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2. Carbon flux and forest dynamics: Increased deadwood decomposition in tropical rainforest tree‐fall canopy gaps

Author

Griffiths, Hannah M, Eggleton, Paul, Hemming‐Schroeder, Nicole, Swinfield, Tom, Woon, Joel S, Allison, Steven D, Coomes, David A, Ashton, Louise A, and Parr, Catherine L

Subjects
Biological Sciences, Ecology, Life on Land, Carbon, Carbon Cycle, Ecosystem, Forests, Rainforest, Trees, Tropical Climate, carbon cycling, carbon modelling, disturbance, global change, invertebrates, termites, tree mortality, Environmental Sciences, Biological sciences, Earth sciences, Environmental sciences
Abstract

Tree mortality rates are increasing within tropical rainforests as a result of global environmental change. When trees die, gaps are created in forest canopies and carbon is transferred from the living to deadwood pools. However, little is known about the effect of tree-fall canopy gaps on the activity of decomposer communities and the rate of deadwood decay in forests. This means that the accuracy of regional and global carbon budgets is uncertain, especially given ongoing changes to the structure of rainforest ecosystems. Therefore, to determine the effect of canopy openings on wood decay rates and regional carbon flux, we carried out the first assessment of deadwood mass loss within canopy gaps in old-growth rainforest. We used replicated canopy gaps paired with closed canopy sites in combination with macroinvertebrate accessible and inaccessible woodblocks to experimentally partition the relative contribution of microbes vs. termites to decomposition within contrasting understorey conditions. We show that over a 12 month period, wood mass loss increased by 63% in canopy gaps compared with closed canopy sites and that this increase was driven by termites. Using LiDAR data to quantify the proportion of canopy openings in the study region, we modelled the effect of observed changes in decomposition within gaps on regional carbon flux. Overall, we estimate that this accelerated decomposition increases regional wood decay rate by up to 18.2%, corresponding to a flux increase of 0.27 Mg C ha-1  year-1 that is not currently accounted for in regional carbon budgets. These results provide the first insights into how small-scale disturbances in rainforests can generate hotspots for decomposer activity and carbon fluxes. In doing so, we show that including canopy gap dynamics and their impacts on wood decomposition in forest ecosystems can help improve the predictive accuracy of the carbon cycle in land surface models.

Published
2021

5. Beta diversity subcomponents of plant species turnover and nestedness reveal drivers of community assembly in a regenerating subtropical forest.

Author

Guclu, Coskun, Luk, Chung‐Lim, Ashton, Louise Amy, Abbas, Sawaid, and Boyle, Michael J. W.

Subjects
MOUNTAIN forests, SECONDARY forests, PLANT species diversity, PLANT communities, FOREST succession, MULTIDIMENSIONAL scaling
Abstract

Secondary forests represent a significant proportion of global forest cover, with over 70% of forests in East Asia classified as regenerating. While succession has been studied extensively in temperate systems, trajectories of subtropical succession remain poorly characterized in highly disturbed, urban‐adjacent forests. Investigating the additive beta diversity components of turnover and nestedness may reveal community assembly mechanisms driving secondary succession. The present study investigates plant community assembly along a successional gradient from 7 to 70 years following the onset of succession in secondary subtropical forests in Hong Kong, China. Plant survey data for 28 plots were analysed, generating additive Simpsons turnover and nestedness beta diversity metrics. Dissimilarity matrices were generated and modelled as a function of environmental matrices including forest plant community age (years following onset of secondary succession), inter‐community distance (metres), and soil moisture saturation (%) across three elevational bands using generalized dissimilarity models. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling of plant communities was conducted with Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrices. Inter‐community distance and successional age differentially influenced plant species turnover between lowland and Montane forest types. Models of nestedness found that plot age and soil moisture saturation were significant drivers of nestedness patterns in plant communities across elevational classes. Turnover represented a higher proportion of Sorensen beta diversity than nestedness, while ANOSIM found significant differentiation between plant communities at different successional stages. Turnover patterns suggest a deterministic model of community assembly, with strong patterns of species replacement between communities at fine spatial scales and successional stages, as well as clear compositional shifts between lowland and montane forest types. NMDS analysis and functional compositional assessments suggested a transition from early successional communities with a high proportion of shrub species, to later successional communities with a higher proportion of tree species, with an increase in species turnover with greater age dissimilarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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6. Bugs and Bergmann’s rule: a cross-taxon large-scale study reveals idiosyncratic altitudinal and latitudinal body size patterns for different insect taxa

Author

Alcantara, Mark Jun M., primary, Fontanilla, Alyssa M., additional, Ashton, Louise A., additional, Burwell, Chris J., additional, Cao, Min, additional, Han, Hongxiang, additional, Huang, Hua, additional, Kitching, Roger L., additional, Reshchikov, Alexey, additional, Shen, Xianhui, additional, Tang, Yong, additional, Wan, Yi, additional, Xu, Zhenghui, additional, and Nakamura, Akihiro, additional

Published
2024
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8. Midpoint attractors and species richness: Modelling the interaction between environmental drivers and geometric constraints.

Author

Colwell, Robert K, Gotelli, Nicholas J, Ashton, Louise A, Beck, Jan, Brehm, Gunnar, Fayle, Tom M, Fiedler, Konrad, Forister, Matthew L, Kessler, Michael, Kitching, Roger L, Klimes, Petr, Kluge, Jürgen, Longino, John T, Maunsell, Sarah C, McCain, Christy M, Moses, Jimmy, Noben, Sarah, Sam, Katerina, Sam, Legi, Shapiro, Arthur M, Wang, Xiangping, and Novotny, Vojtech

Subjects
Animals, Vertebrates, Insects, Bayes Theorem, Ecosystem, Biodiversity, Models, Biological, Plant Physiological Phenomena, Bayesian model, Biogeography, elevational gradients, geometric constraints, mid-domain effect, midpoint predictor model, stochastic model, truncated niche, Insecta, Models, Biological, Ecology, Ecological Applications, Evolutionary Biology
Abstract

We introduce a novel framework for conceptualising, quantifying and unifying discordant patterns of species richness along geographical gradients. While not itself explicitly mechanistic, this approach offers a path towards understanding mechanisms. In this study, we focused on the diverse patterns of species richness on mountainsides. We conjectured that elevational range midpoints of species may be drawn towards a single midpoint attractor - a unimodal gradient of environmental favourability. The midpoint attractor interacts with geometric constraints imposed by sea level and the mountaintop to produce taxon-specific patterns of species richness. We developed a Bayesian simulation model to estimate the location and strength of the midpoint attractor from species occurrence data sampled along mountainsides. We also constructed midpoint predictor models to test whether environmental variables could directly account for the observed patterns of species range midpoints. We challenged these models with 16 elevational data sets, comprising 4500 species of insects, vertebrates and plants. The midpoint predictor models generally failed to predict the pattern of species midpoints. In contrast, the midpoint attractor model closely reproduced empirical spatial patterns of species richness and range midpoints. Gradients of environmental favourability, subject to geometric constraints, may parsimoniously account for elevational and other patterns of species richness.

Published
2016

11. Global contribution of invertebrates to forest litter decomposition.

Author

Zeng, Xiaoyi, Gao, Huilin, Wang, Runxi, Majcher, Bartosz M., Woon, Joel S., Wenda, Cheng, Eggleton, Paul, Griffiths, Hannah M., and Ashton, Louise A.

