Ecological Applications[JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Structural characteristics mediate forest mitigation potential against climate change and biodiversity loss.
Lunow J, Burrascano S, Balducci L … +9 more , Chianucci F, Chojnacki L, Doerfler I, Hofmeister J, Hošek J, Ódor P, Schall P, Sitzia T, Simons NK
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41839456 · Full text
European forests play an important role for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. As they have been shaped by silviculture for centuries, it is important to understand how management practices affect f...
European forests play an important role for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. As they have been shaped by silviculture for centuries, it is important to understand how management practices affect forest structure and in turn influence the role of forests in achieving both goals. We analyzed data on a wide range of temperate European forests encompassing the most widespread management regimes to understand the interplay of forest structure, aboveground carbon stocks, and the richness of several taxonomic groups. Using structural equation modeling, we identified the forest structural characteristics that are positively correlated with both carbon stocks and species richness. We found that stand age and tree species richness are related to other forest structural characteristics, which had positive links to carbon stocks in deadwood. Increasing stand age was associated with an increase in deadwood carbon stocks. There were no direct negative relationships between stand age or tree species richness and the richness of different taxonomic groups. An increasing richness of deadwood types had positive links with the species richness of birds, saproxylic beetles, and saproxylic fungi, as with deadwood carbon stocks. However, increases in the species richness of birds and understory vascular plants were negatively related to increasing carbon stocks in living wood, while beetle species richness was positively related to this carbon stock. Birds' species richness was directly and positively associated with increasing mean tree diameter. Conversely, a higher richness of tree species was indirectly linked to lower carbon stocks in living wood. Additionally, an increase in mean tree diameter was indirectly correlated with a decrease in bird and vascular plant species richness. Our findings highlight potential trade-offs between carbon stocks in living wood and the species richness of several taxonomic groups in European forests, while the species richness of some taxonomic groups was positively correlated to deadwood carbon stocks. Policies focused on increasing living biomass may not target both the climate and biodiversity crises. Instead, the diversity of deadwood emerges as a key factor in explaining the relationship between carbon storage and biodiversity, and should hence play a prominent role in forest management strategies and related policies.
Modeling species co-occurrence effects to inform invasive barred owl management and recovery of the northern spotted owl.
Srivastava V, Van Lanen NJ, Parshad RD
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41821188 · Full text
Robust estimation of wildlife populations represents a cornerstone of wildlife research and provides critical information to guide management, including identifying at-risk species, setting harvest rates, and evaluating...
Robust estimation of wildlife populations represents a cornerstone of wildlife research and provides critical information to guide management, including identifying at-risk species, setting harvest rates, and evaluating predator and invasive species control programs. Efforts to enhance population estimation have long included influences one species may have on another, beginning with direct effects of predation on prey populations. More recently, researchers have incorporated co-occurrence effects, such as fear of a competitor, into Lotka-Volterra competition models to generate more robust wildlife population estimates. Here, we introduce two modified Lotka-Volterra competition models, which incorporate one- and two-way co-occurrence effects, to estimate populations of two competing species. Using the test case of northern spotted (Strix occidentalis caurina) and barred owl (Strix varia) populations in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, we evaluate if these new co-occurrence models can generate more robust population estimates than previous models. We then evaluate if potential co-occurrence effects among barred and northern spotted owls are uni- or bidirectional. Lastly, we leverage the best-performing model to evaluate the degree to which a recently proposed barred owl culling program may help recover northern spotted owl populations. Our model results suggest that incorporating co-occurrence effects improves model fit compared to classical Lotka-Volterra competition models. We found strong evidence for unidirectional co-occurrence effects of barred owls on northern spotted owls, but not vice versa. Our simulations of barred owl culling suggest that barred owls would need to be culled from approximately 40% of all occupied barred owl territories each year to reverse ongoing northern spotted owl population declines.
Assessing the environmental and dispersal-related drivers of an invasive aquatic plant in Great Lakes coastal wetlands.
Jochems L, Requena-Mullor JM, Brandt J … +5 more , Caughlin TT, Monks A, Hopping K, Williamson MA, Lishawa SC
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41820262 · Publisher ↗
Invasive plant species pose a major threat to wetland ecosystems. One effective way to control the spread of invasive plants is to intercept them early in the invasion process. Species distribution models (SDMs), fit wit...
Invasive plant species pose a major threat to wetland ecosystems. One effective way to control the spread of invasive plants is to intercept them early in the invasion process. Species distribution models (SDMs), fit with covariates related to habitat suitability, can predict where new invasions are likely to occur. For species that have not yet filled their niches during early invasions, dispersal dynamics such as proximity to known presences and/or human vectors may control spread as much as habitat suitability. Yet, many SDMs assume that the species has filled its niche, incorporate only biophysical predictors, and do not consider spatial processes. Including dispersal dynamics can account for nonequilibrium processes, thereby improving the utility of invasive SDMs. We quantified the importance of environmental (abiotic and biotic) and dispersal-related drivers (anthropogenic and endogenous) on the occurrence and abundance of Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (European frogbit; EFB), a floating aquatic plant. We fit Bayesian hurdle models with integrated nested Laplace approximations (INLAs) to 2487 quadrat observations recorded across coastal wetlands in Michigan, USA from 2011 to 2021. We found that EFB occurrence was most strongly associated with distance to the nearest known population (m), a proxy of local dispersal. EFB occurrence also exhibited a nonlinear relationship with water depth (cm), demonstrating an optimal range of water depth for EFB. Occurrence was negatively associated with wave energy and positively associated with cattail (Typha spp.) abundance, which we attribute to protection from waves. Surprisingly, none of our predictors had any meaningful associations with EFB abundance, suggesting that it may be too early in EFB's invasion stage to quantify important drivers of abundance once at a site, or we did not include important factors that operate at the scale at which these growth processes occur. Moreover, the dispersal model yielded slightly better predictive capacity of EFB across Michigan. Overall, our results indicate that local dispersal is the primary driver of occurrence for an invasive species that has not yet filled its niche, whereas additional data or SDMs may be necessary to (a) better predict its abundance once established in coastal wetlands and (b) identify susceptible areas to future invasions.
