ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0703-6893
Current Organisations
University of Utah
,
Australian National University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Conservation and Biodiversity | Wildlife and Habitat Management | Ecosystem Function | Environmental Science and Management | Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change | Terrestrial Ecology | Ecology | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Invasive Species Ecology | Evolutionary Biology | Community Ecology |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest and Woodlands Environments | Mountain and High Country Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Forest and Woodlands Land Management | Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas in Forest and Woodlands Environments | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments | Forest and Woodlands Soils | Forest and Woodlands Water Management | Mountain and High Country Land and Water Management | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Mountain and High Country Environments
Related Links
Publications
Spatial and temporal variability of fragmentation effects in a long term, eucalypt forest fragmentation experiment
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2018
Predictors of recruitment for willows invading riparian environments in south-east Australia: implications for weed management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-07-2006
Deconstructing pollinator community effectiveness
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
The future of pollinators for Australian agriculture
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2002
DOI: 10.1071/AR01186
Abstract: Agriculture in Australia is highly dependent on insect pollination, in particular from the introduced western honeybee, Apis mellifera. Most agricultural pollination is provided as an unpaid service by feral A. mellifera and native insects. A smaller proportion of agricultural pollination is provided as a paid service by beekeepers. Insect pollination is threatened by misuse of insecticides and the loss of remnant vegetation, but most potently by the likelihood that the honeybee mite, Varroa destructor, will enter the country. Now is the time to prepare for the effect of these changes, and international experience with pollinator decline should serve as a guide. We need to protect and manage our remnant vegetation to protect wild pollinators. Insurance against declining A. mellifera will come through the development of management practices for alternative pollinator species. By developing native insects as pollinators we can avoid the risks associated with the importation of additional introduced species.
Pollen transport differs among bees and flies in a human-modified landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-04-2011
Global-scale drivers of crop visitor diversity and the historical development of agriculture
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 20-11-2019
Abstract: Understanding ersity in flower-visitor assemblages helps us improve pollination of crops and support better bio ersity conservation outcomes. Much recent research has focused on drivers of crop-visitor ersity operating over spatial scales from fields to landscapes, such as pesticide and habitat management, while drivers operating over larger scales of continents and biogeographic realms are virtually unknown. Flower and visitor traits influence attraction of pollinators to flowers, and evolve in the context of associations that can be ancient or recent. Plants that have been adopted into agriculture have been moved widely around the world and thereby exposed to new flower visitors. Remarkably little is known of the consequence of these historical patterns for present-day crop-visiting bee ersity. We analyse data from 317 studies of 27 crops worldwide and find that crops are visited by fewer bee genera outside their region of origin and outside their family's region of origin. Thus, recent human history and the deeper evolutionary history of crops and bees appear to be important determinants of flower-visitor ersity at large scales that constrain the levels of visitor ersity that can be influenced by field- and landscape-scale interventions.
How much does agriculture depend on pollinators? Lessons from long-term trends in crop production
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-2009
DOI: 10.1093/AOB/MCP076
Optimized inducible shRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 platforms for in vitro studies of human development using hPSCs
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 12-2016
DOI: 10.1242/DEV.138081
Abstract: Inducible loss of gene function experiments are necessary to uncover mechanisms underlying development, physiology and disease. However, current methods are complex, lack robustness and do not work in multiple cell types. Here we address these limitations by developing single-step optimized inducible gene knockdown or knockout (sOPTiKD or sOPTiKO) platforms. These are based on genetic engineering of human genomic safe harbors combined with an improved tetracycline-inducible system and CRISPR/Cas9 technology. We exemplify the efficacy of these methods in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), and show that generation of sOPTiKD/KO hPSCs is simple, rapid and allows tightly controlled in idual or multiplexed gene knockdown or knockout in hPSCs and in a wide variety of differentiated cells. Finally, we illustrate the general applicability of this approach by investigating the function of transcription factors (OCT4 and T), cell cycle regulators (cyclin D family members) and epigenetic modifiers (DPY30). Overall, sOPTiKD and sOPTiKO provide a unique opportunity for functional analyses in multiple cell types relevant for the study of human development.
Erratum to: The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-06-2013
Pollen-based continental climate reconstructions at 6 and 21 ka: a global synthesis
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-09-2010
Diurnal effectiveness of pollination by bees and flies in agricultural Brassica rapa: Implications for ecosystem resilience
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2013
Cross-taxonomic surrogates for biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes – A multi-taxa approach
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Influence of woody vegetation on pollinator densities in oilseed Brassica fields in an Australian temperate landscape
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2010
Species traits predict assemblage dynamics at ephemeral resource patches created by carrion
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-01-2013
Maximizing the Environmental Benefits of Carbon Farming through Ecosystem Service Delivery
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2013
Effects of past and present livestock grazing on herpetofauna in a landscape-scale experiment
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12779
Restoration of an Ecosystem Function to Revegetation Communities: The Role of Invertebrate Macropores in Enhancing Soil Water Infiltration
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2010
Reproductive biology of Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae) 2. Incompatibility and pollen transfer in relation to the breeding system
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2010
DOI: 10.1071/BT10036
Abstract: The onset of stigma receptivity in Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden & Betche) Cheel was evaluated by observing pollen-tube growth and seed set following controlled pollination. Pollen-tube numbers in the style, following controlled pollinations, increased from Day 1 to Day 6, then declining rapidly. The stigma was most receptive during Days 3–6, and still receptive at low levels as early as shortly after anthesis and as late as 10 days after pollination. The present study found that in iduals of M. alternifolia differed in their degree of expression of self-incompatibility. Artificial self-pollination, with emasculation, in several families resulted in complete self-incompatibility, with no capsule retention. The microscopic observation of pollen-tube development revealed a mechanism of self-incompatibility in M. alternifolia. A self-incompatibility system operates in the style, although a few self-pollen grains are capable of germinating and producing pollen tubes. It also appears that late-acting self-incompatibility mechanisms discriminate against self-pollen tubes when they descend to the ovary. Artificial cross-pollination of selected parents produced seed with greater germination capacity and seedlings that grew faster than the corresponding open-pollinated seed and seedlings from the same parent. Freeze-dried pollen stored at −18°C maintained viability (22%) over 1 year of storage. This finding will allow greater flexibility in undertaking controlled pollinations, because stored pollen can be substituted for fresh pollen when insufficient quantities are available from new-season flowers. A wide variety of insects was observed visiting the flowers of M. alternifolia, and capsule set was high even in bags that excluded flower visitors greater than 2 mm. Thrips species seem likely to be important pollinators of this species because they are small and were abundant inside and outside of exclusion bags, although several other insect species such as bees, flies and wasps were also identified as frequent floral visitors.
