The activity of a subterranean small mammal alters Afroalpine vegetation patterns and is positively affected by livestock grazing

Asefa, Addisu; Reuber, Victoria; Miehe, Georg; Wondafrash, Melaku; Wraase, Luise; Wube, Tilaye; Farwig, Nina; Schabo, Dana G.

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2022.09.001

Cited by 8 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Although vegetation and soil moisture were previously identified as essential factors influencing the local abundance of giant root-rats (Asefa et al, 2022;Šklíba et al, 2017), our study did not indicate any effect on genetic differentiation (Table 1), suggesting these factors play less of a role in hindering gene flow at the range-wide scale. However, the spatially coarse vegetation and soil moisture indices used in our analysis may not fully capture the highly specific food and soil requirements of the giant root-rat.…”

Section: Genetic Subdivision Between Regionscontrasting

confidence: 86%

“…Giant root-rats are significant ecosystem engineers creating large underground burrow systems, in which they live solitarily. Through their combined effect of soil perturbation and herbivory, they alter nutrient availability, soil texture and moisture, and create their own habitat and that for other plant and animal species (Asefa et al, 2022;Miehe & Miehe, 1994;Šklíba et al, 2017;Yalden, 1985). By using below-ground burrows, the species circumvents the harsh environmental conditions of the mountain ecosystem, which include strong winds and temperatures below 0 C°, and limits the risk of being preyed upon by its main predator the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) (Sillero-Zubiri & Gottelli, 1995;Šumbera et al, 2020;Vlasatá et al, 2017;Yalden, 1985).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Topographic barriers drive the pronounced genetic subdivision of a range-limited fossorial rodent

Reuber¹,

Westbury

Rey‐Iglesia

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Due to their limited dispersal ability, fossorial species with predominantly belowground activity usually show increased levels of population subdivision across relatively small spatial scales. This may be exacerbated in harsh mountain ecosystems, where landscape geomorphology limits species' dispersal ability and leads to small effective population sizes, making species susceptible to environmental change. The giant root-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus) is a highly fossorial rodent confined to the afro-alpine ecosystem of the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia. Using mitochondrial and low-coverage nuclear genomes, we investigated 77 giant root-rat individuals sampled from nine localities across its whole ~1,000 km2 range. Our data revealed a distinct division into northern and southern subpopulations, with no signs of gene flow, and higher nuclear genetic diversity in the south. Landscape genetic analyses of the mitochondrial genomes indicated that population subdivision was driven by steep slopes and elevation differences of up to 500 m across escarpments separating the north and south, potentially reinforced by glaciation of the south during the Late Pleistocene (~42,000 to 16,000 years ago). Despite the pronounced subdivision observed at the range-wide scale, weak geographic structuring of sampling localities within subpopulations indicated gene flow across distances of at least 16 km, suggesting aboveground dispersal and high mobility for relatively long distances. Our study highlights how topographic barriers can lead to the genetic subdivision of fossorial species, despite their potential to maintain gene flow at the local scale. These factors can reduce genetic variability, which should be considered when developing conservation strategies.

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Section: Genetic Subdivision Between Regionscontrasting

confidence: 86%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographic barriers drive the pronounced genetic subdivision of a range-limited fossorial rodent

Reuber¹,

Westbury

Rey‐Iglesia

et al. 2023

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…(2011) hypothesised that grazing by livestock negatively affects rodent populations through competition or increased predation risk, and predicted that removing grazers would cause an increase in rodent biomass. Interestingly, the results of their experiment showed no significant changes in vegetation composition or structure, and no evidence of a response in rodent populations (Table S11, Quote 2; see also Asefa et al., 2022). However, these results did not lead the authors to reject their initial hypothesis or suggest an alternative ecological explanation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The Afroalpine vegetation, once considered a “natural” remnant of the early Holocene (Umer et al., 2007), is now understood as a product, in part, of repeated burning and grazing of sub‐alpine heathland by local pastoralists and their animals (Gil‐Romera et al., 2019; Johansson et al., 2018; Johansson & Granström, 2020). Livestock grazing has also been shown to positively affect burrow density of BMNP's endemic giant root‐rat, suggesting that these endangered rodents may benefit from livestock‐induced enlargement of their habitat (Asefa et al., 2022). Some forest ecologists note that many of the largest trees in the Harenna Forest display no tree rings and may only be 100 years old (P.H.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing beyond the frames we inherit: A challenge to tenacious conservation narratives

