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- Volume 44, 2013
Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics - Volume 44, 2013
Volume 44, 2013
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Perceptual Biases and Mate Choice
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 437–459More LessOur view of the evolution of sexually selected traits and preferences was influenced radically in the 1990s by studies that emphasized how signals interact with sensory properties of receivers. Here, twenty-five years later, we review evidence that has accumulated in support of this idea. We replace the term sensory biases with perceptual biases to emphasize the growing knowledge of how cognitive processes generate selection on sexual traits. We show that mating preferences among conspecifics (e.g., sexual selection by mate choice) often are influenced by perceptual adaptations and constraints that have evolved in other contexts. We suggest that these perceptual biases need not be costly to females when they influence mate choice because in many cases they generate direct benefits. Although we do not reject a role for indirect benefits in mate choice, such as good genes, exclusive focus on eugenic mate choice limits our understanding of the evolution of the remarkable diversity of sexually selected traits.
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Thermal Ecology, Environments, Communities, and Global Change: Energy Intake and Expenditure in Endotherms
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 461–480More LessTo survive, animals must maintain a balance between energy acquisition (foraging) and energy expenditure. This challenge is particularly great for endotherm vertebrates that require high amounts of energy to maintain homeothermy. Many of these endotherms use hibernation or daily torpor as a mechanism to reduce energy expenditure during anticipated or stochastic periods of stress. Although ecological researchers have focused extensively on energy acquisition, physiologists have largely studied thermal ecology and the mechanisms allowing endotherms to regulate energy expenditure, with little research explicitly linking ecology and thermal biology. Nevertheless, theoretical considerations and research conducted so far point to a significant ecological role for torpor in endotherms. Moreover, global-change challenges facing vertebrate endotherms are also considered in view of their ability to regulate their energy expenditure. We review the thermal ecology of endothermic vertebrates and some of its ecological and evolutionary implications.
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Diversity-Dependence, Ecological Speciation, and the Role of Competition in Macroevolution
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 481–502More LessVariation in the rate of species diversification underlies many large-scale patterns in the organization of biological diversity. Here, I explore the phenomenon of diversity-dependent diversification and its contribution to differential species proliferation in time and space. Diversity-dependence can be a pattern of asymptotic diversity change through time as well as a process by which interspecific competition influences the dynamics of speciation and extinction. I review the evidence for diversity-dependence as revealed by phylogenies and fossils and discuss the close relationship between diversity-dependence and Darwin's proposed mechanism for the origin of species. An emerging body of research suggests that diversity-dependence contributes to the formation and persistence of incipient species and raises new questions about the meaning of ecological speciation. Diversity-dependence provides a conceptual framework for unifying biodiversity patterns across scales that vary by many orders of magnitude, from the dynamics of geographic range evolution to speciation and adaptive radiation.
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Consumer Fronts, Global Change, and Runaway Collapse in Ecosystems
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 503–538More LessConsumer fronts occur when grazers or predators aggregate in bands along the edges of a resource. Our review reveals that consumer fronts are a common phenomenon in nature, occur in many different ecosystems, and are triggered by universal mechanisms: External forces locally increase top-down control beyond prey carrying and/or renewal capacity, and resource-dependent movement leads to consumer aggregation along the edge of the remaining prey population. Once formed, consumer fronts move through systems as spatially propagating waves, self-reinforced via intense overexploitation and amplified by density-dependent feedbacks. When consumer fronts are spatially restricted, they generate patchiness. In contrast, when consumer fronts are expansive, they can lead to runaway responses that cause large-scale ecosystem degradation and regime shifts. We conceptualize a synergistic stress hypothesis and model that highlight how coupled intensification of physical stress and enhanced consumer pressure can trigger increased occurrence of consumer fronts and decreased system stability and resilience. With escalating climate change and food-web modification, the physical and biological conditions favoring consumer-front formation will likely become a common feature of many ecosystems.
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Implications of Time-Averaged Death Assemblages for Ecology and Conservation Biology
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 539–563More LessBiologists increasingly appreciate the importance of community-level attributes in the functioning and temporal turnover of ecosystems, but data other than species richness are difficult to acquire over the habitat-to-regional and decadal-to-millennial scales needed to recognize biodiversity change, discriminate between natural and anthropogenic drivers, and inform theoretical and applied ecology. Death assemblages (DAs)—the actively accumulating organic remains encountered in present-day seabeds and landscapes, as distinct from permanently buried fossil assemblages—are an underexploited source of historical information at precisely these scales. Meta-analyses, dynamic modeling, and individual case studies, particularly of mollusks and mammals, reveal that DAs differ from censused living assemblages (LAs) primarily because they are temporally coarse, time-averaged samples, contrary to concerns that postmortem bias dominates. Temporal pooling predictably damps the ability of DAs to detect small-scale variation, but promotes their ability to inventory rare species; estimate the abundance structure of the metacommunity; document range changes; evaluate historic habitat use; and identify now-absent species, community states, and anthropogenically shifted baselines.
