Biology subjects

Salisbury, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Salisbury, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Development of the invertebrate faunas of anthropogenic habitats

AimWe aimed to determine the relationships between species association with humans, their levels of habitat specialisation, and the extent to which their geographic ranges have increased or decreased. LocationGreat Britain. Time periodPresent (1981-2020) Major taxa studiedTerrestrial invertebrates (n=1,722 species). MethodsWe determined the habitat associations for each of 1,722 species from 14 taxonomic groups in each of 18 land cover types in Great Britain. We used these values to calculate a human association index (based on whether species occupy human-modified land cover types, such as urban, suburban and coniferous plantation habitats, or occur in relatively unmodified land covers, such as several coastal habitats and marshlands) and habitat specialisation index (whether they are restricted to a few land cover types, or widely distributed across different land cover types) for each species. We then investigated the relationship between human association and habitat specialisation, as well as the relationship between human association and two metrics of range change between 1981-2000 and 2001-2020. ResultsContrary to previous hypotheses, we find no evidence that species associated with human-modified environments are more likely to be habitat generalists. Furthermore, human-associated species were more likely to increase. On average, the geographic distributions of the most human-associated third of species increased by 58% over the study period, whereas the least human associated third of species declined by 7.1%. Main conclusionsHumans have had increasingly large impacts on the worlds ecosystems, generating an intensity gradient of human-modification, including novel (anthropogenic) environments. Our findings show that new environments have provided opportunities for species to colonise, generating faunas which include species that have become human-associated specialists. The ongoing expansions of species in ecosystems with relatively high levels of human modification are key components of the future of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Top dressed biochar increases tree seedling growth and decreases sodium leaching

De-icing salts on roadways are nearly ubiquitous in northern cities during winter months, leading to contamination of soils adjacent to roadways. Sodium chloride salts often have detrimental impacts on water and trees, though some species are more sensitive than others. Biochar has the potential to mitigate sodiums harmful effects due to its large surface area:volume ratio and subsequent ability to sorb ions from solution. We conducted a four-month greenhouse experiment to test if biochar applied as either a top dressing or incorporated into the growing medium reduced sodium leaching and buffered tree responses to sodium stress. We also evaluated the effects of salt addition and biochar on four tree species that vary in salt tolerance: Catalpa speciosa (tolerant), Gleditsia triacanthos (tolerant), Acer saccharum (intolerant), and Quercus rubra (intolerant). We found no interactive effects of sodium addition and biochar on sodium leaching or tree growth and physiology. However, we did find that top dressed biochar broadly decreased sodium leaching, likely via positive effects of top dressed biochar on tree seedling growth, Catalpa speciosa in particular. Incorporated biochar, on the other hand, had positive or neutral effects on sodium leaching and negative effects on the production of new shoots and fine roots. Given that biochar is a relatively expensive amendment, it should be used sparingly to improve urban tree growth and health. Overall, this study shows that biochar application decisions have implications for tree growth and soil management.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Urbanisation generates multiple trait syndromes for terrestrial taxa worldwide

Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats and, potentially, to local extinctions. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities and surrounding landscapes. Using a dataset with site-level occurrence and trait data of 5302 species from six terrestrial fauna taxonomic groups across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy consistently showing the strongest response. The effect of urbanisation on community trait composition is strongest at the largest spatial scale considered, and more closely linked to landscape composition (% urban) than arrangement (aggregation), although latitude and climatic variables remain a stronger influence. This study did not find evidence in support of a global urban taxa syndrome, but instead we suggest that there are four general urban trait syndromes, with resources associated with reproduction and diet likely to be driving patterns in traits associated with mobility and body size. Functional diversity measures showed a wide range of responses, leading to a shift in trait space that is most likely driven by the distribution and abundance of critical resources, and the urban trait syndrome displayed by individual species within a community. Further research is required to understand the interactions between the four general urban trait syndromes, resource distribution and abundance and changes in functional diversity of taxa at different spatial and temporal scales. Maximising opportunities to support species within taxa groups with different urban trait syndromes should be pivotal in conservation and management programmes within and among cities. This will reduce the likelihood of biotic homogenisation at the taxa level, and helps ensure that urban environments have the ecological capacity to respond to challenges such as climate change, further habitat fragmentation and loss, and other disruptions. These actions are critical if we are to reframe the role of cities in global biodiversity loss.

ecology↗