Local and regional factors influence the structure of treehole metacommunities

Paradise, Christopher J.; Blue, Jarrod Dwayne; Burkhart, John Q.; Goldberg, Justin; Harshaw, Lauren; Hawkins, Katherine D; Kegan, Benjamin; Krentz, Tyler; Smith, Leslie; Villalpando, Shawn

doi:10.1186/1472-6785-8-22

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…The ability of prey to escape from predation within and between habitats allows regional coexistence of predator and prey in a metacommunity. Such regional coexistence has been demonstrated in treehole metacommunities (Ellis et al 2006, Paradise et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…The amount of available habitat may also provide large numbers of refugia or increase habitat heterogeneity, decreasing predation effects by increasing growth rates of prey populations or decreasing efficiency of prey capture (Kitching 2000, Costanzo et al 2005. Prey species with altered behavior in the presence of the predator or wider habitat preferences than predators are known factors affecting survival of prey species in local communities and in the metacommunity (Juliano and Gravel 2002, Paradise 2004, Paradise et al 2008. The ability of prey to escape from predation within and between habitats allows regional coexistence of predator and prey in a metacommunity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Density-Dependent Predation of a Dominant Species does not Facilitate Increased Diversity in Treeholes

Smith¹,

Blue²,

Carlson³

et al. 2009

TOECOLJ

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The effects of predation on water-filled treehole communities in North Carolina were examined using mesocosm experiments and observations in natural treeholes. The presence of the predator Toxorhynchites rutilus and leaf litter abundance were manipulated in mesocosms to examine interactions between resources and predation. Long-term examination of interactions in unmanipulated treeholes provided data on natural variation in water volume and predator density. Toxorhynchites rutilus preys upon two common treehole insects, Aedes triseriatus and Culicoides guttipennis. We predicted that T. rutilus would act as a keystone predator and reduce the density of these dominant species. This would allow other species to coexist and lead to an increase in diversity. We also predicted that effects of predation would be reduced in habitats with high levels of resources, due to either increased refugia or decreased competition. The results did not entirely support the predictions. In both mesocosms and treeholes T. rutilus depressed densities of the most abundant prey type, A. triseriatus. In treeholes, the presence of T. rutilus depressed densities of the midge C. guttipennis, and predator densities were positively associated with insect diversity in treeholes. Strikingly, higher diversity was also associated with high densities of the dominant prey in treeholes. In addition, mesocosms showed no relationship between T. rutilus presence and species diversity. The relationship between the predator and diversity in treeholes appears to be unrelated to predation on the dominant competitors and is instead caused by some other habitat characteristic. While there were effects of resources on densities and diversity in both mesocosms and treeholes, neither of the resources analyzed, leaf litter or water, appear to be the sole characteristic that mutually allows for large populations of T. rutilus and high species diversity. We conclude that though T. rutilus is an aggressive predator, it does not cause an increase in prey species diversity as a keystone predator would. Further research is needed to determine the conditions that favor the presence of predator and high prey diversity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density-Dependent Predation of a Dominant Species does not Facilitate Increased Diversity in Treeholes

Smith¹,

Blue²,

Carlson³

et al. 2009

TOECOLJ

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“…This is a strong indication that forest habitat functions as source habitat for container breeding mosquito-predator communities. Source habitat is important for the colonization of predator species into new habitats (Levins 1969;Namba, Umemoto, & Minami 1999;Frouz & Kindlmann 2001) and this is especially true for ephemeral habitats like water-filled containers or other rain-filled mosquito breeding habitats (Caudill 2003;Paradise et al 2008). A lack of predator source habitat can lead to increased prey densities, when prey metapopulations are not dependent on the same source habitat or habitat quality as their predator (Ryall & Fahrig 2006;Shulman & Chase 2007;Chase & Shulman 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Container-breeding mosquitoes and predator community dynamics along an urban-forest gradient: The effects of habitat type and isolation

