Predators modify biogeographic constraints on species distributions in an insect metacommunity

Grainger, Tess Nahanni; Germain, Rachel M.; Jones, Natalie T.; Gilbert, Benjamin

doi:10.1002/ecy.1712

Cited by 18 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…On the contrary, almost all species pairs were more likely to co-occur on the same plant than expected by chance, and abundances of our two aphid species were positively correlated ( Figure 2). Indeed, this lack of resource competition occurred although the size and number of experimental plants within each of our plots created smaller patches than what is often found in the wild, and our patches were stocked with relatively high densities of milkweed specialists (Grainger et al, 2017;Van Zandt & Agrawal, 2004a (Bale et al, 2002;Barton & Schmitz, 2009;Gruner et al, 2017;Jiang & Morin, 2004;O'Connor, 2009;Walker et al, 2006). Indeed, this lack of resource competition occurred although the size and number of experimental plants within each of our plots created smaller patches than what is often found in the wild, and our patches were stocked with relatively high densities of milkweed specialists (Grainger et al, 2017;Van Zandt & Agrawal, 2004a (Bale et al, 2002;Barton & Schmitz, 2009;Gruner et al, 2017;Jiang & Morin, 2004;O'Connor, 2009;Walker et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Multi‐scale responses to warming in an experimental insect metacommunity

Grainger

Gilbert

2017

Global Change Biology

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In metacommunities, diversity is the product of species interactions at the local scale and dispersal between habitat patches at the regional scale. Although warming can alter both species interactions and dispersal, the combined effects of warming on these two processes remains uncertain. To determine the independent and interactive effects of warming-induced changes to local species interactions and dispersal, we constructed experimental metacommunities consisting of enclosed milkweed patches seeded with five herbivorous milkweed specialist insect species. We treated metacommunities with two levels of warming (unwarmed and warmed) and three levels of connectivity (isolated, low connectivity, high connectivity). Based on metabolic theory, we predicted that if plant resources were limited, warming would accelerate resource drawdown, causing local insect declines and increasing both insect dispersal and the importance of connectivity to neighboring patches for insect persistence. Conversely, given abundant resources, warming could have positive local effects on insects, and the risk of traversing a corridor to reach a neighboring patch could outweigh the benefits of additional resources. We found support for the latter scenario. Neither resource drawdown nor the weak insect-insect associations in our system were affected by warming, and most insect species did better locally in warmed conditions and had dispersal responses that were unchanged or indirectly affected by warming. Dispersal across the matrix posed a species-specific risk that led to declines in two species in connected metacommunities. Combined, this scaled up to cause an interactive effect of warming and connectivity on diversity, with unwarmed metacommunities with low connectivity incurring the most rapid declines in diversity. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of integrating the complex outcomes of species interactions and spatial structure in understanding community response to climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Monarch caterpillars feed on milkweed leaves and crawl short distances between plants. We selected these five species for their range of dispersal abilities (Grainger et al, 2017) and feeding guilds. We selected these five species for their range of dispersal abilities (Grainger et al, 2017) and feeding guilds.…”

Section: Natural Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐scale responses to warming in an experimental insect metacommunity

Grainger

Gilbert

2017

Global Change Biology

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“…Why a plant–herbivore interaction occurs in a local community depends not only on host plant availability but also on the presence of natural enemies, namely the arrival of natural enemies with higher dispersal rates and wider home‐range than herbivores (Grainger et al. ) and of competitively superior herbivore species (Meester et al. ); this may be truer for ectophagous insects such as scale insects and aphids, which are naturally more exposed to predators and parasitoids and have a tendency to be sedentary and build up large populations in a short time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…100,No. 11 availability but also on the presence of natural enemies, namely the arrival of natural enemies with higher dispersal rates and wider home-range than herbivores (Grainger et al 2017) and of competitively superior herbivore species (Meester et al 2016); this may be truer for ectophagous insects such as scale insects and aphids, which are naturally more exposed to predators and parasitoids and have a tendency to be sedentary and build up large populations in a short time. In our study system, there are several superhost shrub species that harbor high herbivore richness of multiple guilds.…”

