Author
Guy F. Midgley
Other affiliations: University of Cape Town, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, University of KwaZulu-Natal ...read more
Bio: Guy F. Midgley is an academic researcher from Stellenbosch University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Climate change & Biodiversity. The author has an hindex of 66, co-authored 217 publications receiving 30649 citations. Previous affiliations of Guy F. Midgley include University of Cape Town & International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Topics: Climate change, Biodiversity, Global warming, Ecosystem, Population
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: Comparing the effects of two structurally different encroaching species (a shrub vs a tree) (Dichrostachys cinerea and Terminalia sericea) on grass biomass shows that encroachment of D.cinerea holds the potential to cause a regime shift from an open system to a closed system as a result of its extensive canopy cover.
14 citations
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Stellenbosch University1, University of Vienna2, Monash University, Clayton campus3, University of Cape Town4, King's College London5, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg6, Université Paris-Saclay7, Free University of Berlin8, Leibniz Association9, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences10
TL;DR: A common framework articulated around six processes is proposed, paving the way for a similar transition in invasion ecology, to better capture the dynamics of multiple alien species introduced in complex communities.
Abstract: CITATION: Latombe, G., et al. 2021. Mechanistic reconciliation of community and invasion ecology. Ecosphere, 12(2):e03359, doi:10.1002/ecs2.3359.
13 citations
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TL;DR: Climate models and phylogenetic reconstructions support the postulate that ecological speciation of the Ficus-fig wasp mutualism occurs, but under contrasting and intertwined circumstances among plant-pollinator adaptation and tolerance to the environment.
Abstract: • The fig tree-fig wasp obligate pollination mutualism has strong ancestral affinities with tropical communities, but is present in much drier contemporary biomes, especially at higher latitudes at the edge of their range. The extent to which adaptation to environmental variables is evolutionarily conserved and whether environmental differences function in ecological speciation of the mutualism are unknown. • Here we use climate models and phylogenetic reconstructions to test whether the Ficus-fig wasp mutualism has adapted and radiated into drier climates and led to ecological speciation in both plant and insect. • The results showed phylogenetic correspondence between closely related Ficus species with either savanna, forest, or riparian habitat categories, were most strongly explained by both climate and environmental variables. Rare episodes of adaptation to dry apotypic conditions have resulted in substantial radiations into savanna. • Inferences were consistent with predictions of niche conservatism and support the postulate that ecological speciation of the mutualism occurs, but under contrasting and intertwined circumstances among plant-pollinator adaptation and tolerance to the environment.
13 citations
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TL;DR: Measurement of the diurnal pattern of xylem pressure potential in young plants of a postfire community showed that tilling of the soil was associated with an increase in the availability of water and with less stressed conditions in the Leucadendron and Erica plants.
13 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors address the limitation of current approaches for developing management relevant socio-ecological information on the projected impacts of climate change and human activities, and emphasise the need for linking disciplines and approaches by expounding the methodology followed in two consecutive projects.
Abstract: Southern Africa is particularly sensitive to climate change, due to both ecological and socio-economic factors, with rural land users among the most vulnerable groups. The provision of information to support climate-relevant decision-making requires an understanding of the projected impacts of change and complex feedbacks within the local ecosystems, as well as local demands on ecosystem services. In this paper, we address the limitation of current approaches for developing management relevant socio-ecological information on the projected impacts of climate change and human activities. We emphasise the need for linking disciplines and approaches by expounding the methodology followed in our two consecutive projects. These projects combine disciplines and levels of measurements from the leaf level (ecophysiology) to the local landscape level (flux measurements) and from the local household level (socio-economic surveys) to the regional level (remote sensing), feeding into a variety of models at multiple scales. Interdisciplinary, multi-scaled, and integrated socio-ecological approaches, as proposed here, are needed to compliment reductionist and linear, scale-specific approaches. Decision support systems are used to integrate and communicate the data and models to the local decision-makers.
13 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the use of the maximum entropy method (Maxent) for modeling species geographic distributions with presence-only data was introduced, which is a general-purpose machine learning method with a simple and precise mathematical formulation.
13,120 citations
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TL;DR: A multifaceted and linked global strategy is needed to ensure sustainable and equitable food security, different components of which are explored here.
Abstract: Continuing population and consumption growth will mean that the global demand for food will increase for at least another 40 years. Growing competition for land, water, and energy, in addition to the overexploitation of fisheries, will affect our ability to produce food, as will the urgent requirement to reduce the impact of the food system on the environment. The effects of climate change are a further threat. But the world can produce more food and can ensure that it is used more efficiently and equitably. A multifaceted and linked global strategy is needed to ensure sustainable and equitable food security, different components of which are explored here.
9,125 citations
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University of Melbourne1, Stony Brook University2, City University of New York3, Princeton University4, University of Lausanne5, University of California, Berkeley6, University of Alaska Fairbanks7, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research8, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation9, University of São Paulo10, University of Missouri11, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología12, University of Kansas13, Landcare Research14, AT&T15, McGill University16, James Cook University17, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research18
TL;DR: This work compared 16 modelling methods over 226 species from 6 regions of the world, creating the most comprehensive set of model comparisons to date and found that presence-only data were effective for modelling species' distributions for many species and regions.
Abstract: Prediction of species' distributions is central to diverse applications in ecology, evolution and conservation science. There is increasing electronic access to vast sets of occurrence records in museums and herbaria, yet little effective guidance on how best to use this information in the context of numerous approaches for modelling distributions. To meet this need, we compared 16 modelling methods over 226 species from 6 regions of the world, creating the most comprehensive set of model comparisons to date. We used presence-only data to fit models, and independent presence-absence data to evaluate the predictions. Along with well-established modelling methods such as generalised additive models and GARP and BIOCLIM, we explored methods that either have been developed recently or have rarely been applied to modelling species' distributions. These include machine-learning methods and community models, both of which have features that may make them particularly well suited to noisy or sparse information, as is typical of species' occurrence data. Presence-only data were effective for modelling species' distributions for many species and regions. The novel methods consistently outperformed more established methods. The results of our analysis are promising for the use of data from museums and herbaria, especially as methods suited to the noise inherent in such data improve.
7,589 citations
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University of Leeds1, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds2, University of Cambridge3, Macquarie University4, Durham University5, University of the Witwatersrand6, Conservation International7, Stellenbosch University8, World Conservation Monitoring Centre9, National Autonomous University of Mexico10, University of Kansas11, James Cook University12
TL;DR: Estimates of extinction risks for sample regions that cover some 20% of the Earth's terrestrial surface show the importance of rapid implementation of technologies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for carbon sequestration.
Abstract: Climate change over the past approximately 30 years has produced numerous shifts in the distributions and abundances of species and has been implicated in one species-level extinction. Using projections of species' distributions for future climate scenarios, we assess extinction risks for sample regions that cover some 20% of the Earth's terrestrial surface. Exploring three approaches in which the estimated probability of extinction shows a power-law relationship with geographical range size, we predict, on the basis of mid-range climate-warming scenarios for 2050, that 15-37% of species in our sample of regions and taxa will be 'committed to extinction'. When the average of the three methods and two dispersal scenarios is taken, minimal climate-warming scenarios produce lower projections of species committed to extinction ( approximately 18%) than mid-range ( approximately 24%) and maximum-change ( approximately 35%) scenarios. These estimates show the importance of rapid implementation of technologies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for carbon sequestration.
7,089 citations