Towards a mechanistic understanding of global change ecology

Fox, Charles

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13182

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…An emerging insight is that to understand and predict the impact of global warming on species and food webs, we need to study species’ trait responses (Fox, ; Gibert, ; Sinclair et al, ). Against this background, we for the first time reconstructed TRCs of stoichiometric traits, organismal traits that have the potential to mediate effects of warming on ecosystem functions (Leroux, ; Schmitz, ).…”

Section: Conclusion and Ways Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latitude‐associated evolution and drivers of thermal response curves in body stoichiometry

Dievel

Tüzün

Stoks

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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1. Trait-based studies are needed to understand the plastic and genetic responses of organisms to warming. A neglected organismal trait is elemental composition, despite its potential to cascade into effects on the ecosystem level.2. Warming is predicted to shape elemental composition through shifts in storage molecules associated with responses in growth, body size and metabolic rate. Our goals were to quantify thermal response patterns in body composition and to obtain insights into their underlying drivers and their evolution across latitudes.3. We reconstructed the thermal response curves (TRCs) for body elemental composition [C (carbon), N (nitrogen) and the C:N ratio] of damselfly larvae from highand low-latitude populations. Additionally, we quantified the TRCs for survival, growth and development rates and body size to assess local thermal adaptation, as well as the TRCs for metabolic rate and key macromolecules (proteins, fat, sugars and cuticular melanin and chitin) as these may underlie the elemental TRCs. 4. All larvae died at 36°C. Up to 32°C, low-latitude larvae increased growth and development rates and did not suffer increased mortality. Instead, growth and development rates of high-latitude larvae were lower and levelled off at 24°C, and mortality increased at 32°C. This latitude-associated thermal adaptation pattern matched the 'hotter-is-better' hypothesis. With increasing temperatures, lowlatitude larvae decreased C:N, while high-latitude larvae increased C:N. These patterns were driven by associated changes in N contents, while C contents did not respond to temperature. Consistent with the temperature-size rule and the thermal melanism hypothesis, body size and melanin levels decreased with warming. While all traits and associated macromolecules (except for metabolic rate that showed thermal compensation) assumed to underlie thermal responses in elemental composition showed thermal plasticity, these were largely independent and none could explain the stoichiometric TRCs. 5. Our results highlight that thermal responses in elemental composition cannot be explained by traditionally assumed drivers, asking for a broader perspective including the thermal dependence of elemental fluxes. Another key implication is that thermal evolution can reverse the plastic stoichiometric thermal responses Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of the article. How to cite this article: Van Dievel M, Tüzün N, Stoks R. Latitude-associated evolution and drivers of thermal response curves in body stoichiometry.

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Section: Conclusion and Ways Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latitude‐associated evolution and drivers of thermal response curves in body stoichiometry

Dievel

Tüzün

Stoks

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…In the era of rapid changes, predicting how species will respond to human-mediated habitat alterations has become a 21st-century scientific pursuit, uniting ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservationists (Fox, 2018). Anticipated climatic changes are expected to vary widely, leading to novel habitat-animal interactions and divergent selective forces (Bellard, Bertelsmeier, Leadley, Thuiller, & Courchamp, 2012;Keller, Alexander, Holderegger, & Edwards, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divergent selection along elevational gradients promotes genetic and phenotypic disparities among small mammal populations

Feijó

Wen

Cheng

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Species distributed along mountain slopes, facing contrasting habitats in short geographic scale, are of particular interest to test how ecologically based divergent selection promotes phenotypic and genetic disparities as well as to assess isolation‐by‐environment mechanisms. Here, we conduct the first broad comparative study of phenotypic variation along elevational gradients, integrating a large array of ecological predictors and disentangling population genetic driver processes. The skull form of nine ecologically distinct species distributed over a large altitudinal range (100–4200 m) was compared to assess whether phenotypic divergence is a common phenomenon in small mammals and whether it shows parallel patterns. We also investigated the relative contribution of biotic (competition and predation) and abiotic parameters on phenotypic divergence via mixed models. Finally, we assessed the population genetic structure of a rodent species (Niviventer confucianus) via analysis of molecular variance and FST along three mountain slopes and tested the isolation‐by‐environment hypothesis using Mantel test and redundancy analysis. We found a consistent phenotypic divergence and marked genetic structure along elevational gradients; however, the species showed mixed patterns of size and skull shape trends across mountain zones. Individuals living at lower altitudes differed greatly in both phenotype and genotype from those living at high elevations, while middle‐elevation individuals showed more intermediate forms. The ecological parameters associated with phenotypic divergence along elevation gradients are partly related to species' ecological and evolutionary constraints. Fossorial and solitary animals are mainly affected by climatic factors, while terrestrial and more gregarious species are influenced by biotic and abiotic parameters. A novel finding of our study is that predator richness emerged as an important factor associated with the intraspecific diversification of the mammalian skull along elevational gradients, a previously overlooked parameter. Population genetic structure was mainly driven by environmental heterogeneity along mountain slopes, with no or a week spatial effect, fitting the isolation‐by‐environment scenario. Our study highlights the strong and multifaceted effects of heterogeneous steep habitats and ecologically based divergent selective forces in small mammal populations.

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“…An understanding of the workings of individuals and populations in response to their environment seems essential to approach the functioning of vegetation and the support it provides to ecosystem services. After their separate autoecological study, accumulating information makes it increasingly feasible to group plant species according to such relevant functional traits as seed germination, seedling and adult growth, and vegetative and reproductive phenology, among others (Fox 2018, Bórnez et al 2020. The study of impacts of climate and soil alterations on these kinds of traits at the level of the whole plant community demands a merging of autoecology with vegetation science (Joswig et al 2022).…”

Section: Vegetation and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

From vegetation ecology to vegetation science: current trends and perspectives

et al. 2022

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Vegetation is a key biosphere component to supporting biodiversity on Earth, and its maintenance and proper functioning are essential to guarantee the well-being of humankind. From a broad perspective, a fundamental goal of vegetation ecology is to understand the roles of abiotic and biotic factors that affect vegetation structure, distribution, diversity, and functioning, considering the relevant spatial and temporal scales. In this contribution, we reflect on the difficulties and opportunities to accomplish this grand objective by reviewing recent advances in the main areas of vegetation ecology. We highlight theoretical and methodological challenges and point to alternatives to overcome them. Our hope is that this contribution will motivate the development of future research efforts that will strengthen the field of vegetation ecology. Ultimately, vegetation science will continue to provide a strong knowledge basis and multiple theoretical and technological tools to better face the current global environmental crisis and to address the urgent need to sustainably conserve the vegetation cover of our planet in the Anthropocene.

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Towards a mechanistic understanding of global change ecology

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Latitude‐associated evolution and drivers of thermal response curves in body stoichiometry

Latitude‐associated evolution and drivers of thermal response curves in body stoichiometry

Divergent selection along elevational gradients promotes genetic and phenotypic disparities among small mammal populations

From vegetation ecology to vegetation science: current trends and perspectives

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