Section: Negative Effect Of Connectivity On Link Richnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape connectivity explains interaction network patterns at multiple scales

Santos

Cagnolo

Roslin

et al. 2019

Ecology

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Under a metacommunity framework, the spatial configuration of habitat fragments could determine local community structure. Yet, quantifying fragment connectivity is challenging, as it depends on multiple variables at several geographical scales. We assessed the extent to which fragment connectivity and area explain patterns in interaction structure among four herbivore guilds and their host plants in a metacommunity. We propose an integrative connectivity metric including geographic distance, neighboring fragment area and similarity in resource composition as an extension of Hanski's classic metric. We then used nonlinear models to assess whether fragment connectivity and area predicted link richness and similarity in link composition. We found that link richness was always negatively related to connectivity but at different geographic scales depending on the herbivore guild. In contrast, while link composition was also related to connectivity, the direction and strength of this relationship varied among herbivore guilds and type of link composition (qualitative or quantitative). Furthermore, focal fragment area was not an important determinant of interaction diversity in local communities. Our findings emphasize resource similarity as a novel dimension of fragment connectivity relevant in explaining interaction diversity patterns in natural trophic networks.

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“…Dispersal is a vital biological process that displays strong difference among species and regions [41]. At regional and local level, warming can hasten species' physiological and biological rates with rising impacts on population dynamics and species interactions [42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Impacts of Temperature Projections on Selected Large Herbivores in Savanna Ecosystem of Kenya

Aduma¹,

Ouma²,

Said³

et al. 2018

AJCC

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Due to global land surface warming, severe temperature events are expected to occur more frequently and more extremely causing changes in biodiversity and altering movement and survival of large herbivores. There are increasing observations of escalating wildlife range losses worldwide. In this study, we investigated 15 large wild herbivores (4 migratory, 1 dispersing and 10 residents) and their potential range changes in relation to projected temperatures changes based on three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5. Previous studies of Kenyan savannah have shown that increases in temperature can reduce the densities of wildlife significantly and after certain thresholds the species can be lost in those landscapes. The range maps of the 15 species were developed from aerial censuses that have been conducted in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya. We analysed temperature changes for the three RCPs for the periods 2030s, 2050s and 2070s. And based on the temperature threshold for each of the 15 species we analysed which wildlife range areas will be lost. Our results project that for the RCP 2.6, 3 out of the 15 species are projected to lose more than 50% of their range by the year 2030s, and 5 out 15 by 2050s and 4 of 15 by 2070s. The second climate scenario of RCP 4.5 projects that by 2030s, 3 species will lose more than 50% of their range, and in 2050s and 2070s 5 species. The RCP 8.5 which is the extreme scenario of temperature changes projects 5 species to lose their range by 50% in 2030s, 7 species by 2050s and 10 species by 2070s. The extent of range loss was different among species but was severe for buffalo, Thomson's ga- zelle, waterbuck, and wildebeest which are also water dependent species. However, the elephant, gerenuk, hartebeest, lesser kudu, and oryx are expected to retain most of their range in all the RCPs scenarios. These range contractions raise serious concerns about the future of wildlife in Kenyan savannah based on projected climate changes. And therefore, it is imperative the wildlife sector develops climate policies and plans that take into account the projected climate scenarios.

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Predators modify biogeographic constraints on species distributions in an insect metacommunity

Cited by 18 publications

References 64 publications

Multi‐scale responses to warming in an experimental insect metacommunity

Multi‐scale responses to warming in an experimental insect metacommunity

Landscape connectivity explains interaction network patterns at multiple scales

Potential Impacts of Temperature Projections on Selected Large Herbivores in Savanna Ecosystem of Kenya

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