A global quantitative synthesis of local and landscape effects on wild bee pollinators in agroecosystems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-03-2013
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12082
Abstract: Bees provide essential pollination services that are potentially affected both by local farm management and the surrounding landscape. To better understand these different factors, we modelled the relative effects of landscape composition (nesting and floral resources within foraging distances), landscape configuration (patch shape, interpatch connectivity and habitat aggregation) and farm management (organic vs. conventional and local-scale field ersity), and their interactions, on wild bee abundance and richness for 39 crop systems globally. Bee abundance and richness were higher in ersified and organic fields and in landscapes comprising more high-quality habitats bee richness on conventional fields with low ersity benefited most from high-quality surrounding land cover. Landscape configuration effects were weak. Bee responses varied slightly by biome. Our synthesis reveals that pollinator persistence will depend on both the maintenance of high-quality habitats around farms and on local management practices that may offset impacts of intensive monoculture agriculture.
CropPol : A dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-02-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3614
Abstract: Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open, and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e., berry mass, number of fruits, and fruit density [kg/ha], among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), North America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). S ling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001–2005 (21 studies), 2006–2010 (40), 2011–2015 (88), and 2016–2020 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non‐commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY‐NC‐SA).
ADAR1-Dependent RNA Editing Promotes MET and iPSC Reprogramming by Alleviating ER Stress
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Pollination and resource limitation as interacting constraints on almond fruit set
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-10-2020
DOI: 10.1111/PLB.13045
Abstract: Pollination and resource availability are factors determining reproductive success of plants, and in agriculture these factors influence yield of fruit-bearing crops. Our understanding of the importance of crop pollination is fast improving, but less is known about how the interaction between pollination and resources constrains fruit production. We conducted an experiment with almond trees (Prunus dulcis) to examine how the number of flowers, light availability and competition for resources affected nut (fruit) production on in idual spurs (fruit-bearing structures) exposed to open-pollination or hand-pollination. We found a positive relationship between flower number and nut number on spurs with up to four flowers, but no further benefit after four flowers, suggesting a resource threshold expressed by in idual spurs. Spurs with few flowers increased the conversion rate of flowers to nuts when supplemented with hand-pollination, but spurs with more flowers were more likely to achieve the threshold number of nuts even under open-pollination. Our experiment included a further treatment involving spraying whole trees with pollen. This treatment reduced nut production by spurs with many flowers and high light availability, suggesting competition is experienced by well-resourced spurs when resources need to be shared among developing nuts across the whole tree. Our study supports the hypothesis that excess flower production in fruit trees increases the potential for fruit production when pollinator and resource availability is variable (bet-hedging). Spurs with more flowers typically produce more nuts (within a limited range), but only if both resources and pollen supply increase with flower number. For almond growers, a focus on maintaining high flower numbers, especially in high light regions of the canopy, is the foundation for high levels of production. Strategies to lift flower number and light are complicated by trade-offs inherent in tree architecture and orchard design. However, fruit set would be lifted above that achieved by current practice by an increase in the pollination rate of flowers.
Unravelling the role of mate density and sex ratio in competition for pollen
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-11-2011
Landscape context affects honeyeater communities and their foraging behaviour in Australia: implications for plant pollination
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-01-2012
Patterns of host use by the shoot-borer Hypsipyla robusta (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera) comparing five Meliaceae tree species in Asia and Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2005
Landscape effects on crop pollination services: are there general patterns?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1461-0248.2008.01157.X
Abstract: Pollination by bees and other animals increases the size, quality, or stability of harvests for 70% of leading global crops. Because native species pollinate many of these crops effectively, conserving habitats for wild pollinators within agricultural landscapes can help maintain pollination services. Using hierarchical Bayesian techniques, we synthesize the results of 23 studies - representing 16 crops on five continents - to estimate the general relationship between pollination services and distance from natural or semi-natural habitats. We find strong exponential declines in both pollinator richness and native visitation rate. Visitation rate declines more steeply, dropping to half of its maximum at 0.6 km from natural habitat, compared to 1.5 km for richness. Evidence of general decline in fruit and seed set - variables that directly affect yields - is less clear. Visitation rate drops more steeply in tropical compared with temperate regions, and slightly more steeply for social compared with solitary bees. Tropical crops pollinated primarily by social bees may therefore be most susceptible to pollination failure from habitat loss. Quantifying these general relationships can help predict consequences of land use change on pollinator communities and crop productivity, and can inform landscape conservation efforts that balance the needs of native species and people.
