Pivotal Literature
With the use of CiteSpace, we are able to visually see the connection between scholarly articles in our controversy. This tool also allows us to see who articles are cited by and their relationship with other articles around the controversy.
This controversy has few pivotal articles which is a clue as to the depth of its relevancy as a topic of past research in the scientific community. One common theme in the articles is that further research into the predator-prey relationship needs to be done in order to gain more scientific evidence. It is also stated in our pivotal article that information of the predator-prey relationship is greatest for marine biomes and less available for terrestrial biomes. This fact is also evident in the abundance of aquatic topics we found in our multiple cluster searches which is discussed in the Research Cluster section.
This controversy has few pivotal articles which is a clue as to the depth of its relevancy as a topic of past research in the scientific community. One common theme in the articles is that further research into the predator-prey relationship needs to be done in order to gain more scientific evidence. It is also stated in our pivotal article that information of the predator-prey relationship is greatest for marine biomes and less available for terrestrial biomes. This fact is also evident in the abundance of aquatic topics we found in our multiple cluster searches which is discussed in the Research Cluster section.
Trophic Cascades Revealed in Diverse Ecosystems
The article by Michael Pace, Jonathan J. Cole, Stephen R. Carpenter and James F. Kitchell explains the important impacts of trophic cascades on ecosystems. Trophic cascades are found in streams, lakes, oceans, fields, soils, and forests and aspects of all are currently still being observed by the scientific community. With the continuous observations, the understanding of the conditions that promote and/or inhibit the transmission of predatory effects has grown deeper. The author uses the example of the brown trout in New Zealand where the trout predation lowers the density of grazing invertebrates such as mayflies. The lack of these invertebrates increases biomass of attached algae. The interactions between trout, mayflies, and algae amount to huge differences in primary and secondary production at the ecosystem level. The analysis of the effects of removing large animals shows a loss of cascades and the inability to restore predator populations as well as ecosystem effects that ramify from the presences of large animals. The authors claim that the focus of trophic cascades in the future should include the dynamics of predator-prey interactions and on the changes in food-web structures driven by predation to adequately manage ecosystems in the hopes of restoration and conservation. Until we are able to understand the predator-prey relationship more thoroughly, the effects of a rewilding project with the goal of conservation in any ecosytem are hard to determine.
With what types of sub-topics (clusters) has this article been influential?
This article is been largely influential in the trophic cascade cluster. This article has also been influential in supporting the complexity of marine ecosystems in terms of protection and preservation.
How and Why is it influential with each cluster?
This article is mostly used in the trophic cascade cluster to help articulate the complexity of predator-prey relationship, as well as the overall lack of understanding of the ramifications of the trophic cascade in what at first glance seems like a simple system. Carnivores released in a fragmented forest situation, as would be the case in the rewilding situation, are highly susceptible to extinction. But as stated in the Crooks and Soule article (2010) mesopredator release has become the basis for conservation programs justifying the protection of carnivores. In their article they present evidence that the decline and eventual disappearance of the coyote, in southern California due to habitat fragmentation, affected the distribution and abundance of smaller carnivores and the persistence of their avian prey.
In the Terborgh et al. article (2001) the top-down and the bottom-up regulatory systems are discussed by examining predator free islands. The abundance of all vertebrates were measured on small, medium and large size islands. While taking advantage of the islands they were able to show that the absence of predators frees consumers to increase many times above their normal. They continue on to explain how herbivore pressure has been weak since the eradication of the megafauna on Earth in which the effects were attributed to bottom-up regulation instead of top-down.
In the Terborgh et al. article (2001) the top-down and the bottom-up regulatory systems are discussed by examining predator free islands. The abundance of all vertebrates were measured on small, medium and large size islands. While taking advantage of the islands they were able to show that the absence of predators frees consumers to increase many times above their normal. They continue on to explain how herbivore pressure has been weak since the eradication of the megafauna on Earth in which the effects were attributed to bottom-up regulation instead of top-down.
Articles Influenced by the Pivotal Article
Ecological Meltdown in Predator-Free Forest Fragments-Terborgh et al.
Mesopredator Release and Avifaunal Extinctions in a Fragmented System- K. Crooks and M. Soule
Mesopredator Release and Avifaunal Extinctions in a Fragmented System- K. Crooks and M. Soule
References
Agardy, T., Bridgewater, P., Crosby, M. P., Day, J., Dayton, P. K., Kenchington, R., Laffoley, D., McConney, P., Murray, P. A., Parks, J. E. and Peau, L. (2003), Dangerous targets? Unresolved issues and ideological clashes around marine protected areas. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst., 13: 353–367. doi: 10.1002/aqc.583
Crooks, K. R., & Soule, M. E. (2010). Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature, 400(6744), 563-566. Retrieved from http://tsutsuilab.bio.uci.edu/CrooksSoule1999Nature.pdf
Pace, M., Cole, J., Carpenter, S., & Kitchell, J. (1999). Trophic cascades revealed in diverse ecosystems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 14(12), 483-488. Elsevier. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10542455
Terborgh, J., Lopez, L., Nuñez, P., Rao, M., Shahabuddin, G., Orihuela, G., Riveros, M., et al. (2001). Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragments. Science, 294(5548), 1923-6. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11729317
Crooks, K. R., & Soule, M. E. (2010). Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature, 400(6744), 563-566. Retrieved from http://tsutsuilab.bio.uci.edu/CrooksSoule1999Nature.pdf
Pace, M., Cole, J., Carpenter, S., & Kitchell, J. (1999). Trophic cascades revealed in diverse ecosystems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 14(12), 483-488. Elsevier. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10542455
Terborgh, J., Lopez, L., Nuñez, P., Rao, M., Shahabuddin, G., Orihuela, G., Riveros, M., et al. (2001). Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragments. Science, 294(5548), 1923-6. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11729317