Artificial watering points are focal points for activity by an invasive herbivore but not native herbivores in conservation reserves in arid Australia

Letnic, Mike; Laffan, Shawn W.; Greenville, Aaron C.; Russell, Benjamin G.; Mitchell, B. Greg; Fleming, Peter J. S.

doi:10.1007/s10531-014-0770-y

Cited by 28 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…NOCTURNALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Article e01334; page 15 (e.g., arthropods and plants), may allow an animal to avoid hyperthermia by maintaining a positive water balance. Species from vegetated habitats, for example, were able to invade arid environments when water availability was increased by human settlements (Wasserberg et al 2003, Letnic et al 2014a.…”

Section: February 2019mentioning

confidence: 99%

Time and ecological resilience: can diurnal animals compensate for climate change by shifting to nocturnal activity?

Levy

Dayan

Porter

et al. 2018

Ecological Monographs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Considerable research is aimed at developing predictions of ecosystem responses to climate change, focusing on the spatial scale, such as range shifts and contractions, as well as activity restrictions to shaded microhabitats. On the other hand, the ability of species to shift their activity times during the diel cycle, and consequently to alter the environment in which activity occurs, has been largely neglected. Daily activity patterns are perceived as fairly fixed; however, natural changes in activity patterns have been reported in increasing numbers of species. Here, we present a framework that explores how shifts in activity patterns may buffer impacts of climate change. To demonstrate our framework, we simulated costs of activity of diurnal and nocturnal rodents and showed that future summers may decrease the energetic demands of nocturnal mammals while increasing water demands of diurnal mammals. Climate projections suggest that vegetation cover and water availability will decrease under future climate scenarios, especially in areas where water demands are expected to increase the most. These changes are expected to limit the ability of diurnal animals to restrict activity to shaded microhabitats and to keep a positive water balance. Our analysis shows that by shifting to nocturnality, diurnal mammals may mitigate the high water costs of future summers. We suggest that future research should explore the role of the diel time axis as an ecological resource when predicting the impacts of climate change.

show abstract

Section: February 2019mentioning

confidence: 99%

Time and ecological resilience: can diurnal animals compensate for climate change by shifting to nocturnal activity?

Levy

Dayan

Porter

et al. 2018

Ecological Monographs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Only three Microcystis strains with complete genomic sequences are available, including M. aeruginosa NIES843 and NIES2549, and M. panniformis FACHB1757 reported here. Furthermore, the further species concepts and more useful molecular approaches should be proposed to classify the species/strain divergences in Microcystis [40, 41]. …”

Section: Organism Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complete genome sequence and genomic characterization of Microcystis panniformis FACHB 1757 by third-generation sequencing

Zhang¹,

Guan²,

Zhang³

et al. 2016

Stand in Genomic Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The cyanobacterial genus Microcystis is well known as the main group that forms harmful blooms in water. A strain of Microcystis, M. panniformis FACHB1757, was isolated from Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu in August 2011. The whole genome was sequenced using PacBio RS II sequencer with 48-fold coverage. The complete genome sequence with no gaps contained a 5,686,839 bp chromosome and a 38,683 bp plasmid, which coded for 6,519 and 49 proteins, respectively. Comparison with strains of M. aeruginosa and some other water bloom-forming cyanobacterial species revealed large-scale structure rearrangement and length variation at the genome level along with 36 genomic islands annotated genome-wide, which demonstrates high plasticity of the M. panniformis FACHB1757 genome and reveals that Microcystis has a flexible genome evolution.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40793-016-0130-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

“…The spread of introduced species via invasion hubs is not restricted to cane toads in arid Australia. Many other invasive species exhibit spatially structured populations and have invaded via the expansion of satellite populations that become established at invasion hubs (Suarez, Holway & Case 2001;Letnic et al 2014a). Our study shows that restricting invasive species access to invasion hubs can effectively eliminate satellite populations and enable sustained control of a vertebrate invader.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such human‐assisted invasions frequently result in populations of invaders being focused around human‐modified habitats (Letnic et al . ,b). If invasion hubs are identified, targeted control efforts can effectively suppress the abundances and impacts of the invader (Moody & Mack ; Russell, Letnic & Fleming ) because their existence as spatially structured populations make them susceptible to control (Bascompte, Possingham & Roughgarden ; Hulme ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restricting access to invasion hubs enables sustained control of an invasive vertebrate

Letnic

Webb

Jessop

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary1. Biological invasions often occur through expansion of satellite populations that become established at 'invasion hubs'. Invasion hubs can result from random dispersal events, but frequently arise when invading individuals actively choose habitats using cues that signify highquality environments where the fitness consequences are positive. Theoretical studies suggest that targeted control at invasion hubs can effectively suppress the populations and impacts of invaders. 2. In arid Australia, small dams that provide water for livestock function as invasion hubs by providing an invasive vertebrate, the cane toad Rhinella marina, with refuge from extreme aridity during the annual dry season. Toads are attracted to dams and use them as stepping stone habitats from which they disperse during rainy periods. Here, we ask whether sustained control of this invasive vertebrate can be achieved by converting invasion hubs into ecological traps. We did this by manipulating invasion hub habitats to induce a mismatch between toads' habitat preference and the fitness consequences of their habitat choice to cause high mortality. 3. We constructed fences to exclude toads from dams and maintained these fences for 1 year. This period encompassed periods of dry and wet seasonal climatic conditions. Our manipulation did not alter the attractive cues for invading toads which died en masse while attempting to settle at fenced dams that prevented toads from reaching water. Toad populations at the fenced dams were suppressed by 1-2 orders of magnitude compared to unfenced controls and procedural controls. Toad populations remained suppressed for a year after exclusion. 4. By excluding toads from dams, we converted invasion hubs into ecological traps and effectively thwarted the reinvasion of cane toads. Our research suggests that water exclusion devices could be used to prevent toad invasion or to control cane toad populations in arid landscapes colonized by toads. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates that sustained control of invader populations can be achieved by restricting their access to invasion hubs. Control of invasive species via elimination of invasion hubs could be conducted reactively, to control established populations of invaders, or conducted strategically, by rendering invasion hubs unsuitable for colonization ahead of the invasion front to prevent further population spread.

show abstract

Artificial watering points are focal points for activity by an invasive herbivore but not native herbivores in conservation reserves in arid Australia

Cited by 28 publications

References 53 publications

Time and ecological resilience: can diurnal animals compensate for climate change by shifting to nocturnal activity?

Time and ecological resilience: can diurnal animals compensate for climate change by shifting to nocturnal activity?

Complete genome sequence and genomic characterization of Microcystis panniformis FACHB 1757 by third-generation sequencing

Restricting access to invasion hubs enables sustained control of an invasive vertebrate

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About