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1. Using Plant Invasions to Compare Occurrence‐ and Abundance‐Based Calculations of Biotic Homogenisation: Are Results Complementary or Contradictory?

   https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70022  

   Buonaiuto, D M; Barnett, David; Blumenthal, Dana M; Nebhut, Andrea N; Pearse, Ian S; Sofaer, Helen R; Sorte, Cascade_J B; Corbin, Jeffrey D; Early, Regan; Garbowski, Magda; et al (March 2025, Global Ecology and Biogeography)

   ABSTRACT AimBeta diversity quantifies the similarity of ecological assemblages. Its increase, known as biotic homogenisation, can be a consequence of biological invasions. However, species occurrence (presence/absence) and abundance‐based analyses can produce contradictory assessments of the magnitude and direction of changes in beta diversity. Previous work indicates these contradictions should be less frequent in nature than in theory, but a growing number of empirical studies report discrepancies between occurrence‐ and abundance‐based approaches. Understanding if these discrepancies represent a few isolated cases or are systematic across a diversity of ecosystems would allow us to better understand the general patterns, mechanisms and impacts of biotic homogenisation. LocationUnited States. Time Period1963–2020. Major Taxa StudiedVascular plants. MethodsWe used a dataset of more than 70,000 vegetation survey plots to assess differences in biotic homogenisation with and without invasion using both occurrence‐ and abundance‐based metrics of beta diversity. We estimated taxonomic biotic homogenisation by comparing beta diversity of invaded and uninvaded plots with both classes of metrics and investigated the characteristics of the non‐native species pool that influenced the likelihood that these metrics disagree. ResultsIn 78% of plot comparisons, occurrence‐ and abundance‐based calculations agreed in direction, and the two metrics were generally well correlated. Our empirical results are consistent with previous theory. Discrepancies between the metrics were more likely when the same non‐native species was at high cover at both plots compared for beta diversity, and when these plots were spatially distant. Main ConclusionsIn about 20% of cases, our calculations revealed differences in direction (homogenisation vs. differentiation) when comparing occurrence‐ and abundance‐based metrics, indicating that the metrics are not interchangeable, especially when distances between plots are high and invader diversity is low. When data permit, combining the two approaches can offer insights into the role of invasions and extirpations in driving biotic homogenisation/differentiation. 

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2. Impacts of plant invasions in native plant–pollinator networks

   https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17339  

   Parra‐Tabla, Víctor; Arceo‐Gómez, Gerardo (June 2021, New Phytologist)

   Summary The disruption of mutualisms by invasive species has consequences for biodiversity loss and ecosystem function. Although invasive plant effects on the pollination of individual native species has been the subject of much study, their impacts on entire plant–pollinator communities are less understood. Community‐level studies on plant invasion have mainly focused on two fronts: understanding the mechanisms that mediate their integration; and their effects on plant–pollinator network structure. Here we briefly review current knowledge and propose a more unified framework for evaluating invasive species integration and their effects on plant–pollinator communities. We further outline gaps in our understanding and propose ways to advance knowledge in this field. Specifically, modeling approaches have so far yielded important predictions regarding the outcome and drivers of invasive species effects on plant communities. However, experimental studies that test these predictions in the field are lacking. We further emphasize the need to understand the link between invasive plant effects on pollination network structure and their consequences for native plant population dynamics (population growth). Integrating demographic studies with those on pollination networks is thus key in order to achieve a more predictive understanding of pollinator‐mediated effects of invasive species on the persistence of native plant biodiversity. 

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3. Plant–plant interactions can mitigate (or exacerbate) hot drought impacts

   https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19473  

   Wright, Alexandra J. (February 2024, New Phytologist)

   This article is a Commentary onMaset al. (2024),241: 1021–1034. 

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4. Contradictory Phylogenetic Signals in the Laurasiatheria Anomaly Zone

   https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13050766  

   Doronina, Liliya; Hughes, Graham M.; Moreno-Santillan, Diana; Lawless, Colleen; Lonergan, Tadhg; Ryan, Louise; Jebb, David; Kirilenko, Bogdan M.; Korstian, Jennifer M.; Dávalos, Liliana M.; et al (May 2022, Genes)

   Relationships among laurasiatherian clades represent one of the most highly disputed topics in mammalian phylogeny. In this study, we attempt to disentangle laurasiatherian interordinal relationships using two independent genome-level approaches: (1) quantifying retrotransposon presence/absence patterns, and (2) comparisons of exon datasets at the levels of nucleotides and amino acids. The two approaches revealed contradictory phylogenetic signals, possibly due to a high level of ancestral incomplete lineage sorting. The positions of Eulipotyphla and Chiroptera as the first and second earliest divergences were consistent across the approaches. However, the phylogenetic relationships of Perissodactyla, Cetartiodactyla, and Ferae, were contradictory. While retrotransposon insertion analyses suggest a clade with Cetartiodactyla and Ferae, the exon dataset favoured Cetartiodactyla and Perissodactyla. Future analyses of hitherto unsampled laurasiatherian lineages and synergistic analyses of retrotransposon insertions, exon and conserved intron/intergenic sequences might unravel the conflicting patterns of relationships in this major mammalian clade. 

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5. Impacts of Weather Anomalies and Climate on Plant Disease

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70062  

   Kirk, Devin; Cohen, Jeremy M; Nguyen, Vianda; Childs, Marissa L; Farner, Johannah E; Davies, T Jonathan; Flory, S Luke; Rohr, Jason R; O'Connor, Mary I; Mordecai, Erin A (January 2025, Ecology Letters)

   ABSTRACT Predicting the effects of climate change on plant disease is critical for protecting ecosystems and food production. Here, we show how disease pressure responds to short‐term weather, historical climate and weather anomalies by compiling a global database (4339 plant–disease populations) of disease prevalence in both agricultural and wild plant systems. We hypothesised that weather and climate would play a larger role in disease in wild versus agricultural plant populations, which the results supported. In wild systems, disease prevalence peaked when the temperature was 2.7°C warmer than the historical average for the same time of year. We also found evidence of a negative interactive effect between weather anomalies and climate in wild systems, consistent with the idea that climate maladaptation can be an important driver of disease outbreaks. Temperature and precipitation had relatively little explanatory power in agricultural systems, though we observed a significant positive effect of current temperature. These results indicate that disease pressure in wild plants is sensitive to nonlinear effects of weather, weather anomalies and their interaction with historical climate. In contrast, warmer temperatures drove risks for agricultural plant disease outbreaks within the temperature range examined regardless of historical climate, suggesting vulnerability to ongoing climate change. 

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