Aim Environmental change affects metacommunity structure both directly—via abiotic factors and dispersal that affect species occurrence—and indirectly—via complex interactions among co‐occurring species. We examined how the three main metacommunity factors—environmental conditions, spatial processes and species associations—affect metacommunity structure and whether responses are predictable in real‐world systems by using nove...

The roots of the majority of tree species are associated with either arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. The absorptive roots of tree species also vary widely in their diameter. The linkages between root thickness, mycorrhiza type and nutrient foraging are poorly understood. We conducted a large root ingrowth experiment in the field to investigate how absorptive roots of varying thickness and their assoc...

Forest litter is a large reservoir of organic compounds that adds CO 2 to the atmospheric carbon pool when it decomposes. Predicting CO 2 efflux from litter decomposition is difficult because litter can undergo significant diurnal and day‐to‐day shifts in temperature. Moreover, the relationship between temperature and respiration may change if the decomposer microorganisms acclimate to short‐term temperature changes. Therefore...

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi contribute significantly to ecosystem respiration, but little research has addressed the effect of temperature on ECM fungal respiration. Some plants have the ability to acclimate to temperature such that long‐term exposure to warmer conditions slows respiration at a given measurement temperature and long‐term exposure to cooler conditions increases respiration at a given measurement temperature. We...

A possible cause of the low eyed‐egg percentage that afflicts pond‐reared masu salmon Oncorhynchus masou at a fish hatchery (Kumaishi Fish Hatchery, Hokkaido, Japan) was investigated. Serum cortisol levels of masu salmon during the spawning period were compared between individuals from Kumaishi and those from another station (Mori). Cortisol, thyroxine (T 4 ) and triiodothyronine (T 3 ) hormones were also measured in eyed eggs...