Substantial long-Term effects of carcass addition on soil and plants in a grassy eucalypt woodland
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1537
Grassland area determines beetle assemblage dissimilarity from surrounding floodplain forest
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-10-2013
Habitat contrasts reveal a shift in the trophic position of ant assemblages
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-09-2011
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2010.01747.X
Abstract: 1. Trophic structure within a guild can be influenced by factors such as resource availability and competition. While ants occupy a wide range of positions in food webs, and ant community composition changes with habitat, it is not well understood if ant genera tend to maintain their position in the trophic structure, or if trophic position varies across habitats. 2. We used ratios of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to test for differences in the trophic structure and position of assemblages of ants among habitat types. We tested for differences between assemblages in replicate sites of the land use categories: (i) pastures with old large trees (ii) recently revegetated pastures with small young trees and (iii) remnant woodlands. Known insect herbivores and predatory spiders provided baselines for herbivorous and predaceous arthropods. Soil s les were used to correct for the base level of isotopic enrichment at each site. 3. We found no significant interactions between land use and ant genus for isotope enrichment, indicating that trophic structure is conserved across land use categories. The fixed relative positions of genera in the trophic structure might be re-enforced by competition or some other factor. However, the entire ant assemblage had significantly lower δ(15) N values in revegetated sites, suggesting that ants feed lower down in the food chain i.e. they are more 'herbivorous' in revegetated sites. This may be a result of the high availability of plant sugars, honeydew and herbivorous arthropod prey. 4. Surprisingly, ants in remnants and pastures with trees displayed similar isotopic compositions. Interactions within ant assemblages are thus likely to be resilient to changes in land use, but ant diets in early successional habitats may reflect the simplicity of communities, which may have comparatively lower rates of saprophagy and predation.
The spatial scaling of beta diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-12-2013
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12031
Effects of exotic grass invasion on spatial heterogeneity in the ground-layer of grassy woodlands
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-04-2011
Improving spatial arrangement of honeybee colonies to avoid pollination shortfall and depressed fruit set
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-12-2015
Toward an integrated history to guide the future
Publisher: Resilience Alliance, Inc.
Date: 2011
Conserving ground-dwelling beetles in an endangered woodland community: Multi-scale habitat effects on assemblage diversity
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2009
Species co-occurrence networks show reptile community reorganization under agricultural transformation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.03079
Restoration of trophic structure in an assemblage of omnivores, Considering a revegetation chronosequence
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-02-2013
High self-pollen transfer and low fruit set in buzz-pollinated Dianella revoluta (Phormiaceae)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/BT03139
Abstract: We used pollinator observation, flower manipulation, controlled pollination and pollen-tube analysis to better understand the reproductive ecology of Dianella revoluta R.Br., a common species known to have depressed fruit set at fragmented sites. This buzz-pollinated species was found to receive large quantities of self-pollen even during a single pollinator visit, but is only partially self-compatible. This may be the first direct demonstration of pollinator-facilitated, autogamous self-pollen transfer accounting for a significant proportion of stigmatic pollen load. Frequent high self-pollen transfer may account for the observed low rate of fruit development in open-pollinated flowers. Self-pollen tubes reached the base of the style in comparable numbers and at the same rate as outcross pollen tubes, with no sign of pollen-tube competition favouring outcross pollen. Barriers to greater self-fertility occur late, probably through early abortion of selfed ovules. We also investigated what impact overlapping distribution with D. longifolia may have on D. revoluta pollination and reproduction. Although these species shared pollinators, they differed in terms of frequency of visits. There was also separation of floral phenology within the course of a day.
How bioregional history could shape the future of agriculture
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2021
To close the yield-gap while saving biodiversity will require multiple locally relevant strategies
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2013
Diversity and host specificity of Psylloidea (Hemiptera) inhabiting box mistletoe,Amyema miquelii(Loranthaceae) and three of its hostEucalyptusspecies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-10-2014
DOI: 10.1111/AEN.12123
Phenology of a bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) community over a 10 year period in south‐eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-07-2020
DOI: 10.1111/AEN.12488
Incorporating regional-scale ecological knowledge to improve the effectiveness of large-scale conservation programmes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-03-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12267
Conserving focal insect groups in woodland remnants: The role of landscape context and habitat structure on cross-taxonomic congruence
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Generalist predator's niche shifts reveal ecosystem changes in an experimentally fragmented landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-12-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.03476
Returning a lost process by reintroducing a locally extinct digging marsupial
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 27-05-2019
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.6622
Abstract: The eastern bettong ( Bettongia gaimardi ), a medium-sized digging marsupial, was reintroduced to a predator-free reserve after 100 years of absence from the Australian mainland. The bettong may have the potential to restore temperate woodlands degraded by a history of livestock grazing, by creating numerous small disturbances by digging. We investigated the digging capacity of the bettong and compared this to extant fauna, to answer the first key question of whether this species could be considered an ecosystem engineer, and ultimately if it has the capacity to restore lost ecological processes. We found that eastern bettongs were frequent diggers and, at a density of 0.3–0.4 animals ha −1 , accounted for over half the total foraging pits observed (55%), with echidnas ( Tachyglossus aculeatus ), birds and feral rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) accounting for the rest. We estimated that the population of bettongs present dug 985 kg of soil per ha per year in our study area. Bettongs dug more where available phosphorus was higher, where there was greater basal area of Acacia spp. and where kangaroo grazing was less. There was no effect on digging of eucalypt stem density or volume of logs on the ground. While bettong digging activity was more frequent under trees, digging also occurred in open grassland, and bettongs were the only species observed to dig in scalds (areas where topsoil has eroded to the B Horizon). These results highlight the potential for bettongs to enhance soil processes in a way not demonstrated by the existing fauna (native birds and echidna), and introduced rabbit.