Landscape heterogeneity affects developmental and dispersal-related traits of a butterfly in agricultural landscapes.
Deppe F, Breuer E, Hofmann I … +14 more , Koch N, Näckel L, Nowak J, Plänker PC, Schmitz AL, Schroeder L, Spitzlei A, Vetter P, Wassong L, Weich S, Weingart M, Wittkamp L, Yilmazer M, Fischer K
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41813423 · Full text
The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats due to the intensification of agricultural land use have detrimental impacts on the biodiversity of arthropods. The reduction of natural habitats results in a decreased avai...
The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats due to the intensification of agricultural land use have detrimental impacts on the biodiversity of arthropods. The reduction of natural habitats results in a decreased availability of essential resources, which may select for rapid development and phenotypes enhancing dispersal ability. We here compared replicated populations of the butterfly Coenonympha pamphilus in field-caught females and their laboratory-reared offspring across two landscape types: highly fragmented and intensified "modern" and less fragmented "traditional" agricultural landscapes. We also examined the effects of food stress and landscape parameters representing compositional and configurational landscape heterogeneity on intraspecific trait variation at different spatial scales. The differences between the two landscape types in butterfly traits were nonsignificant throughout, but both field-caught females and their offspring exhibited various responses to the measured landscape parameters. In particular, landscapes with (1) high heterogeneity of habitat patches (i.e., relatively smaller grassland patches with high boundary length), (2) higher proportion of non-crop habitats (i.e., grassland, forests, and woodland), and (3) lower proportion of crop fields seemed to select for phenotypes enhancing dispersal ability. Flight propensity of male offspring was increased under food stress, indicating plastic responses to resource scarcity. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the compositional and configurational landscape heterogeneity, namely parameters indicative of agricultural intensification, select for enhanced dispersal in C. pamphilus. As higher investment in dispersal often comes at a cost to reproduction, such trait shifts may reduce population viability, which may have important implications for insect declines in agricultural landscapes.
Consumer resilience suppresses the recovery of overgrazed ecosystems.
Spindel NB, Galloway AWE, Schram JB … +8 more , McNeill GD, Bellis SḴV, Guujaaw N, Yakgujanaas J, Pontier O, Thompson M, Lee LC, Okamoto DK
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41808493 · Full text
Many heterotroph species perish when faced with severe food limitation; others can persist, adapt, and thrive. Sea urchins are emblematic of this paradox: they can overgraze kelp forests to form barren habitats, but can...
Many heterotroph species perish when faced with severe food limitation; others can persist, adapt, and thrive. Sea urchins are emblematic of this paradox: they can overgraze kelp forests to form barren habitats, but can then survive for decades in these nutritionally depauperate seascapes. Understanding the mechanisms enabling persistence under starvation and rapid recovery when food returns provides insights into how consumer resilience shapes ecosystem dynamics. We quantified how food abundance, quality, deprivation, and reintroduction influence bioenergetic performance in the red sea urchin (Mesocentrotus franciscanus), integrating field observations of kelp forest and barren populations with a controlled feeding experiment. We measured respiration, feeding rates, gonadal growth, and fatty acid biomarkers to test how habitat history and diet jointly govern metabolic plasticity and nutrient assimilation. Resting metabolic rates (RMRs) were nearly twofold higher in kelp forest urchins than in barren conspecifics; yet, feeding rates were equivalent across habitats, indicating that metabolic depression does not constrain food intake. Reciprocal shifts emerged in the experiment: starvation reduced RMR and lipid reserves in kelp forest urchins, while feeding elevated both traits in barren urchins to levels comparable with kelp forest conspecifics. These results demonstrate rapid physiological compensation in response to both food deprivation and reintroduction. Diet quality strongly modulated performance. Urchins fed nutritionally poor monospecific diets consumed more biomass and calories than those on diverse, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich diets, but did so with markedly lower efficiency of conversion to gonadal tissue. Fatty acid assimilation revealed that starvation elevated bacterial and biofilm biomarkers in tissues, whereas algal diets enriched essential PUFA profiles, particularly when diets were diverse. These results highlight that both quantity and quality of food influence consumer recovery trajectories, with nutritional geometry shaping efficiency of energy and nutrient use. Together, our findings show that M. franciscanus exhibits pronounced metabolic resilience, allowing persistence in barren habitats and rapid reactivation of grazing and reproduction when food becomes available. This work links nutritional ecology to ecosystem feedbacks by showing how compensatory feeding and metabolic flexibility enable consumers to maintain pressure on primary producers, thereby influencing the stability, hysteresis, and recovery of degraded ecosystems.
