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Citation: With, K. A., & Pavuk, D. M. (2019). Habitat configuration matters when evaluating habitat-area effects on host–parasitoid interactions. Ecosphere, 10(2), e02604. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2604

Citation: Raynor, E. J., Joern, A., Skibbe, A., Sowers, M., Briggs, J. M., Laws, A. N., & Goodin, D. (2017). Temporal variability in large grazer space use in an experimental landscape. Ecosphere, 8(1), 18. doi:10.1002/ecs2.1674

Citation: Earl, J. E., Fuhlendorf, S. D., Haukos, D., Tanner, A. M., Elmore, D., & Carleton, S. A. (2016). Characteristics of lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) long-distance movements across their distribution. Ecosphere, 7(8). doi:10.1002/(ISSN)2150-8925

Managing for species using current weather patterns fails to incorporate the uncertainty associated with future climatic conditions; without incorporating potential changes in climate into conservation strategies, management and conservation efforts may fall short or waste valuable resources. Understanding the effects of climate change on species in the Great Plains of North America is especially important, as this region is projected to experience an increased magnitude of climate change. Of particular ecological and conservation interest is the lesser prairie‐chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), which was listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in May 2014. We used Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify the effects of extreme climatic events (extreme values of the Palmer Drought Severity Index [PDSI]) relative to intermediate (changes in El Niño Southern Oscillation) and long‐term climate variability (changes in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) on trends in lesser prairie‐chicken abundance from 1981 to 2014. Our results indicate that lesser prairie‐chicken abundance on leks responded to environmental conditions of the year previous by positively responding to wet springs (high PDSI) and negatively to years with hot, dry summers (low PDSI), but had little response to variation in the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Additionally, greater variation in abundance on leks was explained by variation in site relative to broad‐scale climatic indices. Consequently, lesser prairie‐chicken abundance on leks in Kansas is more strongly influenced by extreme drought events during summer than other climatic conditions, which may have negative consequences for the population as drought conditions intensify throughout the Great Plains.

Restorations in the light of climate change will need to take into account whether or not sources of the dominant plants are adapted to the future conditions at a site. In addition, the effect of these dominants, especially if sourced from outside the local area, on the assembling plant community needs assessment. We investigated how different ecotypes of the tallgrass prairie dominants Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans affect assembling prairie communities. Four reciprocal common garden experiments were established across a longitudinal climate gradient characterized by a decrease in aridity in western Kansas (COLBY), central Kansas (HAYS), eastern Kansas (MANHATTAN), and southern Illinois (CARBONDALE). At each site, plots were seeded with ecotypes of A. gerardii and S. nutans sourced from central Kansas (CKS), eastern Kansas (EKS), southern Illinois (SIL), or a mix of all three regional ecotypes (MIX). All plots were also seeded with the same suite of seven subordinate species. Species composition was measured during the fourth year of restoration. The greatest variation between communities occurred at HAYS and CARBONDALE between plots seeded with CKS and SIL ecotypes. At these sites, plots seeded with the local source had the lowest diversity and cover of nondominant species. Compositional variation between plots seeded with different dominant grass ecotypes was found exclusively at CARBONDALE between CKS and SIL plots. Differences between locally seeded plots and plots seeded with a MIX of dominant grass ecotypes were contingent upon site. At CARBONDALE, MIX seeded plots had higher diversity than SIL ecotype plots. Our results indicate that across a wide geographic precipitation gradient, limited but important differences in community assembly occur in restorations established with different ecotypes of the dominant grasses. However, our results also support the use of mixtures of nonlocal ecotypes of dominant grasses in restorations without risk to the assembling plant community. Future studies need to determine the potential for out‐breeding effects among seed sources in mixed stands.

Citation: Kennedy, C. G., Mather, M. E., Smith, J. M., Finn, J. T., & Deegan, L. A. (2016). Discontinuities concentrate mobile predators: quantifying organism-environment interactions at a seascape scale. Ecosphere, 7(2), 17. doi:10.1002/ecs2.1226

CITATION: Latombe, G., et al. 2021. Mechanistic reconciliation of community and invasion ecology. Ecosphere, 12(2):e03359, doi:10.1002/ecs2.3359.