Selective grazing of livestock creates lightly and heavily grazed vegetation patches, which together contribute to the whole community in grasslands. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts moderate intensity can increase species diversity. However, patchiness complicates predicted responses from ecological theory may influence how various management regimes affect biodiversity a...

Grazing can alter plant species interactions in natural rangelands, which turn might influence the productivity of ecosystem but we do not fully understand how spatial variability diversity-biomass relationships are modulated by grazing intensity. Here, hypothesized that co-occurrence rangelands is mainly driven niche segregation due to and heterogeneity local resources, grazing, therefore, mod...

Driving factors of phytoplankton spring blooms have been discussed since long, but rarely analyzed quantitatively. Here, we use a mechanistic size-based ecosystem model to reconstruct observations made during the Kiel mesocosm experiments (2005–2006). The model accurately hindcasts highly variable bloom developments including community shifts in cell size. Under low light, phytoplankton dynamic...

Selective defecation and selective foraging are two potential antiparasite behaviors used by grazing ungulates to reduce infection by fecal–oral transmitted parasites. While there is some evidence that domestic species use these strategies, less is known about the occurrence and efficacy of these behaviors in wild ungulates. In this study, I examined whether wild antelope use selective defecati...

Morphological convergence plays a central role in the study of evolution. Often induced by shared ecological specialization, homoplasy hints at underlying selective pressures and adaptive constraints that deterministically shape the diversification of life. Although midwater zooplanktivory has arisen in adult surgeonfishes (family Acanthuridae) at least four independent times, it represents a c...