El reemplazo del bosque nativo cambia la geometría de los frutos de Tristerix corymbosus, un quintral clave

Las condiciones microclimáticas pueden alterar rasgos en las plantas, como la geometría del fruto, que es importante paralas interacciones planta-frugívoro. Mediante morfometría geométrica se examinó el efecto del reemplazo del bosque sobrela forma de los frutos de Tristerix corymbosus, cuya forma cambió significativamente de alargada a redondeada.Las condiciones microclimáticas pueden alterar rasgos en las plantas, como la geometría del fruto, que es importante paralas interacciones planta-frugívoro. Mediante morfometría geométrica se examinó el efecto del reemplazo del bosque sobrela forma de los frutos de Tristerix corymbosus, cuya forma cambió significativamente de alargada a redondeada

Climate change can disrupt ecological interactions in mysterious ways: Using ecological generalists to forecast community-wide effects

Ecological interactions are the backbone of biodiversity. Like individual species, interactions are threatened by drivers of biodiversity loss, among which climate change operates at a broader scale and can exacerbate the effects of land-use change, overharvesting, and invasive species. As temperature increases, we expect that some species may alter their distribution towards more amenable conditions. However, a warmer and drier climate may impose local effects on plants and animals, disrupting their interactions before noticeable changes in distribution are observed. We used a mutualistic trio from the temperate forests of South America to theoretically illustrate how climate change can disrupt ecological interactions, based on our current knowledge on this system. This study system comprises three generalist species with intersecting roles: a keystone mistletoe, a pollinator hummingbird, and a frugivorous marsupial that disperses the seeds of many species. On the one hand, drought causes water stress, increasing mortality of both mistletoe and host plants, and reducing the production of flowers and fruits. These resource shortages negatively impact animal's foraging opportunities, depleting energy reserves and compromising reproduction and survival. Finally, warmer temperatures disrupt hibernation cycles in the seed-dispersing marsupial. The combined result of these intersecting stressors depresses interaction rates and may trigger an extinction vortex if fail to adapt, with deep community-wide implications. Through negatively affecting generalist mutualists which provide resilience and stability to interaction networks, local-scale climate impacts may precipitate community-wide extinction cascades. We urge future studies to assess climate change effects on interaction networks rather than on singular species or pairwise partnerships.Fil: Fontúrbel, Francisco E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Nespolo, Roberto F.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Amico, Guillermo Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Watson, David M.. Charles Sturt University; Australi

The ecology and evolution of the monito del monte, a relict species from the southern South America temperate forests

The arboreal marsupial monito del monte (genus Dromiciops, with two recognized species) is a paradigmatic mammal. It is the sole living representative of the order Microbiotheria, the ancestor lineage of Australian marsupials. Also, this marsupial is the unique frugivorous mammal in the temperate rainforest, being the main seed disperser of several endemic plants of this ecosystem, thus acting as keystone species. Dromiciops is also one of the few hibernating mammals in South America, spending half of the year in a physiological dormancy where metabolism is reduced to 10% of normal levels. This capacity to reduce energy expenditure in winter contrasts with the enormous energy turnover rate they experience in spring and summer. The unique life history strategies of this living Microbiotheria, characterized by an alternation of life in the slow and fast lanes, putatively represent ancestral traits that permitted these cold-adapted mammals to survive in this environment. Here, we describe the ecological role of this emblematic marsupial, summarizing the ecophysiology of hibernation and sociality, updated phylogeographic relationships, reproductive cycle, trophic relationships, mutualisms, conservation, and threats. This marsupial shows high densities, despite presenting slow reproductive rates, a paradox explained by the unique characteristics of its three-dimensional habitat. We finally suggest immediate actions to protect these species that may be threatened in the near future due to habitat destruction and climate change.Fil: Fontúrbel, Francisco E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Franco, Lida M.. Universidad de Ibagué; ColombiaFil: Bozinovic, Francisco. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Quintero Galvis, Julian F.. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Mejías, Carlos. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Amico, Guillermo Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez, Miriam Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Sabat, Pablo. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Sánchez Hernández, Juan C.. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha; EspañaFil: Watson, David M.. Charles Sturt University; AustraliaFil: Saenz Agudelo, Pablo. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Nespolo, Roberto F.. Universidad Austral de Chile; Chil

Wild floral visitors are more important than honeybees as pollinators of avocado crops