Subjects
FOREST litter decomposition, INVERTEBRATES, INVERTEBRATE diversity, TROPICAL forests, SOIL acidity
Abstract

Forest litter decomposition is an essential component of global carbon and nutrient turnover. Invertebrates play important roles in litter decomposition, but the regional pattern of their effects is poorly understood. We examined 476 case studies across 93 sites and performed a meta‐analysis to estimate regional effects of invertebrates on forest litter decomposition. We then assessed how invertebrate diversity, climate and soil pH drive regional variations in invertebrate‐mediated decomposition. We found that (1) invertebrate contributions to litter decomposition are 1.4 times higher in tropical and subtropical forests than in forests elsewhere, with an overall contribution of 31% to global forest litter decomposition; and (2) termite diversity, together with warm, humid and acidic environments in the tropics and subtropics are positively associated with forest litter decomposition by invertebrates. Our results demonstrate the significant difference in invertebrate effects on mediating forest litter decomposition among regions. We demonstrate, also, the significance of termites in driving litter mass loss in the tropics and subtropics. These results are particularly pertinent in the tropics and subtropics where climate change and human disturbance threaten invertebrate biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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16. Elevational species richness gradients in a hyperdiverse insect taxon: a global meta-study on geometrid moths

Author

Beck, Jan, McCain, Christy M., Axmacher, Jan C., Ashton, Louise A., Bärtschi, Florian, Brehm, Gunnar, Choi, Sei-Woong, Cizek, Oldrich, Colwell, Robert K., Fiedler, Konrad, Francois, Cristina L., Highland, Steven, Holloway, Jeremy D., Intachat, Jurie, Kadlec, Tomas, Kitching, Roger L., Maunsell, Sarah C., Merckx, Thomas, Nakamura, Akihiro, Odell, Erica, Sang, Weiguo, Toko, Pagi S., Zamecnik, Jaroslav, Zou, Yi, and Novotny, Vojtech

Published
2017

17. Bioavailability of Macro and Micronutrients Across Global Topsoils: Main Drivers and Global Change Impacts

Author

Ochoa‐Hueso, Raúl, primary, Delgado‐Baquerizo, Manuel, additional, Risch, Anita C., additional, Ashton, Louise, additional, Augustine, David, additional, Bélanger, Nicolas, additional, Bridgham, Scott, additional, Britton, Andrea J., additional, Bruckman, Viktor J., additional, Camarero, J. Julio, additional, Cornelissen, Gerard, additional, Crawford, John A., additional, Dijkstra, Feike A., additional, Diochon, Amanda, additional, Earl, Stevan, additional, Edgerley, James, additional, Epstein, Howard, additional, Felton, Andrew, additional, Fortier, Julien, additional, Gagnon, Daniel, additional, Greer, Ken, additional, Griffiths, Hannah M., additional, Halde, Caroline, additional, Hanslin, Hans Martin, additional, Harris, Lorna I., additional, Hartsock, Jeremy A., additional, Hendrickson, Paul, additional, Hovstad, Knut Anders, additional, Hu, Jia, additional, Jani, Arun D., additional, Kent, Kelcy, additional, Kerdraon‐Byrne, Deirdre, additional, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., additional, Lai, Derrick Y. F., additional, Lambert, France, additional, LaMontagne, Jalene M., additional, Lavergne, Stéphanie, additional, Lawrence, Beth A., additional, Littke, Kim, additional, Leeper, Abigail C., additional, Licht, Mark A., additional, Liebig, Mark A., additional, Lynn, Joshua S., additional, Maclean, Janet E., additional, Martinsen, Vegard, additional, McDaniel, Marshall D., additional, McIntosh, Anne C. S., additional, Miesel, Jessica R., additional, Miller, Jim, additional, Mulvaney, Michael J., additional, Moreno, Gerardo, additional, Newstead, Laura, additional, Pakeman, Robin J., additional, Pergl, Jan, additional, Pinno, Bradley D., additional, Piñeiro, Juan, additional, Quigley, Kathleen, additional, Radtke, Troy M., additional, Reed, Paul, additional, Rolo, Víctor, additional, Rudgers, Jennifer, additional, Rutherford, P. Michael, additional, Sayer, Emma J., additional, Serrano‐Grijalva, Lilia, additional, Strack, Maria, additional, Sukdeo, Nicole, additional, Taylor, Andy F. S., additional, Truax, Benoit, additional, Tsuji, Leonard J. S., additional, van Gestel, Natasja, additional, Vaness, Brenda M., additional, Van Sundert, Kevin, additional, Vítková, Michaela, additional, Weigel, Robert, additional, Wilton, Meaghan J., additional, Yano, Yuriko, additional, Teen, Ewing, additional, and Bremer, Eric, additional

Published
2023
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19. Bioavailability of Macro and Micronutrients Across Global Topsoils: Main Drivers and Global Change Impacts

Author

Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Risch, Anita C., Ashton, Louise, Augustine, David, Bélanger, Nicolas, Bridgham, Scott, Britton, A.J., Bruckman, Viktor J., Camarero, Jesús Julio, Cornelissen, Gerard, Crawford John A., Dijkstra, Feike A., Diochon, Amanda, Earl, Stevan, Edgerley, James, Epstein, Howard, Felton, Andrew, Fortier, Julien, Gagnon, Daniel, Greer, Ken, Griffiths, Hannah M, Halde, Caroline, Hanslin, Hans M., Harris, Lorna I., Hartsock, Jeremy, Hendrickson, Paul, Hovstad, Knut Anders, Hu, Jia, Jani. Arun D., Kent, Kelcy, Kerdraon-Byrne, Deirdre, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., Lai, Derrick Y. F., Lambert, France, LaMontagne, Jalene M., Lavergne, Stéphanie, Lawrence. Beth A., Littke, Kim, Leeper, Abigail C., Licht, Mark A., Liebig, Mark A., Lynn, Joshua S., Maclean, Janet E., Martinsen, Vegard, McDaniel, Marshall D., McIntosh, Anne C. S., Miesel, Jessica R., Miller, Jim, Mulvaney, Michael J., Moreno, Gerardo, Newstead, Laura, Pakeman, Robin J., Pergl, Jan, Piñeiro, Juan, Quigley, Kathleen, Radtke, Troy M., Reed, Paul, Rolo, Víctor, Rudgers, Jennifer, Rutherford, P. Michael, Sayer, Emma J., Serrano-Grijalva, Lilia, Strack, Maria, Sukdeo, Nicole, Taylor, Andy F. S., Truax, Benoit, Tsuji, Leonard J. S., Van Gestel, Natasja, Vaness, Brenda M., Van Sundert, Kevin, Vitkova, Michaela, Weigel, R., Wilton, Meaghan, Yano, Yuriko, Teen, Ewing, Bremer, Eric, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España), Ministerio de Universidades (España), European Commission, Junta de Andalucía, Fundación Biodiversidad, National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology, Belgian American Educational Foundation, Fulbright Program and the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Czech Science Foundation, Czech Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation (US), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (US), DePaul University, Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation, Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Britton, A.J., Camarero, Jesús Julio, Earl, Stevan, Epstein, Howard, Felton, Andrew, Halde, Caroline, Hanslin, Hans M., Harris, Lorna I., Hartsock, Jeremy, Hovstad, Knut Anders, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., LaMontagne, Jalene M., Lavergne, Stéphanie, Littke, Kim, Licht, Mark A., McDaniel, Marshall D., McIntosh, Anne C. S., Miesel, Jessica R., Moreno, Gerardo, Pakeman, Robin J., Pinno, Bradley D., Piñeiro, Juan, Rolo, Víctor, Rutherford, P. Michael, Sayer, Emma J., Van Sundert, Kevin, Vitkova, Michaela, Weigel, R., and Wilton, Meaghan

