Biology subjects

Chala, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Chala, D..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

TwinEco: A Unified Framework for Dynamic Data-Driven Digital Twins in Ecology

1.A Digital Twin (DT) is a virtual replica of a physical object or process that is continuously updated at a certain frequency and can steer change on the physical system, enabling a seamless integration of observation, understanding, and action. Although initially applied primarily in industry, DT is emerging as a powerful tool in ecology, offering new possibilities for dynamic simulations of change in the biosphere. However, since DTs are relatively new in this field, there is currently no standard framework to guide their conceptualisation and development. Thus, DTs in ecological applications are already experiencing fragmentation in software concepts and design philosophies, leading to incompatibilities across DT implementations. This fragmentation risks undermining the progress and potential of the DT concept in ecology. A unifying framework, such as TwinEco, can address these discrepancies and establish a cohesive foundation for the effective adoption and integration of DTs across ecological domains. TwinEco is a modular framework designed to aid and harmonise ecologists efforts to build DTs. In doing so, TwinEco focuses on three major design goals: O_LIModularity, flexibility, and interoperability of DTs facilitated through distinct "components" nested within DT "layers". C_LIO_LIDynamic modeling of ecological processes and states that evolve over time. C_LIO_LILinking ecological modelling to downstream actions or decisions made on the ecological object or process of study. C_LI TwinEcos architecture builds upon the feedback loops and state management strategies introduced in the Dynamic Data-Driven Application Systems (DDDAS) paradigm, which has already inspired many DTs across scientific domains. We also discuss the usefulness and ease-of-use of TwinEco by demonstrating its applicability to computational case studies and suggesting future recommendations to the community of data infrastructure builders and modellers in regards to open considerations. By introducing a shared terminology and emphasising model-data fusion, TwinEco highlights the importance of a unified framework to avoid fragmentation in the burgeoning field of ecological digital twinning.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Different resource partitioning explains plant species richness patterns in tropical alpine ecosystems

Species co-existence based on resource partitioning modulates biodiversity patterns across latitudes and altitudes. Resource partitioning can occur via specialisation or separation in the geographic range or niche. Here, we compare two tropical alpine ecosystems with similar climates to test for geographic range and climatic niche partitioning strategies in explaining species richness difference. We compare the species-rich tropical alpine ecosystem in the South American Andes with the more species-poor one in the eastern African mountains. We combine phylogenomic data for three locally diversified plant lineages in each region with occurrence records and estimate climatic niche and geographic range metrics (size and overlap). We found that the Andean species have overall larger niches than the African species, thus smaller niches indicating specialisation is not the explanation for the higher species richness in the Andes. Instead, for species with overlapping geographic ranges, we found that the Andean species tend to show less niche overlap than the African species, indicating more effective niche separation. Taken together, we propose that different degrees of niche separation in geographically overlapping species, and hence, a different pattern of resource partitioning, explain the differences in species richness between the two tropical alpine ecosystems.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Distribution and extent of suitable habitat for geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in the Anthropocene

BackgroundClimate change coupled with other anthropogenic pressures may affect species distributions, often causing extinctions at different scales. This is particularly true for species occupying marginal habitats such as gelada, Theropithecus gelada. Our study aimed to model the impact of climate change on the distribution of suitable habitats for geladas and draw conservation implications. Our modelling was based on 285 presence locations of geladas, covering their complete current distribution. We used different techniques to generate pseudoabsence datasets, MaxEnt model complexities, and cut-off thresholds to map the potential distribution of gelada under current and future climates (2050 and 2070). We assembled maps from these techniques to produce a final composite map. We also evaluated the change in the topographic features of gelada over the past 200 years by comparing the topography in current and historical settings. ResultsAll model runs had high performances, AUC = 0.87 - 0.96. Under the current climate, the suitable habitat predicted with high certainty was 90,891 km2, but it decreased remarkably under future climates, -36% by 2050 and -52% by 2070. Whereas no remarkable range shift was predicted under future climates, currently geladas are confined to higher altitudes and complex landscapes compared to historical sightings, probably qualifying geladas as refugee species. ConclusionsOur findings indicated that climate change most likely results in a loss of suitable habitat for geladas, particularly south of the Rift Valley. The difference in topography between current and historical sightings is potentially associated with anthropogenic pressures that drove niche truncation to higher altitudes, undermining the climatic and topographic niche our models predicted. We recommend protecting the current habitats of geladas even when they are forecasted to become climatically unsuitable in the future, in particular for the population south of the Rift Valley.

ecology↗