Modeling cheatgrass distribution, abundance, and response to climate change as a function of soil microclimate.

Exotic annual grass invasions in water-limited systems cause degradation of native plant and animal communities and increased fire risk. The life history of invasive annual grasses allows for high sensitivity to interannual variability in weather. Current distribution and abundance models derived from remote sensing, however, provide only a coarse understanding of how species respond to weather, making it difficult to anticipate how climate change will affect vulnerability to invasion. Here, we derived germination covariates (rate sums) from mechanistic germination and soil microclimate models to quantify the favorability of soil microclimate for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) establishment and growth across 30 years at 2662 sites across the sagebrush steppe system in the western United States. Our approach, using four bioclimatic covariates alone, predicted cheatgrass distribution with accuracy comparable to previous models fit using many years of remotely-sensed imagery. Accuracy metrics from our out-of-sample testing dataset indicate that our model predicted distribution well (72% overall accuracy) but explained patterns of abundance poorly (R2 = 0.22). Climatic suitability for cheatgrass presence depended on both spatial (mean) and temporal (annual anomaly) variation of fall and spring rate sums. Sites that on average have warm and wet fall soils and warm and wet spring soils (high rate sums during these periods) were predicted to have a high abundance of cheatgrass. Interannual variation in fall soil conditions had a greater impact on cheatgrass presence and abundance than spring conditions. Our model predicts that climate change has already affected cheatgrass distribution with suitable microclimatic conditions expanding 10%-17% from 1989 to 2019 across all aspects at low- to mid-elevation sites, while high- elevation sites (>2100 m) remain unfavorable for cheatgrass due to cold spring and fall soils.

Synthesis and Properties of BaMTeS (M = Fe, Mn, Zn) and the Disordered Structural Analog BaGe0.5TeS.

A series of tertiary sulfide-tellurides, BaMxTeS (M = Fe, Mn, Zn, Ge), has been synthesized by solid-state synthesis. The compounds assume an orthorhombic crystal structure, described by the Cmcm (No. 63) space group, and are structural analogs of the BaMSO (M = Co, Zn) phases. The properties of all four analogs are investigated by DFT analysis. As only the BaFeTeS analog was prepared as a relatively pure phase, this homologue was subject to further experimental investigations, including heat capacity, magnetometry, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. BaFeTeS exhibits no obvious phase transition between 2 and 300 K, has no paramagnetic behavior, and lacks long-range magnetic ordering. However, the Mössbauer spectra, as well as electrical resistance data, indicate a hidden transition near 200 K that is tentatively explained by a dynamic charge-density-wave mechanism, based on a resonating valence bond (RVB) model.

Ratio changes in blood-feeding and voltinism in black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) over a latitudinal gradient in North America north of Mexico.

We explored how the ratio of blood-feeding behaviour-nonfeeding, bird feeding (ornithophily) and mammal feeding (mammalophily)-and voltinism (univoltine and multivoltine) vary over a latitudinal gradient from Alaska to Florida. These two fixed species traits were divided into five mutually exclusive combinations of trait states-nonfeeding/univoltine, ornithophilic/univoltine, mammalophilic/univoltine, ornithophilic/multivoltine and mammalophilic/multivoltine-within each of three datasets (north, east and west). We found a significant association between location (north, east and west) and trait state, which was driven by the large percentage of nonfeeding females in the north. When this trait state was removed, no significant differences were found for the remaining trait states and locations. Although the distribution of trait states did not differ between east and west datasets, the distribution with relation to 1° changes in latitude within each of these datasets showed distinct differences. In the east, both ornithophilic/univoltine and mammalophilic/univoltine species significantly increased with latitude, in proportion to the total species present. In contrast, the proportion of mammalophilic/multivoltine species decreased as latitude increased. Ornithophilic/multivoltine species in the east and the trait states in the west did not show any significant relationship to latitude.

Mechanistic Models of Trophic Interactions: Opportunities for Species Richness and Challenges for Modern Coexistence Theory.

