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Ruiz-Moreno A, Emslie MJ, Connolly SR. High response diversity and conspecific density-dependence, not species interactions, drive dynamics of coral reef fish communities. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14424. [PMID: 38634183 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Species-to-species and species-to-environment interactions are key drivers of community dynamics. Disentangling these drivers in species-rich assemblages is challenging due to the high number of potentially interacting species (the 'curse of dimensionality'). We develop a process-based model that quantifies how intraspecific and interspecific interactions, and species' covarying responses to environmental fluctuations, jointly drive community dynamics. We fit the model to reef fish abundance time series from 41 reefs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. We found that fluctuating relative abundances are driven by species' heterogenous responses to environmental fluctuations, whereas interspecific interactions are negligible. Species differences in long-term average abundances are driven by interspecific variation in the magnitudes of both conspecific density-dependence and density-independent growth rates. This study introduces a novel approach to overcoming the curse of dimensionality, which reveals highly individualistic dynamics in coral reef fish communities that imply a high level of niche structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso Ruiz-Moreno
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Michael J Emslie
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sean R Connolly
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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2
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Villanova PH, Torres CMME, Jacovine LAG, Schettini BLS, Ribeiro SC, da Rocha SJSS, Rufino MPMX, de Freitas MF, Kerkoff LA. Impacts of a severe storm on carbon accumulation in coarse woody debris within a secondary Atlantic Forest fragment in Brazil. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:203. [PMID: 38277071 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12316-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The alarming increase in extreme weather events, such as severe storms with torrential rain and strong winds, is a direct result of climate change. These events have led to discernible shifts in forest structure and the carbon cycle, primarily driven by a surge in tree mortality. However, the impacts caused by these severe storms on the production and carbon increment from coarse woody debris (CWD) are still poorly understood, especially in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Thus, the goal proposed by the study was to quantify the CWD volume, necromass, and carbon stock before and after the occurrence of a severe storm and to determine the importance of spatial, structural, and qualitative variables of trees in the CWD carbon increment. The increase in carbon by the storm was 2.01 MgC ha-1, with a higher concentration in the CWD less decomposed and smaller diameter class. The forest fragment plots showed distinct increments (0.05-0.35 MgC), being influenced by spatial (elevation, declivity, and slope angle) structural (basal area) and qualitative factors (trunk quality and tree health), intrinsic to the forest. Thus, it is concluded that severe storms cause a large increase in carbon in CWD, making it essential to understand the susceptibility of forests to the action of intense rains and strong winds to model and monitor the future impacts of these extreme weather events on Atlantic Forest and other tropical forests in the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo Henrique Villanova
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
| | | | | | | | - Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro
- Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Lucas Abreu Kerkoff
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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3
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Nery EK, Caddah MK, Santos MF, Nogueira A. The evolution of ecological specialization underlies plant endemism in the Atlantic Forest. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 131:921-940. [PMID: 36757803 PMCID: PMC10332402 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The evolution of ecological specialization is favoured under divergent selection imposed by increased environmental heterogeneity, although specialization can limit the geographical range of organisms, thus promoting endemism. The Atlantic Forest (AF) is an ancient montane domain with high plant endemism, containing different environments for plant specialization. Miconia is the most diverse genus of woody flowering plant within the AF domain, including AF-endemic and non-endemic lineages. We hypothesized that Miconia species have faced increased environmental heterogeneity and consequently have been selected towards increased specialization in the AF domain, and this increased specialization has greatly reduced species geographical ranges, ultimately promoting endemism. Hence, we made the following predictions: (1) AF-endemic species should face greater environmental heterogeneity than non-endemic species; (2) AF-endemic species should be more specialized than non-endemic species; (3) specialization should lead to smaller geographical ranges; (4) specialization and small geographical ranges among AF-endemic species should conform to a selection-driven evolutionary scenario rather than to a neutral evolutionary scenario; and (5) small geographical ranges among AF-endemic species should date back to the occupation of the AF domain rather than to more recent time periods. METHODS We used geographical, environmental and phylogenetic data on a major Miconia clade including AF-endemic and non-endemic species. We calculated Rao's Q to estimate the environmental heterogeneity faced by species. We used georeferenced occurrences to estimate the geographical ranges of species. We applied environmental niche modelling to infer species niche breadth. We inferred the most likely evolutionary scenario for species geographical range and niche breadth via a model-fitting approach. We used ancestral reconstructions to evaluate species geographical range throughout time. KEY RESULTS Atlantic Forest-endemic species faced 33-60 % more environmental heterogeneity, with the increase being associated with montane landscapes in the AF. The AF-endemic species were 60 % more specialized overall, specifically over highly variable environmental gradients in AF montane landscapes. Specialization strongly predicted small geographical ranges among AF-endemic species and was a major range-limiting factor among endemic lineages. The AF-endemic species have evolved towards specialization and small geographical ranges under a selection-driven regime, probably imposed by the great environmental heterogeneity in AF montane landscapes. The AF-endemic species underwent a major reduction of geographical range immediately after their evolution, indicating a long-standing effect of selective pressures in the AF domain. CONCLUSION Environmental heterogeneity imposes selective pressures favouring ecological specialization and small geographical ranges among plant lineages in the AF domain. This selection-driven process has probably promoted plant endemism in the AF domain throughout its history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo K Nery
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Evolução e Diversidade, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo – SP, Brazil
| | - Mayara K Caddah
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis – SC, Brazil
| | - Matheus F Santos
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo – SP, Brazil
| | - Anselmo Nogueira
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo – SP, Brazil
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4
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Malik N, Edwards D, Freckleton RP. Distance and density dependence in two native Bornean dipterocarp species. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10004. [PMID: 37091565 PMCID: PMC10115900 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The Janzen-Connell hypothesis proposes that density and distance-dependent mortality generated by specialist natural enemies prevent competitive dominance. Much literature on Janzen-Connell mechanisms comes from the neotropics, and evidence of the role of distance and density-dependence is still relatively sparse. We tested the predictions of the Janzen-Connell hypothesis in a South-East Asian system dominated by mast fruiting species. We hypothesized that seedling survival would decrease with distance and density, seedling growth would increase, and herbivory would decrease, according to the predictions of the Janzen-Connell hypothesis. Experiments were conducted to determine the strength of the Janzen-Connell mechanism by manipulating the density and identity of tree species as a function of the distance from parent trees. Survival of conspecific seedlings was reduced near adult trees of one species, but not another. High densities of seedlings decreased the growth of conspecific seedlings of both species. In both species, herbivory rates decreased with distance in low-density areas. This study indicates that dipterocarp species experienced weak Janzen-Connell effects of distance and density dependence at the growth stage studied. Future studies in this system might focus on earlier life-history stages such as seeds and small seedlings, as well as studying mortality during mast-seeding events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazrin Malik
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of BiosciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldS10 2TNUK
| | - David Edwards
- Department of Forestry Science & Biodiversity, Faculty of ForestryUniversiti Putra MalaysiaSerdangSelangor43400Malaysia
| | - Robert P. Freckleton
- Department of Forestry Science & Biodiversity, Faculty of ForestryUniversiti Putra MalaysiaSerdangSelangor43400Malaysia
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Sanches FHC, De Grande FR, Costa TM, Barreto RE. Sharing is living: The role of habitat heterogeneity in the coexistence of closely related species. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9930. [PMID: 36969927 PMCID: PMC10030270 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
In biologically diverse ecosystems, an essential process to support competing species to coexist is ecological differentiation. Habitat heterogeneity is, hence, important in establishing species abundance and richness, favoring the coexistence of species due to habitat partition. In this context, shading and species thermal tolerance can be good factors to elucidate the role of habitat heterogeneity in the habitat partition among closely related species. Herein, we study shading effects in microhabitat selection, behavior, and physiological limitation on two species of fiddler crabs (Leptuca leptodactyla and Leptuca uruguayensis). Indeed, shading conditions influenced fiddler crabs species proportion over time, with L. leptodactyla more associated with nonshaded/warmer areas while the L. uruguayensis to shaded/cooler ones. They also adjusted their behavior differently from each other to deal with thermal stress. Finally, we have demonstrated that these effects are related to species' physiological limitations. We conclude that biologically diverse ecosystems, such as intertidal regions from estuaries (e.g., mudflats and mangroves), support the coexistence between closely related species by reducing competition due to habitat partition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio H. C. Sanches
- Institute of Marine ScienceFederal University of São Paulo (IMar/UNIFESP)SantosBrazil
- Postgraduate Program in Biological Sciences (Zoology), Biosciences InstituteSão Paulo State University (UNESP)BotucatuBrazil
| | - Fernando R. De Grande
- Institute of Marine ScienceFederal University of São Paulo (IMar/UNIFESP)SantosBrazil
- Postgraduate Program in Biological Sciences (Zoology), Biosciences InstituteSão Paulo State University (UNESP)BotucatuBrazil
| | - Tânia M. Costa
