@article {KNZ001930, title = {Fire, grazing and climate shape plant{\textendash}grasshopper interactions in a tallgrass prairie}, journal = {Functional Ecology}, volume = {33}, year = {2019}, pages = {735 - 745}, abstract = {

1. Species interactions are integral to ecological community function, and the \ \  \  structure of species interactions has repercussions for the consequences of species extinctions. Few studies\  have examined the role of environmental factors in controlling species interaction networks across time.
2. We examined variation in plant\–grasshopper network structural properties in response to three major grassland drivers: periodic fire, ungulate grazing and climate.
3. We sequenced a plant barcoding gene from extracted grasshopper gut contents to characterize diets of 26 grasshopper species. Resulting grasshopper species\’ diets were combined with long-term plant and grasshopper surveys to assemble plant\–grasshopper networks across 13\–19 years for six watersheds subjected to varying fire and grazing treatments.
4. Network modularity, generality and predicted grasshopper community robustness to plant species loss all increased in grazed watersheds. Temperature decreased predicted grasshopper community robustness to plant species loss.
5. Grasshopper communities were found to be vulnerable to climatic warming due to host plant loss. However, intermediate disturbance from ungulate grazers may maintain grasshopper diversity and buffer community robustness to species loss. Our results suggest that climate and disturbance shape the structure of ecological interaction networks and thus have many indirect effects on species persistence though direct effects on interaction partners.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2435.13272}, url = {https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2435.13272}, author = {Welti, Ellen A. R. and Fan, Q. and Tetreault, H.M. and Ungerer, M.C. and John M. Blair and Anthony Joern} } @article {KNZ001528, title = {Genetic variation and mating success in managed American plains bison}, journal = {Journal of Heredity}, volume = {104}, year = {2013}, pages = {182 -191}, abstract = {

The American plains bison (Bison bison) was pushed to the brink of extinction in the late 1800s but has since rebounded. Less than 5\% of animals currently exist in conservation herds that are critical for maintaining genetic variability. Here, we use 25 microsatellite loci to assess genetic diversity and patterns of mating success over a 3-year period in a managed conservation herd at Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas (total number of individuals genotyped = 587). Heterozygosity was comparable to and allelic diversity higher than that in 11 other wild and managed herds for which similar estimates are available. Parentage analyses revealed that males within the oldest age classes (5\–7 years) sired \>90\% of calves over the study period, consistent with a polygynous breeding system. Asymmetries in siring success also were observed within age classes, with the same males enjoying high siring success over multiple seasons. Empirical results of paternity will facilitate future modeling and empirical efforts to determine how demographic factors, population size, and variation in siring success interact to determine the retention (or loss) of genetic diversity in natural and managed herds, thus allowing informed recommendations for management practices and conservation efforts of this symbolic North American species.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1093/jhered/ess095}, url = {https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/104/2/182/802105}, author = {Ungerer, M.C. and Weitekamp, C.A. and Anthony Joern and Towne, G. and J. M. Briggs} }