third group. A phylogenetic tree confirms the partitioning into three groups. Within the group containing the late-flowering varieties there are populations that pair as each other's closest relatives, but belong to different varieties. These pairs are also geographically adjacent. The phylogenetic tree had a “star-like” appearance indicating a stronger divergence between populations than between varieties. The same pattern was seen in the partitioning of genetic diversity, with a lower amount of genetic variation occurring between varieties, FST=0.14, than between populations within the varieties, FST ranging from 0.26 to 0.60. In Euphrasia stricta the varieties suecica and tenuis and the group containing the varieties stricta/gotlandica/brevipila are likely to have a phylogeographical history outside Gotland, or an ancient and concealed local origin on the island. Within the group stricta/gotlandica/brevipila local evolutionary events seem to determine the variety identity, probably through local adaptation. Natural selection, genetic drift and mutations create genetic differentiation between populations. Gene flow, on the other hand, may counteract these processes (Slatkin 1987). Local adaptation is affected by the stability and strength of the natural selection and the amount of gene flow (Rice and Mack 1991, van Tienderen 1992, Miller and Fowler 1994), but also by the amount of genetic variability for the character that selection works on (Dudley 1996). Many studies have been done in the area of local adaptation (Lönn 1993, Prentice et al. 1995, Lönn et al. 1996, Liviero et al. 2002), and some studies have identified selective agents causing the adaptations. The selective agents are for example small differences in ecological niches and frequency dependent selection caused by pathogens (Parker 1994) or differences in selection regimes in different habitats (Kittelson and Maron 2001). Recent findings on ecological speciation emphasizes the importance of niche-shifting in local populations or groups of populations (Levin 2003) and rapid accumulation of beneficial mutations in isolated small populations (Rieseberg et al. 2003). Evolution works on different spatial and temporal scales, which makes it important to consider these different scales when studying evolutionary processes. Looking at the local phylogeny, geographic and temporal aspects are important when they link evolutionary processes to the extant landscape and the properties of the genetic structure. Linking evolutionary processes to the extant landscape is an important tool in evaluating evolutionary potential and predicting effects of landscape changes. Regional dynamics within species, using varieties/ecotypes, may also give information on initiation of speciation events. Manel et al. (2003) introduce and define landscape genetics as the combination of molecular population genetics and landscape ecology. The advantage of landscape genetics is the combination of the broad geographical span of scales (landscape to microclimate) and the high genetic resolution (individuals) compared to biogeography and phylogeography, which focuses more on species level at a broad spatial and temporal scale. Escudero et al. (2003), like Manel et al. (2003), put an emphasis on the spatial analysis of genetic diversity where a second step is to find ecological or demographic processes that could have shaped the genetic structure. A more direct approach is to measure habitat and genetic properties at many geographic locations and then model the biological processes shaping the spatial genetic structure (Lönn 1993, Prentice et al. 1995), which is the approach we intend to follow here. Molecular markers will be able to trace stochastic processes like drift and gene-flow (Page and Holmes 1998) as well as selective events through hitch-hiking (Hedrick 1980) and linkage events: AFLP has been used to identify quantitative trait loci by Via and Hawthorne (2002) and to explore the role of directional selection in whitefish ecotypes by Campbell and Bernatchez (2004). Yeo (1954, 1956, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968) has done an extensive study of the cytology, hybridisation, cultivation, germination and relationship between species of British and European Euphrasia species. Yeo (1968) concludes that differences in chromosome number, habitat preferences and spatial distribution drives the speciation of Euphrasia in Europe and limits the hybridisation between species. The hybridisation may however result in new gene combinations for selection to work on (Yeo 1968). Yeo (1968) suggests that Euphrasia has gone through a fast and quite recent evolution in Europe after the last glaciation since Euphrasia has interfertile species of which many are endemic to small areas. Today, species differentiation within Euphrasia may be due to vegetation history, hybridisation and the parallel selection of well-adapted biotypes in similar or identical habitats (Karlsson 1976). Both Karlsson (1986) and Yeo (1968) put emphasis on the habitat specialization as an important factor in speciation referring to high morphological variability and hybridisation creating possibilities to evolve habitat specializations in Euphrasia.Zopfi (1998) showed in cultivation experiments that there is a genetic basis for different ecotypic variants of Euphrasiarostkoviana defined by grassland management, concerning onset of flowering, seed size and flowering period, life-history characters that are important adaptations to grazing and mowing. Euphrasia stricta is a tetraploid annual hemiparasite belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family (Yeo 1968, Krok and Almquist 2001). The species occurs all over Europe, except on the British Isles and in Spain and Portugal (Hultén and Fries 1986). In Sweden five varieties are found, which are subdivided based on morphology, phenology and habitat preference (Krok and Almquist 2001). They all grow on the Baltic island of Gotland, which is situated east of Sweden consisting of Silurian limestone (Fredén 1994). Euphrasia stricta var. suecica and E. stricta var. tenuis grow in traditionally managed wooded hay meadows and both are early