- Postgraduate Program in Biological Sciences (Zoology), Biosciences InstituteSão Paulo State University (UNESP)BotucatuBrazil
- Biosciences InstituteSão Paulo State University (UNESP) – Coastal CampusSão VicenteBrazil
- Aquaculture Center (CAUNESP)São Paulo State University (UNESP)JaboticabalBrazil
| | - Rodrigo E. Barreto
- Aquaculture Center (CAUNESP)São Paulo State University (UNESP)JaboticabalBrazil
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Biosciences InstituteSão Paulo State University (UNESP)BotucatuBrazil
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6
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Pérez‐Sánchez AJ, Schibalski A, Schröder B, Klimek S, Dauber J. Local and landscape environmental heterogeneity drive ant community structure in temperate seminatural upland grasslands. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9889. [PMID: 36950370 PMCID: PMC10025078 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity is an important driver of ecological communities. Here, we assessed the effects of local and landscape spatial environmental heterogeneity on ant community structure in temperate seminatural upland grasslands of Central Germany. We surveyed 33 grassland sites representing a gradient in elevation and landscape composition. Local environmental heterogeneity was measured in terms of variability of temperature and moisture within and between grasslands sites. Grassland management type (pasture vs. meadows) was additionally included as a local environmental heterogeneity measure. The complexity of habitat types in the surroundings of grassland sites was used as a measure of landscape environmental heterogeneity. As descriptors of ant community structure, we considered species composition in terms of nest density, community evenness, and functional response traits. We found that extensively grazed pastures and within-site heterogeneity in soil moisture at local scale, and a high diversity of land cover types at the landscape scale affected ant species composition by promoting higher nest densities of some species. Ant community evenness was high in wetter grasslands with low within-site variability in soil moisture and surrounded by a less diverse landscape. Fourth-corner models revealed that ant community structure response to environmental heterogeneity was mediated mainly by worker size, colony size, and life history traits related with colony reproduction and foundation. We discuss how within-site local variability in soil moisture and low-intensity grazing promote ant species densities and highlight the role of habitat temperature and humidity affecting community evenness. We hypothesize that a higher diversity of land cover types in a forest-dominated landscape buffers less favorable environmental conditions for ant species establishment and dispersal between grasslands. We conclude that spatial environmental heterogeneity at local and landscape scale plays an important role as deterministic force in filtering ant species and, along with neutral processes (e.g., stochastic colonization), in shaping ant community structure in temperate seminatural upland grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio J. Pérez‐Sánchez
- Thünen Institute of BiodiversityBraunschweigGermany
- Biodiversity of Agricultural LandscapesInstitute of Geoecology, Technische Universität BraunschweigBraunschweigGermany
| | - Anett Schibalski
- Landscape Ecology and Environmental Systems AnalysisInstitute of Geoecology, Technische Universität BraunschweigBraunschweigGermany
| | - Boris Schröder
- Landscape Ecology and Environmental Systems AnalysisInstitute of Geoecology, Technische Universität BraunschweigBraunschweigGermany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Institute of Advance Biodiversity Research (BBIB)BerlinGermany
| | | | - Jens Dauber
- Thünen Institute of BiodiversityBraunschweigGermany
- Biodiversity of Agricultural LandscapesInstitute of Geoecology, Technische Universität BraunschweigBraunschweigGermany
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7
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Murphy HT, Bradford MG. The role of big trees and abundant species in driving spatial patterns of species richness in an Australian tropical rainforest. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9324. [PMID: 36188495 PMCID: PMC9486822 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Helen T. Murphy
- CSIRO, Australian Tropical Sciences and Innovation Precinct James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
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Hammill E, Dart R. Contributions of mean temperature and temperature variation to population stability and community diversity. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8665. [PMID: 35228865 PMCID: PMC8861844 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Future climate changes are predicted to not only increase global temperatures but also alter temporal variation in temperature. As thermal tolerances form an important component of a species’ niche, changes to the temperature regime have the capacity to negatively impact species, and therefore, the diversity of the communities they inhabit. In this study, we used protist microcosms to assess how mean temperature, as well as temporal variation in temperature, affected diversity. Communities consisted of seven species in a multitrophic food web. Each ecosystem was inoculated with the same abundances of each species at the start of the experiment, and species densities, Hill's numbers (based on Shannon diversity), the number of extinctions, and the probability the microcosm contained predators were all calculated at the end of the experiment. To assess how mean temperature and temperature fluctuations affect stability, we also measured population densities through time. We found that increased temporal variation in temperature increased final densities, increased Hill's numbers (at low mean temperatures), decreased rates of extinctions, and increased the probability that predators survived till the end of the experiment. Mean temperatures did not significantly affect either the number of extinctions or the probability of predators, but did reduce the positive effect of increased temporal variation in temperature on overall diversity. Our results indicate that climatic changes have the potential to impact the composition of ecological communities by altering multiple components of temperature regimes. However, given that some climate forecasts are predicting increased mean temperatures and reduced variability, our finding that increased mean temperature and reduced temporal variation are both generally associated with negative consequences is somewhat concerning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edd Hammill
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center Utah State University Logan Utah84341USA
| | - Riley Dart
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center Utah State University Logan Utah84341USA
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9
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Kinlock NL, Munch SB. Interaction network structure and spatial patterns influence invasiveness and invasibility in a stochastic model of plant communities. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L. Kinlock
- Dept of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook Univ. Stony Brook NY USA
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Santa Cruz CA USA
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10
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Cao K, Condit R, Mi X, Chen L, Ren H, Xu W, Burslem DFRP, Cai C, Cao M, Chang LW, Chu C, Cui F, Du H, Ediriweera S, Gunatilleke CSV, Gunatilleke IUAN, Hao Z, Jin G, Li J, Li B, Li Y, Liu Y, Ni H, O'Brien MJ, Qiao X, Shen G, Tian S, Wang X, Xu H, Xu Y, Yang L, Yap SL, Lian J, Ye W, Yu M, Su SH, Chang-Yang CH, Guo Y, Li X, Zeng F, Zhu D, Zhu L, Sun IF, Ma K, Svenning JC. Species packing and the latitudinal gradient in beta-diversity. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203045. [PMID: 33849320 PMCID: PMC8059527 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The decline in species richness at higher latitudes is among the most fundamental patterns in ecology. Whether changes in species composition across space (beta-diversity) contribute to this gradient of overall species richness (gamma-diversity) remains hotly debated. Previous studies that failed to resolve the issue suffered from a well-known tendency for small samples in areas with high gamma-diversity to have inflated measures of beta-diversity. Here, we provide a novel analytical test, using beta-diversity metrics that correct the gamma-diversity and sampling biases, to compare beta-diversity and species packing across a latitudinal gradient in tree species richness of 21 large forest plots along a large environmental gradient in East Asia. We demonstrate that after accounting for topography and correcting the gamma-diversity bias, tropical forests still have higher beta-diversity than temperate analogues. This suggests that beta-diversity contributes to the latitudinal species richness gradient as a component of gamma-diversity. Moreover, both niche specialization and niche marginality (a measure of niche spacing along an environmental gradient) also increase towards the equator, after controlling for the effect of topographical heterogeneity. This supports the joint importance of tighter species packing and larger niche space in tropical forests while also demonstrating the importance of local processes in controlling beta-diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875
| | - Richard Condit
- Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Rte. 53, Lisle, IL 60532, USA
- Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| | - Xiangcheng Mi
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
| | - Lei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
| | - Haibao Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
| | - Wubing Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE) and Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - David F. R. P. Burslem
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cruickshank Building, St Machar Drive, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Chunrong Cai
- Institue of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074
| | - Li-Wan Chang
- Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, 53 Nanhai Road, Taipei 100051
| | | | - Fuxin Cui
- Institue of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040
| | - Hu Du
- Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan 410125
| | - Sisira Ediriweera
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla 90000, Sri Lanka
| | | | | | - Zhanqing Hao
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072
| | - Guangze Jin
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040
| | - Jinbo Li
- Institue of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040
| | - Buhang Li
- Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275
| | - Yide Li
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520
| | - Yankun Liu
- Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Forestry Ecological Engineering, Heilongjiang Forestry Engineering and Environment Institute, Harbin 150040
| | - Hongwei Ni
- Heilongjiang Academy of Forestry, Harbin 150081
| | - Michael J. O'Brien
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/ Tulipán s/n., E-28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Xiujuan Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074
| | | | - Songyan Tian
- Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Forestry Ecological Engineering, Heilongjiang Forestry Engineering and Environment Institute, Harbin 150040
| | - Xihua Wang
- East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241
| | - Han Xu
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520
| | - Yaozhan Xu
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074
| | - Libing Yang
- Institue of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040
| | - Sandra L. Yap
- Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City PH 1101, Philippines
| | - Juyu Lian
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074
- South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650