AbstractMany potential mechanisms promote species coexistence, but we know little about their relative importance. To compare multiple mechanisms, we modeled a two-trophic planktonic food web based on mechanistic species interactions and empirically measured species traits. We simulated thousands of possible communities under realistic and altered interaction strengths to assess the relative importance of three potential drivers of phytoplankton and zooplankton species richness: resource-mediated coexistence mechanisms, predator-prey interactions, and trait trade-offs. Next, we computed niche and fitness differences of competing zooplankton to obtain a deeper understanding of how these mechanisms determine species richness. We found that predator-prey interactions were the most important driver of phytoplankton and zooplankton species richness and that large zooplankton fitness differences were associated with low species richness, but zooplankton niche differences were not associated with species richness. However, for many communities we could not apply modern coexistence theory to compute niche and fitness differences of zooplankton because of conceptual issues with the invasion growth rates arising from trophic interactions. We therefore need to expand modern coexistence theory to fully investigate multitrophic-level communities.

Haemolymph viscosity in hawkmoths and its implications for hovering flight.

Viscosity determines the resistance of haemolymph flow through the insect body. For flying insects, viscosity is a major physiological parameter limiting flight performance by controlling the flow rate of fuel to the flight muscles, circulating nutrients and rapidly removing metabolic waste products. The more viscous the haemolymph, the greater the metabolic energy needed to pump it through confined spaces. By employing magnetic rotational spectroscopy with nickel nanorods, we showed that viscosity of haemolymph in resting hawkmoths (Sphingidae) depends on wing size non-monotonically. Viscosity increases for small hawkmoths with high wingbeat frequencies, reaches a maximum for middle-sized hawkmoths with moderate wingbeat frequencies, and decreases in large hawkmoths with slower wingbeat frequencies but greater lift. Accordingly, hawkmoths with small and large wings have viscosities approaching that of water, whereas hawkmoths with mid-sized wings have more than twofold greater viscosity. The metabolic demands of flight correlate with significant changes in circulatory strategies via modulation of haemolymph viscosity. Thus, the evolution of hovering flight would require fine-tuned viscosity adjustments to balance the need for the haemolymph to carry more fuel to the flight muscles while decreasing the viscous dissipation associated with its circulation.

Wettability and morphology of proboscises interweave with hawkmoth evolutionary history.

Hovering hawkmoths expend significant energy while feeding, which should select for greater feeding efficiency. Although increased feeding efficiency has been implicitly assumed, it has never been assessed. We hypothesized that hawkmoths have proboscises specialized for gathering nectar passively. Using contact angle and capillary pressure to evaluate capillary action of the proboscis, we conducted a comparative analysis of wetting and absorption properties for 13 species of hawkmoths. We showed that all 13 species have a hydrophilic proboscis. In contradistinction, the proboscises of all other tested lepidopteran species have a wetting dichotomy with only the distal ∼10% hydrophilic. Longer proboscises are more wettable, suggesting that species of hawkmoths with long proboscises are more efficient at acquiring nectar by the proboscis surface than are species with shorter proboscises. All hawkmoth species also show strong capillary pressure, which, together with the feeding behaviors we observed, ensures that nectar will be delivered to the food canal efficiently. The patterns we found suggest that different subfamilies of hawkmoths use different feeding strategies. Our comparative approach reveals that hawkmoths are unique among Lepidoptera and highlights the importance of considering the physical characteristics of the proboscis to understand the evolution and diversification of hawkmoths.

Synthesis and Properties of Ba6Fe2Te3S7, with an Fe Dimer in a Magnetic Singlet State.

A new quaternary sulfide telluride, Ba6Fe2Te3S7, was synthesized by a solid-state reaction, and its crystal structure is novel. X-ray diffraction data on powder and single crystals reveal an orthorhombic lattice with a = 9.7543(3) Å, b = 18.2766(6) Å, and c = 12.0549(4) Å, and the noncentrosymmetric space group Cmc21 (No. 36). The properties of the compound were studied by magnetic susceptibility investigations, specific heat measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. Assuming Ba2+ and, as verified by the Mössbauer spectra, Fe3+, the charge balance requires the presence of a polytelluride, suggested to be a straight-chain [Te34-] polyanion. Further, the crystal structure contains [Fe2S7]8- dimers of two vertex-sharing tetrahedra, with a nearly linear Fe-S-Fe atom arrangement. The dimer exhibits antiferromagnetic coupling, with a coupling constant J = -10.5 meV (H = -2JS1S2) and S = 5/2, resulting in a spin singlet ground state. The interdimer magnetic interaction is so weak that the magnetic dimers can be treated as individuals.

