Disturbance (geology)

About: Disturbance (geology) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11368 publications have been published within this topic receiving 175735 citations.

The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics

Abstract: Introduction. Patch Dynamics in Nature. Adaptations of Plants and Animals in a Patch Dynamic Setting. Implications of Patch Dynamics for the Organization of Communities and the Functioning of Ecosystems. Synthesis.

The role of disturbance in stream ecology.

Abstract: We define disturbance in stream ecosystems to be: any relatively discrete event in time that is characterized by a frequency, intensity, and severity outside a predictable range, and that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources or the physical environment. Of the three major hypotheses relating disturbance to lotic community structure, the dynamic equilibrium hypothesis appears to be generally applicable, although specific studies support the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and the equilibrium model. Differences in disturbance frequency between lentic and lotic systems may explain why biotic interactions are more apparent in lakes than in streams. Responses to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances vary regionally, as illustrated by examples from the mid-continent, Pacific northwest, and southeastern United States. Based on a generalized framework of climatic-biogeochemical characteristics, two features are considered to be most significant in choosing streams...

Human-caused Disturbance Stimuli as a Form of Predation Risk

Abstract: A growing number of studies quantify the impact of nonlethal human disturbance on the behavior and reproductive success of animals. Athough many are well designed and analytically sophisticated, most lack a theoretical framework for making predictions and for understanding why particular responses occur. Behavioral ecologists have recently begun to fill this theoretical vacuum by applying economic models of antipredator behavior to disturbance studies. In this emerging paradigm, predation and nonlethal disturbance stimuli create similar trade-offs between avoiding perceived risk and other fitness-enhancing activities, such as feeding, parental care, or mating. A vast literature supports the hypothesis that antipredator behavior has a cost to other activities, and that this trade-off is optimized when investment in antipredator behavior tracks short-term changes in predation risk. Prey have evolved antipredator responses to generalized threatening stimuli, such as loud noises and rapidly approaching objects. Thus, when encountering disturbance stimuli ranging from the dramatic, lowflying helicopter to the quiet wildlife photographer, animal responses are likely to follow the same economic principles used by prey encountering predators. Some authors have argued that, similar to predation risk, disturbance stimuli can indirectly affect fitness and population dynamics via the energetic and lost opportunity costs of risk avoidance. We elaborate on this argument by discussing why, from an evolutionary perspective, disturbance stimuli should be analogous to predation risk. We then consider disturbance effects on the behavior of individuals—vigilance, fleeing, habitat selection, mating displays, and parental investment—as well as indirect effects on populations and communities. A wider application of predation risk theory to disturbance studies should increase the generality of predictions and make mitigation more effective without over-regulating human activities.