| | - Wanhui Ye
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074
- South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650
| | - Mingjian Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058
| | - Sheng-Hsin Su
- Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, 53 Nanhai Road, Taipei 100051
| | | | - Yili Guo
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006
| | - Xiankun Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006
| | | | - Daoguang Zhu
- Institue of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040
| | - Li Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
| | - I-Fang Sun
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 97401
| | - Keping Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE) and Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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11
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Thomas E, Jansen M, Chiriboga-Arroyo F, Wadt LHO, Corvera-Gomringer R, Atkinson RJ, Bonser SP, Velasquez-Ramirez MG, Ladd B. Habitat Quality Differentiation and Consequences for Ecosystem Service Provision of an Amazonian Hyperdominant Tree Species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:621064. [PMID: 33868327 PMCID: PMC8044455 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.621064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystem services of Amazonian forests are disproportionally produced by a limited set of hyperdominant tree species. Yet the spatial variation in the delivery of ecosystem services by individual hyperdominant species across their distribution ranges and corresponding environmental gradients is poorly understood. Here, we use the concept of habitat quality to unravel the effect of environmental gradients on seed production and aboveground biomass (AGB) of the Brazil nut, one of Amazonia's largest and most long-lived hyperdominants. We find that a range of climate and soil gradients create trade-offs between density and fitness of Brazil nut trees. Density responses to environmental gradients were in line with predictions under the Janzen-Connell and Herms-Mattson hypotheses, whereas tree fitness responses were in line with resource requirements of trees over their life cycle. These trade-offs resulted in divergent responses in area-based seed production and AGB. While seed production and AGB of individual trees (i.e., fitness) responded similarly to most environmental gradients, they showed opposite tendencies to tree density for almost half of the gradients. However, for gradients creating opposite fitness-density responses, area-based seed production was invariable, while trends in area-based AGB tended to mirror the response of tree density. We conclude that while the relation between environmental gradients and tree density is generally indicative of the response of AGB accumulation in a given area of forest, this is not necessarily the case for fruit production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Merel Jansen
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Ecosystem Management, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for International Forestry Research -CIFOR, Lima, Peru
| | - Fidel Chiriboga-Arroyo
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Ecosystem Management, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | - Stephen P. Bonser
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, Ecology & Evolution Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Brenton Ladd
- Escuela de Agroforestería, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru
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12
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Key Community Assembly Processes Switch between Scales in Shaping Beta Diversity in Two Primary Forests, Southwest China. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11101106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Environmental and dispersal-based processes have been widely investigated for the understanding of community assembly. However, the relative importance of these ecological processes across spatial scales, life history stages and forest types needs to be largely studied. We test the variability of ecological processes in shaping tree community composition across life stages and spatial scales, and in particular, the hypothesis that dispersal limitation dominates at smaller scales and early life stages, but environmental filtering at larger scales and later life stages. We used spatially explicit point process models to estimate the relative importance of environmental and dispersal processes and their combined effect on beta diversity across spatial scales and life stages in tropical and subtropical forests. These models fit the observed species distribution pattern and generated realizations of the fitted models for each species. We found that the importance of environmental and dispersal processes did not shift with life stages or vegetation types, but did with spatial scales. Dispersal provided the best explanation of large-scale patterns, but dispersal combined with environmental selection was superior for small-scale patterns. In conclusion, we confirm the importance of spatial scale for the effects and identification of community assembly mechanisms. Our results also suggest that the importance of both dispersal and environmental processes for community assembly could be pervasive across life stages and vegetation types. The generality of these findings should be tested further in different vegetation types and life stages to assess whether specific ecological processes have consistent effects on community structure across life stages and vegetation types.
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13
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Kupers SJ, Wirth C, Engelbrecht BMJ, Hernández A, Condit R, Wright SJ, Rüger N. Performance of tropical forest seedlings under shade and drought: an interspecific trade-off in demographic responses. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18784. [PMID: 31827158 PMCID: PMC6906455 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55256-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Seedlings in moist tropical forests must cope with deep shade and seasonal drought. However, the interspecific relationship between seedling performance in shade and drought remains unsettled. We quantified spatiotemporal variation in shade and drought in the seasonal moist tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, and estimated responses of naturally regenerating seedlings as the slope of the relationship between performance and shade or drought intensity. Our performance metrics were relative height growth and first-year survival. We investigated the relationship between shade and drought responses for up to 63 species. There was an interspecific trade-off in species responses to shade versus species responses to dry season intensity; species that performed worse in the shade did not suffer during severe dry seasons and vice versa. This trade-off emerged in part from the absence of species that performed particularly well or poorly in both drought and shade. If drought stress in tropical forests increases with climate change and as solar radiation is higher during droughts, the trade-off may reinforce a shift towards species that resist drought but perform poorly in the shade by releasing them from deep shade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan J Kupers
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Christian Wirth
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Bettina M J Engelbrecht
- Department of Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Andrés Hernández
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Richard Condit
- Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
- Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, 60532-1293, USA
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Nadja Rüger
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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14
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Fortunel C, McFadden IR, Valencia R, Kraft NJB. Neither species geographic range size, climatic envelope, nor intraspecific leaf trait variability capture habitat specialization in a hyperdiverse Amazonian forest. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Fortunel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California—Los Angeles Los Angeles California
- IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA AMAP (botAnique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des végétations) Université de Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Ian R. McFadden
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California—Los Angeles Los Angeles California
| | - Renato Valencia
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Plantas Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Quito Ecuador
| | - Nathan J. B. Kraft
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California—Los Angeles Los Angeles California
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15
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Arriagada L, Rojas O, Arumí JL, Munizaga J, Rojas C, Farias L, Vega C. A new method to evaluate the vulnerability of watersheds facing several stressors: A case study in mediterranean Chile. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 651:1517-1533. [PMID: 30360281 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Freshwater systems are subjected to multiple anthropogenic stressors and natural disturbances that act as debilitating agents and modifiers of river systems, causing cumulative and synergistic effects that deteriorate their health and result in watershed vulnerability. This study proposes an easy-to-apply spatial method of watershed vulnerability evaluation using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Andalién River watershed, located in the Chilean mediterranean. A watershed vulnerability index (WVI) based on three sub-indices - anthropogenic stressors, environmental fragility and natural disturbances - was developed. To determine the index grouping weights, expert surveys were carried out using the Delphi method. We subsequently normalized and integrated the factors of each sub-index with relative weights. The ranges of each thematic layer were re-classified to establish vulnerability scores. The watershed was divided into three sections: headwaters zone, transfer zone and depositional zone. The watershed vulnerability index showed that 41% of the watershed had very low vulnerability and 42% had medium vulnerability, while only 1% - in the depositional zone - had high vulnerability. A one-way ANOVA was carried out to analyze the vulnerability differences among the three sections of the watershed; it showed significant differences (F (2, 16) = 8.15: p < 0.05). The a posteriori test showed differences between the headwaters and depositional zones (Tukey test, p = 0.005) and between the transfer and depositional zones (Tukey test, p = 0.014). To validate the WVI, water quality was measured at 16 stations in the watershed; there was a significant correlation between vulnerability level and NO2- levels (r = 0.8; p = 0.87; α = 0.05) and pH (r = 0.8; p = 0.80; α = 0.05). The WVI showed the cumulative effects of multiple stressors in the depositional zone of the watershed. This is the first study to evaluate and validate non-regulated watershed vulnerability with GIS using multiple anthropogenic and natural stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loretto Arriagada
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Octavio Rojas
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
| | - José Luis Arumí
- Department of Water Resources, CHRIAM Water Center, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Juan Munizaga
- School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Geography, Department of Geography, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Carolina Rojas
- School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Geography, Department of Geography, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Laura Farias
- Department of Oceanography, University of Concepción and Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)(2), Chile.
