Harshness is not stress

Schradin, Carsten; Makuya, Lindelani; Pillay, Neville; Rimbach, Rebecca

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2022.12.005

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…2). Another reason our work might differ from prior work is that soil salinity in our study was extremely high after 12‐year of saline‐water irrigation, resulting in a long‐lasting harsh environmental press condition (Schradin et al 2023). Soil microbes may have adapted well to the harsh environment, as low species turnover was associated with differences in soil salinity (Fig.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 74%

Unraveling microbial community structure–function relationships in the horizontal and vertical spatial dimensions in extreme environments

Jing,

Classen,

et al. 2024

Ecography

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A fundamental challenge in soil macroecology is to understand how microbial community structure shapes ecosystem function along environmental gradients of the land surface at broad spatial scales (i.e. the horizontal dimension). However, little is known about microbial community structure–function relationships in extreme environments along environmental gradients of soil depth at finer spatial scales (i.e. the vertical dimension). Here, we propose a general spatial dimension partitioning approach for assessing the patterns and drivers of soil microbial community structure–function relationships across horizontal and vertical spatial gradients simultaneously. We leveraged a 200‐km desert soil salinity gradient created by a 12‐year saline‐water irrigation in the Tarim basin of Taklamakan Desert. Specifically, using a general linear model, hierarchical variance partitioning, and a path model, we assessed the patterns and key ecological processes controlling spatial turnover in microbial community structure (i.e. β‐diversity) and enzymatic activity relevant to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling along soil salinity gradients across study sites (horizontal dimension) and soil depths (vertical dimension). We found a decoupled relationship between soil microbial β‐diversity and enzymatic activity. Differences in soil depth (on the scale of meters) were as important as geographic distance (on the scale of kilometers) in shaping bacterial and fungal β‐diversity. However, the vertical and horizontal turnover in enzymatic activity was largely attributed to an increase in the heterogeneity of soil properties, such as soil texture, water content, and pH. Our findings suggest that dispersal limitation controls microbial community β‐diversity and that environmental heterogeneity, rather than soil salinization, controls enzymatic activity. Taken together, this work highlights that in the face of ongoing environmental alterations, soil depth is an under‐explored spatial dimension that must be considered in soil conservation efforts as a critical factor in determining microbial community structure and function in extreme environments.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 74%

Unraveling microbial community structure–function relationships in the horizontal and vertical spatial dimensions in extreme environments

Jing,

Classen,

et al. 2024

Ecography

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“…We define harshness as long-lasting environmental conditions which decrease energy availability and reduce survival [ 26 ]. In general, winter is the harshest season for superb fairy-wrens, with highest mortality rate [ 27 ], and this is when the higher social level emerges.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social restructuring during harsh environmental conditions promotes cooperative behaviour in a songbird

Camerlenghi,

Nolazco,

Farine

et al. 2024

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Cooperation may emerge from intrinsic factors such as social structure and extrinsic factors such as environmental conditions. Although these factors might reinforce or counteract each other, their interaction remains unexplored in animal populations. Studies on multilevel societies suggest a link between social structure, environmental conditions and individual investment in cooperative behaviours. These societies exhibit flexible social configurations, with stable groups that overlap and associate hierarchically. Structure can be seasonal, with upper-level units appearing only during specific seasons, and lower-level units persisting year-round. This offers an opportunity to investigate how cooperation relates to social structure and environmental conditions. Here, we study the seasonal multilevel society of superb fairy-wrens ( Malurus cyaneus ), observing individual responses to experimental playback of conspecific distress calls. Individuals engaged more in helping behaviour and less in aggressive/territorial song during the harsher non-breeding season compared to the breeding season. The increase in cooperation was greater for breeding group members than for members of the same community, the upper social unit, comprised of distinct breeding groups in association. Results suggest that the interaction between social structure and environmental conditions drives the seasonal switch in cooperation, supporting the hypothesis that multilevel societies can emerge to increase cooperation during harsh environmental conditions.

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“…Solitary mammals are the product of millions of years of evolution. Today, they live in very diverse habitats, and many are exposed to environmental variation and harshness (Makuya et al, 2023;Schradin et al, 2023), factors associated with the evolution of a few complex mammalian societies (Lukas & Clutton-Brock, 2017). For example, in the harsh Kalahari, only 2 out of 90 mammal species listed by Anderson (1998) are cooperative breeders (meerkats and Damaraland mole rats), while 30 species are solitary living.…”

Section: Solitary Living As a Special Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs and benefits of solitary living in mammals

Makuya,

Schradin

2024

Journal of Zoology

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While for decades behavioural ecologists have studied the costs and benefits of group living, solitary living has received little attention. Instead, it was assumed to be the default stage from which sociality evolved. Mammals underwent around 200 million years of social evolution, with a few species evolving communal or cooperative breeding in harsh environments. Other mammal species are successful with solitary living in exactly the same and many other environments, indicating that solitary living is beneficial under many environmental conditions. Comparative studies on mammals indicate that solitary living might not be the ancestral but a derived state. Solitary living in mammals is less common than previously believed, occurring in 22% of the studied species. Here, we review costs and benefits of solitary living in mammals. We found very few studies that considered solitary living and show important future avenues of research based on the factors that are important for the evolution of group living. We also emphasize that a solitary form of social organization does not imply an unsocial lifestyle: solitary mammals typically have non‐random but individualized social interactions with their neighbours, indicating important social structure.

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Harshness is not stress

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Unraveling microbial community structure–function relationships in the horizontal and vertical spatial dimensions in extreme environments

Unraveling microbial community structure–function relationships in the horizontal and vertical spatial dimensions in extreme environments

Social restructuring during harsh environmental conditions promotes cooperative behaviour in a songbird

Costs and benefits of solitary living in mammals

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