Plant interactions, climate, and the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) interdependently shape vegetation in northern Finland.
Stark S, Wallén H, Kurkilahti M … +2 more , Pekkarinen AJ, Kumpula J
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41806283 · Full text
There is limited understanding on how complex interdependencies among large herbivore grazing, competitive and facilitative interactions among plants, and the changes in temperatures and precipitation shape northern bore...
There is limited understanding on how complex interdependencies among large herbivore grazing, competitive and facilitative interactions among plants, and the changes in temperatures and precipitation shape northern boreal and subarctic ecosystems. Here, we assessed changes in dwarf shrub and lichen cover and height using data from 617 field sites monitored a decade apart (2005-2008 and 2016-2018) in semi-dry and dry habitats in northernmost Finland, where reindeer herding constitutes a traditional livelihood with reindeer moving freely across landscapes and grazing on seasonally available forage plants. We hypothesized that several direct and indirect factors related to climate and reindeer herding regimes drive changes in vegetation. We predicted that over the 10 years, shrub cover and height would increase and that lichen cover and height would decrease in response. We also expected that the decline in lichen cover and height would be more pronounced in summer-grazed areas and in areas with higher reindeer densities. We observed that shrub cover and height had increased drastically, and the change in lichen cover was negatively correlated with change in shrub cover. However, the change in lichen height was positively correlated with change in shrub height, which reveals a dual relationship between dwarf shrub and lichen vegetation. The seasonal timing of reindeer grazing was also important: lichen cover decreased less in winter than summer and year-round ranges. The direction of the change in lichen height was even opposite among seasonal ranges with decreased height in summer and year-round ranges and increased height in winter ranges. Lichen cover and height responded negatively to higher reindeer densities in both summer and winter ranges. While shrub cover had increased in summer and year-round ranges, shrub cover was unchanged in winter ranges, and shrub height increased less with increasing reindeer densities. These results indicate that reindeer grazing may partially counteract "shrubification" in areas that are grazed only during winter. Our results demonstrate how differing large herbivore grazing regimes, together with their complex interdependencies between climate warming and associated changes in plant-plant interactions, contribute to spatially variable vegetation trajectories. Due to the direct and the indirect mechanisms by which climate warming affects dwarf shrub and lichen vegetation, for maintaining good lichen grounds for reindeer herding, the benefit of seasonal range rotation will likely even increase in the future.
Trait-based approaches to restoration ecology: Synthesizing insights from diverse systems.
Briand JK, Hosler SC, Merchant TK … +20 more , Vinebrooke RD, Ostertag R, Symons CC, Cadotte MW, Eviner VT, Bracken MES, Carlson RR, Henn JJ, Garbowski M, Bauer JT, Luong JC, Atkinson J, Hughes AR, Adams CR, Bates AE, Funk JL, Love AE, Zheng L, Galloway E, Green SJ
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41806264 · Full text
Under accelerating global change, trait-based approaches are emerging as essential tools in the ecological restoration toolbox. Where restoration has traditionally focused on the recovery of focal species in isolated sys...
Under accelerating global change, trait-based approaches are emerging as essential tools in the ecological restoration toolbox. Where restoration has traditionally focused on the recovery of focal species in isolated systems, trait-based methods can provide a common language that extends beyond species- or system-specific contexts, allowing scientists and practitioners to translate insights across organisms and ecosystems and predict functional variation critical to resilience in the face of rapidly changing environmental conditions. Trait-based insights can thus help achieve restoration that is both adaptable and scalable as future climate scenarios unfold. To date, trait-based approaches to restoration have developed and proceeded independently across habitats and ecosystems, limiting information sharing and innovation. Here, we synthesize diverse perspectives and research on trait-informed restoration across ecosystems, distilling our findings into three key insights. First, variable contexts and trade-offs in trait-function linkages shape restoration outcomes at distinct ecological scales and project stages. For example, individual-level traits that underpin stress tolerance may play a critical role in initial survival and establishment during early project stages, while traits that influence species interactions and modify energy transformation may play a larger role as communities reassemble and ecosystem function becomes a priority at later stages. Second, coordinating trait-informed restoration across ecosystems can advance multi-trophic and multi-system restoration by closing the divide between "top down" approaches that target individual organisms or populations typically in large, mobile animal reintroductions and "bottom-up" approaches that target community-level organization in the restoration of foundation species. Finally, enhanced interdisciplinary communication and knowledge-sharing can help develop solutions to major challenges hindering the progress of trait-informed restoration (e.g., accounting for intraspecific variation). As novel environmental conditions continue to arise, an integrative approach to trait-informed restoration that spans ecological scales, promotes knowledge-sharing across diverse ecosystems, and fosters management-science collaboration can help unify and advance restoration efforts under current and future disturbance scenarios.
Integrating landscape ecology into generic surveillance plans for bark- and wood-boring beetles.
Nardi D, Rassati D, Battisti A … +19 more , Branco M, Courtin C, Faccoli M, Feddern N, Francese JA, Franzen E, Garcia A, Giannone F, Gossner MM, Jonsell M, Kostanowicz C, Marchioro M, Martinek P, Ray AM, Roques A, Sweeney J, Van Rooyen K, Webster V, Marini L
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41797626 · Full text
International trade poses a growing threat to global biosecurity, with bark- and wood-boring beetles representing a major concern for forest health. Non-native species are frequently introduced at points of entry, where...