Wild insects provide pollination services in agroecosystems. Avocado is an economically important crop grown in the Chilean Mediterranean climate region and exported worldwide. Avocado pollination is managed using honeybee hives, while the role of wild insects as pollinators remains poorly known. We quantified the relative contributions of wild floral visitors and honeybees to the fruit set of avocados in two contrasting seasons (2015 and 2016) in Central Chile. Observations were made in 60 trees grown nearby (~300 m) to remnant patches of native sclerophyll vegetation. We found that honeybees and wild insects accounted for 48.6% and 51.4% of total floral visitation, respectively, with a 68% taxonomic similarity of floral visitors between seasons. The presence of honeybees significantly modulated the floral visitor composition and modified plant-pollination network parameters, which resulted in the biotic homogenization of the interaction network, through the increase of shared tree–floral visitor interactions, to the detriment of exclusive interactions. Finally, wild insects were more effective than honeybees in pollinating avocado trees and their contribution was greatest during the dry year. Thus, honeybees alone cannot be relied upon to deliver maximum pollination. We highlight ecological intensification practices to encourage wild insect visits and avoid native vegetation replacement with orchards. Therefore, we emphasize that future ecological intensification research should address agricultural practices to promote wild insects and evaluate the role of native vegetation as wild pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes

Monitoreo de visitas florales mediante el Conteo Cronometrado de Visitantes Florales (FIT Count)

El Conteo Cronometrado de Visitantes Florales (de aquí en adelante denominado como FIT Count) es un sencillo protocolo de ciencia ciudadana que tiene como objetivo colectar datos sobre eventos de visita en flores por una amplia gama de polinizadores, incluyendo abejorros, abejas sin aguijón, abejas melíferas, moscas y picaflores. Cada FIT Count está estandarizado a una duración de 10 minutos y se realiza en un parche floral determinado, usando un cuadrante de 50 x 50 cm. Dado que la polinización depende de las interacciones de los insectos (u otros visitantes florales) con las flores, es importante para un programa de ciencia ciudadana de largo plazo el poder evaluar cómo estas interacciones cambian en el tiempo y el espacio. El protocolo FIT Count nos permite afrontar este desafío mediante la obtención de datos de abundancia de visitantes florales en distintos hábitats y lugares. ¡También ofrece una excelente oportunidad de aprendizaje y de acercar a las personas a los polinizadores y las flores, dado que cualquier persona puede participar!Fil: Carvell, Claire. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Reino UnidoFil: Chiazzese, Jim. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Reino UnidoFil: Zattara, Eduardo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Fontúrbel, Francisco E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Muschett Rivera, Giselle. Instituto de Ecologia y Biodiversidad; ChileFil: Pirani Ghilardi Lopes, Natalia. Universidad Federal Do Abc; BrasilFil: Miranda Soares, Filipi. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

Las razones de por qué Chile debe detener la importación del abejorro comercial Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus) y comenzar a controlarlo

The global pollination crisis is not only produced by loss of pollinators but also by their homogenization, both processes caused by humans. This crisis impacts the persistence of many native plants species worldwide. In this document we analyze the ecological impacts that warrant the prohibition of new income of commercial bumblebee, Bombus terrestris to Chile. This species is highly invasive, it has been banned in other countries, but in Chile its entry is allowed since 1997. Thousands of colonies and fertilized queens entered the country every year and expand throughout the rest of South America. We give eleven reasons to stop B. terrestris entry to Chile and start controlling it. We justify these reasons based on work done both in the country and outside of it. At the same time, through the conclusions, we mentioned what should be the steps to followed regarding the prohibition B. terrestris entry to Chile.La crisis mundial de polinización no solo es producida por la pérdida de polinizadores, sino también por su homogeneización, ambos procesos causados por el ser humano. En este documento analizamos los impactos ecológicos que justifi can la prohibición de nuevos ingresos del abejorro comercial Bombus terrestris a Chile. Esta especie es altamente invasiva y ha sido prohibida en otros países, pero en Chile se permite su ingreso desde 1997. Miles de colonias y reinas fertilizadas ingresan al país cada año y se expanden por el resto de Sudamérica. En este artículo entregamos once razones para detener los ingresos de B. terrestris a Chile y comenzar a controlarlo. Justifi camos estas razones en base al trabajo realizado tanto en el país como fuera de él. Al mismo tiempo, a través de las conclusiones, mencionamos cuáles deberían ser los pasos a seguir respecto a la prohibición de ingreso de B. terrestris a Chile

