El Niño effects on the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems

Holmgren, Milena; Scheffer, Marten; Ezcurra, Exequiel; Gutiérrez, Julio R.; Mohren, Frits

doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(00)02052-8

Cited by 430 publications

(339 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In contrast, knowledge of the effects of extreme events (44) is rare (but see ref. 45), although such events are predicted to increase in the coming decades (17,18). For many species this leaves little time for range shifts (46) or local adaptation (47), highlighting the importance of short- Selection and complementarity values are pooled over three-and sixgenotype treatments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem recovery after climatic extremes enhanced by genotypic diversity

Reusch

Ehlers

Hämmerli

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

1,009

973

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Contemporary climate change is characterized both by increasing mean temperature and increasing climate variability such as heat waves, storms, and floods. How populations and communities cope with such climatic extremes is a question central to contemporary ecology and biodiversity conservation. Previous work has shown that species diversity can affect ecosystem functioning and resilience. Here, we show that genotypic diversity can replace the role of species diversity in a species-poor coastal ecosystem, and it may buffer against extreme climatic events. In a manipulative field experiment, increasing the genotypic diversity of the cosmopolitan seagrass Zostera marina enhanced biomass production, plant density, and faunal abundance, despite near-lethal water temperatures due to extreme warming across Europe. Net biodiversity effects were explained by genotypic complementarity rather than by selection of particularly robust genotypes. Positive effects on invertebrate fauna suggest that genetic diversity has second-order effects reaching higher trophic levels. Our results highlight the importance of maintaining genetic as well as species diversity to enhance ecosystem resilience in a world of increasing uncertainty.global change ͉ ecosystem functioning ͉ ecological resilience ͉ seagrass

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem recovery after climatic extremes enhanced by genotypic diversity

Reusch

Ehlers

Hämmerli

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

1,009

973

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…PDO and ENSO are known to impact a variety of ecological systems (Holmgren et al, 2001), including those as disparate as Pacific fisheries (Mantua et al, 1997), zooplankton species composition (Keister et al, 2011), rodent outbreaks (Lima et al, 1999), and the timing of flowering in plants in the western United States (Cayan et al, 2001). Other studies have observed significant impacts of both ENSO and PDO on butterfly populations in relation to abundance ( Vandenbosch, 2003) and the size of migration (Srygley et al, 2010) for single species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond annual and seasonal averages: using temporal patterns of precipitation to predict butterfly richness across an elevational gradient

Badik

Shapiro

Bonilla

et al. 2015

Ecological Entomology

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Abstract. 1. Ecologists often make predictions about community richness and diversity using climate variables that include seasonal precipitation totals and mean daily temperatures. While means and totals can be effective predictors to a certain extent, the complexities of faunal-climate relationships might be over-simplified through the use of coarse-grained variables.2. The goal of this study was to investigate less commonly studied climate variables, including indices of intra-annual variation in the timing and intensity of precipitation events that might be used to predict butterfly richness across an elevational gradient. Data from a long-term, single-observer dataset at four sites in California were examined with Bayesian model averaging and structural equation modelling. Species-specific responses to climate were compared with community responses at each site.3. At lower elevations, it was found that the relative importance of climate variables shifted towards temporal patterns of precipitation, including the timing of the first storm event and the annual number of precipitation events. Heterogeneity among sites was apparent in the importance of specific weather variables, and temporal trends (across years) were detected for a small number of variables. Species-specific results paralleled those obtained from analysis of species richness, thus suggesting a commonality of response to climate across site-specific assemblages.4. Models were improved by inclusion of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation indices, indicating that regional variables can profitably be included in faunal-climate relationship analyses. These results emphasise the need for researchers to examine climate variables beyond the most readily summarised means and totals.

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“…Large-scale climate patterns provide a conceptual framework and a broader understanding of observed changes in the local physical environment. Holmgren et al (2001), Ottersen et al (2001), Blenckner & Hillebrand (2002), Stenseth et al (2002), Drinkwater et al (2003), Straile et al (2003), Walther et al (2002) and Mysterud et al (2003) have recently adopted this approach and comprehensively described the effects of large-scale climate varia-bility on marine, terrestrial and limnic ecosystems. The main objective of this review is to help ecologists orient themselves among several of the more prominent largescale climate patterns and their corresponding indices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review article. Studying climate effects on ecology through the use of climate indices: the North Atlantic Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation and beyond

Stenseth

Ottersen

Hurrell

et al. 2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

702

695

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Whereas the El Niñ o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather and climate variability worldwide, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) represents the dominant climate pattern in the North Atlantic region. Both climate systems have been demonstrated to considerably influence ecological processes. Several other large-scale climate patterns also exist. Although less well known outside the field of climatology, these patterns are also likely to be of ecological interest. We provide an overview of these climate patterns within the context of the ecological effects of climate variability. The application of climate indices by definition reduces complex space and time variability into simple measures, 'packages of weather'. The disadvantages of using global climate indices are all related to the fact that another level of problems are added to the ecology-climate interface, namely the link between global climate indices and local climate. We identify issues related to: (i) spatial variation; (ii) seasonality; (iii) non-stationarity; (iv) nonlinearity; and (v) lack of correlation in the relationship between global and local climate. The main advantages of using global climate indices are: (i) biological effects may be related more strongly to global indices than to any single local climate variable; (ii) it helps to avoid problems of model selection; (iii) it opens the possibility for ecologists to make predictions; and (iv) they are typically readily available on Internet.

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El Niño effects on the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems

Cited by 430 publications

References 37 publications

Ecosystem recovery after climatic extremes enhanced by genotypic diversity

Ecosystem recovery after climatic extremes enhanced by genotypic diversity

Beyond annual and seasonal averages: using temporal patterns of precipitation to predict butterfly richness across an elevational gradient

Review article. Studying climate effects on ecology through the use of climate indices: the North Atlantic Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation and beyond

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