The lack of information on plant traits limits our understanding of how plant species and communities will respond to ongoing global changes. The biodiversity-rich Anatolian steppes have remained ...unexplored in terms of belowground plant traits. We documented the distribution and representation of belowground organs (excluding roots that do not form a bud bank) in Anatolian steppe plants, categorizing them by taxonomic family and growth form. Comparisons and analyses were made using data from the published Flora of Türkiye. Our results show that one-fifth (736 taxa) of all Anatolian steppe plants and one-third (514 taxa) of polycarpic hemicryptophytes bear a belowground organ with clonality or perennation functions. The proportion of belowground organ types varied between growth forms, as polycarpic hemicryptophytes had mainly rhizomes or rootstocks whereas geophytes had bulbs. Some families, such as the Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Liliaceae, possessed a specific type of belowground organ, while some others, including the Rosaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Asteraceae, had a higher diversity of belowground organ types. We conclude that the seasonal climate with cold winters and dry summers can be a driver of this belowground organ diversity in Anatolian steppes. The presence of bulbs, rhizomes and tubers appears to be phylogenetically clustered, with the representation of these organs differing between the monocot clade and the eudicot clade; indeed, bulbs and corms are, in this case, exclusive to monocot families. Further measurements of belowground plant traits in the field and laboratory are needed to fully understand the patterns and processes in Anatolian steppe ecosystems.
Leaf traits are good indicators of ecosystem functioning and plant adaptations to environmental conditions. We examined whether leaf trait variability at species and community levels in Mediterranean ...woody vegetation is explained by growth form, regeneration mode, and vegetation type. We studied several plant communities across five vegetation types – semi‐closed forest, open forest, closed shrubland, open shrubland, and scrubland – in southwestern Anatolia, Türkiye. Using linear mixed models, community‐weighted trait means, and principal component analysis, we tested how much variability in three leaf traits (specific leaf area, leaf thickness, and leaf area) is accounted for species, growth form, regeneration mode, and vegetation type. Despite a large amount of leaf trait variability both within‐ and among‐species existed, functional groups still accounted for a significant part of this variability. Resprouters had higher SLA and leaf area and lower leaf thickness than non‐resprouters. However, further functional separation in regeneration mode, by considering the propagule‐persistence trait and the seed bank locality, explained leaf trait variability better than only resprouting ability. Although no consistent pattern was observed in three leaf traits in the growth form, we found evidence for the difference in SLA and leaf thickness between shrubs and large shrubs, and subshrubs had smaller leaves than other growth forms. Vegetation type also accounted for a substantial amount of leaf trait variability. Specifically, plant communities in closed habitats had larger leaf area than open ones, and those in scrublands had higher SLA, lower leaf thickness, and lower leaf area than other vegetation types. Climate and phylogeny had limited contribution to the results obtained, with the exception of a significant phylogenetic effect in explaining the differences in SLA between resprouters and non‐resprouters. Our results suggest that multiple drivers are responsible for shaping plant trait variability in Mediterranean plant communities, including growth form, regeneration mode, and vegetation type.