| | - Claudio Vega
- School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Geography, Department of Geography, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
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16
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Effect of Microenvironment on Species Distribution Patterns in the Regeneration Layer of Forest Gaps and Non-Gaps in a Subtropical Natural Forest, China. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f10020090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the effect of gap environmental factors on the plant population regeneration pattern in the Castanopsis kawakamii natural forest. We used the detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA) method to study coupling relationships between species distribution in the regeneration layer and environmental factors. The results showed that: (1) The main environmental factors that influenced species distribution in the forest gaps and non-gaps were different, and the highest explanation rate of environmental factors was the soil temperature below the surface 10 cm (ST10); (2) The relationships between species distribution in the regeneration layer of the forest gaps and non-gaps were mainly restricted by environmental factors, given the environmental factors complied with the ecological niche hypothesis; and (3) For the endangered C. kawakamii population, there were positive and negative relationships between the environmental factors and the various species in the forest gaps and non-gaps, whilst the effects of such relationships were varied. Some management operations, including the creation of artificial gaps and adequate fertilization in the non-gaps, could more effectively promote the growth and regeneration of the C. kawakamii population.
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17
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Xing D, He F. Environmental filtering explains a U-shape latitudinal pattern in regional β-deviation for eastern North American trees. Ecol Lett 2018; 22:284-291. [PMID: 30467932 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Revised: 08/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The underlying drivers of β-diversity along latitudinal gradients have been unclear. Previous studies have focused on β-diversities calculated at a local scale and shed limited light on regional β-diversity. We tested the much-debated effects of range size vs. environmental filtering on the β-gradient using data from the US Forest Inventory Analysis Program. We showed that the drivers of the β-gradient were scale dependent. At the local scale species spatial patterns contributed little to the β-gradient, whereas at the regional scale spatial patterns dominated the gradient and a U-shape latitudinal relationship for the standardised β-diversity deviation was revealed. The relationship can be explained by spatial variation in climate and soil texture, thus supporting the environmental filtering hypothesis. But it is inconsistent with Rapoport's rule about the effect of range size on β-gradient. These results resolve the debate on whether species spatial distributions contribute to β-gradient and attest the importance of environmental filtering in determining regional β-diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingliang Xing
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H1
| | - Fangliang He
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H1
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18
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He D, Biswas SR. Negative relationship between interspecies spatial association and trait dissimilarity. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dong He
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal Univ CN‐200241 Shanghai China
| | - Shekhar R. Biswas
- Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal Univ Shanghai China
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19
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Liu Q, Bi L, Song G, Wang Q, Jin G. Species-habitat associations in an old-growth temperate forest in northeastern China. BMC Ecol 2018; 18:20. [PMID: 29986704 PMCID: PMC6038321 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-018-0177-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 03/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Species coexistence mechanisms and maintenance of biodiversity have long been considered important components of community ecology research. As one of the important mechanisms, species coexistence theory based on niche differentiation has received attention in past years. Thus, topography, through the formation of habitat heterogeneity, affects species distributions and coexistence. A 30-ha dynamic plot of mixed broadleaved-Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forest is located in the Heilongjiang Fenglin National Nature Reserve. We examined species-habitat associations using the torus-translation method. We aim to understand the habitat associations of different species, life forms (shrubs, trees), and shade tolerance (light-demanding, midtolerant, shade-tolerant) across life stages (sapling, juvenile and mature), providing further evidence for the role of niche theory in temperate forests. RESULTS Of the 33 species we tested, 28 species (84.8%) were at least significantly associated with one habitat type. Positive associations were more frequent in the valley and slope (shady and sunny) and less frequent on the ridge. Thirty-four significant positive associations with the five habitats were detected at three life stages (11, 11 and 12 at the sapling stage, juvenile stage, and mature stage, respectively). The trees were positively associated with the valley, and the shrubs were positively associated with sunny and ridge. The majority of species' habitat preferences shifted among different life stages; the exceptions were Corylus mandshurica, Maackia amurensis, Quercus mongolica, Picea jezoensis and Acer ukurunduense, which had consistent associations with the same habitat at all stages. The midtolerant trees and midtolerant shrubs were positively correlated with sunny across the three life stages. CONCLUSIONS Most species show habitat preferences in the plot. These results indicate that niche theory plays an important role in species coexistence. Most species have no consistent association with habitat at different life stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Liu
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Lianzhu Bi
- Heilongjiang Fenglin National Nature Reserve Authority, Yichun, 153033, China
| | - Guohua Song
- Heilongjiang Fenglin National Nature Reserve Authority, Yichun, 153033, China
| | - Quanbo Wang
- Heilongjiang Fenglin National Nature Reserve Authority, Yichun, 153033, China
| | - Guangze Jin
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
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20
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Smith JR, Ghazoul J, Burslem DFRP, Itoh A, Khoo E, Lee SL, Maycock CR, Nanami S, Ng KKS, Kettle CJ. Are patterns of fine-scale spatial genetic structure consistent between sites within tropical tree species? PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193501. [PMID: 29547644 PMCID: PMC5856272 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Documenting the scale and intensity of fine-scale spatial genetic structure (FSGS), and the processes that shape it, is relevant to the sustainable management of genetic resources in timber tree species, particularly where logging or fragmentation might disrupt gene flow. In this study we assessed patterns of FSGS in three species of Dipterocarpaceae (Parashorea tomentella, Shorea leprosula and Shorea parvifolia) across four different tropical rain forests in Malaysia using nuclear microsatellite markers. Topographic heterogeneity varied across the sites. We hypothesised that forests with high topographic heterogeneity would display increased FSGS among the adult populations driven by habitat associations. This hypothesis was not supported for S. leprosula and S. parvifolia which displayed little variation in the intensity and scale of FSGS between sites despite substantial variation in topographic heterogeneity. Conversely, the intensity of FSGS for P. tomentella was greater at a more topographically heterogeneous than a homogeneous site, and a significant difference in the overall pattern of FSGS was detected between sites for this species. These results suggest that local patterns of FSGS may in some species be shaped by habitat heterogeneity in addition to limited gene flow by pollen and seed dispersal. Site factors can therefore contribute to the development of FSGS. Confirming consistency in species’ FSGS amongst sites is an important step in managing timber tree genetic diversity as it provides confidence that species specific management recommendations based on species reproductive traits can be applied across a species’ range. Forest managers should take into account the interaction between reproductive traits and site characteristics, its consequences for maintaining forest genetic resources and how this might influence natural regeneration across species if management is to be sustainable.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R. Smith
- Institute for Terrestrial Ecology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jaboury Ghazoul
- Institute for Terrestrial Ecology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Akira Itoh
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan
| | - Eyen Khoo
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Soon Leong Lee
- Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Colin R. Maycock
- Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Satoshi Nanami
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan
| | | | - Chris J. Kettle
- Institute for Terrestrial Ecology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
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21
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Illian JB, Burslem DFRP. Improving the usability of spatial point process methodology: an interdisciplinary dialogue between statistics and ecology. ASTA-ADVANCES IN STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10182-017-0301-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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22
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Zhang S, Huang Y, Zang R. The assembly and interactions of tree species in tropical forests based on spatial analysis. Ecosphere 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shuzi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment; The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection; Chinese Academy of Forestry; Beijing 100091 China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China; Nanjing Forestry University; Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Yunfeng Huang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment; The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection; Chinese Academy of Forestry; Beijing 100091 China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China; Nanjing Forestry University; Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment; The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection; Chinese Academy of Forestry; Beijing 100091 China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China; Nanjing Forestry University; Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