International trade poses a growing threat to global biosecurity, with bark- and wood-boring beetles representing a major concern for forest health. Non-native species are frequently introduced at points of entry, where populations can establish in the surrounding landscape. To improve early detection, generic surveillance programs use traps in these high-risk areas, collecting a broad spectrum of species. These traps also capture native beetles, providing insights into the potential species pool that could become exotic elsewhere. However, implementing effective landscape-wide surveillance within reasonable resource limits remains challenging. In this study, we used trapping data of Cerambycidae and Scolytinae from 11 high-risk areas across Europe and North America to develop practical recommendations for generic surveillance at multiple spatial scales. Specifically, we attempted to address two key questions: (1) how to maximize the single-trap efficacy depending on the trap surroundings; and (2) how many traps should be used in a landscape-wide sampling depending on landscape composition. Under budget constraints, we recommend prioritizing trap placement within forest patches and avoiding locations surrounded by roads or buildings. Urban-dominated landscapes required greater sampling effort (i.e., more traps) than forest-dominated landscapes. Deploying fewer than four traps per square kilometer might lead to an incomplete representation of the local bark- and wood-boring beetle community, losing about 30%-50% of species. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of incorporating landscape ecology into generic surveillance planning to optimize trap effectiveness within resource limitations.
Disentangling the effects of multifunctional forestry practices on the abundances of birds and their invertebrate prey.
Cordeiro Pereira JM, Klingenfuß S, Basile M … +3 more , Frey J, Mikusiński G, Storch I
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41795698 · Full text
European forests are increasingly managed to harmonize production goals with biodiversity conservation, through practices such as retention and close-to-nature forestry. Forest birds may benefit from these practices, but...
European forests are increasingly managed to harmonize production goals with biodiversity conservation, through practices such as retention and close-to-nature forestry. Forest birds may benefit from these practices, but it remains unclear how the effects of different management practices compare, and whether responses to management are driven by changes in the availability of invertebrates, a crucial element of bird diets during the breeding season. To answer these questions, we carried out bird point counts on 135 1-ha plots in southwestern Germany from 2017 to 2022, and measured the abundance of invertebrate groups in the lower forest strata using flight interception traps and pitfall traps. We used N-mixture models and Bayesian generalized linear models (GLMs) to estimate, respectively, how abundances of 32 bird species and 20 invertebrate groups respond to predictors representing forest management, structure, composition, and the abiotic environment. We then compared the responses of birds and invertebrates, and employed piecewise structural equation models (SEMs) to disentangle the causal links between forest structure and abundances of bird guilds and invertebrate groups. Bird abundances responded to predictors representing retention and close-to-nature forestry practices, but the direction of effects varied across species and facets of management. Moreover, the effects of retention practices were weaker than those of close-to-nature practices, especially those of admixing broadleaf trees. Hence, these management practices likely need to be applied in tandem with others (e.g., gap creation) to secure a diverse forest bird assemblage. Invertebrate abundances responded to both management types, but responses did not clearly align with those of bird species, and SEMs did not support direct links between bird and invertebrate abundances. Still, we revealed parallel positive responses of birds and invertebrate groups to the same habitat features, such as broadleaf share, suggesting that these may function as cues for high food availability during habitat selection by birds. Therefore, forest management that aims at increasing bird populations should address other potential limiting factors, such as nest site availability, in addition to fostering high invertebrate abundances, which may safeguard habitat quality for birds.
Disentangling the contributions of density dependence and independence to population growth rates.
Walters CL, Gantner N, Hagen J … +3 more , Spendlow I, Pillipow R, Martins EG
Ecol Appl · 2026 Mar · PMID 41795697 · Full text
Separately quantifying the effects of density-dependent and density-independent factors on vital rates is necessary to determine their contribution to changes in population growth rates and better inform management and c...
Separately quantifying the effects of density-dependent and density-independent factors on vital rates is necessary to determine their contribution to changes in population growth rates and better inform management and conservation. State space modeling and recently developed transient life table response experiments (tLTRE) at the level of vital rate predictors provide a powerful quantitative framework to disentangle the effects of environmental conditions and density dependence on population dynamics. We applied these approaches to assess the dynamics of a stream-dwelling rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population in the Stellako River in northern British Columbia from 1988 to 2022. Using an integrated, size class-structured dynamic N-mixture model with snorkel count and length-at-age data, we assessed the effects of mean summer air temperature, discharge, sockeye salmon returns, and density dependence on productivity, survival, and size class transition probabilities. In addition, we used tLTRE analysis to quantify the contribution of density dependence and environmental conditions to the dynamics of the study population over the study period. Productivity and survival of all size classes exhibited density dependence. The mean summer air temperature had a strong negative relationship with size class 1 (10-30 cm) fish survival, whereas the survival of size class 3 (50+ cm) was strongly positively related to sockeye salmon returns. Environmental stochasticity in productivity and temperature-driven survival of size class 1 fish were the most important contributors to population dynamics. A reduction in the survival of size class 1 due to warming summer temperatures was the primary driver of the population decline starting in the early 2000s. Our findings underscore the utility of integrated, dynamic N-mixture modeling combined with tLTRE at the level of vital rate predictors to identify environmental and demographic drivers of population growth rates to direct management and conservation efforts.