Leaf compositional differences predict variation in Hypsipyla robusta damage to Toona ciliata in field trials
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 03-2004
DOI: 10.1139/X03-228
Abstract: Hypsipyla robusta Moore is a shoot-boring moth that feeds on species in the Swietenioideae subfamily of Meliaceae, including the rain forest tree Toona ciliata M. Roemer. Damage from Hypsipyla has been a major barrier to growing these species in plantations. Although there has been speculation regarding the role of plant chemistry in determining host selection by Hypsipyla, there is no substantial evidence to support a role for any particular class of compounds. In this study, we used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to quantify variation in tissue composition to determine whether compositional variation could be linked with differences in H. robusta damage in a s le of 153 T. ciliata tree stems. We found that a discriminant analysis using NIRS data successfully classified most leaflets into high- and low-damage classes. Regression models based on NIRS data were also able to predict variation in leaflet nitrogen and tree height. Taller specimens of T. ciliata were more frequently damaged. Leaf nitrogen varied only a little, making it a weak explanatory variable for insect attack. The capacity of NIRS to predict variation in H. robusta attack suggests a link between T. ciliata leaf chemistry and H. robusta behaviour.
Spatial and temporal variation in pollinator effectiveness: do unmanaged insects provide consistent pollination services to mass flowering crops?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-10-2012
Livestock grazing exclusion and microhabitat variation affect invertebrates and litter decomposition rates in woodland remnants
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2009
Does morphology predict trophic position and habitat use of ant species and assemblages?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-10-2015
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-014-3101-9
Abstract: A functional traits-based theory of organismal communities is critical for understanding the principles underlying community assembly, and predicting responses to environmental change. This is particularly true for terrestrial arthropods, of which only 20% are described. Using epigaeic ant assemblages, we asked: (1) can we use morphological variation among species to predict trophic position or preferred microhabitat (2) does the strength of morphological associations suggest recent trait ergence (3) do environmental variables at site scale predict trait sets for whole assemblages? We pitfall-trapped ants from a revegetation chronosequence and measured their morphology, trophic position [using C:N stoichiometry and stable isotope ratios (δ)] and characteristics of microhabitat and macrohabitat. We found strong associations between high trophic position (low C:N and high δ(15)N) in body tissue and morphological traits: predators were larger, had more laterally positioned eyes, more physical protection and tended to be monomorphic. In addition, morphological traits were associated with certain microhabitat features, e.g. smaller heads were associated with the bare ground microhabitat. Trait-microhabitat relationships were more pronounced when phylogenetic adjustments were used, indicating a strong influence of recent trait ergences. At the assemblage level, our fourth corner analysis revealed associations between the prevalence of traits and macrohabitat, although these associations were not the same as those based on microhabitat associations. This study shows direct links between species-level traits and both diet and habitat preference. Trait-based prediction of ecological roles and community structure is thus achievable when integrating stoichiometry, morphology and phylogeny, but scale is an important consideration in such predictions.
Effect of shade and shading history on species abundances and ecosystem processes in temporary ponds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2008
Does wing morphology affect recolonization of restored farmland by ground-dwelling beetles?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-08-2017
DOI: 10.1111/REC.12420
Ecological effects of increasing time since invasion by the exotic African olive (Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata) on leaf-litter invertebrate assemblages
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2016
Scholarly shortcomings and a lack of evidence beleaguer bee sampling critique: A response to Prendergast and Hogendoorn (2021)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-05-2021
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13042
Proximity to rainforest enhances pollination and fruit set in orchards
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-09-2006
Experimental habitat fragmentation disrupts nematode infections in Australian skinks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-11-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.2547
Abstract: Habitat conversion and fragmentation threaten bio ersity and disrupt species interactions. While parasites are recognized as ecologically important, the impacts of fragmentation on parasitism are poorly understood relative to other species interactions. This lack of understanding is in part due to confounding landscape factors that accompany fragmentation. Fragmentation experiments provide the opportunity to fill this knowledge gap by mechanistically testing how fragmentation affects parasitism while controlling landscape factors. In a large‐scale, long‐term experiment, we asked how fragmentation affects a host–parasite interaction between a skink and a parasitic nematode, which is trophically transmitted via a terrestrial hipod intermediate host. We expected that previously observed hipod declines resulting from fragmentation would result in decreased transmission of nematodes to skinks. In agreement, we found that nematodes were absent among skinks in the cleared matrix and that infections in fragments were about one quarter of those in continuous forest. Amphipods found in gut contents of skinks and collected from pitfall traps mirrored this pattern. A structural equation model supported the expectation that fragmentation disrupted this interaction by altering the abundance of hipods and suggested that other variables are likely also important in mediating this effect. These findings advance understanding of how landscape change affects parasitism.
Effect of soil biota on growth and allocation by Eucalyptus microcarpa
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-02-2008
Movement and phenology of bees in a sub-tropical Australian agricultural landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-07-2013
Predicting bee community responses to land-use changes: Effects of geographic and taxonomic biases
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-08-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP31153
Abstract: Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human impacts. The available data are, however, geographically and taxonomically unrepresentative most data are from North America and Western Europe, overrepresenting bumblebees and raising concerns that model results may not be generalizable to other regions and taxa. To assess whether the geographic and taxonomic biases of data could undermine effectiveness of models for conservation policy, we have collated from the published literature a global dataset of bee ersity at sites facing land-use change and intensification, and assess whether bee responses to these pressures vary across 11 regions (Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe North, Central and South America Australia and New Zealand South East Asia Middle and Southern Africa) and between bumblebees and other bees. Our analyses highlight strong regionally-based responses of total abundance, species richness and Simpson's ersity to land use, caused by variation in the sensitivity of species and potentially in the nature of threats. These results suggest that global extrapolation of models based on geographically and taxonomically restricted data may underestimate the true uncertainty, increasing the risk of ecological surprises.