Data standardization of plant-pollinator interactions

Background: Animal pollination is an important ecosystem function and service, ensuring both the integrity of natural systems and human well-being. Although many knowledge shortfalls remain, some high-quality data sets on biological interactions are now available. The development and adoption of standards for biodiversity data and metadata has promoted great advances in biological data sharing and aggregation, supporting large-scale studies and science-based public policies. However, these standards are currently not suitable to fully support interaction data sharing. Results: Here we present a vocabulary of terms and a data model for sharing plant–pollinator interactions data based on the Darwin Core standard. The vocabulary introduces 48 new terms targeting several aspects of plant–pollinator interactions and can be used to capture information from different approaches and scales. Additionally, we provide solutions for data serialization using RDF, XML, and DwC-Archives and recommendations of existing controlled vocabularies for some of the terms. Our contribution supports open access to standardized data on plant–pollinator interactions. Conclusions: The adoption of the vocabulary would facilitate data sharing to support studies ranging from the spatial and temporal distribution of interactions to the taxonomic, phenological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of plant–pollinator interactions. We expect to fill data and knowledge gaps, thus further enabling scientific research on the ecology and evolution of plant–pollinator communities, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the development of public policies. The proposed data model is flexible and can be adapted for sharing other types of interactions data by developing discipline-specific vocabularies of terms.Fil: Salim, José A. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Saraiva, Antonio M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural.; ArgentinaFil: Agostini, Kayna. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Wolowski, Marina. Universidade Federal de Alfenas; BrasilFil: Drucker, Debora P.. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (embrapa);Fil: Soares, Filipi M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Bergamo, Pedro J.. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Varassin, Isabela G.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Freitas, Leandro. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Maués, Márcia M.. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (embrapa);Fil: Rech, Andre R.. Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri; BrasilFil: Veiga, Allan K.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Acosta, Andre L.. Instituto Tecnológico Vale; BrasilFil: Araujo, Andréa C. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Nogueira, Anselmo. Universidad Federal do Abc; BrasilFil: Blochtein, Betina. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Freitas, Breno M.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Albertini, Bruno C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Maia Silva, Camila. Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi Arido; BrasilFil: Nunes, Carlos E. P.. University of Stirling; BrasilFil: Pires, Carmen S. S.. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (embrapa);Fil: Dos Santos, Charles F.. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Queiroz, Elisa P.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Cartolano, Etienne A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: de Oliveira, Favízia F. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Amorim, Felipe W.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Fontúrbel, Francisco E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; ChileFil: da Silva, Gleycon V.. Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; BrasilFil: Consolaro, Hélder. Universidade Federal de Catalão; Brasi

Data standardization of plant–pollinator interactions

Background: Animal pollination is an important ecosystem function and service, ensuring both the integrity of natural systems and human well-being. Although many knowledge shortfalls remain, some high-quality data sets on biological interactions are now available. The development and adoption of standards for biodiversity data and metadata has promoted great advances in biological data sharing and aggregation, supporting large-scale studies and science-based public policies. However, these standards are currently not suitable to fully support interaction data sharing. Results: Here we present a vocabulary of terms and a data model for sharing plant–pollinator interactions data based on the Darwin Core standard. The vocabulary introduces 48 new terms targeting several aspects of plant–pollinator interactions and can be used to capture information from different approaches and scales. Additionally, we provide solutions for data serialization using RDF, XML, and DwC-Archives and recommendations of existing controlled vocabularies for some of the terms. Our contribution supports open access to standardized data on plant–pollinator interactions. Conclusions: The adoption of the vocabulary would facilitate data sharing to support studies ranging from the spatial and temporal distribution of interactions to the taxonomic, phenological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of plant–pollinator interactions. We expect to fill data and knowledge gaps, thus further enabling scientific research on the ecology and evolution of plant–pollinator communities, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the development of public policies. The proposed data model is flexible and can be adapted for sharing other types of interactions data by developing discipline-specific vocabularies of termsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mistletoes in a changing world: a premonition of a non-analog future?

Mistletoes are a group of flowering plants that have developed a parasitic lifeform through complex eco-evolutionary processes. Despite being considered a pest, mistletoes represent a keystone forest resource and are involved in complex plant–plant and plant–animal interactions. Their parasitic lifeform and specialized ecological interactions make mistletoes an ideal model with which to understand the effects of anthropogenic disturbances in a changing world. The accelerated growth of the human population has altered all ecosystems on Earth, leading to biodiversity loss. Land-use changes (involving habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, and transformation processes) can alter the ecological scenario for mistletoe by altering hosts, mutualists, and nutrient cycling. Those changes may have large consequences at the community level, changing the spatial structure of mistletoes, as well as interaction effectiveness, facilitation process, interaction disruption, and novel interactions with invasive species, leading to non-analog communities in the long run. Furthermore, climate change effects operate on a global scale, enhancing the effects of land-use changes. As temperatures increase, many species would alter their distribution and phenology, potentially causing spatial and temporal mismatches. But more critical is the fact that water stress is likely to disrupt key ecological interactions. Thus, mistletoes can provide valuable insights for what we can expect in the future, as a result of human disturbances.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author