Özet
Yaprak karakterleri ekosistem fonksiyonunun ve bitkilerin çevresel koşullara uyarlanımlarına dair iyi göstergelerdir. Bu çalışmada, Akdeniz orman vejetasyonundaki tür ve komünite seviyesinde yaprak karakter değişkenliğinin, büyüme şekli, rejenerasyon modu ve vejetasyon tipi tarafından açıklanıp açıklanmadığını inceledik. Türkiye'nin güneybatısında, beş farklı vejetasyon tipinde ‐ yarı kapalı orman, açık orman, kapalı çalılık, açık çalılık ve bodur çalılık ‐ birçok bitki komünitesini inceledik. Doğrusal karma modeller, komünite ağırlıklı karakter ortalamaları ve temel bileşen analizi kullanarak, üç yaprak karakterinin (özgül yaprak alanı, yaprak kalınlığı ve yaprak alanı) değişkenliğinin ne kadarının tür, büyüme şekli, rejenerasyon modu ve vejetasyon tipi tarafından açıklandığını sınadık. Hem tür içi hem de türler arası büyük miktarda yaprak karakter değişkenliği olmasına rağmen, fonksiyonel gruplar bu değişkenliğin önemli bir kısmını açıklamıştır. Yeniden sürgün veren türlerin SLA ve yaprak alanı daha yüksek, yaprak kalınlıkları ise yeniden sürgün veremeyenlere göre daha düşük olarak bulunmuştur. Ancak, rejenerasyon modunda daha fazla fonksiyonel ayrıma gidilmesi, yalnızca yeniden sürgün verme yeteneğinden ziyade, tohumla yerleşebilme özelliği ve tohum bankası konumunun da dikkate alınması yaprak karakter değişkenliğini daha iyi açıklamıştır. Büyüme şeklinde üç yaprak karakterinde tutarlı bir örüntü gözlemlenmemesine rağmen, çalılar ve büyük çalılar arasında SLA ve yaprak kalınlığında farklar olduğuna ve bodur çalıların diğer büyüme şekillerine göre daha küçük yapraklara sahip olduğuna dair kanıtlar bulduk. Vejetasyon tipi de yaprak karakter çeşitliliğinin önemli bir kısmını açıklamıştır. Özellikle, kapalı habitatlardaki bitki komüniteleri açık olanlardan daha büyük yaprak alanına sahipken, bodur çalılıklardaki komüniteler diğer vejetasyon tiplerine göre daha yüksek SLA, daha düşük yaprak kalınlığı ve daha düşük yaprak alanına sahipti. Yeniden sürgün verenler ve veremeyenler arasında SLA farklılıklarını açıklayan önemli bir filogenetik etki dışında, iklim ve filogeni elde edilen sonuçlara sınırlı miktarda katkıda bulunmuştur. Sonuçlarımız, Akdeniz bitki komünitelerindeki bitki karakter değişkenliğinin şekillenmesinde aralarında büyüme şekli, rejenerasyon modu ve vejetasyon tipinin de yer aldığı çok sayıda sürücü etkenin sorumlu olduğunu önermektedir.
We found a large amount of leaf trait variability within and among species in Mediterranean plant communities. However, functional groups (resprouting ability, regeneration strategy, growth form) and vegetation type still accounted for a significant part of this variability. Our results suggest that multiple drivers are responsible for shaping plant trait variability in Mediterranean plant communities, including growth form, regeneration mode, and vegetation type.
Heat shock-stimulated germination is frequently considered a trait restricted to a few plant families with impermeable seed coats in the Mediterranean Basin. We aimed to ascertain this general idea ...by using 68 eastern Mediterranean plant taxa differing in growth form, dormancy type and geographic distributional range. We conducted a laboratory experiment including heat shocks (60, 80, 100, 120 and 140°C for 5 min) and a control treatment, and monitored germination for each species. Among the studied taxa, 24 (35%) showed a significant positive response for at least one of the treatments. Many Cistaceae and Fabaceae species showed a positive germination response to the heat shocks. However, we also observed heat shockstimulated germination in the Brassicaceae, Malvaceae, Polygonaceae and Scrophulariaceae, and provided additional evidence for the Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Plantaginaceae and Rosaceae in the Mediterranean Basin. Distributional range and dormancy type were significant determinants of germination response to heat shocks whereas growth form and phytogeographic origin had lower and/or non-significant contribution. Species with wide or local distribution were less tolerant to moderate heat shocks than those with regional distributional ranges. Species with physically dormant seeds showed significantly more stimulated germination after heat shocks than those with permeable seeds. In conclusion, dormancy type is an important determinant of seed response to heat shock, and an association exists between distributional range and germination response to heat shocks. Our findings revealed that heat shock-stimulated germination is observed across a broader taxonomic spectrum in the Mediterranean Basin, including families not possessing physical dormancy.