Trait-based evidence of salinity-induced functional diversity loss in mangroves: Implications for ecosystem resilience.
Karim MR, Karmaker N, Biswas SR … +6 more , Saimun MSR, Mukul SA, Khatun T, Sultana F, Srivastava SK, Arfin-Khan MAS
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41733394 · Full text
Mangrove forests-vital for global carbon storage and coastal protection-are increasingly threatened by salinity intrusion resulting from sea-level rise and alterations in the hydrological regimes. While the functional im...
Mangrove forests-vital for global carbon storage and coastal protection-are increasingly threatened by salinity intrusion resulting from sea-level rise and alterations in the hydrological regimes. While the functional importance of mangroves is well recognized, the mechanistic pathways through which salinity reorganizes community-level trait composition and compresses functional diversity remain unresolved. This gap is particularly acute in megadeltaic systems like the Sundarbans, where biodiversity and ecosystem service provisioning co-occur with steep salinity gradients. Elucidating how trait syndromes shift and diversity contracts across these gradients is critical to forecasting mangrove ecosystem responses and informing adaptive conservation strategies. This study quantified eight foliar traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, total chlorophyll, stomatal density, leaf shape index, leaf succulence, and leaf carbon content) and four functional diversity indices (Rao's quadratic entropy, functional richness, evenness, and divergence) across a continuous soil salinity gradient using plot-level data from 59 sites in the Sundarbans. Trait-environment relationships were analyzed using linear regressions, spatial mapping, and multivariate ordination (principal components analysis [PCA], non-metric multidimensional scaling [NMDS]), while controlling for biotic factors such as species richness and abundance. Salinity significantly reduced functional diversity, particularly trait dissimilarity (RaoQ), supporting the hypothesis of abiotic filtering that favors functionally similar, salt-tolerant species. These reductions were most pronounced in high-salinity western zones dominated by generalist stress-tolerant species. Foliar traits shifted predictably with salinity, with reductions in leaf area, dry matter content, stomatal density, chlorophyll, and carbon content, and increases in leaf succulence and specific leaf area-indicating trade-offs toward conservative resource-use strategies under osmotic stress. Species abundance strongly influenced functional diversity independent of salinity. High abundance reduced trait dissimilarity and evenness, reinforcing the dominance of a few trait syndromes under stress. By integrating spatially explicit trait, salinity, and abundance data, this study provides novel evidence that abiotic filtering and biotic dominance jointly constrain community-level functional diversity in mangroves. Trait convergence and dissimilarity collapse under salinity stress indicate narrowing ecological strategies with reduced resilience. Conservation strategies should prioritize freshwater inflow and low-salinity habitat restoration. Trait-based indicators offer a predictive framework to sustain mangrove function under accelerating climate stress.
More than flowers: Habitat type, floral resources, and landscape context shape pollinator communities in villages.
Schulze S, Maihoff F, Zhang J … +5 more , Kessner-Beierlein D, Bender A, Schöninger A, Holzschuh A, Steffan-Dewenter I
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41733335 · Full text
Wild pollinator diversity has been widely studied in agricultural habitats and increasingly also in cities, but the value of small settlements like villages in rural areas for pollinators is mainly unknown. Public green...
Wild pollinator diversity has been widely studied in agricultural habitats and increasingly also in cities, but the value of small settlements like villages in rural areas for pollinators is mainly unknown. Public green spaces and village gardens could serve as refuges from agricultural intensification and habitat loss. Moreover, semi-natural habitats in the surrounding landscape may influence pollinator communities within villages. Here, we asked how suitable different village habitats are for wild pollinators and how this relates to floral resources and landscape context. We recorded solitary bees, bumble bees, hoverflies, honey bees, and flowering plants in five habitat types-cemeteries, fallows, farmhouse gardens, green areas, and house gardens-across 40 villages in Bavaria, Germany (200 plots in total). We recorded 208 wild bee species and 56 hoverfly species representing approximately 40% and 14% of the Bavarian fauna, respectively, along with 1258 flowering plant species. Generally, pollinator richness and abundance increased with floral species richness and cover. The proportion of semi-natural habitats surrounding villages at larger spatial scales was positively associated with solitary bee richness and influenced bumble bee abundance, highlighting the importance of landscape context. Based on predictions from floral resources, solitary bee richness in green areas and bumble bee richness in fallows exceeded expectations, whereas cemeteries were less species-rich. This suggests that factors beyond flower richness and abundance, such as nesting opportunities and the composition of preferred flower species, play important roles. Using 38,620 recordings of flower visits and respective flower abundance, we compiled a list of plant genera that were most visited, most preferred (corrected for plant abundance), or non-preferential (corrected for plant abundance) for the pollinator groups. The list serves as a decision-making tool for local stakeholders to ensure the most effective pollinator promotion within villages. Our results suggest that measures enhancing flower resources alone will not result in the best possible increase in pollinators in villages but should be accompanied by actions that enhance nesting sites in local habitats for a broad spectrum of pollinators. In conclusion, villages hold a substantial, yet underexploited, potential for pollinator conservation, achievable through targeted management and public engagement.
Boosting multifunctionality through adaptive trait-based species addition in ongoing restoration projects.