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23
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Weng CY, Yang KC, Hsieh CF, Hsieh CH, Su MH. Local neighborhood communities in the understory play a critical role by affecting regeneration niches and subsequent community assembly in a montane cloud forest. Ecol Res 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-017-1475-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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24
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Pulla S, Suresh HS, Dattaraja HS, Sukumar R. Multidimensional tree niches in a tropical dry forest. Ecology 2017; 98:1334-1348. [PMID: 28247414 PMCID: PMC7163700 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Revised: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The extent to which interspecific niche differences structure plant communities is highly debated, with extreme viewpoints ranging from fine‐scaled niche partitioning, where every species in the community is specialized to a distinct niche, to neutrality, where species have no niche or fitness differences. However, there exists a default position wherein niches of species in a community are determined by their evolutionary and biogeographic histories, irrespective of other species within the community. According to this viewpoint, a broad range of pair‐wise niche overlaps—from completely overlapping to completely distinct—are expected in any community without the need to invoke interspecific interactions. We develop a method that can test for both habitat associations and niche differences along an arbitrary number of spatial and temporal niche dimensions and apply it to a 24‐yr data set of the eight dominant woody‐plant species (representing 84% and 76% of total community abundance and basal area, respectively) from a 50‐ha permanent plot in a southern Indian tropical dry forest, using edaphic, topographic, and precipitation variables as niche axes. Species separated into two broad groups in niche space—one consisting of three canopy species and the other of a canopy species and four understory species—along axes that corresponded mainly to variation in soil P, Al and a topographic index of wetness. Species within groups tended to have significantly greater niche overlap than expected by chance. Community‐wide niche overlap in spatial and temporal niche axes was never smaller than expected by chance. Species‐habitat associations were neither necessary nor sufficient preconditions for niche differences to be present. Our results suggest that this tropical dry‐forest community consists of several tree species with broadly overlapping niches, and where significant niche differences do exist, they are not readily interpretable as evidence for niche differentiation. We argue, based on a survey of the literature, that many of the observed niche differences in tropical forests are more parsimoniously viewed as autecological differences between species that exist independently of interspecific interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandeep Pulla
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.,Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Hebbalalu S Suresh
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | | | - Raman Sukumar
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.,Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
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25
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Zhang C, Yang J, Sha L, Ci X, Li J, Cao M, Brown C, Swenson NG, Lin L. Lack of phylogenetic signals within environmental niches of tropical tree species across life stages. Sci Rep 2017; 7:42007. [PMID: 28181524 PMCID: PMC5299423 DOI: 10.1038/srep42007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The lasting imprint of phylogenetic history on current day ecological patterns has long intrigued biologists. Over the past decade ecologists have increasingly sought to quantify phylogenetic signals in environmental niche preferences and, especially, traits to help uncover the mechanisms driving plant community assembly. However, relatively little is known about how phylogenetic patterns in environmental niches and traits compare, leaving significant uncertainty about the ecological implications of trait-based analyses. We examined phylogenetic signals within known environmental niches of 64 species, at seedling and adult life stages, in a Chinese tropical forest, to test whether local environmental niches had consistent relationships with phylogenies. Our analyses show that local environmental niches are highly phylogenetically labile for both seedlings and adult trees, with closely related species occupying niches that are no more similar than expected by random chance. These findings contrast with previous trait-based studies in the same forest, suggesting that phylogenetic signals in traits might not a reliable guide to niche preferences or, therefore, to community assembly processes in some ecosystems, like the tropical seasonal rainforest in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caicai Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
| | - Liqing Sha
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
| | - Xiuqin Ci
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
| | - Min Cao
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
| | - Calum Brown
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Nathan G. Swenson
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Luxiang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China
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26
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Latombe G, Hui C, McGeoch MA. Beyond the continuum: a multi-dimensional phase space for neutral-niche community assembly. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 282:20152417. [PMID: 26702047 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neutral and niche processes are generally considered to interact in natural communities along a continuum, exhibiting community patterns bounded by pure neutral and pure niche processes. The continuum concept uses niche separation, an attribute of the community, to test the hypothesis that communities are bounded by pure niche or pure neutral conditions. It does not accommodate interactions via feedback between processes and the environment. By contrast, we introduce the Community Assembly Phase Space (CAPS), a multi-dimensional space that uses community processes (such as dispersal and niche selection) to define the limiting neutral and niche conditions and to test the continuum hypothesis. We compare the outputs of modelled communities in a heterogeneous landscape, assembled by pure neutral, pure niche and composite processes. Differences in patterns under different combinations of processes in CAPS reveal hidden complexity in neutral-niche community dynamics. The neutral-niche continuum only holds for strong dispersal limitation and niche separation. For weaker dispersal limitation and niche separation, neutral and niche processes amplify each other via feedback with the environment. This generates patterns that lie well beyond those predicted by a continuum. Inferences drawn from patterns about community assembly processes can therefore be misguided when based on the continuum perspective. CAPS also demonstrates the complementary information value of different patterns for inferring community processes and captures the complexity of community assembly. It provides a general tool for studying the processes structuring communities and can be applied to address a range of questions in community and metacommunity ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Latombe
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
| | - Cang Hui
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, South Africa African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cape Town 7945, South Africa
| | - Melodie A McGeoch
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
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27
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Xu W, Ci X, Song C, He T, Zhang W, Li Q, Li J. Soil phosphorus heterogeneity promotes tree species diversity and phylogenetic clustering in a tropical seasonal rainforest. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8719-8726. [PMID: 28035263 PMCID: PMC5192821 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2016] [Revised: 09/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The niche theory predicts that environmental heterogeneity and species diversity are positively correlated in tropical forests, whereas the neutral theory suggests that stochastic processes are more important in determining species diversity. This study sought to investigate the effects of soil nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) heterogeneity on tree species diversity in the Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rainforest in southwestern China. Thirty-nine plots of 400 m2 (20 × 20 m) were randomly located in the Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rainforest. Within each plot, soil nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) availability and heterogeneity, tree species diversity, and community phylogenetic structure were measured. Soil phosphorus heterogeneity and tree species diversity in each plot were positively correlated, while phosphorus availability and tree species diversity were not. The trees in plots with low soil phosphorus heterogeneity were phylogenetically overdispersed, while the phylogenetic structure of trees within the plots became clustered as heterogeneity increased. Neither nitrogen availability nor its heterogeneity was correlated to tree species diversity or the phylogenetic structure of trees within the plots. The interspecific competition in the forest plots with low soil phosphorus heterogeneity could lead to an overdispersed community. However, as heterogeneity increase, more closely related species may be able to coexist together and lead to a clustered community. Our results indicate that soil phosphorus heterogeneity significantly affects tree diversity in the Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rainforest, suggesting that deterministic processes are dominant in this tropical forest assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wumei Xu
- Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation GroupCenter for Integrative ConservationXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingYunnanChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xiuqin Ci
- Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation GroupCenter for Integrative ConservationXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingYunnanChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Caiyun Song
- Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation GroupCenter for Integrative ConservationXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingYunnanChina
| | - Tianhua He
