Showing papers by "Daniel Sol published in 2019"

Bees use anthropogenic habitats despite strong natural habitat preferences

Abstract: Habitat loss and alteration is widely considered one of the main drivers of the current loss of pollinator diversity. Unfortunately, we still lack a comprehensive analysis of habitat importance, use and preference for major groups of pollinators. Here, we address this gap analysing a large dataset of 15,762 bee specimens (more than 400 species) across northeast USA. We found that natural habitats sustain the highest bee diversity, with many species strongly depending on such habitats. By characterizing habitat use and preference for the 45 most abundant species, we also show that many bee species can use human-altered habitats despite exhibiting strong and clear preferences for forested habitats. However, only a few species appear to do well when the habitat has been drastically modified. We conclude that although altered environments may harbor a substantial number of species, preserving natural areas is still essential to guarantee the conservation of bee biodiversity.

Behaviour, life history and persistence in novel environments

Abstract: Understanding what affects population growth in novel environments is fundamental to forecast organisms' responses to global change, including biological invasions and land use intensification. Novel environments are challenging because they can cause maladaptation, increasing the risk of extinction by negative population growth. Animals can avoid extinction by improving the phenotype-environment match through behavioural responses, notably matching habitat choice and learning. However, the demographic consequences of these responses remain insufficiently understood in part because they have not been analysed within a life-history context. By means of an individual-based model, we show here that matching habitat choice and learning interact with life history to influence persistence in novel environments. In maladaptive contexts, the likelihood of persisting is higher for life-history strategies that increase the value of adults over the value of offspring, even at the cost of decreasing reproduction. Such a strategy facilitates persistence in novel environments by reducing the costs of a reproductive failure while increasing the benefits of behavioural responses. Our results reinforce the view that a more predictive theory for extinction risk under rapid environmental changes requires considering behavioural responses and life history as part of a common adaptive strategy to cope with environmental changes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation'.

Fast attrition of springtail communities by experimental drought and richness-decomposition relationships across Europe.

Abstract: Soil fauna play a fundamental role on key ecosystem functions like organic matter decomposition, although how local assemblages are responding to climate change and whether these changes may have consequences to ecosystem functioning is less clear. Previous studies have revealed that a continued environmental stress may result in poorer communities by filtering out the most sensitive species. However, these experiments have rarely been applied to climate change factors combining multiyear and multisite standardized field treatments across climatically contrasting regions, which has limited drawing general conclusions. Moreover, other facets of biodiversity, such as functional and phylogenetic diversity, potentially more closely linked to ecosystem functioning, have been largely neglected. Here, we report that the abundance, species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and functional richness of springtails (Subclass Collembola), a major group of fungivores and detritivores, decreased within 4 years of experimental drought across six European shrublands. The loss of phylogenetic and functional richness was higher than expected by the loss of species richness, leading to communities of phylogenetically similar species sharing evolutionary conserved traits. Additionally, despite the great climatic differences among study sites, we found that taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional richness of springtail communities alone were able to explain up to 30% of the variation in annual decomposition rates. Altogether, our results suggest that the forecasted reductions in precipitation associated with climate change may erode springtail communities and likely other drought‐sensitive soil invertebrates, thereby retarding litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in ecosystems.

Larger brains spur species diversification in birds

Abstract: Evidence is accumulating that species traits can spur their evolutionary diversification by influencing niche shifts, range expansions, and extinction risk. Previous work has shown that larger brains (relative to body size) facilitate niche shifts and range expansions by enhancing behavioral plasticity but whether larger brains also promote evolutionary diversification is currently backed by insufficient evidence. We addressed this gap by combining a brain size dataset for >1900 avian species worldwide with estimates of diversification rates based on two conceptually different phylogenetic-based approaches. We found consistent evidence that lineages with larger brains (relative to body size) have diversified faster than lineages with relatively smaller brains. The best supported trait-dependent model suggests that brain size primarily affects diversification rates by increasing speciation rather than decreasing extinction rates. In addition, we found that the effect of relatively brain size on species-level diversification rate is additive to the effect of other intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of brain size as an important factor in evolution and reinforce the view that intrinsic features of species have the potential to influence the pace of evolution.

Highlights and Insights from “Biological Invasions and Animal Behaviour"

Abstract: Although behavior has long been considered central in understanding the causes and consequences of animal invasions, “Biological Invasions and Animal Behaviour” represents the first attempt to summarize the major advances in a single book. The book is a clear demonstration that behavior influences almost all facets of the invasion process. However, a common theme of the book is that general rules are rare. The role of behavior changes through the stages of the invasion process and within each stage can be highly context-dependent, implying that there may be several ways of being a successful invader. Despite the scarcity of general rules, there are two recurring generalization that emerge from the book. One is the central importance of behavioral plasticity in facilitating establishment and spread. The other is the appreciation that behavior is part of a suite of traits closely linked to life history, whose effects on population dynamics vary as a function of population size and degree of adaptive mismatch. Although aquatic ecologists have largely contributed to developing these ideas, their research has often been restricted to a few study systems and has mostly neglected mechanisms. Aquatic ecologists have, however, led research on the impact of invaders, using invasions as “unintended” experiments for examining the consequences of novel species interactions. This research unambiguously demonstrates that behavior is central to understanding how invaders alter native communities, notably by shaping predator–prey interactions. We believe that aquatic animals can continue providing research opportunities to further improve our understanding of the role of behavior in biological invasions, and we hope that “Biological Invasions and Animal Behaviour” may serve to encourage new research avenues.

Innovation in solitary bees is driven by exploration, shyness and activity levels

Abstract: Behavioural innovation is widely considered an important mechanism by which animals respond to novel environmental challenges, including those induced by human activities. Despite its functional and ecological relevance, much of our current understanding of the innovation process comes from studies in vertebrates. Understanding innovation processes in insects has lagged behind partly because they are not perceived to have the cognitive machinery required to innovate. This perception is however challenged by recent evidence demonstrating sophisticated cognitive capabilities in insects despite their small brains. Here, we study the innovation capacity of a solitary bee (Osmia cornuta) in the laboratory by exposing naive individuals to an obstacle removal task. We also studied the underlying cognitive and non-cognitive mechanisms through a battery of experimental tests designed to measure learning, exploration, shyness and activity levels. We found that solitary bees can innovate, with 11 of 29 individuals (38%) being able to solve a new task consisting in lifting a lid to reach a reward. The propensity to innovate was uncorrelated with learning capacities, but increased with exploration, boldness and activity. These results provide solid evidence that non-social insects can innovate, and highlight the importance of interpreting innovation in the light of non-cognitive processes.

The future of biodiversity on Earth: The importance of preserving the phylogenetic and functional diversity of the planet

Abstract: L’extraordinaria biodiversitat de la Terra es troba actualment amenacada per activitats humanes, com la destruccio dels habitats naturals, el canvi climatic, les especies invasores i la sobreexplotacio. Cada vegada mes, els ecolegs reconeixen que preservar el maxim nombre d’especies no es suficient. Si volem preservar ecosistemes funcionals per al futur i continuar gaudint dels serveis que ens ofereixen, tambe cal protegir la diversitat filogenetica i la funcional. Pero per fer-ho no n’hi ha prou a delimitar espais protegits, tambe cal que aprenguem a compaginar l’explotacio dels recursos amb la preservacio dels elements clau de la biodiversitat que garanteixen l’estabilitat i funcionament dels ecosistemes.