Research publications

Please contact your Faculty Web Officer to add a Research publications feed to a page/section

Search or filter publications

Filter by type:

Filter by publication type

Filter by year:

to

Results

  • Showing results for:
  • Reset all filters

Search results

  • Journal article
    Dell AI, Pawar S, Savage VM, 2013,

    Temperature dependence of trophic interactions are driven by asymmetry of species responses and foraging strategy

    , Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol: 82, ISSN: 1365-2656

    Environmental temperature has systematic effects on rates of species interactions, primarily through its influence on organismal physiology. We present a mechanistic model for the thermal response of consumer-resource interactions. We focus on how temperature affects species interactions via key traits - body velocity, detection distance, search rate and handling time - that underlie per capita consumption rate. The model is general because it applies to all foraging strategies: active-capture (both consumer and resource body velocity are important), sit-and-wait (resource velocity dominates) and grazing (consumer velocity dominates). The model predicts that temperature influences consumer-resource interactions primarily through its effects on body velocity (either of the consumer, resource or both), which determines how often consumers and resources encounter each other, and that asymmetries in the thermal responses of interacting species can introduce qualitative, not just quantitative, changes in consumer-resource dynamics. We illustrate this by showing how asymmetries in thermal responses determine equilibrium population densities in interacting consumer-resource pairs. We test for the existence of asymmetries in consumer-resource thermal responses by analysing an extensive database on thermal response curves of ecological traits for 309 species spanning 15 orders of magnitude in body size from terrestrial, marine and freshwater habitats. We find that asymmetries in consumer-resource thermal responses are likely to be a common occurrence. Overall, our study reveals the importance of asymmetric thermal responses in consumer-resource dynamics. In particular, we identify three general types of asymmetries: (i) different levels of performance of the response, (ii) different rates of response (e.g. activation energies) and (iii) different peak or optimal temperatures. Such asymmetries should occur more frequently as the climate changes and species’ geographical
  • Journal article
    Yessoufou K, Davies TJ, Maurin O, Kuzmina M, Schaefer H, van der Bank M, Savolainen Vet al., 2013,

    Large herbivores favour species diversity but have mixed impacts on phylogenetic community structure in an African savanna ecosystem

    , JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Vol: 101, Pages: 614-625, ISSN: 0022-0477
  • Journal article
    Papworth S, Milner-Gulland EJ, Slocombe K, 2013,

    Hunted Woolly Monkeys (<i>Lagothrix poeppigii</i>) Show Threat-Sensitive Responses to Human Presence

    , PLOS ONE, Vol: 8, ISSN: 1932-6203
  • Journal article
    Besnard G, Khadari B, Navascues M, Fernandez-Mazuecos M, El Bakkali A, Arrigo N, Baali-Cherif D, de Caraffa VB-B, Santoni S, Vargas P, Savolainen Vet al., 2013,

    The complex history of the olive tree: from Late Quaternary diversification of Mediterranean lineages to primary domestication in the northern Levant

    , PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Vol: 280, ISSN: 0962-8452
  • Journal article
    Jenkins GB, Woodward G, Hildrew AG, 2013,

    Long-term amelioration of acidity accelerates decomposition in headwater streams.

    , Glob Chang Biol, Vol: 19, Pages: 1100-1106, ISSN: 1354-1013

    The secondary production of culturally acidified streams is low, with a few species of generalist detritivores dominating invertebrate assemblages, while decomposition processes are impaired. In a series of lowland headwater streams in southern England, we measured the rate of cellulolytic decomposition and compared it with values measured three decades ago, when anthropogenic acidification was at its peak. We hypothesized that, if acidity has indeed ameliorated, the rate of decomposition will have accelerated, thus potentially supporting greater secondary production and the longer food chains that have been observed in some well-studied recovering freshwater systems. We used cellulose Shirley test cloth as a standardized bioassay to measure the rate of cellulolytic decomposition, via loss in tensile strength, for 31 streams in the Ashdown Forest over 7 days in summer 2011 and 49 days in winter 2012. We compared this with data from an otherwise identical study conducted in 1978 and 1979. In a secondary study, we determined whether decomposition followed a linear or logarithmic decay and, as Shirley cloth is no longer available, we tested an alternative in the form of readily available calico. Overall mean pH had increased markedly over the 32 years between the studies (from 6.0 to 6.7). In both the previous and contemporary studies, the relationship between decomposition and pH was strongest in winter, when pH reaches a seasonal minimum. As in the late 1970s, there was no relationship in 2011/2012 between pH and decay rate in summer. As postulated, decomposition in winter was significantly faster in 2011/2012 than in 1978/1979, with an average increase in decay rate of 18.1%. Recovery from acidification, due to decreased acidifying emissions and deposition, has led to an increase in the rate of cellulolytic decomposition. This response in a critical ecosystem process offers a potential explanation of one aspect of the limited biological recovery that has been observ
  • Journal article
    Coad L, Schleicher J, Milner-Gulland EJ, Marthews TR, Starkey M, Manica A, Balmford A, Mbombe W, Bineni TRD, Abernethy KAet al., 2013,

