Seasonal Changes of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Functional Feeding Group Biomass Within Forest and Meadow Habitats of a First-order Michigan (USA) Stream

Little is known about seasonal changes in stream benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. We determined the ash-free dry mass of macroinvertebrates within a forested and a meadow reach of Fairbanks Creek in northern Lower Michigan throughout all seasons of 2018 and 2019. The macroinvertebrate assemblage of the forested reach was dominated by invertebrates in the shredder functional feeding group (FFG), whereas the meadow reach was composed primarily of scrapers and filtering collectors. Regardless of reach, the biomass of all FFGs was low during the winter and early spring, peaked in May or June, and gradually declined throughout the summer and fall. General trends in biomass were the same for both years of the study, although 2018 had overall higher biomass despite being a slightly cooler year

Evidence for niche differentiation in the environmental responses of co-occurring mucoromycotinian fine root endophytes and glomeromycotinian arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Fine root endophytes (FRE) were traditionally considered a morphotype of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), but recent genetic studies demonstrate that FRE belong within the subphylum Mucoromycotina, rather than in the subphylum Glomeromycotina with the AMF. These findings prompt enquiry into the fundamental ecology of FRE and AMF. We sampled FRE and AMF in roots of Trifolium subterraneum from 58 sites across temperate southern Australia. We investigated the environmental drivers of composition, richness, and root colonization of FRE and AMF by using structural equation modelling and canonical correspondence analyses. Root colonization by FRE increased with increasing temperature and rainfall but decreased with increasing phosphorus (P). Root colonization by AMF increased with increasing soil organic carbon but decreased with increasing P. Richness of FRE decreased with increasing temperature and soil pH. Richness of AMF increased with increasing temperature and rainfall but decreased with increasing soil aluminium (Al) and pH. Aluminium, soil pH, and rainfall were, in decreasing order, the strongest drivers of community composition of FRE; they were also important drivers of community composition of AMF, along with temperature, in decreasing order: rainfall, Al, temperature, and soil pH. Thus, FRE and AMF showed the same responses to some (e.g. soil P, soil pH) and different responses to other (e.g. temperature) key environmental factors. Overall, our data are evidence for niche differentiation among these co-occurring mycorrhizal associates

All's well that begins Wells: Celebrating 60 years of Animal Behaviour and 36 years of research on anuran social behaviour

The scientific study of frogs and toads as important systems in behavioural ecology traces its roots to an influential review published in this journal 36 years ago (Wells 1977a, ‘The social behaviour of anuran amphibians’, Animal Behaviour, 25, 666–693). In just 28 pages, Wells summarized the state of knowledge on important behaviours associated with anuran breeding and introduced an evolutionary framework ‘for understanding the relationship between social behaviour and ecology’ (page 666) that was largely lacking in earlier treatments of this group. Not only is Wells's review one of the most cited papers ever published in Animal Behaviour, it is also responsible for setting broad research agendas and shaping much of our current thinking on social behaviour in an entire order of vertebrates. As such, it is entirely appropriate that we honour Wells's review and its contributions to the study of animal behaviour in this inaugural essay celebrating 12 papers selected by the community as the most influential papers published in the 60-year history of Animal Behaviour. In our essay, we place Wells's review in historical context at the dawn of behavioural ecology, highlight the field's progress in answering some major research questions outlined in the review, and provide our own prospectus for future research on the social behaviour of anuran amphibians. Highlights ► This essay celebrates Kent Wells's (1977, Animal Behaviour, 25, 666–693) paper, ‘The social behaviour of anuran amphibians’. ► We place the article in historical context and outline its major contributions. ► We discuss progress on anuran social behaviour since its publication in 1977. ► We provide our own prospectus on the future of anuran behavioural ecology

So Small, So Loud: Extremely High Sound Pressure Level from a Pygmy Aquatic Insect (Corixidae, Micronectinae)