Large mammals play significant roles in shaping the trophic structure of terrestrial ecosystems and affect the form of vegetation growth in many habitats. We studied large mammal community in a ...Mediterranean habitat mosaic generated by fires originally dominated by pine forests. We conducted camera-trapping surveys in three study sites with different fire histories, and we recorded eight large mammal species including brown bear (
Ursus arctos
), caracal (
Caracal caracal
), and wild goat (
Capra aegagrus
), which are of conservation importance. The mammal community found in the study sites was functionally diverse, including herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, seed dispersers, soil diggers, main preys, and top predators. The site burned 13 years ago had higher species richness than can be expected from a random pattern, but this was not the case in 30- and >40-year-old sites, showing the importance of relatively younger sites for large mammals. Eurasian badger had more probability to have more abundance in places with more open vegetation while wild goat had higher abundance in more dense vegetation. Young individuals of wild goat, brown bear, and wild boar were also detected in the study sites. The results indicate that burned habitats harbor a phylogenetically and functionally diverse large mammal community in landscapes originally dominated by Mediterranean pine forests. Therefore, these forests continue to retain importance for the large mammals after the fire, and burned habitats should be taken into consideration for the conservation and management plans together with mature forests in Mediterranean ecosystems.
How plant communities in Anatolian steppes recover after disturbances has remained unknown. To study the effects of small-scale disturbances on plant communities of the central Anatolian steppe, we ...established thirty-two plots 1 × 1 m in size in a natural steppe near Ankara (Turkey). The plots were subjected to mowing or hoeing treatments representing low- and high-intensity disturbance, respectively. Some plots were left untreated to serve as the control. The plots were sampled for three consecutive years to investigate changes in species occurrence, cover and biomass under various disturbance frequencies and intensities over time. The vegetation was able to recover within a few months, particularly in the growing season after mowing treatments, but the recovery level of the vegetation was lower after hoeing, especially when it was applied with high frequency. Species richness and cover of annual herbs increased with moderate disturbance frequencies in both disturbance types whereas perennial herbs were negatively affected by the hoeing disturbance, but not by the mowing disturbance. Both types of disturbance had a significant negative effect on plant aboveground biomass in the plots. The results partly support the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. High-level resilience to small-scale disturbances was observed, possibly due to adaptations of Anatolian steppe plants to natural and anthropogenic disturbances.
•We developed the 553-year-long fire history of black pine forests in western Anatolia.•The period of 1853–1934 CE was found as critical fire regime shift period.•A decrease in fire frequency ...observed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.•Drought and prior wet conditions were main drivers of fires over the past 553 years.
In this study, we aimed to use tree-ring based fire reconstruction to understand the spatiotemporal patterns of past fires in different climate types of western Anatolia. We collected fire scarred wood samples from living trees as wedges and remnant woods from ten sites along a transect that represents a continental to Mediterranean climate gradient. We determined fire years and assigned seasonality of fires based on the intraring position of the fire scars. We calculated fire statistics and analysed fire-climate relationships. Breakpoints in our Anatolian regional fire chronology were estimated to determine the regime shifts. A decrease in fire frequency was recorded at most of the sites after the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. We observed two critical fire regime shift periods. The period between 1853 and 1934 is characterized by highly frequent (a total of 82 fires) and simultaneous fires occurring in multiple sites and this period overlapped with the longest and most severe drought period of the past 550 years. The fire frequency decline after 1934 coincided with the period of the first forest protection law in 1937. Dry, as well as prior wet conditions were main drivers of fires in the black pine forests in western Anatolia. We observed a decrease in fire frequency in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to fire suppression activities. Continued fire suppression activities may cause fuel accumulation and pose a risk for more intense fires and thus a paradox for forests in the future. Based on future climate projections, we will face prolonged fire seasons as a consequence of increasing drought frequency, which may shift the fire regime from surface to crown fires with the accumulation of combustible material in the understory in black pine forests.
