University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources Natural Resources, School of Summer 7-22-2011 Discontinuities: Predicting Invasions and Extinctions Aaron Lotz University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss Part of the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Lotz, Aaron, "Discontinuities: Predicting Invasions and Extinctions" (2011). Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources. 31. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/31 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Natural Resources, School of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. DISCONTINUITIES: PREDICTING INVASIONS AND EXTINCTIONS by Aaron Lotz A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Natural Resource Sciences (Applied Ecology) Under the Supervision of Professor Craig R. Allen Lincoln, Nebraska August, 2011 DISCONTINUITIES: PREDICTING INVASIONS AND EXTINCTIONS Aaron Lotz, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2011 Advisor: Craig R. Allen In this dissertation, I explore multiple tenets of the textural discontinuity hypothesis, which states that hierarchical landscape structures with scale-specific pattern entrain attributes of animals inhabiting the landscape. Landscapes form hierarchies that are structured by vegetative, geomorphological and contagious disturbance processes. The spatial and temporal patterns inherent in landscapes reflect numerous processes, interacting on distinct scales, which shape the assembly of animal communities. Analysis of body mass patterns and functional group distributions has been suggested as methods to provide insight about these underlying hierarchical processes. Scientists have posited that species at the edges of body mass aggregations may be exposed to highly variable resources. This dissertation focuses on the distribution of biological diversity in space and time and socio-ecological factors that are contributing to the worldwide increase in invasive and endangered species. I analyzed invasions and extinctions of birds and mammals across five Mediterranean-climate ecosystems and in 100 countries using an information-theoretic approach. All body mass distribution data analyzed were discontinuous. This work provided further support for Holling’s textural discontinuity hypothesis. Alpha diversity of function increased in 9 out of the 10 Mediterranean-climate ecosystems analyzed when NIS were introduced into the community. After the introduction of NIS, I observed a decrease in cross-scale redundancy of functional groups in mammals and when both taxonomic groups were combined. In Eocene Epoch mammal data, speciation events were not detected near body mass aggregation edges. Only 64% of the biomes in mammals had ecoregions with similar structure and only 50% of the biomes in birds had ecoregions with similar structure, which may be a result of coarse landscape classification schemes. GDP per capita was positively correlated with the proportion of NIS bird and mammal species within a country. Resilience of a country was correlated to life expectancy. As life expectancy increased, resilience of a country decreased. Results may help us make proper management decisions in monitoring particular non-indigenous species and focus conservation efforts on those native species. iv DEDICATION For Barry and Susan v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Craig R. Allen for his assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. I would like to thank Dr. Pablo A. Marquet, Dr. Johannes Knops, and Dr. Sandra B. Zellmer for their challenging comprehensive exam questions and their helpful comments on my work. I also wish to thank Dr. Andrew J. Tyre for his statistical expertise and his ability to fit me into his hectic schedule. In addition, special thanks to Dr. Tala Awada whose open door policy, concern for my progress, invaluable encouragement, advice, friendship and laughter helped me get through this doctoral program. Thanks also to Dr. David Kitchen, who persuaded me to stay in school and not go to Africa to kill poachers, for his lifetime of friendship, and staunch support throughout my academic career. Thank you to Dr. Jim Brandle for giving me the opportunity to teach children about science and for always wanting to know how I was doing. I would like to thank Millard Baker for reminding me to fight the power and Kristen Zellmer for being there to dish out reality and give me a good kick in the pants when I needed it. I would also like to thank, Brenda & Chris Pracheil, Dustin Martin, Ingrid Barcelo, Luis Ramirez, Dr. John Quinn, Cassie Manhart, Timothy Weber, Christopher Lowrey, Nate Gosch, Ryan Bjerke, Justin Williams, Donald Wardwell, Carla Knight, Christina Amarillas, Andres Baeza, Fernando D. Alfaro, and Daniela Rivera for their valuable input, supportive laughter and keeping me focused throughout my degree. Thank you to my brother, Jonathan Lotz, for providing comic relief and brotherly support throughout this endeavor. Finally, I wish to thank my parents Dr. Barry Lotz and Susan Lotz for being there to support me, both mentally and financially, as I went through the trials and tribulations of this journey. vi GRANT INFORMATION The James S. McDonnell Foundation-Studying Complex Systems and the Resilience Alliance. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE………………………………………………..……..………..i ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………..….ii DEDICATION…………………………………………………….…….…iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………...…………v GRANT INFORMATION……………………………………......…...…..vi LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... xxvii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: BODY MASS DISCONTINUITIES IN MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEMS ......................................... 10 CHAPTER 3: ALPHA, BETA & GAMMA DIVERSITY IN MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEMS ......................................... 43 CHAPTER 4: CHANGES IN BODY MASS DISTRIBUTIONS OVER PALEOECOLOGIC TIME…………………………………………...….103 CHAPTER 5: CHANGES IN BODY MASS DISCONTINUITIES WITH CHANGES IN SCALE…………………………………………………....132 CHAPTER 6: A SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL INVASIONS AND EXTINCTIONS……..……………………………….163 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION…………………………………………... ...214 APPENDIX A: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM MAMMALS IN CALIFORNIA. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS……………………………...…………………..223 viii APPENDIX B: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM MAMMALS IN CHILE. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS................................................................................. 225 APPENDIX C: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM MAMMALS IN SPAIN. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS................................................................................. 227 APPENDIX D: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM MAMMALS IN SOUTH AFRICA. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS......................................................................... ..…..230 APPENDIX E: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM MAMMALS IN SOUTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS…………………………………234 APPENDIX F: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM BIRDS IN CALIFORNIA. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS................................................................................. 237 APPENDIX G: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM BIRDS IN CHILE. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS………………………………………………………………......243 APPENDIX H: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM BIRDS IN SPAIN. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS .......................................................................................................... 249 APPENDIX I: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM BIRDS IN SOUTH AFRICA. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS………………………………………………….255 APPENDIX J: MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE ECOSYSTEM BIRDS IN SOUTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA. LOG 10 BODY MASS IN GRAMS (G), BAYESIAN CART (BCART) GROUP, FUNCTIONAL GROUP, AND THE SPECIES STATUS……………………………...….260 APPENDIX K: BODY MASS OF MAMMALS RECONSTRUCTED IN ix BRIDGER ZONE 1 FAUNAL ASSEMBLAGE. BAYESIAN CART GROUPS USED TO IDENTIFY EACH BODY MASS AGGREGATION........................................................................................267 APPENDIX L: BODY MASS OF MAMMALS RECONSTRUCTED IN BRIDGER ZONE 2 FAUNAL ASSEMBLAGE. BAYESIAN CART GROUPS USED TO IDENTIFY EACH BODY MASS AGGREGATION……………………........................................................268