To communicate at long range, animals have to produce intense but intelligible signals. This task might be difficult to achieve due to mechanical constraints, in particular relating to body size. Whilst the acoustic behaviour of large marine and terrestrial animals has been thoroughly studied, very little is known about the sound produced by small arthropods living in freshwater habitats. Here we analyse for the first time the calling song produced by the male of a small insect, the water boatman Micronecta scholtzi. The song is made of three distinct parts differing in their temporal and amplitude parameters, but not in their frequency content. Sound is produced at 78.9 (63.6–82.2) SPL rms re 2.10−5 Pa with a peak at 99.2 (85.7–104.6) SPL re 2.10−5 Pa estimated at a distance of one metre. This energy output is significant considering the small size of the insect. When scaled to body length and compared to 227 other acoustic species, the acoustic energy produced by M. scholtzi appears as an extreme value, outperforming marine and terrestrial mammal vocalisations. Such an extreme display may be interpreted as an exaggerated secondary sexual trait resulting from a runaway sexual selection without predation pressure

Ash-free dry mass values for northcentral USA caddisflies (Insecta, Trichoptera)

Ash-free dry mass (AFDM) values are presented for the adult stage of 63 caddisfly species commonly found throughout the northcentral US. Weights ranged from 0.01 mg for the smallest species to 7.22 mg for the largest. These values represent the first published data on the AFDM of the adult stage of Trichoptera, and can be used in other studies for more precise assessments of stream conditions without destruction of specimens. This increased precision is demonstrated herein by re-analyzing a previously published data set

Natural attenuation of legacy hydrocarbon spills in pristine soils is feasible despite difficult environmental conditions in the monsoon tropics

The Kimberley region of Western Australia is a National Heritage listed region that is internationally recognised for its environmental and cultural significance. However, petroleum spills have been reported at a number of sites across the region, representing an environmental concern. The region is also characterised as having low soil nutrients, high temperatures and monsoonal rain – all of which may limit the potential for natural biodegradation of petroleum. Therefore, this work evaluated the effect of legacy petroleum hydrocarbons on the indigenous soil microbial community (across the domains Archaea, Bacteria and Fungi) at three sites in the Kimberley region. At each site, soil cores were removed from contaminated and control areas and analysed for total petroleum hydrocarbons, soil nutrients, pH and microbial community profiling (using16S rRNA and ITS sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq Platform). The presence of petroleum hydrocarbons decreased microbial diversity across all kingdoms, altered the structure of microbial communities and increased the abundance of putative hydrocarbon degraders (e.g. Mycobacterium, Acremonium, Penicillium, Bjerkandera and Candida). Microbial community shifts from contaminated soils were also associated with an increase in soil nutrients (notably Colwell P and S). Our study highlights the long-term effect of legacy hydrocarbon spills on soil microbial communities and their diversity in remote, infertile monsoonal soils, but also highlights the potential for natural attenuation to occur in these environments

Natural attenuation of legacy hydrocarbon spills in pristine soils is feasible despite difficult environmental conditions in the monsoon tropics

The Kimberley region of Western Australia is a National Heritage listed region that is internationally recognised for its environmental and cultural significance. However, petroleum spills have been reported at a number of sites across the region, representing an environmental concern. The region is also characterised as having low soil nutrients, high temperatures and monsoonal rain – all of which may limit the potential for natural biodegradation of petroleum. Therefore, this work evaluated the effect of legacy petroleum hydrocarbons on the indigenous soil microbial community (across the domains Archaea, Bacteria and Fungi) across three sites in the Kimberley region. At each site, soil cores were removed from contaminated and control areas and analysed for total petroleum hydrocarbons, soil nutrients, pH and microbial community profiling (using16S rRNA and ITS sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq Platform). The presence of petroleum hydrocarbons decreased microbial diversity across all kingdoms, altered the structure of microbial communities and increased the abundance of putative hydrocarbon degraders (e.g. Mycobacterium, Acremonium, Penicillium, Bjerkandera and Candida). Microbial community shifts from contaminated soils were also associated with an increase in soil nutrients (notably Colwell P and S). Our study highlights the long-term effect of legacy hydrocarbon spills on soil microbial communities and their diversity in remote, infertile monsoonal soils, but also highlights the potential for natural attenuation to occur in these environments