Abstract

14 páginas.- 6 figuras.- 53 referencias, Understanding the chemical composition of our planet's crust was one of the biggest questions of the 20th century. More than 100 years later, we are still far from understanding the global patterns in the bioavailability and spatial coupling of elements in topsoils worldwide, despite their importance for the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we measured the bioavailability and coupling of thirteen macro- and micronutrients and phytotoxic elements in topsoils (3–8 cm) from a range of terrestrial ecosystems across all continents (∼10,000 observations) and in response to global change manipulations (∼5,000 observations). For this, we incubated between 1 and 4 pairs of anionic and cationic exchange membranes per site for a mean period of 53 days. The most bioavailable elements (Ca, Mg, and K) were also amongst the most abundant in the crust. Patterns of bioavailability were biome-dependent and controlled by soil properties such as pH, organic matter content and texture, plant cover, and climate. However, global change simulations resulted in important alterations in the bioavailability of elements. Elements were highly coupled, and coupling was predictable by the atomic properties of elements, particularly mass, mass to charge ratio, and second ionization energy. Deviations from the predictable coupling-atomic mass relationship were attributed to global change and agriculture. Our work illustrates the tight links between the bioavailability and coupling of topsoil elements and environmental context, human activities, and atomic properties of elements, thus deeply enhancing our integrated understanding of the biogeochemical connections that underlie the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing world., We acknowledge the following people as additional data contributors: Drs. G. Blume-Werry, V. Bruckman, J. Buss, S. Collins, E. Dorrepaal, K.N. Egger, J. Fridley, Gibson-Roy, R. Harrison, J. Heberling, K. Helsen, E. Hinman, A. K olstad, N. Lemoine, M. Lesser, E. Li, S. E. Macdonald, E. Mallory, E. Massicotte, H.B. Massicotte, T. Moore, C. Morris, L. Nijs, M. Smith, Suojala-Ahlfors, E. Thiffault, K. Trepanier, R. Uusitalo, L. Van Langenhove, S. Vicca, F. Wang, M. Werner, K. White and S. Wilson. R.O.H. was funded by the Ramón y Cajal program of the MICINN (RYC-2017 22032), by the R&D Project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation PID2019-106004RA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, by the program José Castillejo” of the “Ministry of Universities” (CAS21/00125), by a project of the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities of the Junta de Andalucía (ERDF Andalucía 2014–2020 Thematic objective “01—Reinforcement of research, technological development and innovation”): P20_00323 (FUTURE-VINES), by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) through the “Aid to operational groups of the European Association of Innovation (AEI) in terms of agricultural productivity and sustainability,” Reference: GOPC-CA-20-0001, and from Fundación Biodiversidad (SOILBIO). M.D-B. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal Grant (RYC2018-025483-I), a project from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-115813RA-I00), and a project PAIDI 2020 from the Junta de Andalucía (P20_00879). JP acknowl-edges funding from MICINN (RYC–2021–033454). S. Bridgham and P. Reed were supported from National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Grant 1340847. KVS acknowledges support from the Belgian American Educational Foundation (Paul Vernel Fellow), the Fulbright Program and the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders. J. Pergl and M. Vítková were partly supported by 17-19025S, EXPRO Grant 19-28807X (Czech Science Foundation), BiodivClim Call 2019 (Grant TACR SS70010001) and long-term research development project RVO 67985939 (Czech Academy of Sciences). Natasja van Gestel was funded by the National Science Foundation Grant 1643871. Stevan Earl was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant DEB-2224662, Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Program (CAP LTER). Lilia Serrano-Grijalva has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 890874. Kevin van Sundert acknowledges support from the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders. Yuriko Yano acknowledges USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant, Award number 2015-67020-23454. A. Leeper, B. Lawrence, and J. LaMontagne acknowledge support from National Science Foundation Grant DEB-1745496, the University Research Council Collaborative Grant from DePaul University, and the Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation.

Published
2023

21. A Puzzle with Missing Pieces : Explaining the Effectiveness of World Bank Development Projects

Author

Ashton, Louise, Friedman, Jed, Goldemberg, Diana, Hussain, Mustafa Zakir, Kenyon, Thomas, Khan, Akib, Zhou, Mo, Ashton, Louise, Friedman, Jed, Goldemberg, Diana, Hussain, Mustafa Zakir, Kenyon, Thomas, Khan, Akib, and Zhou, Mo

Abstract

The identification of key determinants of aid effectiveness is a long-standing question in the development community. This paper reviews the literature on aid effectiveness at the project level and then extends the inquiry in a variety of dimensions with new data on World Bank investment project financing. It confirms that the country institutional setting and quality of project supervision are associated with project success, as identified previously. However, many aspects of the development project cycle, especially project design, have been difficult to measure and therefore under-investigated. The paper finds that project design, as proxied by the estimated value added of design staff, the presence of prior analytic work, and other specially collected measures, is a significant predictor of ultimate project success. These factors generally grow in predictive importance as the income level of the country rises. The results also indicate that a key determinant of the staff's contribution is their experience with previous World Bank projects, but not other characteristics such as age, education, or country location. Key inputs to the project production process associated with subsequent performance are not captured in routine data systems, although it is feasible to do so. Further, the conceptualization and measurement of the success of project-based aid should be revisited by evaluative bodies to reflect a project's theorized contribution to development outcomes.

Published
2023
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22. Bioavailability of macro and micronutrients across global topsoils : Main drivers and global change impacts

Author

Ochoa‐Hueso, Raúl, Delgado‐Baquerizo, Manuel, Risch, Anita C., Ashton, Louise, Augustine, David, Bélanger, Nicolas, Bridgham, Scott, Britton, Andrea J., Bruckman, Viktor J., Camarero, J. Julio, Cornelissen, Gerard, Crawford, John A., Dijkstra, Feike A., Diochon, Amanda, Earl, Stevan, Edgerley, James, Epstein, Howard, Felton, Andrew, Fortier, Julien, Gagnon, Daniel, Greer, Ken, Griffiths, Hannah M, Halde, Caroline, Hanslin, Hans Martin, Harris, Lorna I., Hartsock, Jeremy A., Hendrickson, Paul, Hovstad, Knut Anders, Hu, Jia, Jani, Arun D., Kent, Kelcy, Kerdraon‐Byrne, Deirdre, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., Lai, Derrick Y.F., Lambert, France, LaMontagne, Jalene M., Lavergne, Stéphanie, Lawrence, Beth A., Littke, Kim, Leeper, Abigail C., Licht, Mark A., Liebig, Mark A., Lynn, Joshua S., Maclean, Janet E., Martinsen, Vegard, McDaniel, Marshall D., McIntosh, Anne C. S., Miesel, Jessica R., Miller, Jim, Mulvaney, Michael J., Moreno, Gerardo, Newstead, Laura, Pakeman, Robin J., Pergl, Jan, Pinno, Bradley D., Piñeiro, Juan, Quigley, Kathleen, Radtke, Troy M., Reed, Paul, Rolo, Víctor, Rudgers, Jennifer, Rutherford, P. Michael, Sayer, Emma J., Serrano‐Grijalva, Lilia, Strack, Maria, Sukdeo, Nicole, Taylor, Andy F.S., Truax, Benoit, Tsuji, Leonard J. S., van Gestel, Natasja, Vaness, Brenda M., Van Sundert, Kevin, Vítková, Michaela, Weigel, Robert, Wilton, Meaghan J., Yano, Yuriko, Teen, Ewing, Bremer, Eric, Ochoa‐Hueso, Raúl, Delgado‐Baquerizo, Manuel, Risch, Anita C., Ashton, Louise, Augustine, David, Bélanger, Nicolas, Bridgham, Scott, Britton, Andrea J., Bruckman, Viktor J., Camarero, J. Julio, Cornelissen, Gerard, Crawford, John A., Dijkstra, Feike A., Diochon, Amanda, Earl, Stevan, Edgerley, James, Epstein, Howard, Felton, Andrew, Fortier, Julien, Gagnon, Daniel, Greer, Ken, Griffiths, Hannah M, Halde, Caroline, Hanslin, Hans Martin, Harris, Lorna I., Hartsock, Jeremy A., Hendrickson, Paul, Hovstad, Knut Anders, Hu, Jia, Jani, Arun D., Kent, Kelcy, Kerdraon‐Byrne, Deirdre, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., Lai, Derrick Y.F., Lambert, France, LaMontagne, Jalene M., Lavergne, Stéphanie, Lawrence, Beth A., Littke, Kim, Leeper, Abigail C., Licht, Mark A., Liebig, Mark A., Lynn, Joshua S., Maclean, Janet E., Martinsen, Vegard, McDaniel, Marshall D., McIntosh, Anne C. S., Miesel, Jessica R., Miller, Jim, Mulvaney, Michael J., Moreno, Gerardo, Newstead, Laura, Pakeman, Robin J., Pergl, Jan, Pinno, Bradley D., Piñeiro, Juan, Quigley, Kathleen, Radtke, Troy M., Reed, Paul, Rolo, Víctor, Rudgers, Jennifer, Rutherford, P. Michael, Sayer, Emma J., Serrano‐Grijalva, Lilia, Strack, Maria, Sukdeo, Nicole, Taylor, Andy F.S., Truax, Benoit, Tsuji, Leonard J. S., van Gestel, Natasja, Vaness, Brenda M., Van Sundert, Kevin, Vítková, Michaela, Weigel, Robert, Wilton, Meaghan J., Yano, Yuriko, Teen, Ewing, and Bremer, Eric

Abstract

Understanding the chemical composition of our planet's crust was one of the biggest questions of the 20th century. More than 100 years later, we are still far from understanding the global patterns in the bioavailability and spatial coupling of elements in topsoils worldwide, despite their importance for the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we measured the bioavailability and coupling of thirteen macro‐ and micronutrients and phytotoxic elements in topsoils (3–8 cm) from a range of terrestrial ecosystems across all continents (∼10,000 observations) and in response to global change manipulations (∼5,000 observations). For this, we incubated between 1 and 4 pairs of anionic and cationic exchange membranes per site for a mean period of 53 days. The most bioavailable elements (Ca, Mg, and K) were also amongst the most abundant in the crust. Patterns of bioavailability were biome‐dependent and controlled by soil properties such as pH, organic matter content and texture, plant cover, and climate. However, global change simulations resulted in important alterations in the bioavailability of elements. Elements were highly coupled, and coupling was predictable by the atomic properties of elements, particularly mass, mass to charge ratio, and second ionization energy. Deviations from the predictable coupling‐atomic mass relationship were attributed to global change and agriculture. Our work illustrates the tight links between the bioavailability and coupling of topsoil elements and environmental context, human activities, and atomic properties of elements, thus deeply enhancing our integrated understanding of the biogeochemical connections that underlie the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing world.