Farming Approaches for Greater Biodiversity, Livelihoods, and Food Security
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2016.10.001
Abstract: Scientists and policy-makers globally are calling for alternative approaches to conventional intensification of agriculture that enhance ecosystem services provided by bio ersity. The evidence reviewed here suggests that alternative approaches can achieve high crop yields and profits, but the performance of other socioeconomic indicators (as well as long-term trends) is surprisingly poorly documented. Consequently, the implementation of conventional intensification and the discussion of alternative approaches are not based on quantitative evidence of their simultaneous ecological and socioeconomic impacts across the globe. To close this knowledge gap, we propose a participatory assessment framework. Given the impacts of conventional intensification on bio ersity loss and greenhouse gas emissions, such evidence is urgently needed to direct science-policy initiatives, such as the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Whole-tree sap flow is substantially diminished by leaf herbivory
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-10-2009
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-008-1170-3
Abstract: Ecohydrological models consider the relationship between tree size and structure (especially leaf area index) and water use but generally treat herbivory as a source of unwanted noise in the data. Little is known of how insect damage to leaves influences whole-plant water use in trees. Water use is driven by environmental demand and the total leaf area through which transpiration can occur, but the effects of insects are expected to be complex. Different kinds of insects could have different effects for ex le, chewing insects reduce leaf area, whereas sucking and tissue mining insects reduce leaf function without reducing area. Further, plants respond to herbivory in a range of ways, such as by altering leaf production or abscising leaves. We examined the effect of insects on Eucalyptus blakelyi in a woodland near Canberra, Australia, using sap flow velocity as a measure of whole-plant water use. We applied insecticide to 16 trees matched to an untreated control group. After 6 months, we examined the effects on sap flow velocity and crown condition. There was a general increase in sap flow velocity as trees produced leaves over the growing season, but the increase in sap flow for trees without insecticide protection was half that of the protected trees (increase: 4.4 vs. 9.0 cm/h, respectively). This dramatic effect on sap flow was consistent with effects on crown condition. Unprotected trees had 20% less leaf mass per unit stem in the crown. In addition, unprotected trees had a 20% greater loss of leaf functional area from necrosis. It should be noted that these effects were detected in a year in which there was not an outbreak of the psyllids (Homoptera) that commonly cause severe leaf damage to this tree species. It is predicted that the effect in a psyllid outbreak year would be even more substantial. This result underscores the significant impact that insect herbivores can have on an ecological process of significance to the ecosystem, namely, the movement of water from the soil to the atmosphere.
Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 30-11-2016
Abstract: Many of the world’s crops are pollinated by insects, and bees are often assumed to be the most important pollinators. To our knowledge, our study is the first quantitative evaluation of the relative contribution of non-bee pollinators to global pollinator-dependent crops. Across 39 studies we show that insects other than bees are efficient pollinators providing 39% of visits to crop flowers. A shift in perspective from a bee-only focus is needed for assessments of crop pollinator bio ersity and the economic value of pollination. These studies should also consider the services provided by other types of insects, such as flies, wasps, beetles, and butterflies—important pollinators that are currently overlooked.
Fine-scale drivers of beetle diversity are affected by vegetation context and agricultural history
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2017
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12506
Seed supply for broadscale restoration: maximizing evolutionary potential
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-10-2008
The role of carrion in maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-09-2013
Six principles for managing forests as ecologically sustainable ecosystems
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-02-2012
Wild Pollinators Enhance Fruit Set of Crops Regardless of Honey Bee Abundance
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 28-02-2013
Native Grass Establishment in Grassy Woodlands with Nutrient Enriched Soil and Exotic Grass Invasion
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-06-2010
Early-season crop colonization by parasitoids is associated with native vegetation, but is spatially and temporally erratic
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2015
Stability of pollination services decreases with isolation from natural areas despite honey bee visits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-08-2011
DOI: 10.1111/J.1461-0248.2011.01669.X
Abstract: Sustainable agricultural landscapes by definition provide high magnitude and stability of ecosystem services, bio ersity and crop productivity. However, few studies have considered landscape effects on the stability of ecosystem services. We tested whether isolation from florally erse natural and semi-natural areas reduces the spatial and temporal stability of flower-visitor richness and pollination services in crop fields. We synthesised data from 29 studies with contrasting biomes, crop species and pollinator communities. Stability of flower-visitor richness, visitation rate (all insects except honey bees) and fruit set all decreased with distance from natural areas. At 1 km from adjacent natural areas, spatial stability decreased by 25, 16 and 9% for richness, visitation and fruit set, respectively, while temporal stability decreased by 39% for richness and 13% for visitation. Mean richness, visitation and fruit set also decreased with isolation, by 34, 27 and 16% at 1 km respectively. In contrast, honey bee visitation did not change with isolation and represented > 25% of crop visits in 21 studies. Therefore, wild pollinators are relevant for crop productivity and stability even when honey bees are abundant. Policies to preserve and restore natural areas in agricultural landscapes should enhance levels and reliability of pollination services.
Do flower-tripping bees enhance yields in peanut varieties grown in north Queensland?