The brown bear (
Ursus arctos
L.) is an omnivorous large mammal that has an essential function in many ecosystems as a seed disperser. We studied the brown bear’s role as a seed dispersal agent in a ...mixed temperate forest in northern Anatolia, Turkey. We collected 197 fecal samples from the field during the brown bear’s active period for two consecutive years. We extracted seeds of 34 plant taxa from fecal samples. Among these taxa, 29 had intact seeds, whereas seeds of 5 were found to be entirely or mostly physically damaged. Damaged seeds belonged to fruits of acorn, capsule, nut, and drupe-like nut types, while no or few seeds from fleshy fruits such as berry, drupe, pome, and rosehip types had damage. Seeds from pome type fruits of
Malus sylvestris
and
Pyrus elaeagnifolia
had a higher germination percentage in feces than in the control (fresh seeds collected from the field), but that was quite the opposite in berries of
Lonicera caucasica
and
Vaccinium arctostaphylos
. No difference in germination percentage was found between feces and control groups in seeds from rosehips. Our results reveal that seeds of several species found in the study area are dispersed by the brown bear, especially those with fleshy fruits (e.g., Rosaceae members). In this study, we established the role of the brown bear as a seed dispersal agent in northern Anatolian mixed temperate forests. Our study suggests that fruit type is a determinant of the success of endozoochorous seed dispersal by the brown bear.
Background
Understanding parasite diversity in wild and captive animal populations has critical implications for both individual animal health and ecosystem dynamics in a broader sense. In mountain ...gazelles (Gazella gazella), the gastrointestinal helminth community is poorly understood, limiting our efforts in the conservation of this endangered bovid species. This species has only two remaining populations in the world, including the isolated northernmost population in Türkiye.
Objectives
To identify and compare the diversity and prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in captive and free‐ranging populations of mountain gazelles in Hatay, Türkiye, and to assess potential zoonotic risks.
Methods
In total, 105 fresh faecal samples, 45 individual samples and 60 faecal samples, representing 16 pools, from both captive and free‐ranging populations were collected and analysed using Fulleborn flotation, Benedek sedimentation and Bearman–Wetzel methods faecal flotation methods, including the McMaster technique to determine the severity of infection.
Results
We detected 12 helminth taxa in our examination of faecal samples, including gastrointestinal nematodes, lungworms and trematodes. Parasites from the Trichostrongyloidea family demonstrated variable hatching stages and rates, potentially influenced by ambient conditions. We also detected one protozoan among the samples. Our results revealed a higher diversity of parasites in free‐ranging populations compared to captive ones.
Conclusions
This study underscores the necessity for regular parasitological surveillance in both captive and free‐ranging wildlife populations for effective conservation management. It also contributes to the ‘One Health’ perspective by highlighting the potential zoonotic risks posed by parasites in wild ruminants. Our results have implications for the conservation and management of the mountain gazelle.
The goal of this study was to analyse the gastrointestinal helminths of mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), an endangered large mammal species. Over 100 fresh faecal samples from both captive and free‐ranging populations were collected and analysed using various techniques. We detected 12 helminth taxa, including gastrointestinal nematodes, trematodes and lungworms. The results of our study have important implications for the management and conservation of the mountain gazelle.
Introduction The aim of our study was to measure fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations in captive and free-ranging male and female mountain gazelles ( Gazella gazella ) during their ...circannual cycle. In addition, FGM concentrations were used to track the intensity of the adrenocortical response in mountain gazelles during the same period. Methods Fecal samples were collected from the ground in the Hatay Mountain Gazelle Wildlife Development Area in the Hatay Province of Türkiye (36°32’ N, 36°32′ E) in each season of the year (December, April, July, September). The sex of the animals was determined by detecting the SRY gene of the Y chromosome in DNA isolated from the fecal samples. FGM was extracted from dried fecal samples with methanol, and its concentration was measured using a previously partially validated ELISA. Results and discussion The results indicate that season is the most important factor explaining the variability in FGM concentrations in mountain gazelles. In animals of both sexes, the highest concentrations of FGM were observed in September. The values were significantly higher in the captive population, perhaps due to unpredictable stress. In July, FGM concentrations were low in both populations. As a result of the overall analysis across seasons, the comparison of FGM concentrations between captive and free-ranging animals revealed higher concentrations in captive animals only in September but not in other seasons, although higher concentrations have been previously reported for several wild captive species. Due to predation risk, the presence of offspring can be considered a critical point in the biological cycle for the welfare of free-ranging mountain gazelles, as suggested by the higher FGM concentrations in the free-ranging population in July. The high number of visitors could be a challenge for mountain gazelles in captivity, as indicated by higher FGM concentrations during September. Sex had no effect on the FGM concentrations of either population.