Weterings

Umponstira

Buckley

2014

Basic and Applied Ecology

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Environmental disturbances such as deforestation, urbanization or pollution have been widely acknowledged to play a key role in the emergence of many infectious diseases, including mosquito-borne viruses. However, we have little understanding of how habitat isolation affects the communities containing disease vectors. Here, we test the effects of habitat type and isolation on the colonization rates, species richness and abundances of mosquitoes and their aquatic predators in water-filled containers in northwestern Thailand. For eight weeks water-filled containers were monitored in areas containing forest, urban and agricultural habitats and mixtures of these three. Mosquito larvae of the genera Aedes and Culex appeared to be differentially affected by the presence of the dominant predator; Toxorhynchites splendens (Culicidae). Therefore, a predation experiment was conducted to determine predator response to prey density and its relative effects on different mosquito prey populations. Colonization rates, species richness and abundances of mosquito predators were strongly related to forest habitat and to the distance from other aquatic habitats. Areas with more tree cover had higher predator species richness and abundance in containers. Containers that were close to surface water were more rapidly colonized than those further away. In all habitat types, including urban areas, when predators were present, the number of mosquito larvae was much lower. Containers in urban areas closer to water-bodies, or with more canopy cover, had higher predator colonization rates and species richness. T. splendens (Culicidae) preyed on the larvae of two mosquito genera at different rates, which appeared to be related to prey behaviour. This study shows that anthropogenic landscape modification has an important effect on the natural biological control of mosquitoes. Vector control programmes and urban planning should attempt to integrate ecological theory when developing strategies to reduce mosquito populations. This would result in management strategies that are beneficial for both public health and biodiversity. ZusammenfassungStörungen der Umwelt, wie Abholzung, Verstädterung oder Umweltverschmutzung werden weithin als Schlüsselfaktoren für das Auftreten von ansteckenden Krankheiten, einschließlich der von Stechmücken verbreiteten Viren, angesehen. Indessen wissen wir wenig darüber, wie die Isolation von Habitaten die Gemeinschaften beeinflusst, die Krankheitsvektoren enthalten. Hier R. Weterings et al. / Basic and Applied Ecology 15 (2014) 486-495 487untersuchen wir die Effekte von Habitat-Typ und Isolation auf die Besiedelungsraten, den Artenreichtum und die Abundanzen von Stechmücken und deren Räubern in Wasserbehältern im nordwestlichen Thailand. Acht Wochen lang waren die Behälter in Betrieb, in Gebieten mit Wald, bebauten Flächen, landwirtschaftlichen Flächen und Mischungen der drei Habitat-Typen. Die Larven der Stechmückengattungen Aedes und Culex schienen unterschiedlich von der Anwesenheit des dominanten Räu-bers; Toxor...

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“…Natural communities may be regulated by local factors, such as competition, disturbances, biotic and abiotic variables, and regional factors, such as geographical distance among patches, dispersal capacity among habitats and climate conditions (Hillebrand & Blenckner, 2002;Cottenie et al, 2003;Paradise et al, 2008). These processes, acting in broad temporal and spatial scales, are important in determining diversity patterns and define the aspects of the regional species pool from where local communities are assembled (Caley & Schluter, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of floral stimuli produced by the plants (floral volatiles) reach long distances attracting pollinators (Reisenman et al, 2010) increasing dispersal rates and colonization among plants (Kneitel & Miller, 2003). During the flowering phase, these stimuli (i. e. floral volatiles and nectar) are critical for insects to choose suitable oviposition sites, leading to higher rates of oviposition in the plants (Reisenman et al, 2010) and decreasing the influence of spatial distance on the structure of the aquatic larvae associated to phytotelmata (Paradise et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of bromeliad flowering event on the community structuring of aquatic insect larvae associated with phytotelmata of Aechmea distichantha Lem. (Bromeliaceae)

et al. 2017

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Aim:We aimed to understand how aquatic insect larvae communities associated with bromeliad phytotelmata are affected by plant architecture, predators and resources (local factors), and by geographical distance (regional factors) in two different plant phenological phases. Bromeliad flowering results in plant structural changes, which favours insect dispersal. Considering that local and regional factors may affect the community of aquatic insect larvae, we expected that composition, beta diversity and the importance of those factors would differ in the vegetative growth and flowering phases. Methods: We performed six samplings of the bromeliad associated fauna in 2010, three during the first semester -vegetative growth phase -and three during the second semester -flowering phase. In each sampling, we collected 12 plants along the rocky walls with similar location distribution, with a total of 72 bromeliads studied. Results: Although beta diversity (PERMDISP) did not differ between vegetative growth and flowering, NMDS followed by ANOSIM showed that composition was significantly different in the distinct phenological phases. IndVal results showed that three Diptera morphospecies were discriminant of the vegetative growth phase. In addition, pRDA revealed differences in the relative contribution of local and regional factors to explain insect larvae community structure. During the flowering phase, local factors predominated, while during vegetative growth, regional factors were more important. Conclusion: Differences in dispersal rates between the two phenological phases, likely due to adult insect pollination and further oviposition, influenced community structuring. Therefore, flowering events account for differences not only in the composition, but also in community structuring of aquatic insect larvae inhabiting the phytotelmata of Aechmea distichantha Lem. (Bromeliaceae).

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Local and regional factors influence the structure of treehole metacommunities

Cited by 20 publications

References 42 publications

Density-Dependent Predation of a Dominant Species does not Facilitate Increased Diversity in Treeholes

Density-Dependent Predation of a Dominant Species does not Facilitate Increased Diversity in Treeholes

Container-breeding mosquitoes and predator community dynamics along an urban-forest gradient: The effects of habitat type and isolation

Effects of bromeliad flowering event on the community structuring of aquatic insect larvae associated with phytotelmata of Aechmea distichantha Lem. (Bromeliaceae)

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