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1071/EA05190
Abstract: It has been demonstrated that tripping of peanut flowers by large bees enhances pollination and improves peanut yields of some early commercial peanut varieties but this phenomenon has not been evaluated for recently developed peanut varieties. Our study aimed to establish whether bees provide this service for peanut varieties currently grown on the Atherton Tableland, north Queensland. To measure the impact of native and introduced bees occurring without assistance in crops, we set up 3 cage treatments (meshed to exclude large bees partly meshed to allow bee access but take cage effects into account and unmeshed) in each of 7 peanut crops. We also trapped bees in each crop for the entire flowering period. In a separate experiment, designed to ensure that suitable large bees were abundant nearby, we set up 6 replicates of the same 3 cage treatments in another peanut crop where 4 honeybee colonies were located. On a sunny day, during peak flowering, we monitored the number of honeybee visits to the peanut flowers in this crop between 0820 and 1730 hours. At harvest, we found that there was no effect of treatment on peanut yield (number of peanuts/g plant biomass). Thus, bees were not contributing to peanut pollination. This was reflected in the fact that no honeybees (or native bees) were observed visiting peanut flowers in the crop augmented with honeybees, and even though we caught 6 species of suitably sized bees in the other peanut crops, no bee species was common. It seems likely that selection for other desirable peanut traits has resulted in development of varieties that are no longer attractive to flower-tripping bees and that there is no advantage to be gained by north Queensland growers promoting bees in crops of these varieties.
Enhancing soil biophysical condition for climate-resilient restoration in mesic woodlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2014
Ten policies for pollinators
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 25-11-2016
Abstract: What governments can do to safeguard pollination services
Significant yield benefits from honeybee pollination of faba bean (Vicia faba) assessed at field scale
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2013
Carrion decomposition causes large and lasting effects on soil amino acid and peptide flux
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2014
Past and future global transformation of terrestrial ecosystems under climate change
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 31-08-2018
Abstract: Terrestrial ecosystems will be transformed by current anthropogenic change, but the extent of this change remains a challenge to predict. Nolan et al. looked at documented vegetational and climatic changes at almost 600 sites worldwide since the last glacial maximum 21,000 years ago. From this, they determined vegetation responses to temperature changes of 4° to 7°C. They went on to estimate the extent of ecosystem changes under current similar (albeit more rapid) scenarios of warming. Without substantial mitigation efforts, terrestrial ecosystems are at risk of major transformation in composition and structure. Science , this issue p. 920
Arthropod colonisation of natural and experimental logs in an agricultural landscape: Effects of habitat, isolation, season and exposure time
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2012
Does the availability of arboreal honeydew determine the prevalence of ecologically dominant ants in restored habitats?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-08-2009
Toona ciliata that suffer frequent height-reducing herbivore damage by a shoot-boring moth (Hypsipyla robusta) are taller
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2006
Experimental reduction of native vertebrate grazing and addition of logs benefit beetle diversity at multiple scales
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-04-2011
Habitat functionality for the ecosystem service of pest control: reproduction and feeding sites of pests and natural enemies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-07-2012
A reintroduced ecosystem engineer provides a germination niche for native plant species
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-11-2020
Environmental and spatial drivers of spider diversity at contrasting microhabitats
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-03-2017
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12488
Arthropod assemblages in a focal tree species (Eucalyptus microcarpa) depends on the species mix in restoration plantings
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-07-2015
Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 27-10-2006
Abstract: The extent of our reliance on animal pollination for world crop production for human food has not previously been evaluated and the previous estimates for countries or continents have seldom used primary data. In this review, we expand the previous estimates using novel primary data from 200 countries and found that fruit, vegetable or seed production from 87 of the leading global food crops is dependent upon animal pollination, while 28 crops do not rely upon animal pollination. However, global production volumes give a contrasting perspective, since 60% of global production comes from crops that do not depend on animal pollination, 35% from crops that depend on pollinators, and 5% are unevaluated. Using all crops traded on the world market and setting aside crops that are solely passively self-pollinated, wind-pollinated or parthenocarpic, we then evaluated the level of dependence on animal-mediated pollination for crops that are directly consumed by humans. We found that pollinators are essential for 13 crops, production is highly pollinator dependent for 30, moderately for 27, slightly for 21, unimportant for 7, and is of unknown significance for the remaining 9. We further evaluated whether local and landscape-wide management for natural pollination services could help to sustain crop ersity and production. Case studies for nine crops on four continents revealed that agricultural intensification jeopardizes wild bee communities and their stabilizing effect on pollination services at the landscape scale.
Herbivory differentially affects male and female reproductive traits of Cucumis sativus
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2004
Abstract: Herbivory is an important selection pressure in the life history of plants. Most studies use seed or fruit production as an indication of plant fitness, but the impact of herbivory on male reproductive success is usually ignored. It is possible that plants compensate for resources lost to herbivory by shifting the allocation from seed production to pollen production and export, or vice versa. This study examined the impact of herbivory by Helix aspersa on both male and female reproductive traits of a monoecious plant, Cucumis sativus. The effects of herbivory on the relative allocation to male and female flowers were assessed through measurements of the number and size of flowers of both sexes, and the amount of pollinator visitation. We performed two glasshouse experiments the first looked at the impact of three levels of pre-flowering herbivory, and the second looked at four levels of herbivory after the plants had started to flower. We found that herbivory during the flowering phase led to a significant increase in the number of plants without male flowers. As a consequence there was significantly less pollen export from this population, as estimated by movement of a pollen analog. The size of female flowers was reduced by severe herbivory, but there was no affect on pollen receipt by the female flowers of damaged plants. The decrease in allocation to male function after severe herbivory may be adaptive when male reproductive success is very unpredictable.