Published
2023

23. Bioavailability of Macro and Micronutrients Across Global Topsoils: Main Drivers and Global Change Impacts

Author

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España), Ministerio de Universidades (España), European Commission, Junta de Andalucía, Fundación Biodiversidad, Belgian American Educational Foundation, Research Foundation - Flanders, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Czech Science Foundation, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, National Science Foundation (US), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (US), DePaul University, Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation, Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl [0000-0002-1839-6926], Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel [0000-0002-6499-576X], Britton, A.J. [0000-0002-0603-7432], Camarero, Jesús Julio [0000-0003-2436-2922], Earl, Stevan [0000-0002-4465-452X], Epstein, Howard [0000-0003-2817-4486], Felton, Andrew [0000-0002-1533-6071], Halde, Caroline [0000-0002-4974-1411], Hanslin, Hans M. [0000-0002-3224-2368], Harris, Lorna I. [0000-0002-2637-4030], Hartsock, Jeremy [0000-0002-0468-2630], Hovstad, Knut Anders [0000-0002-7108-0787], Khalsa, Sat Darshan S. [0000-0003-1995-2469], LaMontagne, Jalene M. [0000-0001-7713-8591], Lavergne, Stéphanie [0000-0002-7197-107X], Littke, Kim [0000-0002-0187-1663], Licht, Mark A. [0000-0001-6640-7856], McDaniel, Marshall D. [0000-0001-6267-7293], McIntosh, Anne C. S. [0000-0002-7802-2205], Miesel, Jessica R. [0000-0001-7446-464X], Moreno, Gerardo [0000-0001-8053-2696], Pakeman, Robin J. [0000-0001-6248-4133], Pinno, Bradley D., Piñeiro, Juan [0000-0002-0825-4174], Rolo, Víctor [0000-0001-5854-9512], Rutherford, P. Michael [0000-0002-5065-7700], Sayer, Emma J. [0000-0002-3322-4487], Van Sundert, Kevin [0000-0001-6180-3075], Vitkova, Michaela [0000-0002-2848-7725], Weigel, R. [0000-0001-9685-6783], Wilton, Meaghan [0000-0003-2915-3863], Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Risch, Anita C., Ashton, Louise, Augustine, David, Bélanger, Nicolas, Bridgham, Scott, Britton, A.J., Bruckman, Viktor J., Camarero, Jesús Julio, Cornelissen, Gerard, Crawford John A., Dijkstra, Feike A., Diochon, Amanda, Earl, Stevan, Edgerley, James, Epstein, Howard, Felton, Andrew, Fortier, Julien, Gagnon, Daniel, Greer, Ken, Griffiths, Hannah M, Halde, Caroline, Hanslin, Hans M., Harris, Lorna I., Hartsock, Jeremy, Hendrickson, Paul, Hovstad, Knut Anders, Hu, Jia, Jani. Arun D., Kent, Kelcy, Kerdraon-Byrne, Deirdre, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., Lai, Derrick Y. F., Lambert, France, LaMontagne, Jalene M., Lavergne, Stéphanie, Lawrence. Beth A., Littke, Kim, Leeper, Abigail C., Licht, Mark A., Liebig, Mark A., Lynn, Joshua S., Maclean, Janet E., Martinsen, Vegard, McDaniel, Marshall D., McIntosh, Anne C. S., Miesel, Jessica R., Miller, Jim, Mulvaney, Michael J., Moreno, Gerardo, Newstead, Laura, Pakeman, Robin J., Pergl, Jan, Piñeiro, Juan, Quigley, Kathleen, Radtke, Troy M., Reed, Paul, Rolo, Víctor, Rudgers, Jennifer, Rutherford, P. Michael, Sayer, Emma J., Serrano-Grijalva, Lilia, Strack, Maria, Sukdeo, Nicole, Taylor, Andy F. S., Truax, Benoit, Tsuji, Leonard J. S., Van Gestel, Natasja, Vaness, Brenda M., Van Sundert, Kevin, Vitkova, Michaela, Weigel, R., Wilton, Meaghan, Yano, Yuriko, Teen, Ewing, Bremer, Eric, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España), Ministerio de Universidades (España), European Commission, Junta de Andalucía, Fundación Biodiversidad, Belgian American Educational Foundation, Research Foundation - Flanders, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Czech Science Foundation, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, National Science Foundation (US), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (US), DePaul University, Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation, Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl [0000-0002-1839-6926], Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel [0000-0002-6499-576X], Britton, A.J. [0000-0002-0603-7432], Camarero, Jesús Julio [0000-0003-2436-2922], Earl, Stevan [0000-0002-4465-452X], Epstein, Howard [0000-0003-2817-4486], Felton, Andrew [0000-0002-1533-6071], Halde, Caroline [0000-0002-4974-1411], Hanslin, Hans M. [0000-0002-3224-2368], Harris, Lorna I. [0000-0002-2637-4030], Hartsock, Jeremy [0000-0002-0468-2630], Hovstad, Knut Anders [0000-0002-7108-0787], Khalsa, Sat Darshan S. [0000-0003-1995-2469], LaMontagne, Jalene M. [0000-0001-7713-8591], Lavergne, Stéphanie [0000-0002-7197-107X], Littke, Kim [0000-0002-0187-1663], Licht, Mark A. [0000-0001-6640-7856], McDaniel, Marshall D. [0000-0001-6267-7293], McIntosh, Anne C. S. [0000-0002-7802-2205], Miesel, Jessica R. [0000-0001-7446-464X], Moreno, Gerardo [0000-0001-8053-2696], Pakeman, Robin J. [0000-0001-6248-4133], Pinno, Bradley D., Piñeiro, Juan [0000-0002-0825-4174], Rolo, Víctor [0000-0001-5854-9512], Rutherford, P. Michael [0000-0002-5065-7700], Sayer, Emma J. [0000-0002-3322-4487], Van Sundert, Kevin [0000-0001-6180-3075], Vitkova, Michaela [0000-0002-2848-7725], Weigel, R. [0000-0001-9685-6783], Wilton, Meaghan [0000-0003-2915-3863], Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Risch, Anita C., Ashton, Louise, Augustine, David, Bélanger, Nicolas, Bridgham, Scott, Britton, A.J., Bruckman, Viktor J., Camarero, Jesús Julio, Cornelissen, Gerard, Crawford John A., Dijkstra, Feike A., Diochon, Amanda, Earl, Stevan, Edgerley, James, Epstein, Howard, Felton, Andrew, Fortier, Julien, Gagnon, Daniel, Greer, Ken, Griffiths, Hannah M, Halde, Caroline, Hanslin, Hans M., Harris, Lorna I., Hartsock, Jeremy, Hendrickson, Paul, Hovstad, Knut Anders, Hu, Jia, Jani. Arun D., Kent, Kelcy, Kerdraon-Byrne, Deirdre, Khalsa, Sat Darshan S., Lai, Derrick Y. F., Lambert, France, LaMontagne, Jalene M., Lavergne, Stéphanie, Lawrence. Beth A., Littke, Kim, Leeper, Abigail C., Licht, Mark A., Liebig, Mark A., Lynn, Joshua S., Maclean, Janet E., Martinsen, Vegard, McDaniel, Marshall D., McIntosh, Anne C. S., Miesel, Jessica R., Miller, Jim, Mulvaney, Michael J., Moreno, Gerardo, Newstead, Laura, Pakeman, Robin J., Pergl, Jan, Piñeiro, Juan, Quigley, Kathleen, Radtke, Troy M., Reed, Paul, Rolo, Víctor, Rudgers, Jennifer, Rutherford, P. Michael, Sayer, Emma J., Serrano-Grijalva, Lilia, Strack, Maria, Sukdeo, Nicole, Taylor, Andy F. S., Truax, Benoit, Tsuji, Leonard J. S., Van Gestel, Natasja, Vaness, Brenda M., Van Sundert, Kevin, Vitkova, Michaela, Weigel, R., Wilton, Meaghan, Yano, Yuriko, Teen, Ewing, and Bremer, Eric

