Including ecosystem functions into restoration ecology has been repeatedly suggested, yet there is limited evidence that this is taking place without bias to certain habitats, species, or functions. We reviewed the inclusion of ecosystem functions in restoration and potential relations to habitats and species by extracting 224 publications from the literature (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013). Most studies investigated forests, fewer grasslands or freshwaters, and fewest wetlands or marine habitats. Of all studies, 14% analyzed only ecosystem functions, 44% considered both biotic composition and functions, 42% exclusively studied the biotic component, mostly vascular plants, more rarely invertebrates or vertebrates, and least often microbes. Most studies investigating ecosystem functions focused on nutrient cycling (26%), whereas productivity (18%), water relations (16%), and geomorphological processes (14%) were less covered; carbon sequestration (10%), decomposition (6%), and trophic interactions (6%) were rarely studied. Monitoring of ecosystem functions was common in forests and grasslands, but the functions considered depended on the study organisms. These associations indicate research opportunities for certain habitats, species, and functions. Overall, the call to include ecosystem functions in restoration has been heard; however, a lack of clarity about the ecosystem functions to be included and deficits of feasible field methods are major obstacles for a functional approach. Restoration ecology should learn from recent advances in rapid assessment of ecosystem functions, and by a closer integration with biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research. Not all functions need to be measured in all ecosystems, but more functions than the few commonly addressed would improve the understanding of restored ecosystems.
HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
Galls are specific changes induced by insects on plant organs mainly through increases in plant cell number and/or size. Gall diversity is easy to recognize in the field because gallers are mostly species-specific, and thus each gall morphotype can be a proxy for a galling species. Insect galls are virtually unknown in Seasonal Deciduous and Semi-Deciduous forests of southern Brazil. Here, galls and host plants were surveyed between 2015 and 2017 in four forest fragments of Rio Grande do Sul State in these two vegetation types, in secondary-growth and areas under restoration. We recorded 89 gall morphotypes, with gallers belonging to Lepidoptera and Diptera, with the latter represented mainly by Cecidomyiidae. Galls were associated to 46 plant species in 27 families. Asteraceae, Piperaceae, Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Lauraceae were the richest families in terms of galls, whilst Piper aduncum and Mikania glomerata were superhosts. Most galls occurred in leaves and shoots. The most common shapes were fusiform, globoid and lenticular. Forty-eight gall morphotype records are new for both Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil, an expressive number considering only two seasonal forest types sampled and few sampling points, showing how important surveys still are for these little know fauna both in taxonomic and ecological terms.
triangulation as anti-predatory mechanism in snakes. Biota Neotrop. 12(3): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v12n3/en/ abstract?short-communication+bn01912032012Abstract: Anti-predator mechanisms in snakes are diverse and complex, including mimetic behavior. Some snakes triangulate their head, probably mimicking other more dangerous snakes. However, there is a lack of studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of this behavior with natural predators. The aim of this study was to verify, using artificial snakes, if snakes with triangular heads are less susceptible to attack by predators, and if predatory attack is targeted to the head of serpents. Artificial snakes were systematically arranged on a road border. The rate of attacked models was 48.71%. Number of attacks on models with rounded head was significantly higher than in models with triangular head. There was a significant difference between the places of attack on the snakes in relation to different head shapes. Therefore, snakes that have head triangulation may be a less frequent target of attacks by predators than those without such behavior. Keywords: artificial models, defensive behavior, mimicry, predation rate, reptiles. Resumo: Mecanismos anti-predação em serpentes são diversos e complexos, incluindo comportamentos miméticos. Algumas serpentes triangulam a cabeça, possivelmente mimetizando outras serpentes mais perigosas. No entanto, são escassos os estudos demonstrando a eficiência deste comportamento frente a predadores naturais. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar, utilizando serpentes artificiais, se os indivíduos com cabeça triangular são menos suscetíveis ao ataque de predadores e, se o ataque predatório é direcionado à cabeça das serpentes. Serpentes artificiais foram dispostas sistematicamente na margem de uma estrada. A taxa de modelos atacados foi 48,71%. O número de ataques em modelos de cabeça arredondada foi significativamente maior do que nos modelos com cabeça triangular. Houve diferença significativa entre as partes atacadas nas serpentes quando comparados aos diferentes formatos de cabeça. Portanto, as serpentes que possuem triangulação da cabeça podem ser um alvo menos frequente de ataques por predadores do que as que não possuem esse tipo de comportamento. Palavras-chave: modelos artificiais, comportamento defensivo, mimetismo, taxa de predação, répteis. Biota Neotrop., vol. 12, no. 3 spatial homogeneity of the surrounding vegetation. The models were exposed for 17 hours, overnight, and collected the next morning. In field, each model was analyzed for attack presence, number of attacks, part of the model that suffered the attack (head or other parts of the body) and type of attack. Data analysis was performed in the program Past (Hammer et al. 2001) using Chi-square test (α = 0.05) to compare proportion of attacks on triangular and round head snakes models and proportion of attacks in the head and body between the two kinds of snake models. ResultsFrom the 80 snake models, one of each treatment was excluded from analysis bec...
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