Coutinho AG, Nunes A, Branquinho C … +3 more , Debastiani VJ, Carlucci MB, Cianciaruso MV
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41733321 · Full text
As trait-based restoration practices continue to gain momentum, there is still an absence of effective methods to monitor ongoing restoration and, if necessary, amend species composition to achieve multiple restoration t...
As trait-based restoration practices continue to gain momentum, there is still an absence of effective methods to monitor ongoing restoration and, if necessary, amend species composition to achieve multiple restoration targets. This challenge is even greater in long-term restoration projects, as a result of different techniques and restoration strategies, leading to a heterogeneous landscape with different levels of ecosystem functions (multifunctionality). During the restoration process, it may be necessary to increase multifunctionality, or a particular ecosystem function, either from scratch or beyond what has already been provided by planted species or species established through natural regeneration. However, these aspects remain underexplored in restoration ecology, primarily because of the lack of operational frameworks. Using data from a 40-year ongoing quarry restoration in Portugal, we evaluated current levels of multifunctionality and how to restore or increase drought resistance, fire resilience, pollination, seed dispersal, and vegetation structure. We found that multifunctionality varies significantly across restoration sites within the landscape. Natural regeneration plays a central role in maintaining current levels of multifunctionality, but we demonstrate that it can be considerably increased by trait-based planting of additional individuals-whether of resident or new species-into restored sites. Furthermore, we show that enhanced levels of multifunctionality can be achieved in future restoration sites by using optimized species combinations. Our study provides important insights into the adaptive management of trait-based restoration and provides a framework to achieve multiple objectives in ongoing restoration projects. We expect the proposed framework will enhance both the appeal and practical application of trait-based and functional enrichment approaches in restoration practice.
Drivers of population dynamics and juvenile mortality in Northwest Atlantic harp seals.
Tinker MT, Stenson GB, Mosnier A … +3 more , Van de Walle J, Lang SLC, Hammill MO
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41717972 · Full text
Human-induced threats to terrestrial and marine wildlife are on the rise, and while some species face a single major threat, others face multiple concurrent threats. Harp seals, an abundant pinniped in the North Atlantic...
Human-induced threats to terrestrial and marine wildlife are on the rise, and while some species face a single major threat, others face multiple concurrent threats. Harp seals, an abundant pinniped in the North Atlantic that was historically depleted by human harvest, are one such species. Although commercial and subsistence harvests remain a significant source of mortality, in recent decades their environment has undergone significant changes, which could also impact population dynamics. Inferring the relative importance of various threats as drivers of population dynamics can be challenging, particularly for marine species where monitoring abundance is difficult: the use of integrated population models (IPMs), which leverage multiple data sources to parameterize process-based models of population dynamics, provides one solution. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian IPM with which to explore the shifting roles of anthropogenic and environmental factors in driving trends. We used a competing hazards formulation for survival, enabling the partitioning of mortality into multiple discreet causes and allowing us to assess variation in hazards over 7 decades (1952-2019). We fit the model to available data on pup production, fecundity, age structure, human removals, and environmental conditions. We conducted a Bayesian life stage simulation analysis (LSA) to compare the contributions of various hazards to variation in population growth. We found that harvests of young of the year (YOY) and adults were the primary contributors to variation in trends from 1951 to 1982; however, after 1983, the relative importance of harvest mortality decreased while the impacts of natural mortality increased, especially for YOY. Since 2000, the impacts of YOY mortality from ice cover anomalies have become one of the strongest drivers of trends, while harvest mortality has declined. Based on current climate models, which project warmer water and decreasing ice cover, we expect continued high levels of YOY mortality from environmental factors such as deteriorating ice conditions. These climate-related hazards are likely to become the dominant drivers of population dynamics in coming decades, which will in turn affect sustainable harvest levels for both Canada and Greenland. Our model will provide a useful tool for exploring future scenarios of climate impacts and management strategies.
At the intersection of soundscapes and roads: Quantifying anthrophony's influence on wildlife crossing structure use.
Yamashita TJ, Tanner AM, Tanner EP … +4 more , Scognamillo DG, Tewes ME, Young JH, Lombardi JV
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41709727 · Full text
Anthropogenic noise (anthrophony) can have significant negative effects on wildlife, causing both physiological (i.e., increased stress hormone production) and behavioral (i.e., altered anti-predator behaviors, space use...
Anthropogenic noise (anthrophony) can have significant negative effects on wildlife, causing both physiological (i.e., increased stress hormone production) and behavioral (i.e., altered anti-predator behaviors, space use, or diel activity) changes in individuals. Roads are a major source of anthrophony, often contributing the most to the anthrophony in rural areas. Most efforts to reduce road effects on wildlife have focused on decreasing road-associated mortality through the construction of wildlife crossing structures (WCSs) with little consideration for the anthrophony associated with these structures. Given the impacts of anthrophony on wildlife behavior, the effectiveness of WCSs could be altered without consideration of noise pollution. Therefore, understanding how anthrophony is structured in space and time and how it impacts WCS use is an important aspect of assessing the effectiveness of WCSs. We developed a framework for assessing anthrophony at WCS using an array of autonomous recording units to monitor overall acoustic conditions. We then examined how wildlife crossing rates were associated with anthrophony using camera traps. We monitored five underpass-style WCSs built in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, USA, using camera traps and acoustic recording units. We measured sound pressure level (SPL [dB]) and relative level of anthrophony (using the normalized difference soundscape index [NDSI]) at six positions around each WCS: two at elevation (road grade) with the road surface (west and east), two at the WCS entrances, and two in the middle of the WCSs. We then used SPL and NDSI to predict the probability of a successful crossing by Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a common, disturbance-tolerant mammal. While the relative amount of anthrophony did not differ, smaller WCSs and those with less traffic were up to 40 dB quieter than larger WCSs and those with more traffic. Opossums spent more time at WCSs when it was quieter on average and were more likely to successfully cross through a WCS when there was less vehicle noise. Our study highlights the importance of considering soundscapes in assessing WCS effectiveness and represents a framework that can be used for further exploration of the impacts of anthrophony on WCS use.