- Department of Environment and AgricultureCurtin UniversityPerthWAAustralia
| | - Wenfu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesMenglunYunnanChina
| | - Qiaoming Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesMenglunYunnanChina
| | - Jie Li
- Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation GroupCenter for Integrative ConservationXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingYunnanChina
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28
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Zhang S, Zang R, Huang Y, Ding Y, Huang J, Lu X, Liu W, Long W, Zhang J, Jiang Y. Diversity maintenance mechanism changes with vegetation type and the community size in a tropical nature reserve. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shuzi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
- Co‐Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
- Co‐Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Yunfeng Huang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
| | - Yi Ding
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
- Co‐Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Jihong Huang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
- Co‐Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Xinghui Lu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
- Co‐Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu 210037 China
| | - Wande Liu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
| | - Wenxing Long
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
| | - Junyan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
| | - Yong Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, The State Forestry Administration; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 China
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29
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Bar-Massada A. Complex relationships between species niches and environmental heterogeneity affect species co-occurrence patterns in modelled and real communities. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20150927. [PMID: 26246546 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Species co-occurrence analysis is commonly used to assess how interspecific interactions dictate community assembly. Non-random co-occurrences, however, may also emerge from niche differences as well as environmental heterogeneity. The relationships between species co-occurrence patterns, environmental heterogeneity and species niches are not fully understood, due to complex interactions among them. To analyse the relationships among these patterns and processes, I developed synthetic community models and analysed a large dataset of tree species across the conterminous United States. Niche overlap and environmental heterogeneity had significant and contrasting effects on species co-occurrence patterns, in both modelled and real communities. Niche breadth, in turn, affected the effect sizes of both variables on species co-occurrence patterns. The effect of niche breadth on the relationship between co-occurrence and niche overlap was markedly consistent between modelled and real communities, while its effect on the relationship between co-occurrence and environmental heterogeneity was mostly consistent between real and modelled data. The results of this analysis highlight the complex and interactive effects of species niche overlap, niche breadth and environmental heterogeneity on species co-occurrence patterns. Therefore, inferring ecological processes from co-occurrence patterns without accounting for these fundamental characteristics of species and environments may lead to biased conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avi Bar-Massada
- Department of Biology and Environment, University of Haifa, Kiryat Tivon 36006, Israel
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30
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Abstract
Global patterns of biodiversity reflect both regional and local processes, but the relative importance of local ecological limits to species coexistence, as influenced by the physical environment, in contrast to regional processes including species production, dispersal, and extinction, is poorly understood. Failure to distinguish regional influences from local effects has been due, in part, to sampling limitations at small scales, environmental heterogeneity within local or regional samples, and incomplete geographic sampling of species. Here, we use a global dataset comprising 47 forest plots to demonstrate significant region effects on diversity, beyond the influence of local climate, which together explain more than 92% of the global variation in local forest tree species richness. Significant region effects imply that large-scale processes shaping the regional diversity of forest trees exert influence down to the local scale, where they interact with local processes to determine the number of coexisting species.
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31
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Allié E, Pélissier R, Engel J, Petronelli P, Freycon V, Deblauwe V, Soucémarianadin L, Weigel J, Baraloto C. Pervasive Local-Scale Tree-Soil Habitat Association in a Tropical Forest Community. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141488. [PMID: 26535570 PMCID: PMC4633048 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2015] [Accepted: 10/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation of the original maps. Nearly three fourths of the 94 taxa with at least one stem per ha showed a significant correlation between tree density and relative elevation, revealing contrasted species-habitat associations in term of abundance, with seasonally inundated bottomlands (24.5% of species) and well-drained plateaus (48.9% of species). We also observed species preferences for environments with or without steep slopes (13.8% and 10.6%, respectively). We observed that closely-related species were frequently associated with different soil habitats in this region (70% of the 14 genera with congeneric species that have a significant association test) suggesting species-habitat associations have arisen multiple times in this tree community. We also tested if species with similar habitat preferences shared functional strategies. We found that seasonally inundated forest specialists tended to have smaller stature (maximum diameter) than species found on plateaus. Our results underline the importance of tree-soil habitat associations in structuring diverse communities at fine spatial scales and suggest that additional studies are needed to disentangle community assembly mechanisms related to dispersal limitation, biotic interactions and environmental filtering from species-habitat associations. Moreover, they provide a framework to generalize across tropical forest sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Allié
- Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, UMR EcoFoG, Kourou, France
- * E-mail:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Christopher Baraloto
- INRA, UMR EcoFoG, Kourou, France
- International Center for Tropical Botany, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States of America
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32
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Yang Z, Liu X, Zhou M, Ai D, Wang G, Wang Y, Chu C, Lundholm JT. The effect of environmental heterogeneity on species richness depends on community position along the environmental gradient. Sci Rep 2015; 5:15723. [PMID: 26508413 PMCID: PMC4623746 DOI: 10.1038/srep15723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity is among the most important factors governing community structure. Besides the widespread evidence supporting positive relationships between richness and environmental heterogeneity, negative and unimodal relationships have also been reported. However, few studies have attempted to test the role of the heterogeneity on species richness after removing the confounding effect of resource availability or environmental severity. Here we constructed an individual-based spatially explicit model incorporating a long-recognized tradeoff between competitive ability and stress-tolerance ability of species. We explored the impact of the level of resource availability (i.e. the position of the community along a gradient of environmental severity) on the heterogeneity-diversity relationship (HDR). The results indicate that the shape of HDR depends on the community position along the environmental gradient: at either end of the gradient of environmental severity, a positive HDR occurred, whereas at the intermediate levels of the gradient, a unimodal HDR emerged. Our exploration demonstrates that resource availability/environmental severity should be considered as a potential factor influencing the shape of the HDR. Our theoretical predictions represent hypotheses in need of further empirical study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xueqi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Mohua Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Dexiecuo Ai
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Gang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Youshi Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems, Research School of Arid Environment and Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Chengjin Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
- SYSU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Conservation, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Jeremy T. Lundholm
- Department of Biology/Environmental Studies Program, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H3C3
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33
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Valladares F, Bastias CC, Godoy O, Granda E, Escudero A. Species coexistence in a changing world. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2015; 6:866. [PMID: 26528323 PMCID: PMC4604266 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 09/30/2015] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The consequences of global change for the maintenance of species diversity will depend on the sum of each species responses to the environment and on the interactions among them. A wide ecological literature supports that these species-specific responses can arise from factors related to life strategies, evolutionary history and intraspecific variation, and also from environmental variation in space and time. In the light of recent advances from coexistence theory combined with mechanistic explanations of diversity maintenance, we discuss how global change drivers can influence species coexistence. We revise the importance of both competition and facilitation for understanding coexistence in different ecosystems, address the influence of phylogenetic relatedness, functional traits, phenotypic plasticity and intraspecific variability, and discuss lessons learnt from invasion ecology. While most previous studies have focused their efforts on disentangling the mechanisms that maintain the biological diversity in species-rich ecosystems such as tropical forests, grasslands and coral reefs, we argue that much can be learnt from pauci-specific communities where functional variability within each species, together with demographic and stochastic processes becomes key to understand species interactions and eventually community responses to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Valladares
- Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencias, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina C. Bastias
- Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Oscar Godoy
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Seville, Spain
| | - Elena Granda
- Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris Sud/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Departamento de Ciencias, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
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34
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Kakishima S, Morita S, Yoshida K, Ishida A, Hayashi S, Asami T, Ito H, Miller DG, Uehara T, Mori S, Hasegawa E, Matsuura K, Kasuya E, Yoshimura J. The contribution of seed dispersers to tree species diversity in tropical rainforests. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150330. [PMID: 26587246 PMCID: PMC4632518 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Tropical rainforests are known for their extreme biodiversity, posing a challenging problem in tropical ecology. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the diversity of tree species, yet our understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete. Here, we consider the contribution of animal seed dispersers to the species diversity of trees. We built a multi-layer lattice model of trees whose animal seed dispersers are allowed to move only in restricted areas to disperse the tree seeds. We incorporated the effects of seed dispersers in the traditional theory of allopatric speciation on a geological time scale. We modified the lattice model to explicitly examine the coexistence of new tree species and the resulting high biodiversity. The results indicate that both the coexistence and diversified evolution of tree species can be explained by the introduction of animal seed dispersers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Kakishima
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
| | - Satoru Morita
- Department of Mathematical and Systems Engineering, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
| | - Katsuhiko Yoshida
- Biodiversity Conservation Planning Section, Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
| | - Atsushi Ishida
- Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan
| | - Saki Hayashi
- Department of Mathematical and Systems Engineering, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
| | - Takahiro Asami
- Department of Biology, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621, Japan
| | - Hiromu Ito
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
| | - Donald G. Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Chico, CA 95929, USA
| | - Takashi Uehara
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
| | - Shigeta Mori
- Department of Food, Life, and Environmental Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, Yamagata 997-8555, Japan
| | - Eisuke Hasegawa
- Department of Ecology and Systematics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan
| | - Kenji Matsuura
- Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Eiiti Kasuya
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Jin Yoshimura
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
- Department of Mathematical and Systems Engineering, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan
- Marine Biosystems Research Center, Chiba University, Kamogawa, Chiba 299-5502, Japan
- Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
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35
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Jin Y, Qian H, Yu M. Phylogenetic Structure of Tree Species across Different Life Stages from Seedlings to Canopy Trees in a Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0131162. [PMID: 26098916 PMCID: PMC4476806 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2015] [Accepted: 05/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigating patterns of phylogenetic structure across different life stages of tree species in forests is crucial to understanding forest community assembly, and investigating forest gap influence on the phylogenetic structure of forest regeneration is necessary for understanding forest community assembly. Here, we examine the phylogenetic structure of tree species across life stages from seedlings to canopy trees, as well as forest gap influence on the phylogenetic structure of forest regeneration in a forest of the subtropical region in China. We investigate changes in phylogenetic relatedness (measured as NRI) of tree species from seedlings, saplings, treelets to canopy trees; we compare the phylogenetic turnover (measured as βNRI) between canopy trees and seedlings in forest understory with that between canopy trees and seedlings in forest gaps. We found that phylogenetic relatedness generally increases from seedlings through saplings and treelets up to canopy trees, and that phylogenetic relatedness does not differ between seedlings in forest understory and those in forest gaps, but phylogenetic turnover between canopy trees and seedlings in forest understory is lower than that between canopy trees and seedlings in forest gaps. We conclude that tree species tend to be more closely related from seedling to canopy layers, and that forest gaps alter the seedling phylogenetic turnover of the studied forest. It is likely that the increasing trend of phylogenetic clustering as tree stem size increases observed in this subtropical forest is primarily driven by abiotic filtering processes, which select a set of closely related evergreen broad-leaved tree species whose regeneration has adapted to the closed canopy environments of the subtropical forest developed under the regional monsoon climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Jin
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hong Qian
- Research and Collections Center, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL, United States of America
| | - Mingjian Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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36
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May F, Huth A, Wiegand T. Moving beyond abundance distributions: neutral theory and spatial patterns in a tropical forest. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 282:20141657. [PMID: 25631991 PMCID: PMC4344136 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Accepted: 12/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Assessing the relative importance of different processes that determine the spatial distribution of species and the dynamics in highly diverse plant communities remains a challenging question in ecology. Previous modelling approaches often focused on single aggregated forest diversity patterns that convey limited information on the underlying dynamic processes. Here, we use recent advances in inference for stochastic simulation models to evaluate the ability of a spatially explicit and spatially continuous neutral model to quantitatively predict six spatial and non-spatial patterns observed at the 50 ha tropical forest plot on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. The patterns capture different aspects of forest dynamics and biodiversity structure, such as annual mortality rate, species richness, species abundance distribution, beta-diversity and the species-area relationship (SAR). The model correctly predicted each pattern independently and up to five patterns simultaneously. However, the model was unable to match the SAR and beta-diversity simultaneously. Our study moves previous theory towards a dynamic spatial theory of biodiversity and demonstrates the value of spatial data to identify ecological processes. This opens up new avenues to evaluate the consequences of additional process for community assembly and dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix May
- Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
| | - Andreas Huth
- Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
| | - Thorsten Wiegand
- Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
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37
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Masaki T, Hata S, Ide Y. Heterogeneity in soil water and light environments and dispersal limitation: what facilitates tree species coexistence in a temperate forest? PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2015; 17:449-458. [PMID: 25424149 DOI: 10.1111/plb.12253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2014] [Accepted: 08/31/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In the present study, we analysed the habitat association of tree species in an old-growth temperate forest across all life stages to test theories on the coexistence of tree species in forest communities. An inventory for trees was implemented at a 6-ha plot in Ogawa Forest Reserve for adults, juveniles, saplings and seedlings. Volumetric soil water content (SMC) and light levels were measured in 10-m grids. Relationships between the actual number of stems and environmental variables were determined for 35 major tree species, and the spatial correlations within and among species were analysed. The light level had no statistically significant effect on distribution of saplings and seedlings of any species. In contrast, most species had specific optimal values along the SMC gradient. The optimal values were almost identical in earlier life stages, but were more variable in later life stages among species. However, no effective niche partitioning among the species was apparent even at the adult stage. Furthermore, results of spatial analyses suggest that dispersal limitation was not sufficient to mitigate competition between species. This might result from well-scattered seed distribution via wind and bird dispersal, as well as conspecific density-dependent mortality of seeds and seedlings. Thus, both niche partitioning and dispersal limitation appeared less important for facilitating coexistence of species within this forest than expected in tropical forests. The tree species assembly in this temperate forest might be controlled through a neutral process at the spatial scale tested in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Masaki
- Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki, Japan
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38