flowering (Karlsson 1984). The variety suecica is red-listed according to the Swedish Red List (Gärdenfors 2000) and exists only in meadows on Gotland. The variety tenuis exists not only on Gotland but also on the Swedish mainland although it is declining throughout its distribution range. The populations of suecica and tenuis on Gotland are well known (Karlsson 1984, Petersson 1999). Euphrasia stricta var. stricta and E. stricta var. brevipila occur in pastures, along paths and on cultivated land. They flower later in the summer than var. suecica and var. tenuis. The variety stricta is common on the calcareous ground on Gotland with short grass turf, but rare on the mainland in contrast to the variety brevipila, which is common in whole of Sweden except on Gotland. The variety brevipila prefers soils that contain more sand compared to stricta. The late-flowering variety gotlandica is only found on Gotland and Öland, the second Baltic island on the Swedish east coast, were it is restricted to temporary pools on limestone ground (alvar) (Karlsson 1986). All Euphrasia species seems to lack a persistent seed bank (Karlsson 1984), but seeds have survived for up to three years in pots in cultivation experiments of other Euphrasia species (Yeo 1961). Artificial selfing and crosses within and between populations of Euphrasia stricta var. stricta yield high fertility in progeny pollen, 70–100% in between population crosses and 90–100% in selfing or within population crosses (Karlsson 1986). Flowering time for Euphrasia is not only dependent on habitat, but also to some extent on temperature and host attachment (Wilkins 1963, Yeo 1964, Molau 1993, Svensson et al. 2001, Svensson and Carlsson 2004). Euphrasia stricta probably have a mixed mating system (von Wettstein 1896). Based on these factors, which separates the varieties spatially and temporal, the aim of this study was to examine whether the varieties are locally adapted ecotypes that have evolved more than one time on the studied geographical scale or if they are distinct units over the region, implying colonization from outside or a single evolutionary event
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| 16. |
- Lindborg, Regina, et al.
(författare)
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Plant species response to land-use change - Campanula rotundifolia, Primula veris and Rhinanthus minor
- 2005
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 28:1, s. 29-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Land use change is a crucial driver behind species loss at the landscape scale. Hence, from a conservation perspective, species response to habitat degradation or improvement of habitat quality, is important to examine. By using indicator species it may be possible to monitor long-term survival of local populations associated with land use change. In this study we examined three potential indicator (response) species for species richness and composition in Scandinavian semi-natural grassland communities: Campanula rotundifolia, Primula veris and Rhinanthus minor. With field inventories and experiments we examined their response to present land use, habitat degradation and improvement of local habitat quality. At the time scale examined, C. rotundifolia was the only species responding to both habitat degradation and improvement of habitat quality. Neither R. minor nor P. veris responded positively to habitat improvements although both responded rapidly to direct negative changes in habitat quality. Even though C. rotundifolia responded quickly to habitat degradation, it did not disappear completely from the sites. Instead, the population structure changed in terms of decreased population size and flowering frequency. It also showed an ability to form remnant populations which may increase resilience of local habitats. Although P. veris and especially R. minor responded rapidly to negative environmental changes and may be useful as early indicators of land use change, it is desirable that indicators respond to both degradation and improvement of habitat quality. Thus, C. rotundifolia is a better response species for monitoring effects of land use change and conservation measures, provided that both local and regional population dynamics are monitored over a long time period.
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| 17. |
- Nonaka, Etsuko, et al.
(författare)
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Agent-based model approach to optimal foraging in heterogeneous landscapes : effects of patch clumpiness
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 30:6, s. 777-788
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optimal foraging theory concerns animal behavior in landscapes where food is concentrated in patches. The efficiency of foraging is an effect of both the animal behavior and the geometry of the landscape; furthermore, the landscape is itself affected by the foraging of animals. We investigated the effect of landscape heterogeneity on the efficiency of an optimal forager. The particular aspect of heterogeneity we considered was clumpiness- the degree to which food resource patches are clustered together. The starting point for our study was the framework of the Mean Value Theorem (MVT) by Charnov. Since MVT is not spatially explicit, and thus not apt to investigate effects of clumpiness, we built an agent-based (or individual-based) model for animal movement in discrete landscapes extending the MVT. We also constructed a model for generating landscapes where the clumpiness of patches can be easily controlled, or tuned, by an input parameter. We evaluated the agent based model by comparing the results with what the MTV would give, i.e. if the spatial effects were removed. The MVT matched the simulations best on landscapes with random patch configuration and high food recovery rates. As for our main question about the effects of clumpiness, we found that, when landscapes were highly productive (rapid food replenishment), foraging efficiency was greatest in clumped landscapes. In less productive landscapes, however, foraging efficiency was lowest in landscapes with a clumped patch distribution.