Abstract

Understanding the chemical composition of our planet's crust was one of the biggest questions of the 20th century. More than 100 years later, we are still far from understanding the global patterns in the bioavailability and spatial coupling of elements in topsoils worldwide, despite their importance for the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we measured the bioavailability and coupling of thirteen macro- and micronutrients and phytotoxic elements in topsoils (3–8 cm) from a range of terrestrial ecosystems across all continents (∼10,000 observations) and in response to global change manipulations (∼5,000 observations). For this, we incubated between 1 and 4 pairs of anionic and cationic exchange membranes per site for a mean period of 53 days. The most bioavailable elements (Ca, Mg, and K) were also amongst the most abundant in the crust. Patterns of bioavailability were biome-dependent and controlled by soil properties such as pH, organic matter content and texture, plant cover, and climate. However, global change simulations resulted in important alterations in the bioavailability of elements. Elements were highly coupled, and coupling was predictable by the atomic properties of elements, particularly mass, mass to charge ratio, and second ionization energy. Deviations from the predictable coupling-atomic mass relationship were attributed to global change and agriculture. Our work illustrates the tight links between the bioavailability and coupling of topsoil elements and environmental context, human activities, and atomic properties of elements, thus deeply enhancing our integrated understanding of the biogeochemical connections that underlie the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing world.

Published
2023

24. Vertical stratification of moths across elevation and latitude

Author

Ashton, Louise A., Nakamura, Akihiro, Basset, Yves, Burwell, Chris J., Cao, Min, Eastwood, Rodney, Odell, Erica, de Oliveira, Evandro Gama, Hurley, Karen, Katabuchi, Masatoshi, Marniseli, Sarah, McBroom, James, Schmidl, Jürgen, Sun, Zhenhua, Tang, Yong, Whitaker, Terry, Laidlaw, Melinda J., McDonald, William J. F., and Kitching, Roger L.

Published
2016

28. Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates

Author

Zanne, Amy E, Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, Powell, Jeff R, Cornwell, William K, Dalling, James W, Austin, Amy T, Classen, Aimée T, Eggleton, Paul, Okada, Kei-Ichi, Parr, Catherine L, Adair, E Carol, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Alam, Md Azharul, Alvarez-Garzón, Carolina, Apgaua, Deborah, Aragón, Roxana, Ardon, Marcelo, Arndt, Stefan K, Ashton, Louise A, Barber, Nicholas A, Beauchêne, Jacques, Berg, Matty P, Beringer, Jason, Boer, Matthias M, Bonet, José Antonio, Bunney, Katherine, Burkhardt, Tynan J, Carvalho, Dulcinéia, Castillo-Figueroa, Dennis, Cernusak, Lucas A, Cheesman, Alexander W, Cirne-Silva, Tainá M, Cleverly, Jamie R, Cornelissen, Johannes H C, Curran, Timothy J, D'Angioli, André M, Dallstream, Caroline, Eisenhauer, Nico, Evouna Ondo, Fidele, Fajardo, Alex, Fernandez, Romina D, Ferrer, Astrid, Fontes, Marco A L, Galatowitsch, Mark L, González, Grizelle, Gottschall, Felix, Grace, Peter R, Granda, Elena, Griffiths, Hannah M, Guerra Lara, Mariana, Hasegawa, Motohiro, Hefting, Mariet M, Hinko-Najera, Nina, Hutley, Lindsay B, Jones, Jennifer, Kahl, Anja, Karan, Mirko, Keuskamp, Joost A, Lardner, Tim, Liddell, Michael, Macfarlane, Craig, Macinnis-Ng, Cate, Mariano, Ravi F, Méndez, M Soledad, Meyer, Wayne S, Mori, Akira S, Moura, Aloysio S, Northwood, Matthew, Ogaya, Romà, Oliveira, Rafael S, Orgiazzi, Alberto, Pardo, Juliana, Peguero, Guille, Penuelas, Josep, Perez, Luis I, Posada, Juan M, Prada, Cecilia M, Přívětivý, Tomáš, Prober, Suzanne M, Prunier, Jonathan, Quansah, Gabriel W, Resco de Dios, Víctor, Richter, Ronny, Robertson, Mark P, Rocha, Lucas F, Rúa, Megan A, Sarmiento, Carolina, Silberstein, Richard P, Silva, Mateus C, Siqueira, Flávia Freire, Stillwagon, Matthew Glenn, Stol, Jacqui, Taylor, Melanie K, Teste, François P, Tng, David Y P, Tucker, David, Türke, Manfred, Ulyshen, Michael D, Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar J, van den Berg, Eduardo, van Logtestijn, Richard S P, Veen, G F Ciska, Vogel, Jason G, Wardlaw, Timothy J, Wiehl, Georg, Wirth, Christian, Woods, Michaela J, Zalamea, Paul-Camilo, Ecology and Biodiversity, Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Ecology and Biodiversity, Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Conservation Ecology Group, Animal Ecology, Systems Ecology, and Terrestrial Ecology (TE)

Subjects
Tropical Climate, Multidisciplinary, Temperature, Isoptera, Forests, Wood, Global Warming, Carbon Cycle, Tròpics--Clima, Explotació forestal, Cicle del carboni, Animals, Wood/microbiology, General
Abstract

Deadwood is a large global carbon store with its store size partially determined by biotic decay. Microbial wood decay rates are known to respond to changing temperature and precipitation. Termites are also important decomposers in the tropics but are less well studied. An understanding of their climate sensitivities is needed to estimate climate change effects on wood carbon pools. Using data from 133 sites spanning six continents, we found that termite wood discovery and consumption were highly sensitive to temperature (with decay increasing >6.8 times per 10°C increase in temperature)—even more so than microbes. Termite decay effects were greatest in tropical seasonal forests, tropical savannas, and subtropical deserts. With tropicalization (i.e., warming shifts to tropical climates), termite wood decay will likely increase as termites access more of Earth’s surface. This study received support from the following sources: US National Science Foundation (NSF) DEB-1655759 (A.E.Z.); US NSF DEB-2149151 (A.E.Z.); US NSF DEB-1713502 (M.A.); US NSF DEB-1713435 (M.A.); US NSF DEB-1647502 (N.A.B.); US NSF DEB-1546686 (G.G.); US NSF DEB-1831952 (G.G.); George Washington University (A.E.Z.); USDA Forest Service (G.G.); Centre College Faculty Development Funds (M.L.G.); Australia Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (P.R.G., M.K., M.L., M.M.B., R.P.S., J.S., L.B.H., M.N., S.M.P., T.J.W., and S.K.A.); Royal Society-FCDO Africa Capacity Building Initiative (C.L.P., G.W.Q., S.A.-B., K.B., F.E.O., and M.P.R.); New Phytologist Foundation (A.T.A.); Fondecyt grant 1160329 (C.D.); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES) (E.v.d.B., A.S.Mou., R.F.M., F.F.S., T.M.C.-S., R.S.O., and A.M.D.); Department of Ecology and Conservation of the Federal University of Lavras (T.M.C.-S.); CNPq (E.v.d.B. and R.S.O.); FAPEMIG (E.v.d.B.); Australian Academy of Science 2017 Thomas Davies Research Grant (J.R.P.); Australian Research Council DP160103765 (W.K.C., J.R.P., and A.E.Z.); UK National Environment Research Council NE/L000016/1 (L.A.A.); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil NERC - FAPESP 19/07773-1 (R.S.O. and A.M.D.); Environment Research and Technology Development Fund ERTDF, JPMEERF15S11420 of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan (A.S.Mor. and K.O.); COLCIENCIAS no. FP44842-046-2017 (J.M.P.); Spanish government PID2019-110521GB-I00 (J.Pe., G.P., and R.O.); Catalan government grant SGR 2017-1005 (J.Pe., G.P., and R.O.); Fundación Ramón Areces ELEMENTAL-CLIMATE (J.Pe., G.P., and R.O.); National Agency for the Promotion of Research, Technological Development and Innovation, Scientific and Technological Research Project 2018-01561 PICT 2018-01561 (F.P.T.); ANID PIA/BASAL FB210006 (A.Fa.); Millennium Science Initiative Program NCN2021-050 (A.Fa.); iDiv German Research Foundation DFG–FZT 118, 202548816 (N.E.); and European Research Council Horizon 2020 research and innovation program no. 677232 (N.E.).