Beyond pairwise mechanisms of species coexistence in complex communities.

The tremendous diversity of species in ecological communities has motivated a century of research into the mechanisms that maintain biodiversity. However, much of this work examines the coexistence of just pairs of competitors. This approach ignores those mechanisms of coexistence that emerge only in diverse competitive networks. Despite the potential for these mechanisms to create conditions under which the loss of one competitor triggers the loss of others, we lack the knowledge needed to judge their importance for coexistence in nature. Progress requires borrowing insight from the study of multitrophic interaction networks, and coupling empirical data to models of competition.

Synchrony matters more than species richness in plant community stability at a global scale.

The stability of ecological communities is critical for the stable provisioning of ecosystem services, such as food and forage production, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility. Greater biodiversity is expected to enhance stability across years by decreasing synchrony among species, but the drivers of stability in nature remain poorly resolved. Our analysis of time series from 79 datasets across the world showed that stability was associated more strongly with the degree of synchrony among dominant species than with species richness. The relatively weak influence of species richness is consistent with theory predicting that the effect of richness on stability weakens when synchrony is higher than expected under random fluctuations, which was the case in most communities. Land management, nutrient addition, and climate change treatments had relatively weak and varying effects on stability, modifying how species richness, synchrony, and stability interact. Our results demonstrate the prevalence of biotic drivers on ecosystem stability, with the potential for environmental drivers to alter the intricate relationship among richness, synchrony, and stability.

Climate disequilibrium dominates uncertainty in long-term projections of primary productivity.

Rapid climate change may exceed ecosystems' capacities to respond through processes including phenotypic plasticity, compositional turnover and evolutionary adaption. However, consequences of the resulting climate disequilibria for ecosystem functioning are rarely considered in projections of climate change impacts. Combining statistical models fit to historical climate data and remotely-sensed estimates of herbaceous net primary productivity with an ensemble of climate models, we demonstrate that assumptions concerning the magnitude of climate disequilibrium are a dominant source of uncertainty: models assuming maximum disequilibrium project widespread decreases in productivity in the western US by 2100, while models assuming minimal disequilibrium project productivity increases. Uncertainty related to climate disequilibrium is larger than uncertainties from variation among climate models or emissions pathways. A better understanding of processes that regulate climate disequilibria is essential for improving long-term projections of ecological responses and informing management to maintain ecosystem functioning at historical baselines.

Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands.

Nutrient enrichment can simultaneously increase and destabilise plant biomass production, with co-limitation by multiple nutrients potentially intensifying these effects. Here, we test how factorial additions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium with essential nutrients (K+) affect the stability (mean/standard deviation) of aboveground biomass in 34 grasslands over 7 years. Destabilisation with fertilisation was prevalent but was driven by single nutrients, not synergistic nutrient interactions. On average, N-based treatments increased mean biomass production by 21-51% but increased its standard deviation by 40-68% and so consistently reduced stability. Adding P increased interannual variability and reduced stability without altering mean biomass, while K+ had no general effects. Declines in stability were largest in the most nutrient-limited grasslands, or where nutrients reduced species richness or intensified species synchrony. We show that nutrients can differentially impact the stability of biomass production, with N and P in particular disproportionately increasing its interannual variability.

Oxygen deficiency in Sr2FeO4-x: electrochemical control and impact on magnetic properties.

The oxygen-deficient system Sr2FeO4-x was explored by heating the stoichiometric Fe4+ oxide Sr2FeO4 in well-defined oxygen partial pressures which were controlled electrochemically by solid-state electrolyte coulometry. Samples with x up to about 0.2 were obtained by this route. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the K2NiF4-type crystal structure (space group I4/mmm) of the parent compound is retained. The lattice parameter a slightly decreases while the c-parameter increases with increasing x, which is in contrast to the Ruddlesden-Popper system Sr3Fe2O7-x and suggests removal of oxygen atoms from FeO2 lattice planes. The magnetic properties were studied by magnetization, 57Fe Mössbauer, and powder neutron diffraction experiments. The results suggest that extraction of oxygen atoms from the lattice progressively changes the elliptical spiral spin ordering of the parent compound to an inhomogeneous magnetic state with coexistence of long-range ordered regions adopting a circular spin spiral and smaller magnetic clusters.

Addition of multiple limiting resources reduces grassland diversity.