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| 18. |
- Thomson, Robert L., et al.
(författare)
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Fear factor : prey habitat selection and its consequences in a predation risk landscape
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 29:4, s. 507-514
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predation risk influences prey use of space. However, little is known about how predation risk influences breeding habitat selection and the fitness consequences of these decisions. The nest sites of central-place foraging predators may spatially anchor predation risk in the landscape. We explored how the spatial dispersion of avian predator nests influenced prey territory location and fitness related measures. We placed 249 nest boxes for migrant pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca, at distances between 10 and 630 in, around seven different sparrowhawk nests Accipiter nisus. After closely monitoring flycatcher nests we found that flycatcher arrival dates, nest box occupation rates and clutch size showed a unimodal relationship with distance from sparrowhawk nests. This relationship suggested an optimal territory location at intermediate distances between 330 and 430 in from sparrowhawk nests. Furthermore, pied flycatcher nestling quantity and quality increased linearly with distance from sparrowhawk nests. These fitness related measures were between 4 and 26% larger in flycatcher nestlings raised far from, relative to those raised nearby, sparrowhawk nests. Our results suggest that breeding sparrowhawk affected both flycatcher habitat selection and reproductive Success. We propose that nesting predators create predictable spatial variation in predation risk for both adult prey and possibly their nests, to which prey individuals are able to adaptively respond. Recognising predictable spatial variation in perceived predation risk may be fundamental for a proper understanding of predator-prey interactions and indeed prey species interactions.
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| 19. |
- Zinko, Ursula, et al.
(författare)
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The role of soil pH in linking groundwater flow and plant species density in boreal forest landscapes
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 29:4, s. 515-524
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In hilly boreal landscapes topography governs groundwater flow which strongly influences soil development, and thus vegetation composition. Soil pH is known to correlate well with plant species density and composition, but in boreal forests this relationship has been little studied. Previously, we successfully used a topography-based hydrological index, the topographical wetness index (TWI), as an approximation of the variation in groundwater flow to predict local plant species density in a boreal forest landscape. Data on species indicator values demonstrated that soil pH can be an important soil variable linking groundwater flow and plant species density. In the present paper we explore this link by relating measured soil pH to species numbers of vascular plants and TWI in 200-m2 plots within two boreal forest landscapes, differing in average soil pH. The two landscapes showed almost identical relationships between plant species number and soil pH, implying that this relationship is robust. The landscapes also had similar relationships between soil pH and TWI as well as between plant species number and TWI except at high TWI values, which indicate groundwater discharge areas. In these areas soil pH and plant species numbers were higher in the high-pH landscape at any given TWI value. We conclude that for predictive mapping of the species density of vascular plants in boreal forests, soil pH is a major factor. However, TWI as a measure of groundwater flow is a practical alternative predictor.
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| 20. |
- Östman, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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Habitat area affects arthropod communities directly and indirectly through top predators
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ecography. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 30:3, s. 359-366
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Both habitat area and predators are known to affect the diversity and composition of species that live in a locality. In addition, habitat area can influence the presence of predators, indirectly affecting the diversity of prey. Thus, habitat area may influence species diversity directly and indirectly through the presence of top predators. Here we examine the effects of habitat area and predators on the species richness and composition of a foliage living arthropod community in a fragmented complex of glades (small grassland patches within a forested matrix) in the Ozark Plateau, Missouri. We find that a top predator, the eastern collared lizard Crotaphytus collaris collaris, occurs primarily on larger glades. Glade area was positively correlated with arthropod diversity, but only after removing the effect of collared lizard presence. Moreover, collared lizards reduced overall arthropod richness, and shifted the dominance from predatory arthropods (e.g. spiders) and Orthopteran grasshoppers to Homopterans (planthoppers). This study shows the importance of accounting for variation in the presence of a top predator when studying the effect of landscape-level processes on species richness and composition.
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| 21. |
- Albrectsen, Benedicte R, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Large scale geographic clines of parasite damage to Populus tremula L
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 33:3, s. 483-493
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In conclusion, clines of Phyllocnistis were stronger and more persistent compared to Melampsora, which showed contrasting clines of varying strength. Our data thus support the assumption of the GMTC model that clines exist in the border between hot and cold spots and that they may be less persistent for parasites with an elevated gene flow, and/or for parasites which cover relatively larger hot spots surrounded by fewer cold spots.
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| 22. |
- Anderbrant, Olle, et al.