Published
2022

33. Global insect decline is the result of wilful political failure:A battle plan for entomology

Author

Donkersley, Philip, Ashton, Louise, Lamarre, Greg P.A., Segar, Simon, Donkersley, Philip, Ashton, Louise, Lamarre, Greg P.A., and Segar, Simon

Abstract

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment assessed ecosystem change, human wellbeing and scientific evidence for sustainable use of biological systems. Despite intergovernmental acknowledgement of the problem, global ecological decline has continued, including declines in insect biodiversity, which has received much media attention in recent years. Several roadmaps to averting biological declines have failed due to various economic and political factors, and so biodiversity loss continues, driven by several interacting human pressures. Humans are innately linked with nature but tend to take it for granted. The benefits we gain from the insect world are broad, yet aversion or phobias of invertebrates are common, and stand firmly in the path of their successful conservation. Providing an integrated synthesis for policy teams, conservation NGOs, academic researchers and those interested in public engagement, this article considers: (1) The lack of progress to preserve and protect insects. (2) Examples relating to insect decline and contributions insects make to people worldwide, and consequently what we stand to lose. (3) How to engage the public, governmental organizations and researchers through “insect contributions to people” to better address insect declines. International political will has consistently acknowledged the existence of biodiversity decline, but apart from a few narrow cases of charismatic megafauna, little meaningful change has been achieved. Public values are reflected in political willpower, the progress being made across the world, changing views on insects in the public should initiate a much-needed political sea-change. Taking both existing activity and required future actions, we outline an entomologist's “battle plan” to enormously expand our efforts and become the champions of insect conservation that the natural world needs.

Published
2022

34. Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates

Author

Ecology and Biodiversity, Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Zanne, Amy E, Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, Powell, Jeff R, Cornwell, William K, Dalling, James W, Austin, Amy T, Classen, Aimée T, Eggleton, Paul, Okada, Kei-Ichi, Parr, Catherine L, Adair, E Carol, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Alam, Md Azharul, Alvarez-Garzón, Carolina, Apgaua, Deborah, Aragón, Roxana, Ardon, Marcelo, Arndt, Stefan K, Ashton, Louise A, Barber, Nicholas A, Beauchêne, Jacques, Berg, Matty P, Beringer, Jason, Boer, Matthias M, Bonet, José Antonio, Bunney, Katherine, Burkhardt, Tynan J, Carvalho, Dulcinéia, Castillo-Figueroa, Dennis, Cernusak, Lucas A, Cheesman, Alexander W, Cirne-Silva, Tainá M, Cleverly, Jamie R, Cornelissen, Johannes H C, Curran, Timothy J, D'Angioli, André M, Dallstream, Caroline, Eisenhauer, Nico, Evouna Ondo, Fidele, Fajardo, Alex, Fernandez, Romina D, Ferrer, Astrid, Fontes, Marco A L, Galatowitsch, Mark L, González, Grizelle, Gottschall, Felix, Grace, Peter R, Granda, Elena, Griffiths, Hannah M, Guerra Lara, Mariana, Hasegawa, Motohiro, Hefting, Mariet M, Hinko-Najera, Nina, Hutley, Lindsay B, Jones, Jennifer, Kahl, Anja, Karan, Mirko, Keuskamp, Joost A, Lardner, Tim, Liddell, Michael, Macfarlane, Craig, Macinnis-Ng, Cate, Mariano, Ravi F, Méndez, M Soledad, Meyer, Wayne S, Mori, Akira S, Moura, Aloysio S, Northwood, Matthew, Ogaya, Romà, Oliveira, Rafael S, Orgiazzi, Alberto, Pardo, Juliana, Peguero, Guille, Penuelas, Josep, Perez, Luis I, Posada, Juan M, Prada, Cecilia M, Přívětivý, Tomáš, Prober, Suzanne M, Prunier, Jonathan, Quansah, Gabriel W, Resco de Dios, Víctor, Richter, Ronny, Robertson, Mark P, Rocha, Lucas F, Rúa, Megan A, Sarmiento, Carolina, Silberstein, Richard P, Silva, Mateus C, Siqueira, Flávia Freire, Stillwagon, Matthew Glenn, Stol, Jacqui, Taylor, Melanie K, Teste, François P, Tng, David Y P, Tucker, David, Türke, Manfred, Ulyshen, Michael D, Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar J, van den Berg, Eduardo, van Logtestijn, Richard S P, Veen, G F Ciska, Vogel, Jason G, Wardlaw, Timothy J, Wiehl, Georg, Wirth, Christian, Woods, Michaela J, Zalamea, Paul-Camilo, Ecology and Biodiversity, Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Zanne, Amy E, Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, Powell, Jeff R, Cornwell, William K, Dalling, James W, Austin, Amy T, Classen, Aimée T, Eggleton, Paul, Okada, Kei-Ichi, Parr, Catherine L, Adair, E Carol, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Alam, Md Azharul, Alvarez-Garzón, Carolina, Apgaua, Deborah, Aragón, Roxana, Ardon, Marcelo, Arndt, Stefan K, Ashton, Louise A, Barber, Nicholas A, Beauchêne, Jacques, Berg, Matty P, Beringer, Jason, Boer, Matthias M, Bonet, José Antonio, Bunney, Katherine, Burkhardt, Tynan J, Carvalho, Dulcinéia, Castillo-Figueroa, Dennis, Cernusak, Lucas A, Cheesman, Alexander W, Cirne-Silva, Tainá M, Cleverly, Jamie R, Cornelissen, Johannes H C, Curran, Timothy J, D'Angioli, André M, Dallstream, Caroline, Eisenhauer, Nico, Evouna Ondo, Fidele, Fajardo, Alex, Fernandez, Romina D, Ferrer, Astrid, Fontes, Marco A L, Galatowitsch, Mark L, González, Grizelle, Gottschall, Felix, Grace, Peter R, Granda, Elena, Griffiths, Hannah M, Guerra Lara, Mariana, Hasegawa, Motohiro, Hefting, Mariet M, Hinko-Najera, Nina, Hutley, Lindsay B, Jones, Jennifer, Kahl, Anja, Karan, Mirko, Keuskamp, Joost A, Lardner, Tim, Liddell, Michael, Macfarlane, Craig, Macinnis-Ng, Cate, Mariano, Ravi F, Méndez, M Soledad, Meyer, Wayne S, Mori, Akira S, Moura, Aloysio S, Northwood, Matthew, Ogaya, Romà, Oliveira, Rafael S, Orgiazzi, Alberto, Pardo, Juliana, Peguero, Guille, Penuelas, Josep, Perez, Luis I, Posada, Juan M, Prada, Cecilia M, Přívětivý, Tomáš, Prober, Suzanne M, Prunier, Jonathan, Quansah, Gabriel W, Resco de Dios, Víctor, Richter, Ronny, Robertson, Mark P, Rocha, Lucas F, Rúa, Megan A, Sarmiento, Carolina, Silberstein, Richard P, Silva, Mateus C, Siqueira, Flávia Freire, Stillwagon, Matthew Glenn, Stol, Jacqui, Taylor, Melanie K, Teste, François P, Tng, David Y P, Tucker, David, Türke, Manfred, Ulyshen, Michael D, Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar J, van den Berg, Eduardo, van Logtestijn, Richard S P, Veen, G F Ciska, Vogel, Jason G, Wardlaw, Timothy J, Wiehl, Georg, Wirth, Christian, Woods, Michaela J, and Zalamea, Paul-Camilo

Published
2022

35. Global insect decline is the result of wilful political failure : A battle plan for entomology

Author

Donkersley, Philip, Ashton, Louise, Lamarre, Greg P.A., Segar, Simon, Donkersley, Philip, Ashton, Louise, Lamarre, Greg P.A., and Segar, Simon

Abstract

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment assessed ecosystem change, human wellbeing and scientific evidence for sustainable use of biological systems. Despite intergovernmental acknowledgement of the problem, global ecological decline has continued, including declines in insect biodiversity, which has received much media attention in recent years. Several roadmaps to averting biological declines have failed due to various economic and political factors, and so biodiversity loss continues, driven by several interacting human pressures. Humans are innately linked with nature but tend to take it for granted. The benefits we gain from the insect world are broad, yet aversion or phobias of invertebrates are common, and stand firmly in the path of their successful conservation. Providing an integrated synthesis for policy teams, conservation NGOs, academic researchers and those interested in public engagement, this article considers: (1) The lack of progress to preserve and protect insects. (2) Examples relating to insect decline and contributions insects make to people worldwide, and consequently what we stand to lose. (3) How to engage the public, governmental organizations and researchers through “insect contributions to people” to better address insect declines. International political will has consistently acknowledged the existence of biodiversity decline, but apart from a few narrow cases of charismatic megafauna, little meaningful change has been achieved. Public values are reflected in political willpower, the progress being made across the world, changing views on insects in the public should initiate a much-needed political sea-change. Taking both existing activity and required future actions, we outline an entomologist's “battle plan” to enormously expand our efforts and become the champions of insect conservation that the natural world needs.

