Biology subjects

Che-Castaldo, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Che-Castaldo, J..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Rcompadre and Rage - two R packages to facilitate the use of the COMPADRE and COMADRE databases and calculation of life history traits from matrix population models

O_LIMatrix population models (MPMs) are an important tool for biologists seeking to understand the causes and consequences of variation in vital rates (e.g., survival, reproduction) across life cycles. Empirical MPMs describe the age- or stage-structured demography of organisms and usually represent the life history of a population during a particular time frame at a specific geographic location. C_LIO_LIThe COMPADRE Plant Matrix Database and COMADRE Animal Matrix Database are the most extensive resources for MPM data, collectively containing >12,000 individual projection matrices for >1,100 species globally. Although these databases represent an unparalleled resource for researchers, land managers, and educators, the current computational tools available to answer questions with MPMs impose significant barriers to potential COM(P)ADRE database users by requiring advanced knowledge to handle diverse data structures and program custom analysis functions. C_LIO_LITo close this knowledge gap, we present two interrelated R packages designed to (i) facilitate the use of these databases by providing functions to acquire, quality control, and manage both the MPM data contained in COMPADRE and COMADRE, and a users own MPM data (Rcompadre), and (ii) present a range of functions to calculate life history traits from MPMs in support of ecological and evolutionary analyses (Rage). We provide examples to illustrate the use of both. C_LIO_LIRcompadre and Rage will facilitate demographic analyses using MPM data and contribute to the improved replicability of studies using these data. We hope that this new functionality will allow researchers, land managers, and educators to unlock the potential behind the thousands of MPMs and ancillary metadata stored in the COMPADRE and COMADRE matrix databases, and in their own MPM data. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Short-lived plants have stronger demographic responses to climate

To mitigate and adapt to climate change, there is an urgent need to synthesize the state of our knowledge on plant responses to climate. The availability of open-access data, combined with our understanding of plant physiology and life history theory provide opportunities to examine quantitative generalizations regarding which biomes and species are most responsive to climate drivers. Here, we synthesized time series of structured population models from 165 populations from 62 plants around the globe to link plant population growth rates to precipitation and temperature drivers. We expected: (1) more pronounced demographic responses to precipitation than temperature, especially in arid biomes; (2) a higher climate sensitivity in short-lived rather than long-lived species; and (3) a stronger response to climate by species that reproduce more frequently. We found that precipitation anomalies have a nearly three-fold larger effect on{lambda} than temperature. Precipitation has substantially more pronounced effects in more arid sites, but large noise makes this relationship non-significant. Species with shorter generation time have much stronger absolute responses to climate anomalies, while the degree of iteroparity does not correlate with population responses to climate. We conclude that key species-level traits can predict plant population responses to climate, and discuss the relevance of this generalization for conservation planning and evolutionary theory.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Recovery plans need better science to support decisions that allow species to decline in abundance but be recovered

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) is widely considered the strongest biodiversity conservation law in the world. Part of its strength comes from the mandate to use the best available science to make decisions under the law, including whether to list a species, setting the criteria for when a species can be considered recovered, and determining when those criteria have been met and a species can be delisted. Both biological status and threat factors are considered at each stage of the listing and delisting process. In most cases, conservation science would suggest that species at risk enough to be listed under the Act should be more abundant and secure at delisting than they were at listing. Surprisingly, we identified 130 ESA-listed species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could consider recovered with fewer populations or individuals than existed at the time of listing. We ask whether their ESA recovery plans present scientific data, rationale, or evidence to support a decline in abundance as part of recovery. We find that almost no plan clearly explains why a decline is allowed. Fewer than half of the plans provide scientific support for a decline in the form of literature references or modeling results. We recommend that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service create a decision support system to inform when species can decline in abundance and still recover, including guidance on (a) the need to explicitly address the declines and (b) the science used to support the decisions.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Global analysis reveals complex demographic responses of mammals to climate change

Approximately 25 % of mammals are threatened globally with extinction, a risk that is amplified under climate change1. Persistence under climate change is determined by the combined effects of climatic factors on multiple demographic rates (survival, development, reproduction), and hence, on population dynamics2. Thus, to quantify which species and places on Earth are most vulnerable to climate-driven extinction, a global understanding of how demographic rates respond to climate is needed3. We synthesise information on such responses in terrestrial mammals, where extensive demographic data are available4. Given the importance of assessing the full spectrum of responses, we focus on studies that quantitatively link climate to multiple demographic rates. We identify 106 such studies, corresponding to 86 mammal species. We reveal a strong mismatch between the locations of demographic studies and the regions and taxa currently recognised as most vulnerable to climate change5,6. Moreover, we show that the effects of climate change on mammals will operate via complex demographic mechanisms: a vast majority of mammal populations display projected increases in some demographic rates but declines in others. Assessments of population viability under climate change therefore need to account for multiple demographic responses. We advocate to prioritise coordinated actions to assess mammal demography holistically for effective conservation worldwide.

ecology↗