Atmospheric dryness dominates diurnal carbon-water coupling in mid-latitude forests.
Lu Y, Yang M, Liu J … +7 more , Pan J, Chen JM, Miao G, Blanken PD, Scott RL, Wang R, Yan Y
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41705468 · Publisher ↗
Mid-latitude forest ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere serve as substantial carbon sinks and also hold a strong transpiration capacity, making them critical components of the global carbon and water cycles. However, t...
Mid-latitude forest ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere serve as substantial carbon sinks and also hold a strong transpiration capacity, making them critical components of the global carbon and water cycles. However, the diurnal carbon-water coupling strength over mid-latitude forests and its dependence on environmental factors are unclear. Based on half-hourly flux data from 34 eddy covariance (EC) towers over forest ecosystems located between 30° N and 60° N, here we investigate the characteristics of diurnal carbon-water coupling strength and its response to environmental factors, that is, solar radiation (SR), air temperature (T), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and soil water content (SWC) through correlation analysis, ridge regression, and data binning. We find that there is a distinct difference in diurnal variation between gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET), with GPP generally decreasing earlier and faster than ET after its peak. An increase in SR, T, or VPD can lead to a reduction in the diurnal coupling strength, while higher SWC makes the coupling stronger. The magnitudes of the negative effects of VPD and T vary across the day, with VPD in the afternoon being the most influential factor and T playing a dominant role in the early morning. Among the 34 sites, VPD is the dominant factor influencing coupling strength at 30 sites, while T is secondarily important over one-third of the studied sites. The weakening of coupling strength is attributed to the asynchronous responses of GPP and ET to environmental factors, particularly under conditions of high VPD and temperature, when GPP tends to decrease while ET does not follow. This study highlights the dynamics of diurnal carbon-water coupling and the complex interactions with environmental factors, emphasizing the need to consider the short-term responses of GPP and ET coupling to environmental factors across diverse ecosystems in future research.
Soil fungal influence on the diversity-invasibility relationship depends on interacting species identities.
Zhuge Y, Li H, Meng Y … +9 more , Ni G, Bai X, Zhu P, Song J, Huang Q, Miao W, Feng R, Hou Y, Li D
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41700811 · Publisher ↗
Elton's diversity-invasibility hypothesis, which proposes that diverse communities should be more resistant to biological invasions, has been the focus of much attention. However, little is known about how soil microbes...
Elton's diversity-invasibility hypothesis, which proposes that diverse communities should be more resistant to biological invasions, has been the focus of much attention. However, little is known about how soil microbes recruited by native plants influence the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to invasion by exotic plants. Here, we present a two-part plant-soil feedback experiment (Part A, diversity effect; Part B, soil inoculation) to examine the effects of soil microorganisms associated with native plant species at different diversity levels on community invasibility of temperate forests, using two invasive plants, Rhus typhina and Phytolacca americana, as test species. Aboveground plant growth and biomass allocation differed significantly between the two invasive plants under simulated diversity, with negative effects on P. americana and positive effects on R. typhina. Both the diversity effects and soil inoculation experiments showed that the growth of P. americana was inhibited, while that of R. typhina was promoted by soil microorganisms. In contrast to the non-mycorrhizal P. americana, the arbuscular mycorrhizal plant R. typhina enhanced its stress tolerance through close associations with soil fungi. Our study suggests that the role of soil microbes in the "diversity-invasibility" relationship might be related to the species identities (e.g., mycorrhizal type) of both invasive and native species. These results shed new light on Elton's diversity-invasibility hypothesis by highlighting the role of plant-soil feedback mechanisms.
Management inputs, site conditions, and fire history shape outcomes of invasive plant control and native recovery.
Valliere JM, Parra OA, Algiers J
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41700489 · Full text
Millions of dollars and countless hours are spent on invasive plant management, and the field of invasion ecology has gained increasing attention in recent decades. Yet, despite these efforts to control and understand pl...