Published
2022

36. Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates

Author

Zanne, Amy E., Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, Powell, Jeff R., Cornwell, William K., Dalling, James W., Austin, Amy T., Classen, Aimée T., Eggleton, Paul, Okada, Kei Ichi, Parr, Catherine L., Carol Adair, E., Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Alam, Md Azharul, Alvarez-Garzón, Carolina, Apgaua, Deborah, Aragón, Roxana, Ardon, Marcelo, Arndt, Stefan K., Ashton, Louise A., Barber, Nicholas A., Beauchêne, Jacques, Berg, Matty P., Beringer, Jason, Boer, Matthias M., Bonet, José Antonio, Bunney, Katherine, Burkhardt, Tynan J., Carvalho, Dulcinéia, Castillo-Figueroa, Dennis, Cernusak, Lucas A., Cheesman, Alexander W., Cirne-Silva, Tainá M., Cleverly, Jamie R., Cornelissen, Johannes H.C., Curran, Timothy J., D’Angioli, André M., Dallstream, Caroline, Eisenhauer, Nico, Ondo, Fidele Evouna, Fajardo, Alex, Fernandez, Romina D., Ferrer, Astrid, Fontes, Marco A.L., Galatowitsch, Mark L., González, Grizelle, Gottschall, Felix, Grace, Peter R., Granda, Elena, Griffiths, Hannah M., Lara, Mariana Guerra, Hasegawa, Motohiro, Hefting, Mariet M., Hinko-Najera, Nina, Hutley, Lindsay B., Jones, Jennifer, Kahl, Anja, Karan, Mirko, Keuskamp, Joost A., Lardner, Tim, Liddell, Michael, Macfarlane, Craig, Macinnis-Ng, Cate, Mariano, Ravi F., Soledad Méndez, M., Meyer, Wayne S., Mori, Akira S., Moura, Aloysio S., Northwood, Matthew, Ogaya, Romà, Oliveira, Rafael S., Orgiazzi, Alberto, Pardo, Juliana, Peguero, Guille, Penuelas, Josep, Perez, Luis I., Posada, Juan M., Prada, Cecilia M., Přívětivý, Tomáš, Prober, Suzanne M., Prunier, Jonathan, Quansah, Gabriel W., de Dios, Víctor Resco, Richter, Ronny, Robertson, Mark P., Rocha, Lucas F., Rúa, Megan A., Sarmiento, Carolina, Silberstein, Richard P., Silva, Mateus C., Siqueira, Flávia Freire, Stillwagon, Matthew Glenn, Stol, Jacqui, Taylor, Melanie K., Teste, François P., Tng, David Y.P., Tucker, David, Türke, Manfred, Ulyshen, Michael D., Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar J., van den Berg, Eduardo, van Logtestijn, Richard S.P., Ciska Veen, G. F., Vogel, Jason G., Wardlaw, Timothy J., Wiehl, Georg, Wirth, Christian, Woods, Michaela J., Zalamea, Paul Camilo, Zanne, Amy E., Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, Powell, Jeff R., Cornwell, William K., Dalling, James W., Austin, Amy T., Classen, Aimée T., Eggleton, Paul, Okada, Kei Ichi, Parr, Catherine L., Carol Adair, E., Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Alam, Md Azharul, Alvarez-Garzón, Carolina, Apgaua, Deborah, Aragón, Roxana, Ardon, Marcelo, Arndt, Stefan K., Ashton, Louise A., Barber, Nicholas A., Beauchêne, Jacques, Berg, Matty P., Beringer, Jason, Boer, Matthias M., Bonet, José Antonio, Bunney, Katherine, Burkhardt, Tynan J., Carvalho, Dulcinéia, Castillo-Figueroa, Dennis, Cernusak, Lucas A., Cheesman, Alexander W., Cirne-Silva, Tainá M., Cleverly, Jamie R., Cornelissen, Johannes H.C., Curran, Timothy J., D’Angioli, André M., Dallstream, Caroline, Eisenhauer, Nico, Ondo, Fidele Evouna, Fajardo, Alex, Fernandez, Romina D., Ferrer, Astrid, Fontes, Marco A.L., Galatowitsch, Mark L., González, Grizelle, Gottschall, Felix, Grace, Peter R., Granda, Elena, Griffiths, Hannah M., Lara, Mariana Guerra, Hasegawa, Motohiro, Hefting, Mariet M., Hinko-Najera, Nina, Hutley, Lindsay B., Jones, Jennifer, Kahl, Anja, Karan, Mirko, Keuskamp, Joost A., Lardner, Tim, Liddell, Michael, Macfarlane, Craig, Macinnis-Ng, Cate, Mariano, Ravi F., Soledad Méndez, M., Meyer, Wayne S., Mori, Akira S., Moura, Aloysio S., Northwood, Matthew, Ogaya, Romà, Oliveira, Rafael S., Orgiazzi, Alberto, Pardo, Juliana, Peguero, Guille, Penuelas, Josep, Perez, Luis I., Posada, Juan M., Prada, Cecilia M., Přívětivý, Tomáš, Prober, Suzanne M., Prunier, Jonathan, Quansah, Gabriel W., de Dios, Víctor Resco, Richter, Ronny, Robertson, Mark P., Rocha, Lucas F., Rúa, Megan A., Sarmiento, Carolina, Silberstein, Richard P., Silva, Mateus C., Siqueira, Flávia Freire, Stillwagon, Matthew Glenn, Stol, Jacqui, Taylor, Melanie K., Teste, François P., Tng, David Y.P., Tucker, David, Türke, Manfred, Ulyshen, Michael D., Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar J., van den Berg, Eduardo, van Logtestijn, Richard S.P., Ciska Veen, G. F., Vogel, Jason G., Wardlaw, Timothy J., Wiehl, Georg, Wirth, Christian, Woods, Michaela J., and Zalamea, Paul Camilo

Abstract

Deadwood is a large global carbon store with its store size partially determined by biotic decay. Microbial wood decay rates are known to respond to changing temperature and precipitation. Termites are also important decomposers in the tropics but are less well studied. An understanding of their climate sensitivities is needed to estimate climate change effects on wood carbon pools. Using data from 133 sites spanning six continents, we found that termite wood discovery and consumption were highly sensitive to temperature (with decay increasing >6.8 times per 10°C increase in temperature)—even more so than microbes. Termite decay effects were greatest in tropical seasonal forests, tropical savannas, and subtropical deserts. With tropicalization (i.e., warming shifts to tropical climates), termite wood decay will likely increase as termites access more of Earth’s surface.

Published
2022
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37. A Puzzle with Missing Pieces : Explaining the Effectiveness of World Bank Development Projects

Author

Ashton, Louise, Friedman, Jed, Goldemberg, Diana, Hussain, Mustafa Zakir, Kenyon, Thomas, Khan, Akib, and Zhou, Mo

Subjects
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT SUCCESS, WORLD BANK OPERATIONS, PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION, INSTITUTIONAL SETTING, PROJECT DESIGN, PROJECT EFFECTIVENESS, DEVELOPMENT AID EFFECTIVENESS
Abstract

The identification of key determinants of aid effectiveness is a long-standing question in the development community. This paper reviews the literature on aid effectiveness at the project level and then extends the inquiry in a variety of dimensions with new data on World Bank investment project financing. It confirms that the country institutional setting and quality of project supervision are associated with project success, as identified previously. However, many aspects of the development project cycle, especially project design, have been difficult to measure and therefore under-investigated. The paper finds that project design, as proxied by the estimated value added of design staff, the presence of prior analytic work, and other specially collected measures, is a significant predictor of ultimate project success. These factors generally grow in predictive importance as the income level of the country rises. The results also indicate that a key determinant of the staff’s contribution is their experience with previous World Bank projects, but not other characteristics such as age, education, or country location. Key inputs to the project production process associated with subsequent performance are not captured in routine data systems, although it is feasible to do so. Further, the conceptualization and measurement of the success of project-based aid should be revisited by evaluative bodies to reflect a project’s theorized contribution to development outcomes.

