Biology subjects

Donoso, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Donoso, I..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Impacts of species introductions on the trait diversity of interacting avian frugivores and fleshy-fruited plants depend on native trait diversity

O_LIIntroductions of non-native species to native ecological communities by humans are major drivers of global biodiversity change. At the same time, biotic interactions, such as those between avian frugivores and fleshy-fruited plants, build the backbone of ecosystems. Hence, studying how species introductions influence interacting species of both trophic levels is essential to understand possible functional consequences of global change. C_LIO_LIHere, we take a trait-based approach, focusing on species traits that influence their biotic interactions and related ecosystem functioning, and explore how species introductions affect the diversity of such functional traits within and across assemblages of interacting fleshy-fruited plants and frugivorous birds at several locations across the globe. C_LIO_LISpecifically, we calculate differences in trait diversity and mean trait values, and compare beta trait diversity with and without introduced species, for 25 frugivorous bird and 62 fleshy-fruited plant assemblages. C_LIO_LIIntroduced species tended to increase bird and plant trait diversity in assemblages with low native trait diversity but decreased it in assemblages with higher native trait diversity. In bird assemblages, species introductions shifted mean values towards larger birds with wider bills and more pointed wings. In plant assemblages, mean trait values showed variable changes: fruit length increased and plant height decreased. C_LIO_LIComparisons between assemblages revealed that introduced species reduced the beta trait diversity of both frugivorous birds and fleshy-fruited plants, suggesting biotic homogenisation in terms of their functional traits. C_LIO_LIChanges in trait diversity underscore that species introductions can have functional consequences for biotic interactions and related ecosystem functions, potentially affecting the availability of interaction partners with matching traits and the provisioning of seed dispersal. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

The architecture of multifunctional ecological networks

Understanding how biotic interactions affect ecosystem functioning has been a research priority in natural sciences due to their critical role in bolstering ecological resilience1-3. Yet, traditional assessment of ecological complexity typically focus on species-species effective interactions that mediate a particular function (e.g. pollination4 or seed dispersal5), overlooking the synergistic effect of multiple functions that further underpin species-function and function-function interactions in multifunctional ecosystems. At the same time, while ecological network theory holds a potential to quantify the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality6, 7, its connection has been done mainly conceptually, due to challenges measuring different interactions and establishing their relevance across multiple niche dimensions8, 9. Such lack of quantitative studies therefore limits our ability to determine which species and interactions are important to maintain the multiple functions of ecosystems10. Here we develop a framework -derived from a resource-consumer-function tensor analysis-that bridges these gaps by framing biodiversity-ecosystem multifunctionality in terms of multilayer ecological network theory. Its application to recently collected ecological data -- reporting weighted interactions between plants, animals and fungi across multiple function types--allows to (i) unveil and quantify the existence of both (multi-functional) keystone species and a dual function keystoneness pattern, and (ii) project plants and functions into a similarity space where clear clusters emerge and the importance of weak links is manifested. This dual insight from species and functional perspectives will better guide conservation efforts to reduce biodiversity loss.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Community-wide seed dispersal distances peak at low levels of specialisation in size-structured networks

Network approaches provide insight into the complex web of interspecific interactions that structure ecological communities. However, because data on the functional outcomes of ecological networks are very rarely available, the effect of network structure on ecosystem functions, such as seed dispersal, is largely unknown. Here, we develop a new approach that is able to link interaction networks to a trait-based seed-dispersal model to estimate community-wide seed dispersal distances. We simulated networks, using a niche model based on size-matching between plants and birds, that varied in the degree of niche partitioning. We found that community-wide dispersal distances were longest when networks had low degrees of niche partitioning. We further found that dispersal distances of plant species with small fruits peaked in models without niche partitioning, whereas dispersal distances of medium and large-fruited plants peaked at low degrees of niche partitioning. Our simulations demonstrate that the degree of niche partitioning between species is an important determinant of the ecological functions derived from ecological networks and that simulation approaches can provide new insights into the relationship between the structural and functional components of ecological networks.

ecology↗