Morphological traits as predictors of diet and microhabitat use in a diverse beetle assemblage
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-01-2011
Save Australia's ecological research
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 10-08-2017
Revegetation of farmland restores function and composition of epigaeic beetle assemblages
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2010
Non-Bee Insects as Visitors and Pollinators of Crops: Biology, Ecology, and Management
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Date: 07-01-2020
DOI: 10.1146/ANNUREV-ENTO-011019-025055
Abstract: Insects other than bees (i.e., non-bees) have been acknowledged as important crop pollinators, but our understanding of which crop plants they visit and how effective they are as crop pollinators is limited. To compare visitation and efficiency of crop-pollinating bees and non-bees at a global scale, we review the literature published from 1950 to 2018 concerning the visitors and pollinators of 105 global food crops that are known to benefit from animal pollinators. Of the 105 animal-pollinated crops, a significant proportion are visited by both bee and non-bee taxa ( n = 82 77%), with a total gross domestic product (GDP) value of US$780.8 billion. For crops with a narrower range of visitors, those that favor non-bees ( n = 8) have a value of US$1.2 billion, compared to those that favor bees ( n = 15), with a value of US$19.0 billion. Limited pollinator efficiency data were available for one or more taxa in only half of the crops ( n = 61 58%). Among the non-bees, some families were recorded visiting a wide range of crops ( ), including six families of flies (Syrphidae, Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae, Tachinidae, and Bombyliidae), two beetle families (Coccinelidae and Nitidulidae), ants (Formicidae), wasps (Vespidae), and four families of moths and butterflies (Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, and Pieridae). Among the non-bees, taxa within the dipteran families Syrphidae and Calliphoridae were the most common visitors to the most crops, but this may be an artifact of the limited data available. The ersity of species and life histories in these groups of lesser-known pollinators indicates that diet, larval requirements, and other reproductive needs will require alternative habitat management practices to bees.
Fine-scale heterogeneity in beetle assemblages under co-occurring Eucalyptus in the same subgenus
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-07-2010
Differential and delayed response of two ant species to habitat fragmentation via the introduction of a pine matrix
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-06-2016
DOI: 10.1111/EEN.12330
AusTraits, a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-09-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-021-01006-6
Abstract: We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field c aigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and in idual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised in idual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge.
Developing an Integrated History and future of People on Earth (IHOPE)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2012
Predictability of biomass burning in response to climate changes
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 23-10-2012
DOI: 10.1029/2011GB004249
Abstract: Climate is an important control on biomass burning, but the sensitivity of fire to changes in temperature and moisture balance has not been quantified. We analyze sedimentary charcoal records to show that the changes in fire regime over the past 21,000 yrs are predictable from changes in regional climates. Analyses of paleo‐ fire data show that fire increases monotonically with changes in temperature and peaks at intermediate moisture levels, and that temperature is quantitatively the most important driver of changes in biomass burning over the past 21,000 yrs. Given that a similar relationship between climate drivers and fire emerges from analyses of the interannual variability in biomass burning shown by remote‐sensing observations of month‐by‐month burnt area between 1996 and 2008, our results signal a serious cause for concern in the face of continuing global warming.
Flower visitation and land cover associations of above ground- and below ground-nesting native bees in an agricultural region of south-east Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2020
EDITOR'S CHOICE: REVIEW: Trait matching of flower visitors and crops predicts fruit set better than trait diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-09-2015
Publisher's Note: One- and two-color laser spectroscopy of indium vapor in an all-sapphire cell [Phys. Rev. A70, 033810 (2004)]
Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
Date: 08-10-2004
Human welfare and its connection to nature: What have we learned from crop pollination studies?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-08-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12398
Compensation for herbivory by Cucumis sativus through increased photosynthetic capacity and efficiency
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-002-1102-6
Abstract: Herbivory is an important selective pressure in the life history of most plant species, as it usually results in reduced plant fitness. In some situations, however, plants are able to compensate for the resources lost to herbivory and do not suffer any reduction in growth or reproduction after attack. We examined the ability of Lebanese cucumber (Cucumis sativus) to compensate for both pre-flowering and during-flowering foliar herbivory through increased photosynthetic efficiency and capacity. Plants that were damaged before flowering were able to compensate, in terms of vegetative biomass and fruit production for up to 80% leaf area loss. Plants that were damaged during the flowering period were less able to compensate and fruit production declined with increasing herbivory. Damaged plants had higher photosynthetic efficiency and capacity, and dissipated less light energy as heat. Herbivore-damaged plants may be induced to use a greater proportion of the absorbed light energy for photosynthesis as a result of altered carbohydrate source-sink relationships.
Managing ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes: are the solutions the same?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-05-2012
Global growth and stability of agricultural yield decrease with pollinator dependence
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 21-03-2011
Abstract: Human welfare depends on the amount and stability of agricultural production, as determined by crop yield and cultivated area. Yield increases asymptotically with the resources provided by farmers’ inputs and environmentally sensitive ecosystem services. Declining yield growth with increased inputs prompts conversion of more land to cultivation, but at the risk of eroding ecosystem services. To explore the interdependence of agricultural production and its stability on ecosystem services, we present and test a general graphical model, based on Jensen's inequality, of yield–resource relations and consider implications for land conversion. For the case of animal pollination as a resource influencing crop yield, this model predicts that incomplete and variable pollen delivery reduces yield mean and stability (inverse of variability) more for crops with greater dependence on pollinators. Data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations during 1961–2008 support these predictions. Specifically, crops with greater pollinator dependence had lower mean and stability in relative yield and yield growth, despite global yield increases for most crops. Lower yield growth was compensated by increased land cultivation to enhance production of pollinator-dependent crops. Area stability also decreased with pollinator dependence, as it correlated positively with yield stability among crops. These results reveal that pollen limitation hinders yield growth of pollinator-dependent crops, decreasing temporal stability of global agricultural production, while promoting compensatory land conversion to agriculture. Although we examined crop pollination, our model applies to other ecosystem services for which the benefits to human welfare decelerate as the maximum is approached.