Niche dimensionality provides a general theoretical explanation for biodiversity-more niches, defined by more limiting factors, allow for more ways that species can coexist. Because plant species compete for the same set of limiting resources, theory predicts that addition of a limiting resource eliminates potential trade-offs, reducing the number of species that can coexist. Multiple nutrient limitation of plant production is common and therefore fertilization may reduce diversity by reducing the number or dimensionality of belowground limiting factors. At the same time, nutrient addition, by increasing biomass, should ultimately shift competition from belowground nutrients towards a one-dimensional competitive trade-off for light. Here we show that plant species diversity decreased when a greater number of limiting nutrients were added across 45 grassland sites from a multi-continent experimental network. The number of added nutrients predicted diversity loss, even after controlling for effects of plant biomass, and even where biomass production was not nutrient-limited. We found that elevated resource supply reduced niche dimensionality and diversity and increased both productivity and compositional turnover. Our results point to the importance of understanding dimensionality in ecological systems that are undergoing diversity loss in response to multiple global change factors.

Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness.

How ecosystem productivity and species richness are interrelated is one of the most debated subjects in the history of ecology. Decades of intensive study have yet to discern the actual mechanisms behind observed global patterns. Here, by integrating the predictions from multiple theories into a single model and using data from 1,126 grassland plots spanning five continents, we detect the clear signals of numerous underlying mechanisms linking productivity and richness. We find that an integrative model has substantially higher explanatory power than traditional bivariate analyses. In addition, the specific results unveil several surprising findings that conflict with classical models. These include the isolation of a strong and consistent enhancement of productivity by richness, an effect in striking contrast with superficial data patterns. Also revealed is a consistent importance of competition across the full range of productivity values, in direct conflict with some (but not all) proposed models. The promotion of local richness by macroecological gradients in climatic favourability, generally seen as a competing hypothesis, is also found to be important in our analysis. The results demonstrate that an integrative modelling approach leads to a major advance in our ability to discern the underlying processes operating in ecological systems.

Species loss due to nutrient addition increases with spatial scale in global grasslands.

The effects of altered nutrient supplies and herbivore density on species diversity vary with spatial scale, because coexistence mechanisms are scale dependent. This scale dependence may alter the shape of the species-area relationship (SAR), which can be described by changes in species richness (S) as a power function of the sample area (A): S = cAz , where c and z are constants. We analysed the effects of experimental manipulations of nutrient supply and herbivore density on species richness across a range of scales (0.01-75 m2 ) at 30 grasslands in 10 countries. We found that nutrient addition reduced the number of species that could co-occur locally, indicated by the SAR intercepts (log c), but did not affect the SAR slopes (z). As a result, proportional species loss due to nutrient enrichment was largely unchanged across sampling scales, whereas total species loss increased over threefold across our range of sampling scales.

Biotic vs abiotic controls on temporal sensitivity of primary production to precipitation across North American drylands.

Dryland net primary productivity (NPP) is sensitive to temporal variation in precipitation (PPT), but the magnitude of this 'temporal sensitivity' varies spatially. Hypotheses for spatial variation in temporal sensitivity have often emphasized abiotic factors, such as moisture limitation, while overlooking biotic factors, such as vegetation structure. We tested these hypotheses using spatiotemporal models fit to remote-sensing data sets to assess how vegetation structure and climate influence temporal sensitivity across five dryland ecoregions of the western USA. Temporal sensitivity was higher in locations and ecoregions dominated by herbaceous vegetation. By contrast, much less spatial variation in temporal sensitivity was explained by mean annual PPT. In fact, ecoregion-specific models showed inconsistent associations of sensitivity and PPT; whereas sensitivity decreased with increasing mean annual PPT in most ecoregions, it increased with mean annual PPT in the most arid ecoregion, the hot deserts. The strong, positive influence of herbaceous vegetation on temporal sensitivity indicates that herbaceous-dominated drylands will be particularly sensitive to future increases in precipitation variability and that dramatic changes in cover type caused by invasions or shrub encroachment will lead to changes in dryland NPP dynamics, perhaps independent of changes in precipitation.

Hidden Charge Order in an Iron Oxide Square-Lattice Compound.