    Social and Ecological Change over a Decade in a Village Hunting System, Central Gabon

    , CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Vol: 27, Pages: 270-280, ISSN: 0888-8892
  • Journal article
    Papadopulos AST, Price Z, Devaux C, Hipperson H, Smadja CM, Hutton I, Baker WJ, Butlin RK, Savolainen Vet al., 2013,

    A comparative analysis of the mechanisms underlying speciation on Lord Howe Island

    , JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Vol: 26, Pages: 733-745, ISSN: 1010-061X
  • Journal article
    Ewers RM, Banks-Leite C, 2013,

    Fragmentation impairs the microclimate buffering effect of tropical forests

    , PLoS One, Vol: 8, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 1932-6203

    BackgroundTropical forest species are among the most sensitive to changing climatic conditions, and the forest they inhabit helps to buffer their microclimate from the variable climatic conditions outside the forest. However, habitat fragmentation and edge effects exposes vegetation to outside microclimatic conditions, thereby reducing the ability of the forest to buffer climatic variation. In this paper, we ask what proportion of forest in a fragmented ecosystem is impacted by altered microclimate conditions driven by edge effects, and extrapolate these results to the whole Atlantic Forest biome, one of the most disturbed biodiversity hotspots. To address these questions, we collected above and below ground temperature for a full year using temperature sensors placed in forest fragments of different sizes, and at different distances from the forest edge.Principal FindingsIn the Atlantic forests of Brazil, we found that the buffering effect of forests reduced maximum outside temperatures by one third or more at ground level within a forest, with the buffering effect being stronger below-ground than one metre above-ground. The temperature buffering effect of forests was, however, reduced near forest edges with the edge effect extending up to 20 m inside the forest. The heavily fragmented nature of the Brazilian Atlantic forest means that 12% of the remaining biome experiences altered microclimate conditions.ConclusionsOur results add further information about the extent of edge effects in the Atlantic Forest, and we suggest that maintaining a low perimeter-to-area ratio may be a judicious method for minimizing the amount of forest area that experiences altered microclimatic conditions in this ecosystem.
  • Journal article
    Connolly J, Bell T, Bolger T, Brophy C, Carnus T, Finn JA, Kirwan L, Isbell F, Levine J, Luescher A, Picasso V, Roscher C, Teresa Sebastia M, Suter M, Weigelt Aet al., 2013,

    An improved model to predict the effects of changing biodiversity levels on ecosystem function

    , JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Vol: 101, Pages: 344-355, ISSN: 0022-0477
  • Journal article
    Ledger ME, Brown LE, Edwards FK, Milner AM, Woodward Get al., 2013,

    Drought alters the structure and functioning of complex food webs

    , Nature Climate Change, Vol: 3, Pages: 223-227, ISSN: 1758-678X

This data is extracted from the Web of Science and reproduced under a licence from Thomson Reuters. You may not copy or re-distribute this data in whole or in part without the written consent of the Science business of Thomson Reuters.

Request URL: http://www.imperial.ac.uk:80/respub/WEB-INF/jsp/search-t4-html.jsp Request URI: /respub/WEB-INF/jsp/search-t4-html.jsp Query String: id=562&limit=10&page=12&respub-action=search.html Current Millis: 1723796383745 Current Time: Fri Aug 16 09:19:43 BST 2024