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Anderson-Teixeira KJ, Davies SJ, Bennett AC, Gonzalez-Akre EB, Muller-Landau HC, Wright SJ, Abu Salim K, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Alonso A, Baltzer JL, Basset Y, Bourg NA, Broadbent EN, Brockelman WY, Bunyavejchewin S, Burslem DFRP, Butt N, Cao M, Cardenas D, Chuyong GB, Clay K, Cordell S, Dattaraja HS, Deng X, Detto M, Du X, Duque A, Erikson DL, Ewango CEN, Fischer GA, Fletcher C, Foster RB, Giardina CP, Gilbert GS, Gunatilleke N, Gunatilleke S, Hao Z, Hargrove WW, Hart TB, Hau BCH, He F, Hoffman FM, Howe RW, Hubbell SP, Inman-Narahari FM, Jansen PA, Jiang M, Johnson DJ, Kanzaki M, Kassim AR, Kenfack D, Kibet S, Kinnaird MF, Korte L, Kral K, Kumar J, Larson AJ, Li Y, Li X, Liu S, Lum SKY, Lutz JA, Ma K, Maddalena DM, Makana JR, Malhi Y, Marthews T, Mat Serudin R, McMahon SM, McShea WJ, Memiaghe HR, Mi X, Mizuno T, Morecroft M, Myers JA, Novotny V, de Oliveira AA, Ong PS, Orwig DA, Ostertag R, den Ouden J, Parker GG, Phillips RP, Sack L, Sainge MN, Sang W, Sri-Ngernyuang K, Sukumar R, Sun IF, Sungpalee W, Suresh HS, Tan S, Thomas SC, Thomas DW, Thompson J, Turner BL, Uriarte M, Valencia R, Vallejo MI, Vicentini A, Vrška T, Wang X, Wang X, Weiblen G, Wolf A, Xu H, Yap S, Zimmerman J. CTFS-ForestGEO: a worldwide network monitoring forests in an era of global change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:528-49. [PMID: 25258024 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 267] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2014] [Accepted: 07/06/2014] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Global change is impacting forests worldwide, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem services including climate regulation. Understanding how forests respond is critical to forest conservation and climate protection. This review describes an international network of 59 long-term forest dynamics research sites (CTFS-ForestGEO) useful for characterizing forest responses to global change. Within very large plots (median size 25 ha), all stems ≥ 1 cm diameter are identified to species, mapped, and regularly recensused according to standardized protocols. CTFS-ForestGEO spans 25 °S-61 °N latitude, is generally representative of the range of bioclimatic, edaphic, and topographic conditions experienced by forests worldwide, and is the only forest monitoring network that applies a standardized protocol to each of the world's major forest biomes. Supplementary standardized measurements at subsets of the sites provide additional information on plants, animals, and ecosystem and environmental variables. CTFS-ForestGEO sites are experiencing multifaceted anthropogenic global change pressures including warming (average 0.61 °C), changes in precipitation (up to ± 30% change), atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds (up to 3.8 g N m(-2) yr(-1) and 3.1 g S m(-2) yr(-1)), and forest fragmentation in the surrounding landscape (up to 88% reduced tree cover within 5 km). The broad suite of measurements made at CTFS-ForestGEO sites makes it possible to investigate the complex ways in which global change is impacting forest dynamics. Ongoing research across the CTFS-ForestGEO network is yielding insights into how and why the forests are changing, and continued monitoring will provide vital contributions to understanding worldwide forest diversity and dynamics in an era of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina J Anderson-Teixeira
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, Republic of Panama; Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA, USA
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Einzmann HJR, Beyschlag J, Hofhansl F, Wanek W, Zotz G. Host tree phenology affects vascular epiphytes at the physiological, demographic and community level. AOB PLANTS 2014; 7:plu073. [PMID: 25392188 PMCID: PMC4287691 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plu073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 10/27/2014] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The processes that govern diverse tropical plant communities have rarely been studied in life forms other than trees. Structurally dependent vascular epiphytes, a major part of tropical biodiversity, grow in a three-dimensional matrix defined by their hosts, but trees differ in their architecture, bark structure/chemistry and leaf phenology. We hypothesized that the resulting seasonal differences in microclimatic conditions in evergreen vs. deciduous trees would affect epiphytes at different levels, from organ physiology to community structure. We studied the influence of tree leaf phenology on vascular epiphytes on the Island of Barro Colorado, Panama. Five tree species were selected, which were deciduous, semi-deciduous or evergreen. The crowns of drought-deciduous trees, characterized by sunnier and drier microclimates, hosted fewer individuals and less diverse epiphyte assemblages. Differences were also observed at a functional level, e.g. epiphyte assemblages in deciduous trees had larger proportions of Crassulacean acid metabolism species and individuals. At the population level a drier microclimate was associated with lower individual growth and survival in a xerophytic fern. Some species also showed, as expected, lower specific leaf area and higher δ(13)C values when growing in deciduous trees compared with evergreen trees. As hypothesized, host tree leaf phenology influences vascular epiphytes at different levels. Our results suggest a cascading effect of tree composition and associated differences in tree phenology on the diversity and functioning of epiphyte communities in tropical lowland forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena J R Einzmann
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Beyschlag
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Florian Hofhansl
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Wolfgang Wanek
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerhard Zotz
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá, República de Panamá
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Ledo A, Schnitzer SA. Disturbance and clonal reproduction determine liana distribution and maintain liana diversity in a tropical forest. Ecology 2014; 95:2169-78. [PMID: 25230468 DOI: 10.1890/13-1775.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Negative density dependence (NDD) and habitat specialization have received strong empirical support as mechanisms that explain tree species diversity maintenance and distribution in tropical forests. In contrast, disturbance appears to play only a minor role. Previous studies have rarely examined the relative strengths of these diversity maintenance mechanisms concurrently, and few studies have included plant groups other than trees. Here we used a large, spatially explicit data set from Barro Colorado Island, Panama (BCI) to test whether liana and tree species distribution patterns are most consistent with NDD, habitat specialization, or disturbance. We found compelling evidence that trees responded to habitat specialization and NDD; however, only disturbance explained the distribution of the majority of liana species and maintained liana diversity. Lianas appear to respond to disturbance with high vegetative (clonal) reproduction, and liana species' ability to produce clonal stems following disturbance results in a clumped spatial distribution. Thus, clonal reproduction following disturbance explains local liana spatial distribution and diversity maintenance on BCI, whereas negative density dependence and habitat specialization, two prominent mechanisms contributing to tree species diversity and distribution, do not.
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Theim TJ, Shirk RY, Givnish TJ. Spatial genetic structure in four understory Psychotria species (Rubiaceae) and implications for tropical forest diversity. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2014; 101:1189-1199. [PMID: 25002460 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1300460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
• Premise of the study: Tropical forests are the most species-rich terrestrial communities on Earth, and understory trees and shrubs comprise a large fraction of their plant species diversity, especially at high rainfalls. The mechanisms responsible for generating such high levels of diversity remain unknown. One hypothesis is that fleshy-fruited understory species should have limited seed dispersal due to the sedentary nature of their avian dispersers, resulting in restricted gene flow, population differentiation at small spatial scales, and ultimately, high rates of allopatric speciation.• Methods: We sampled four species of the hyperdiverse tropical shrub genus Psychotria (Rubiaceae) on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) and two nearby sites in Panama. We genotyped each species with AFLPs, assessed genetic differentiation among populations, and determined patterns of fine-scale spatial genetic structure in the BCI population. Measures of spatial autocorrelation and population density were used to estimate the dispersal distance parameter σ.• Key results: Regionally, ΦPT values ranged from 0.13 to 0.28, reflecting local population differentiation and suggesting that Lake Gatun/Rio Chagres has posed a relatively strong barrier to gene flow. Fine-scale spatial genetic structure on BCI was stronger than in most canopy trees, and estimated distances of gene flow were unusually low for endozoochorous tropical woody plants, with dispersal distance σ = 9-113 m.• Conclusions: These results demonstrate comparatively limited gene flow in bird-dispersed understory species, supporting a hypothesized mechanism for generating high levels of plant species diversity in tropical rain forests, in one of the largest genera of flowering plants on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terra J Theim
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Rebecca Y Shirk
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Thomas J Givnish
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA
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Bar-Massada A, Kent R, Carmel Y. Environmental heterogeneity affects the location of modelled communities along the niche-neutrality continuum. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20133249. [PMID: 24671973 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.3249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The continuum hypothesis has been proposed as a means to reconcile the contradiction between the niche and neutral theories. While past research has shown that species richness affects the location of communities along the niche-neutrality continuum, there may be extrinsic forces at play as well. We used a spatially explicit continuum model to quantify the effects of environmental heterogeneity, comprising abundance distribution and spatial configuration of resources, on the degree of community neutrality. We found that both components of heterogeneity affect the degree of community neutrality and that species' dispersal characteristics affect the neutrality-heterogeneity relationship. Narrower resource abundance distributions decrease neutrality, while spatial configuration, which is manifested by spatial aggregation of resources, decreases neutrality at higher aggregation levels. In general, the degree of community neutrality was affected by complex interactions among spatial configuration of resources, their abundance distributions and the dispersal characteristics of species in the community. Our results highlight the important yet overlooked role of the environment in dictating the location of communities along the hypothesized niche-neutrality continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avi Bar-Massada
- Department of Biology and Environment, University of Haifa at Oranim, , Kiryat Tivon, Israel, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, , