David R. Foster
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300179385
- eISBN:
- 9780300186772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300179385.003.0005
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
Foundation species build and define ecosystems and maintain a wide range of services: clean air and water, wood products and wildlife, and solitude and inspiration. This chapter discusses the ...
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Foundation species build and define ecosystems and maintain a wide range of services: clean air and water, wood products and wildlife, and solitude and inspiration. This chapter discusses the challenges to ascertain whether a species is foundational in any ecosystem, and then identifies the hemlock as a foundation species, including its nature and role in the ecosystem.Less
Foundation species build and define ecosystems and maintain a wide range of services: clean air and water, wood products and wildlife, and solitude and inspiration. This chapter discusses the challenges to ascertain whether a species is foundational in any ecosystem, and then identifies the hemlock as a foundation species, including its nature and role in the ecosystem.
Anthony D'Amato and Benjamin Baiser
David R. Foster (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300179385
- eISBN:
- 9780300186772
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300179385.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
The Eastern Hemlock, massive and majestic, has played a unique role in structuring northeastern forest environments, from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and through the Appalachian Mountains to North ...
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The Eastern Hemlock, massive and majestic, has played a unique role in structuring northeastern forest environments, from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and through the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. A “foundation species” influencing all the species in the ecosystem surrounding it, this iconic North American tree has long inspired poets and artists as well as naturalists and scientists. Five thousand years ago, the hemlock collapsed as a result of abrupt global climate change. Now this iconic tree faces extinction once again because of an invasive insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Drawing from a century of studies at Harvard University's Harvard Forest, one of the most well-regarded long-term ecological research programs in North America, the authors explore what the hemlock's decline can tell us about the challenges facing nature and society in an era of habitat changes and fragmentation, as well as global change.Less
The Eastern Hemlock, massive and majestic, has played a unique role in structuring northeastern forest environments, from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and through the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. A “foundation species” influencing all the species in the ecosystem surrounding it, this iconic North American tree has long inspired poets and artists as well as naturalists and scientists. Five thousand years ago, the hemlock collapsed as a result of abrupt global climate change. Now this iconic tree faces extinction once again because of an invasive insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Drawing from a century of studies at Harvard University's Harvard Forest, one of the most well-regarded long-term ecological research programs in North America, the authors explore what the hemlock's decline can tell us about the challenges facing nature and society in an era of habitat changes and fragmentation, as well as global change.
David R. Foster (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300179385
- eISBN:
- 9780300186772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300179385.003.0010
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
The eastern hemlock is identified as a foundation species—a species that creates its own ecosystem and is intimately linked to the majority of other species in the system. This chapter discusses the ...
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The eastern hemlock is identified as a foundation species—a species that creates its own ecosystem and is intimately linked to the majority of other species in the system. This chapter discusses the characteristics of the eastern hemlock as a foundation species. Studies conducted have shown that the loss of hemlock in hemlock-dominated systems, whether from adelgid or logging, results in both short-term and long-term effects to associated plant and animals species along with shifts in ecological processes.Less
The eastern hemlock is identified as a foundation species—a species that creates its own ecosystem and is intimately linked to the majority of other species in the system. This chapter discusses the characteristics of the eastern hemlock as a foundation species. Studies conducted have shown that the loss of hemlock in hemlock-dominated systems, whether from adelgid or logging, results in both short-term and long-term effects to associated plant and animals species along with shifts in ecological processes.
Christopher J. Whelan, Diana F. Tomback, Dave Kelly, and Matthew D. Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226382463
- eISBN:
- 9780226382777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226382777.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Birds function within their ecosystems in ways that include many direct and indirect chains of trophic interaction. In some interaction chains, birds exert top-down effects in “trophic cascades.” ...
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Birds function within their ecosystems in ways that include many direct and indirect chains of trophic interaction. In some interaction chains, birds exert top-down effects in “trophic cascades.” These occur when a predatory species directly reduces its prey abundance and consequently indirectly releases suppression of species at lower trophic levels. Many bird species initiate trophic cascades in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and in natural and agro-ecosystems. Services provided by birds through trophic cascades benefit humans primarily through pest control in natural forests, forestry plantations, fruit orchards, and a variety of crop-based agro-ecosystems. Cascade strength may be affected by predator prey specificity, redundancy, species diversity, and productivity. Some birds influence ecosystem function both through either bottom up interactions or through intermediate trophic positions within interaction networks. These effects can also reverberate through trophic webs. Global change, including anthropogenic perturbation, may lead to a loss of ecosystem services, including seed dispersal and pollination services by birds. These losses may cause declines keystone or foundation plant species, resulting in losses in biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. We conclude with suggestions for future research needs on bird ecosystem services, particularly in light of global change.Less
Birds function within their ecosystems in ways that include many direct and indirect chains of trophic interaction. In some interaction chains, birds exert top-down effects in “trophic cascades.” These occur when a predatory species directly reduces its prey abundance and consequently indirectly releases suppression of species at lower trophic levels. Many bird species initiate trophic cascades in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and in natural and agro-ecosystems. Services provided by birds through trophic cascades benefit humans primarily through pest control in natural forests, forestry plantations, fruit orchards, and a variety of crop-based agro-ecosystems. Cascade strength may be affected by predator prey specificity, redundancy, species diversity, and productivity. Some birds influence ecosystem function both through either bottom up interactions or through intermediate trophic positions within interaction networks. These effects can also reverberate through trophic webs. Global change, including anthropogenic perturbation, may lead to a loss of ecosystem services, including seed dispersal and pollination services by birds. These losses may cause declines keystone or foundation plant species, resulting in losses in biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. We conclude with suggestions for future research needs on bird ecosystem services, particularly in light of global change.
C. Drew Harvell and Joleah B. Lamb
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198821632
- eISBN:
- 9780191860942
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198821632.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology
Disease outbreaks have driven declines in some threatened species on land, including amphibians, bats, and birds. In the oceans, infectious diseases can also drive declines and are a potential agent ...
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Disease outbreaks have driven declines in some threatened species on land, including amphibians, bats, and birds. In the oceans, infectious diseases can also drive declines and are a potential agent of community change and threat to marine biodiversity. Recent disease-driven mass mortalities have affected a range of marine biota. This chapter outlines four case histories of disease outbreaks that affect marine communities and, in multiple cases, contribute to endangerment or listing as endangered species. The case histories include disease impacts to foundation species of corals and seagrasses, herbivores like abalone, and keystone predators like sea stars. Multi-host diseases in all these cases have contributed to extreme population declines. Infectious diseases pose the greatest threat to marine communities when they reduce foundation species like corals and seagrasses. In turn, disruption of marine communities may impact the services they provide to humans and other organisms through pathogen biofiltration. The authors suggest that marine disease impacts may be slowed by protecting the natural services provided by intact ecosystems.Less
Disease outbreaks have driven declines in some threatened species on land, including amphibians, bats, and birds. In the oceans, infectious diseases can also drive declines and are a potential agent of community change and threat to marine biodiversity. Recent disease-driven mass mortalities have affected a range of marine biota. This chapter outlines four case histories of disease outbreaks that affect marine communities and, in multiple cases, contribute to endangerment or listing as endangered species. The case histories include disease impacts to foundation species of corals and seagrasses, herbivores like abalone, and keystone predators like sea stars. Multi-host diseases in all these cases have contributed to extreme population declines. Infectious diseases pose the greatest threat to marine communities when they reduce foundation species like corals and seagrasses. In turn, disruption of marine communities may impact the services they provide to humans and other organisms through pathogen biofiltration. The authors suggest that marine disease impacts may be slowed by protecting the natural services provided by intact ecosystems.
Joseph P. Morton, Brian R. Silliman, and Kevin D. Lafferty
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198821632
- eISBN:
- 9780191860942
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198821632.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology
This chapter reviews how marine ecosystems respond to parasites. Evidence from several marine ecosystems shows that parasites can wield control over ecosystem structure, function, and dynamics by ...
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This chapter reviews how marine ecosystems respond to parasites. Evidence from several marine ecosystems shows that parasites can wield control over ecosystem structure, function, and dynamics by regulating host density and phenotype. Like predators, parasites can generate or modify trophic cascades, regulate important foundational species and ecosystem engineers, and mediate species coexistence by affecting competitive outcomes. Sometimes the parasites have clear positive impacts within ecosystems, such as increasing species diversity or maintaining ecosystem stability. Other times, parasites may have destabilizing effects that signal an ecosystem out of balance. But it is now clear that some (but not all) parasites can have strong and, at times, predictable effects, and should thus be incorporated into food web and ecosystem modelsLess
This chapter reviews how marine ecosystems respond to parasites. Evidence from several marine ecosystems shows that parasites can wield control over ecosystem structure, function, and dynamics by regulating host density and phenotype. Like predators, parasites can generate or modify trophic cascades, regulate important foundational species and ecosystem engineers, and mediate species coexistence by affecting competitive outcomes. Sometimes the parasites have clear positive impacts within ecosystems, such as increasing species diversity or maintaining ecosystem stability. Other times, parasites may have destabilizing effects that signal an ecosystem out of balance. But it is now clear that some (but not all) parasites can have strong and, at times, predictable effects, and should thus be incorporated into food web and ecosystem models