(författare)
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Causes and effects of individual quality in bark beetles
- 1989
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 12:4, s. 488-493
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A summary of the present knowledge of variation in individual quality within a bark beetle population is given, with emphasis on the spruce bark beetle Ips typogrophus, A major causal factor is density, mediated by competition during larval development. Density negatively influences individual quality measured as weight, fat content and pheromone production. Together with decreasing mean values at higher densities, the skewness of the frequency distributions goes from negative to positive, while variance changes little. High densities, which often occur in the field, thus result in a large fraction of “low quality beetles”. They have lower reproductive capacity and presumably lesser dispersal ability, lower survival, and earlier response to pheromone. This might concentrate the population in the next generation with increased competition as a result. It is suggested that a decrease in beetle “quality” due to increasingly intense intraspecific competition can contribute to the decline of an epidemic population.
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| 23. |
- Anderbrant, Olle
(författare)
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Reemergence and second brood in the bark beetle Ips typographus
- 1989
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 12:4, s. 494-500
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The knowledge about reemergence of parent spruce bark beetles Ips typographus. their dispersal, and production of a second brood is reviewed. A majority of the beetles reemerge after their first brood. The process is mainly determined by temperature but high breeding density decreases the average time spent in the tree. The difference between males and females in reemergence seems to be small. In the field, a positive relationship between residence time and fat content at reemergence seems to exist, whereas the opposite tendency is found under laboratory conditions. In the laboratory, the survival of beetles reemerging late is on the average lower than that for early reemerging beetles. The time of reemergence and size of the first brood do not, however, seem to influence the production of a second brood. A large proportion of the reemerging beetles are able to establish a new brood in the laboratory, but calculations based on the number of attacked trees and estimated reemergence in forests in South Norway suggest that only about one third of the beetles actually produce a second brood. In northern Europe, successful colonization of new trees by the reemerging beetles seems to require a period of several warm days during the main reemergence period.
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| 24. |
- Andermann, Tobias, et al.
(författare)
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iucn_sim: a new program to simulate future extinctions based on IUCN threat status
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 44:2, s. 162-176
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ongoing environmental crisis poses an urgent need to forecast the who, where and when of future species extinctions, as such information is crucial for targeting conservation efforts. Commonly, such forecasts are made based on conservation status assessments produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, when researchers apply these IUCN conservation status data for predicting future extinctions, important information is often omitted, which can impact the accuracy of these predictions. Here we present a new approach and a software for simulating future extinctions based on IUCN conservation status information, which incorporates generation length information of individual species when modeling extinction risks. Additionally, we explicitly model future changes in conservation status for each species, based on status transition rates that we estimate from the IUCN assessment history of the last decades. Finally, we apply a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to estimate extinction rates for each species, based on the simulated future extinctions. These estimates inherently incorporate the chances of conservation status changes and the generation length for each given species and are specific to the simulated time frame. We demonstrate the utility of our approach by estimating future extinction rates for all bird species. Our average extinction rate estimate for the next 100 yr across all birds is 6.98 x 10(-4) extinctions per species-year, and we predict an expected biodiversity loss of between 669 and 738 bird species within that time frame. Further, the rate estimates between species sharing the same IUCN status show larger variation than the rates estimated with alternative approaches, which reflects expected differences in extinction risk among taxa of the same conservation status. Our method demonstrates the utility of applying species-specific information to the estimation of extinction rates, rather than assuming equal extinction risks for species assigned to the same conservation status.
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| 25. |
- Andersson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Practical tool for landscape planning? An empirical investigation of network based models of habitat fragmentation.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 32:1, s. 123-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study presents a graph-theoretical modelling approach using daily movements and habitat demands of different target bird species in an urban context to assess: 1) habitable land cover types, 2) threshold distances between patches of habitat, 3) the required minimum accessible habitat areas and 4) the effects of barriers and stepping stones. The modelling approach is tested using empirical data from field surveys in the urban area of Stockholm, Sweden. The results show that groups of small habitat patches can house the same species as larger contiguous patches as long as they are perceived as functionally connected by the inhabitant organisms. Furthermore, we found that binary habitat/non-habitat representations of the landscape could roughly explain the variation in species occurrence, as long as habitat was properly defined. However, the explanatory power of the landscape models increased when features of matrix heterogeneity such as stepping stones and barriers were accounted for. Synthesis and application: in a world where forest ecosystems are becoming increasingly fragmented there is an urgent need to find comprehensive and scientifically relevant methods for managing and planning ecosystems. This study shows that: 1) groups of well placed small habitat patches can, together, be sufficient to attract birds in intensively developed areas, 2) the presented modelling approach can help identify such groups of patches, 3) matrix heterogeneity should preferably be accounted for, and 4) proper assessments of habitable land cover types are important. Finally, we argue that the modelling approach applied here may substantially improve landscape management and planning at scales ranging from whole landscapes down to neighbourhoods.
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