Published
2021

38. Temperature sensitivity of termites determines global wood decay rates

Author

Zanne, Amy, primary, Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, additional, Powell, Jeff, additional, Cornwell, William, additional, Dalling, James, additional, Austin, Amy, additional, Classen, Aimee, additional, Eggleton, Paul, additional, Okada, Kei-ichi, additional, Parr, Catherine, additional, Adair, E., additional, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, additional, Alam, Md Azharul, additional, Alvarez-Garzón, Carolina, additional, Apgaua, Deborah, additional, Aragon, Roxana, additional, Ardón, Marcelo, additional, Arndt, Stefan, additional, Ashton, Louise, additional, Barber, Nicholas, additional, Beauchêne, Jacques, additional, Berg, Matty, additional, Beringer, Jason, additional, Boer, Matthias, additional, Bonet, José, additional, Bunney, Katherine, additional, Burkhardt, Tynan, additional, Carvalho, Dulcineia, additional, Castillo-Figueroa, Dennis, additional, Cernusak, Lucas, additional, Cheesman, Alexander, additional, Cirne-Silva, Taina, additional, Cleverly, Jamie, additional, Cornelissen, J. Hans C., additional, Curran, Timothy, additional, D'Angioli, André, additional, Dallstream, Caroline, additional, Eisenhauer, Nico, additional, Ondo, Fidèle Evouna, additional, Fajardo, Alex, additional, Fernandez, Romina, additional, Ferrer, Astrid, additional, Fontes, Marco, additional, Galatowitsch, Mark, additional, González, Grizelle, additional, Gottschall, Felix, additional, Grace, Peter, additional, Granda, Elena, additional, Griffiths, Hannah, additional, Lara, Mariana Guerra, additional, Hasegawa, Motohiro, additional, Hefting, Mariet, additional, Hinko-Najera, Nina, additional, Hutley, Lindsay, additional, Jones, Jennifer, additional, Kahl, Anja, additional, Karan, Mirko, additional, Keuskamp, Joost, additional, Lardner, Tim, additional, Liddell, Michael, additional, Macfarlane, Craig, additional, Macinnis-Ng, Cate, additional, Mariano, Ravi, additional, Meyer, Wayne, additional, Mori, Akira, additional, Moura, Aloysio, additional, Northwood, Matthew, additional, Ogaya, Romà, additional, Oliveira, Rafael, additional, Orgiazzi, Alberto, additional, Pardo, Juliana, additional, Peguero, Guille, additional, Penuelas, Josep, additional, Perez, Luis, additional, Posada, Juan, additional, Prada, Cecilia, additional, Přívětivý, Tomáš, additional, Prober, Suzanne, additional, Prunier, Jonathan, additional, Quansah, Gabriel, additional, de Dios, Víctor Resco, additional, Richter, Ronny, additional, Robertson, Mark, additional, Rocha, Lucas, additional, Rúa, Megan, additional, Sarmiento, Carolina, additional, Silberstein, Richard, additional, Silva, Mateus, additional, Siqueira, Flávia, additional, Stillwagon, Matthew, additional, Stol, Jacqui, additional, Taylor, Melanie, additional, Teste, Francois, additional, Tng, David, additional, Tucker, David, additional, Türke, Manfred, additional, Ulyshen, Michael, additional, Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar, additional, Berg, Eduardo van den, additional, Logtestijn, Richard van, additional, Veen, Ciska, additional, Vogel, Jason, additional, Wardlaw, Timothy, additional, Wiehl, Georg, additional, Wirth, Christian, additional, Woods, Michaela, additional, Zalamea, Paul-Camilo, additional, and Méndez, Marcela, additional

Published
2022
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39. Puzzle with Missing Pieces: Explaining the Effectiveness of World Bank Development Projects.

Author

Ashton, Louise, Friedman, Jed, Goldemberg, Diana, Hussain, Mustafa Zakir, Kenyon, Thomas, Khan, Akib, and Zhou, Mo

Subjects
DEVELOPMENT banks, PROJECT finance, BANKING industry, BANK investments, MANUFACTURING processes, SCHOOL attendance
Abstract

The identification of key determinants of aid effectiveness is a long-standing question in the development community. This paper reviews the literature on aid effectiveness at the project level and then extends the inquiry in a variety of dimensions with new data on World Bank investment project financing. It confirms that the country institutional setting and quality of project supervision are associated with project success, as identified previously. However, many aspects of the development project cycle, especially project design, have been difficult to measure and therefore under-investigated. The paper finds that project design, as proxied by the estimated value added of design staff, the presence of prior analytic work, and other specially collected measures, is a significant predictor of ultimate project success. These factors generally grow in predictive importance as the income level of the country rises. The results also indicate that a key determinant of the staff's contribution is their experience with previous World Bank projects, but not other characteristics such as age, education, or country location. Key inputs to the project production process associated with subsequent performance are not captured in routine data systems, although it is feasible to do so. Further, the conceptualization and measurement of the success of project-based aid should be revisited by evaluative bodies to reflect a project's theorized contribution to development outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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40. Heat tolerance variation reveals vulnerability of tropical herbivore–parasitoid interactions to climate change.

Author

Wenda, Cheng, Gaitán‐Espitia, Juan Diego, Solano‐Iguaran, Jaiber J., Nakamura, Akihiro, Majcher, Bartosz M., and Ashton, Louise A.

Subjects
RAIN forests, COMMUNITIES, FOREST canopies, FOOD chains, ENVIRONMENTAL history, ECOSYSTEMS
Abstract

Assessing the heat tolerance (CTmax) of organisms is central to understand the impact of climate change on biodiversity. While both environment and evolutionary history affect CTmax, it remains unclear how these factors and their interplay influence ecological interactions, communities and ecosystems under climate change. We collected and reared caterpillars and parasitoids from canopy and ground layers in different seasons in a tropical rainforest. We tested the CTmax and Thermal Safety Margins (TSM) of these food webs with implications for how species interactions could shift under climate change. We identified strong influence of phylogeny in herbivore–parasitoid community heat tolerance. The TSM of all insects were narrower in the canopy and parasitoids had lower heat tolerance compared to their hosts. Our CTmax‐based simulation showed higher herbivore–parasitoid food web instability under climate change than previously assumed, highlighting the vulnerability of parasitoids and related herbivore control in tropical rainforests, particularly in the forest canopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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41. Season and herbivore defence trait mediate tri‐trophic interactions in tropical rainforest.

Author

Wenda, Cheng, Nakamura, Akihiro, and Ashton, Louise A.

Subjects
RAIN forests, PLANT phenology, HERBIVORES, BOTANICAL chemistry, ENDANGERED species, ECOSYSTEMS
Abstract

Bottom‐up effects from host plants and top‐down effects from predators on herbivore abundance and distribution vary with physical environment, plant chemistry, predator and herbivore trait and diversity. Tri‐trophic interactions in tropical ecosystems may follow different patterns from temperate ecosystems due to differences in above abiotic and biotic conditions.We sampled leaf‐chewing larvae of Lepidoptera (caterpillars) from a dominant host tree species in a seasonal rainforest in Southwest China. We reared out parasitoids and grouped herbivores based on their diet preferences, feeding habits and defence mechanisms. We compared caterpillar abundance with leaf numbers ('bottom‐up' effects) and parasitoid abundance ('top‐down' effects) between different seasons and herbivore traits.We found bottom‐up effects were stronger than top‐down effects. Both bottom‐up and top‐down effects were stronger in the dry season than in the wet season, which were driven by polyphagous rare species and host plant phenology. Contrary to our predictions, herbivore traits did not influence differences in the bottom‐up or top‐down effects except for stronger top‐down effects for shelter‐builders. Our study shows season is the main predictor of the bottom‐up and top‐down effects in the tropics and highlights the complexity of these interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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