Chignell,

Satterfield

2023

People and Nature

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Natural and social scientists everywhere are struggling to understand how to proceed in the face of continued biodiversity loss and the injustices brought upon people living in and around conservation landscapes. This has resulted in increasing calls for critical reflection on the narratives driving conservation research and practice. Narratives can be understood as part of a larger process of “framing” within an intellectual community, which includes the way studies are defined and discussed. Identifying, reflecting on and even destabilizing entrenched frames can be helpful for understanding when and where our diagnosis or understanding of a problem fails. However, we also need to understand the scholarly processes that create and reify some frames (and not others) over time. We address these needs by developing a mixed‐method approach that integrates qualitative frame analysis and quantitative science mapping to identify the origins of the dominant frame and trace its reproduction in the scientific literature over time. We demonstrate this approach using the case of the Bale Mountains, an internationally recognised centre of species endemism in Ethiopia. Our results show the enduring influence of the perceptions and values of a few early conservation scientists working with limited data. This led to erroneous assumptions and conclusions that, in some cases, were corrected by later research, but in many cases were not. This was a function of the social and intellectual structure of the scientific network, minor but consequential decisions in data interpretation and specific citational habits. Synthesizing these results, we identify several linked mechanisms that helped the dominant frame retain its tenacity and may also be at work in other contexts. We close with a discussion on how others might apply our approach and how future scientific research and conservation practice could proceed differently. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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“…This suggests that the mole rats play an important role in the gap dynamics in the study system. We found a more open vegetation with lower cover of perennial graminoids on the mounds, which is a general pattern observed on mounds of various burrowing mammals ( e.g ., root-rats: Asefa et al, 2022 ; prairie dogs: Winter, Cully & Pontius, 2002 ; pikas: Wesche, Nadrowski & Retzer, 2007 ; marmots: Valkó et al, 2021 ). These are notable effects considering the small size of the mounds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patch and matrix characteristics determine the outcome of ecosystem engineering by mole rats in dry grasslands

Valkó

Kelemen

Kiss

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Background Burrowing mammals are important ecosystem engineers, especially in open ecosystems where they create patches that differ from the surrounding matrix in their structure or ecosystem functions. Methods We evaluated the fine-scale effects of a subterranean ecosystem engineer, the Lesser blind mole rat on the vegetation composition of sandy dry grasslands in Hungary. In this model system we tested whether the characteristics of the patch (mound size) and the matrix (total vegetation cover in the undisturbed grassland) influence the structural and functional contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grasslands. We sampled the vegetation of 80 mounds and 80 undisturbed grassland plots in four sites, where we recorded the total vegetation cover, and the occurrence and cover of each vascular plant species. We used two proxies to characterise the patches (mounds) and the matrix (undisturbed grassland): we measured the perimeter of the mounds and estimated the total vegetation cover of the undisturbed grasslands. First, we compared the vegetation characteristics of the mounds and the surrounding grasslands with general linear models. Second, we characterised the contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grassland by relative response indices (RRIs) of the vegetation characteristics studied in the first step. Results Species composition of the vegetation of the mounds and undisturbed grasslands was well separated in three out of the four study sites. Mounds were characterised by lower vegetation cover, lower cover of perennial graminoids, and higher diversity, and evenness compared to undisturbed grasslands. The contrast in vegetation cover between mounds and undisturbed grasslands increased with decreasing patch size. Increasing vegetation cover in the matrix grasslands increased the contrasts between the mounds and undisturbed grasslands in terms of total cover, perennial graminoid cover, diversity, and evenness. Our results suggest that mole rat mounds provide improved establishment conditions for subordinate species, because they are larger than other types of natural gaps and are characterised by less intense belowground competition. The ecosystem engineering effect, i.e., the contrast between the patches and the matrix was the largest in the more closed grasslands.

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The activity of a subterranean small mammal alters Afroalpine vegetation patterns and is positively affected by livestock grazing

Cited by 8 publications

References 26 publications

Topographic barriers drive the pronounced genetic subdivision of a range-limited fossorial rodent

Topographic barriers drive the pronounced genetic subdivision of a range-limited fossorial rodent

Seeing beyond the frames we inherit: A challenge to tenacious conservation narratives

Patch and matrix characteristics determine the outcome of ecosystem engineering by mole rats in dry grasslands

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