Animal Communities

Soil Animal Communities of Planted Birch Stands in Central Finland

The aim of this study was to compare soil animal communities in planted birch (Betula pendula) stands of different origin with each other and with natural forests. Six 30-year-old birch stands were investigated, three planted after clear-cutting of spruce stands, and three planted on cultivated soil. The faunal communities were markedly different in plantations established on spruce forest soil...

The consequences of reservoir host eradication on disease epidemiology in animal communities

Non-native species have often been linked with introduction of novel pathogens that spill over into native communities, and the amplification of the prevalence of native parasites. In the case of introduced generalist pathogens, their disease epidemiology in the extant communities remains poorly understood. Here, Sphaerothecum destruens, a generalist fungal-like fish pathogen with bi-modal tran...

Human-Altered Mesoherbivore Densities and Cascading Effects on Plant and Animal Communities in Fragmented Tropical Forests

Regulation of benthic algal and animal communities by salt marsh plants: impact of shading.

Plant cover is a fundamental feature of many coastal marine and terrestrial systems and controls the structure of associated animal communities. Both natural and human-mediated changes in plant cover influence abiotic sediment properties and thus have cascading impacts on the biotic community. Using clipping (structural) and light (shading) manipulations in two salt marsh vegetation zones (one ...

Monitoring wild animal communities with arrays of motion sensitive camera traps

Studying animal movement and distribution is of critical importance to addressing environmental challenges including invasive species, infectious diseases, climate and land-use change. Motion sensitive camera traps offer a visual sensor to record the presence of a broad range of species providing location specific information on movement and behavior. Modern digital camera traps that record vid...