Millions of dollars and countless hours are spent on invasive plant management, and the field of invasion ecology has gained increasing attention in recent decades. Yet, despite these efforts to control and understand plant invasions, successful management is often elusive. Budgetary constraints are a common factor limiting invasive plant management programs, and therefore optimizing control strategies is essential. However, such optimization requires data on management inputs and outcomes, and these data are often missing, lacking, or underutilized. To address this knowledge gap and identify predictors of successful invasive plant control in natural areas, we examined nearly 20 years of invasive plant treatment data in the world's largest urban national park-Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area of southern California. We resurveyed 279 sites, which had undergone control in the past two decades, collecting data on the abundance of native and invasive plant species to evaluate long-term management outcomes. We used multiple statistical approaches to identify management inputs and site characteristics that are predictors of eradication, invasive plant cover, and native species recovery. We found that the greater the initial size or percent cover of an infestation, the lower the probability of eradication. We also found that infestations on steeper slopes and in areas that have burned more frequently are less likely to be eradicated. Promisingly, our results also showed that greater reductions in invasives generally benefited native plant communities, though not in all cases. These analyses also highlighted that persistence is key; more frequent treatments (both chemical and nonchemical) and greater investment of labor resulted in larger reductions in invasive plants. Our results highlight how site characteristics and limited resources can complicate invasive plant management, while demonstrating the value of analyzing treatment and monitoring data to identify effective control strategies and guide adaptive management decisions.
Divergent plant and nematode community responses to long-term nitrogen enrichment in a meadow steppe.
Lü R, Han X, Ochoa-Hueso R … +9 more , Su J, Su J, Wang J, Yu L, Lü XT, Yang G, Jiang L, Zhang H, Wei C
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41700415 · Publisher ↗
Increased nitrogen (N) deposition due to industrial and agricultural activities poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, disrupting ecosystem functions and services. Above- and belowground communities are close...
Increased nitrogen (N) deposition due to industrial and agricultural activities poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, disrupting ecosystem functions and services. Above- and belowground communities are closely interdependent and both respond to N enrichment, yet they are frequently studied separately. Whether the biodiversity of these communities responds similarly or synchronously to N inputs remains underexplored. Using a decade-long N addition experiment in a meadow steppe ecosystem, we explored the effects of a gradient of N addition levels (from 0 to 50 g N m year) on the diversity of aboveground plants and belowground nematodes at second, sixth, and tenth years after the initiation of the experiment. Our findings revealed asynchronous responses of above- and belowground biodiversity. Plant diversity showed a progressive, time-dependent decline that intensified with both increasing N concentrations and experimental duration. In contrast, nematode diversity exhibited a threshold response: an initial decline at low N levels (<10 g N m year) followed by stabilization across higher N concentrations, with no significant temporal intensification of this pattern over the course of the decade-long study. Plant richness declined primarily due to rapid species loss, especially among forbs, with little compensatory gain. In contrast, nematode diversity exhibited a more balanced response, driven by species replacements in which gains offset losses. Bacterivores and omnivores-predators were the most negatively affected nematode groups. This study advances our understanding of ecological responses to nitrogen enrichment by revealing the contrasting long-term dynamics of above- and belowground communities in a meadow steppe ecosystem. While plant diversity deteriorates with increased N input, nematode diversity shows signs of resilience via compensatory turnover, highlighting the potential for belowground biota to buffer ecosystem-level biodiversity loss under chronic N deposition. Our findings underscore the critical need to consider both plant and soil biota simultaneously when assessing the impacts of N deposition on biodiversity.
Artificial surface water broadens the spatiotemporal footprint of herbivores and alters species responses.
McCleery RA, Ferreria SM, Mhlava P … +12 more , Mathebula O, Tanneback T, Coetsee C, Dalu T, Dutton C, Khosa D, Munyai LF, Parker DM, Subalusky AL, Twala B, Voysey MD, Wigley BJ
Ecol Appl · 2026 Jan · PMID 41674508 · Publisher ↗
Artificial surface water (ASW), created through dams, impoundments, and other engineered water features, is increasingly deployed in arid protected areas to support wildlife. However, our understanding of how and why ASW...
Artificial surface water (ASW), created through dams, impoundments, and other engineered water features, is increasingly deployed in arid protected areas to support wildlife. However, our understanding of how and why ASW shapes the spatiotemporal activity and ecologically relevant biomass of large mammalian herbivores remains limited. We evaluated whether one form of ASW, dammed seasonal drainages that create reservoirs, alters the metabolic biomass, spatial distribution, and seasonal activity patterns of large herbivores. Specifically, we tested whether reservoirs shifted large herbivore use from seasonal pulses to persistent disturbance, modify species activity patterns, and if large herbivore distributions correspond with their theoretical water dependence. Using a paired catchment design, we deployed camera traps around 11 reservoirs and 11 undammed drainages in Kruger National Park. Cameras were placed along 2250-m transects. Species-specific activity and metabolic biomass were modeled as a function of catchment type, season, and distance from the edge of reservoirs or undammed drainage. Reservoirs concentrated large herbivore activity year-round, indicating a shift from seasonal to persistent disturbance regimes. Dammed catchments supported higher large herbivore metabolic biomass in both wet and dry seasons, with effects extending to just over 1 km in the dry season and >2 km during the wet season. Elephants comprised more than 50% of the observed biomass, and other species such as hippopotamus, impala, and zebra also concentrated their activity near reservoirs. In contrast, browsing species like giraffe, duiker, and steenbok were more active in catchments with undammed drainages. Contrary to expectation, species' water dependence scores did not consistently predict species responses. While ASW can enhance wildlife visibility and forage access, it also risks excluding some species and concentrating herbivore impacts, with implications for vegetation change, human-wildlife conflict along park boundaries, and ecosystem resilience. We recommend adaptive ASW management strategies, including the strategic placement and temporal manipulation of surface water, to balance wildlife needs with long-term conservation goals-particularly under increasing climatic variability.
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