Since the discovery of charge disproportionation in the FeO_{2} square-lattice compound Sr_{3}Fe_{2}O_{7} by Mössbauer spectroscopy more than fifty years ago, the spatial ordering pattern of the disproportionated charges has remained "hidden" to conventional diffraction probes, despite numerous x-ray and neutron scattering studies. We have used neutron Larmor diffraction and Fe K-edge resonant x-ray scattering to demonstrate checkerboard charge order in the FeO_{2} planes that vanishes at a sharp second-order phase transition upon heating above 332 K. Stacking disorder of the checkerboard pattern due to frustrated interlayer interactions broadens the corresponding superstructure reflections and greatly reduces their amplitude, thus explaining the difficulty of detecting them by conventional probes. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on "hidden order" in other materials.

Lepidopteran mouthpart architecture suggests a new mechanism of fluid uptake by insects with long proboscises.

Proboscises of many fluid-feeding insects share a common architecture: they have a partially open food canal along their length. This feature has never been discussed in relation to the feeding mechanism. We formulated and solved a fluid mechanics model of fluid uptake and estimated the time required to completely fill the food canal of the entire proboscis through the openings along its length. Butterflies and moths are taken as illustrative and representative of fluid-feeding insects. We demonstrated that the proposed mechanism of filling the proboscis with fluid through permeable lengthwise bands, in association with a thin film of saliva in the food canal, offers a competitive pathway for fluid uptake. Compared with the conventional mechanism of fluid uptake through apically restricted openings, the new mechanism provides a faster rate of fluid uptake, especially for long-tongued insects. Accordingly, long-tongued insects with permeable lengthwise bands would be able to more rapidly exploit a broader range of liquids in the form of films, pools, and discontinuous columns, thereby conserving energy and minimizing exposure to predators, particularly for hovering insects.

Evolution of transition metal charge states in correlation with the structural and magnetic properties in disordered double perovskites Ca2-xLaxFeRuO6 (0.5 ≤ x ≤ 2).

A series of disordered Ca1.5La0.5FeRuO6, CaLaFeRuO6 and La2FeRuO6 double perovskites were prepared by the solid-state reaction method and investigated by neutron powder diffraction, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis at the Ru-K edge, Mössbauer spectroscopy, DC magnetization and resistivity measurements. All compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic crystal structure with the space group Pbnm down to 3 K, showing a random distribution of Fe and Ru at the B site. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates oxygen deficiency in the Ca-rich and formal oxygen hyperstoichiometry in the La-rich members of the present series. While Mössbauer spectra verify the Fe3+ state for all compositions, the XANES study reveals a variable Run+ oxidation state which decreases with increasing La content. The end member actually is a Ru3+/Ru4+ compound with possibly some cation vacancies. From magnetic susceptibility and neutron diffraction measurements, the presence of a G-type antiferromagnetic ordering was observed with a drastic increase in transition temperature from 275 K (Ca1.5La0.5FeRuO6) to 570 K (La2FeRuO6). Mössbauer spectroscopy confirms the presence of long-range ordering but, due to local variations in the exchange interactions, the magnetic states are microscopically inhomogeneous. All the samples are variable range hopping semiconductors. A complex interplay between structural features, charge states, anion or cation defects, and atomic disorder determines the magnetic properties of the present disordered 3d/4d double perovskite series.

The general architecture of black fly-parasite interactions: Parasitism in lotic systems at a continental scale.

We examined the general architecture of interactions between stream-dwelling larval black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) and their common parasites in 1736 collections across North America. Mermithid nematodes (family Mermithidae), microsporidia (phylum Microsporidia), and the fungus Coelomycidium simulii Debaisieux (phylum Blastocladiomycota) infected larval black flies. We found similar continental distributions for these three parasite taxa across North America. At least one of these taxa was represented in 42.2% of all black fly collections. Species interactions in ecological networks typically imply that each link between species is equally important. By employing quantitative measures of host susceptibilities and parasite dependencies, we provide a more complete structure for host-parasite networks. The distribution of parasite dependencies and host susceptibilities were right-skewed, with low values indicating that most dependencies (parasites) and susceptibilities (hosts) were weak. Although regression analysis between host frequency and parasite incidence were highly significant, frequency analysis suggested that the distributions of parasites differ significantly among the four most common and closely related (same subgenus) species of hosts. A highly significant pattern of nestedness in our bipartite host-parasite network indicated that specialized parasites (i.e., those that interact with few host species) tend to occur as subsets of the most common hosts.