The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-03-2013
Supporting wild pollinators in a temperate agricultural landscape: Maintaining mosaics of natural features and production
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2000
The response of wild bees to tree cover and rural land use is mediated by species' traits
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
Long-Term Global Trends in Crop Yield and Production Reveal No Current Pollination Shortage but Increasing Pollinator Dependency
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2008
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2008.08.066
Abstract: There is evidence that pollinators are declining as a result of local and global environmental degradation [1-4]. Because a sizable proportion of the human diet depends directly or indirectly on animal pollination [5], the issue of how decreases in pollinator stocks could affect global crop production is of paramount importance [6-8]. Using the extensive FAO data set [9], we compared 45 year series (1961-2006) in yield, and total production and cultivated area of pollinator-dependent and nondependent crops [5]. We investigated temporal trends separately for the developed and developing world because differences in agricultural intensification, and socioeconomic and environmental conditions might affect yield and pollinators [10-13]. Since 1961, crop yield (Mt/ha) has increased consistently at average annual growth rates of approximately 1.5%. Temporal trends were similar between pollinator-dependent and nondependent crops in both the developed and developing world, thus not supporting the view that pollinator shortages are affecting crop yield at the global scale. We further report, however, that agriculture has become more pollinator dependent because of a disproportionate increase in the area cultivated with pollinator-dependent crops. If the trend toward favoring cultivation of pollinator-dependent crops continues, the need for the service provided by declining pollinators will greatly increase in the near future.
An assessment framework for measuring agroecosystem health
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2017
Average body length of arboreal and aerial beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages from remnant and plantation Eucalyptus forests in southwestern Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-12-2006
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-006-0589-7
Abstract: We examined body length differences between the beetle fauna of Eucalyptus plantation forests and remnant Eucalyptus forest in the same region using aerial and arboreal s ling. Mean body length of plantation-using species was greater than for remnant forest species, and the same pattern was apparent in the mean of all in iduals collected regardless of species. This pattern was true for both Malaise-trap-collected beetles (aerial) and canopy-collected (arboreal) beetles. The tendency for plantation-restricted species to have longer bodies is significant even if clade is treated as a random factor in the analysis. Greater body length among plantation-using species is consistent with a few other studies that have found body size of insect species in early successional environments is typically greater than in late successional environments. Some studies suggest that larger species are better dispersers, which can rapidly colonise early successional habitats. In this study, however, there was little relationship between body length and the number of sites occupied suggesting dispersal was not a major determinant of community membership. Two different patterns in this study support the hypothesis that body size differences are linked to trophic structure of the communities. First, the body length shift comparing remnant users to plantation users was greater among phytophages than for predators or saprophages. Second, saprophages were typically smaller than phytophages, and constituted a larger fraction of the remnant forest using fauna, driving down the mean body length in the saprophage-rich remnant forest community.
Arthropod assemblages in tree canopies: a comparison of orders on box mistletoe (Amyema miquelii) and its host eucalypts
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-02-2011
Alternative pollinator taxa are equally efficient but not as effective as the honeybee in a mass flowering crop
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2009
AusTraits – a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 07-01-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.04.425314
Abstract: We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of measurements of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 375 traits across 29230 taxa from field c aigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and in idual taxa descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological parameters (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised in idual-, species- and genus-level observations coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties. This data descriptor provides information on version 2.1.0 of AusTraits which contains data for 937243 trait-by-taxa combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data to increase our collective understanding of the Australian flora.
Effects of digging by a native and introduced ecosystem engineer on soil physical and chemical properties in temperate grassy woodland
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 20-08-2019
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.7506
Abstract: Temperate grasslands and woodlands are the focus of extensive restoration efforts worldwide. Reintroduction of locally extinct soil-foraging and burrowing animals has been suggested as a means to restore soil function in these ecosystems. Yet little is known about the physical and chemical effects of digging on soil over time and how these effects differ between species of digging animal, vegetation types or ecosystems. We compared foraging pits of a native reintroduced marsupial, the eastern bettong ( Bettongia gaimardi ) and that of the exotic European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ). We simulated pits of these animals and measured pit dimensions and soil chemical properties over a period of 2 years. We showed that bettong and rabbit pits differed in their morphology and longevity, and that pits had a strong moderating effect on soil surface temperatures. Over 75% of the simulated pits were still visible after 2 years, and bettong pits infilled faster than rabbit pits. Bettong pits reduced diurnal temperature range by up to 25 °C compared to the soil surface. We did not find any effects of digging on soil chemistry that were consistent across vegetation types, between bettong and rabbit pits, and with time since digging, which is contrary to studies conducted in arid biomes. Our findings show that animal foraging pits in temperate ecosystems cause physical alteration of the soil surface and microclimatic conditions rather than nutrient changes often observed in arid areas.
Beetle ecological indicators – A comparison of cost vs reward to understand functional changes in response to restoration actions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2019
Relationships among ecological traits of wild bee communities along gradients of habitat amount and fragmentation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-12-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02632
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Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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