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Population Cycles in Forest Lepidoptera Revisited
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 565–592More LessA quarter century ago, the question was posed of whether a general hypothesis could explain population cycles of forest Lepidoptera. Since then, considerable progress has been made in elucidating mechanisms associated with cyclic dynamics of forest Lepidoptera. Delayed density-related parasitism and reduced fecundity during population peaks are common influences on population dynamics, although why fecundity declines is not understood. The hypothesis that sunspots explain cycles is rejected. The influences of delayed-induced plant defenses on populations are inconsistent, but interactions between plant chemistry, pathogens, and immunity remain rich areas for future study. Population dynamics of forest Lepidoptera can be synchronous over large geographic scales, and repeatable waves of spread of outbreaks occur for some species. Climate warming could modify species distributions and population cycles, but mechanisms have not been elucidated and changes in cyclic dynamics are not generally apparent. Integration of top-down and bottom-up influences on cyclic dynamics and quantification of dispersal are necessary for progress in understanding patterns of insect outbreaks.
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The Structure, Distribution, and Biomass of the World's Forests
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 593–622More LessForests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. We review the environmental factors controlling their structure and global distribution and evaluate their current and future trajectory. Adaptations of trees to climate and resource gradients, coupled with disturbances and forest dynamics, create complex geographical patterns in forest assemblages and structures. These patterns are increasingly discernible through new satellite and airborne observation systems, improved forest inventories, and global ecosystem models. Forest biomass is a complex property affected by forest distribution, structure, and ecological processes. Since at least 1990, biomass density has consistently increased in global established forests, despite increasing mortality in some regions, suggesting that a global driver such as elevated CO2 may be enhancing biomass gains. Global forests have also apparently become more dynamic. Advanced information about the structure, distribution, and biomass of the world's forests provides critical ecological insights and opportunities for sustainable forest management and enhancing forest conservation and ecosystem services.
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The Epidemiology and Evolution of Symbionts with Mixed-Mode Transmission
Vol. 44 (2013), pp. 623–643More LessVertical and horizontal transmission are terms that describe the transfer of symbionts from parents to offspring and among unrelated hosts, respectively. Many symbionts, including parasites, pathogens, mutualists, and microbiota, use a combination of both strategies, known as mixed-mode transmission (MMT). Here I review what is known about the evolution, ecology, and epidemiology of symbionts with MMT and compare MMT with our expectations for single-mode strategies. Symbionts with MMT are common and, in comparison with single-mode symbionts, show many surprising features. MMT combines the best of two worlds with regard to the ecological conditions required for persistence and plays a role in the evolution of virulence and genome architecture. Even rare transmission by the minority type of these two transmission modes can make a big difference for the system. This review explores the conceptual issues surrounding the dynamics of mixed-mode symbionts by reviewing literature from the entire range of host and symbiont taxa.
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Previous Volumes
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Volume 55 (2024)
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Volume 54 (2023)
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Volume 53 (2022)
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Volume 52 (2021)
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Volume 51 (2020)
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Volume 50 (2019)
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Volume 49 (2018)
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Volume 48 (2017)
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Volume 47 (2016)
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Volume 46 (2015)
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Volume 45 (2014)
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Volume 44 (2013)
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Volume 43 (2012)
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Volume 42 (2011)
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Volume 41 (2010)
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Volume 40 (2009)
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Volume 39 (2008)
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Volume 38 (2007)
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Volume 37 (2006)
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Volume 36 (2005)
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Volume 35 (2004)
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Volume 34 (2003)
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Volume 33 (2002)
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Volume 32 (2001)
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Volume 31 (2000)
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Volume 30 (1999)
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Volume 29 (1998)
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Volume 28 (1997)
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Volume 27 (1996)
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Volume 26 (1995)
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Volume 25 (1994)
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Volume 24 (1993)
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Volume 23 (1992)
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Volume 22 (1991)
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Volume 21 (1990)
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Volume 20 (1989)
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Volume 19 (1988)
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Volume 18 (1987)
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Volume 17 (1986)
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Volume 16 (1985)
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Volume 15 (1984)
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Volume 14 (1983)
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Volume 13 (1982)
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Volume 12 (1981)
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Volume 11 (1980)
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Volume 10 (1979)
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Volume 9 (1978)
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Volume 8 (1977)
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Volume 7 (1976)
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Volume 6 (1975)
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Volume 5 (1974)
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Volume 4 (1973)
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Volume 3 (1972)
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Volume 2 (1971)
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Volume 1 (1970)
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Volume 0 (1932)