Ecological stability propagates across spatial scales and trophic levels in freshwater ecosystems

Tadeu Siqueira1, Charles P. Hawkins, Julian Olden, Jonathan Tonkin, Lise Comte, Victor S. Saito, Thomas L. Anderson, Gedimar P. Barbosa, Núria Bonada, Claudia C. Bonecker, Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles, Thibault Datry, Michael B. Flinn, Pau Fortuño, Gretchen A. Gerrish, Peter Haase, Matthew J. Hill, James M. Hood, Kaisa-Leena Huttunen, Michael J. Jeffries19, Timo Muotka, Daniel R. O’Donnell, Riku Paavola, Petr Paril, Michael J. Paterson, Christopher J. Patrick, Gilmar Perbiche-Neves, Luzia C. Rodrigues, Susanne C. Schneider, Michal Straka, Albert Ruhi. 2022. https://ecoevorxiv.org/mpf5x

Abstract

The temporal stability of ecological properties increases with spatial scale and levels of biological organization, but how does it propagate across trophic levels? We compiled 35 metacommunity time-series datasets spanning basal resources (e.g., phytoplankton) to top predators (e.g., piscivorous fish) from 384 freshwater sites across three continents. We reveal how stability propagates from populations to metacommunities and across trophic levels through the complementary and opposing contributions of synchrony and variability. Temporal variability in abundance decreased from producers to tertiary consumers mainly at the local scale. Population synchrony within sites increased with trophic level, whereas spatial synchrony among communities decreased. The link between spatial synchrony and metacommunity variability was stronger for top consumers, but the indirect effects of environmental variables and diversity on temporal variability was consistent among spatial scales and trophic levels. We suggest that mobile predators can stabilize metacommunities if they buffer variability originating at the base of food webs. Our findings advance the notion that the trophic structure of metacommunities, which reflects organismal differences in body size, dispersal, and environmental tolerance, should be considered when investigating the propagation of ecological stability.

Experiential legacies of early-life dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid content on juvenile Walleye: Potential impacts from climate change

L. Zoe Almeida, John Grayson, Stuart A. Ludsin, Konrad Dabrowski, Elizabeth A. Marschall. 2022. Journal of Fish Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12666

Abstract

Climate-induced shifts in plankton blooms may alter fish recruitment by affecting the fatty acid composition of early-life diets and corresponding performance. Early-life nutrition may immediately affect survival but may also have a lingering influence on size and growth via experiential legacies. We explored the short- and longer-term performance consequences of different concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for juvenile Walleye (Sander vitreus, Mitchill 1818). For the first 10 days of feeding, juveniles were provided Artemia enriched with: oleic acid (low PUFA), high docosahexaenoic acid and high eicosapentaenoic acid (high PUFA), or high PUFA and a form of vitamin E (high PUFA + E). After 10 days, all fish were fed a high-quality diet and reared for an additional 27 days. Juveniles fed either high PUFA diet were 1.15-fold larger (PUFA mean ± SD = 20.0 ± 3.3 mg; PUFA + E = 19.8 ± 3.3 mg) than those fed the low PUFA (17.3 ± 2.8 mg) diet after 10 days of feeding. After 27 days, juveniles initially fed the high PUFA diet were still 1.10- to 1.20-fold larger (PUFA = 407.0 ± 61.6 mg; PUFA + E = 422.7 ± 58.7 mg) than those initially fed the low PUFA diet (356.5.0 ± 39.5 mg). Our findings demonstrate that fatty acid composition of juvenile Walleye diets has immediate and lingering size effects. As changes in climate continue to alter lower trophic levels, fish management and conservation may need to consider short- and long-term effects of temporal or spatial differences in early-life diet quality.

Genetic drift and host-adaptive features likely underlie cladogenesis of insect-associated Lachnospiraceae

Arturo Vera-Ponce de Leon, Mathias G Schneider, Benjamin C Jahnes, Victoria Sadowski, Lennel A Camuy-Vélez, Jun Duan, Zakee L Sabree. 2022 Jun 9;14(6):evac086. DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac086

Abstract

Phylogenetic and functional group analysis of the genomes of anaerobic bacteria isolated from Periplaneta americana digestive tracts suggest that they represent novel Lachnospiraceae genera. PAL113 and PAL227 isolate genomes encoded short-chain fatty acid biosynthetic pathways and plant fiber and chitin catabolism and other carbohydrate utilization genes common in related Lachnospiraceae species, yet the presence of operons containing flagellar assembly pathways were among several distinguishing features. In general, PAL113 and PAL227 isolates encode an array of gene products that would enable them to thrive in the insect gut environment and potentially play a role in host diet processing. We hypothesize that cladogenesis of these isolates could be due to their oxygen sensitivity, reliance upon the host for dispersal and genetic drift and not necessarily as a result of an ongoing mutualism.

Description of a new species of Protodinychus (Mesostigmata: Protodinychidae), and a key to deutonymphs of the genus

Kazemi, Shahrooz and Klompen, Hans. 2022 - Volume: 62 Issue: 3 pages: 585-596. https://doi.org/10.24349/6gmw-wgod

Abstract

A new species of Protodinychus Evans from Iran is described for the deutonymph, with supplementary information for P. ainscoughi Huțu & Călugăr. A key to the deutonymphs of Protodinychus is provided. Species diversity in the basal uropodine family Protodinychidae (Thinozercionoidea) may be larger than previously estimated.

Conservation genomics and species distribution models motivate proactive and collaborative conservation in an era of rapid change

Maria Sagatelova, Rosa A. Rodriguez-Pena, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Jeffrey Lonneker, Kirk R. Sherrill, Andrea D. Wolfe. 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1762809/v1

Abstract

Small, fragmented plant populations with low genetic diversity are susceptible to deterministic and stochastic events that can affect long-term persistence of species. Penstemon lemhiensis Keck (Plantaginaceae) is a rare endemic with small, scattered populations across Idaho and Montana threatened by cumulative impacts of biological invasion, drought, and altered re regimes. When contextualized by an understanding of range-wide distributions under different environmental change scenarios, conservation genetics can be leveraged to motivate proactive conservation action among collaborating stakeholder groups. We applied a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach across eight populations and 93 individuals of P. lemhiensis. Genetic differentiation among populations followed an isolation-by-distance pattern and ranged from low to moderate (FST = 0.095–0.280). Values of inbreeding were low, and often negative (FIS = -0.039-0.032), indicating outbreeding within populations. Population structure analyses identied six ancestral populations and admixture across all individuals. We contextualized these ndings by tting bioclimatic niche models to past, present, and future climate regime scenarios. Habitat connectivity peaked mid-Holocene and nearly disappeared in the future scenario. Genetic analyses and species distribution models indicated that the species may experience drastic range contraction and accelerated isolation and inbreeding in future. We identied a core area in the Upper Big Hole Valley, Montana most likely to persist as suitable habitat. The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and US Forest Service were identied as key stakeholders in that valley. We outline a proactive collaborative conservation strategy that aim to maintain wild P. lemhiensis populations.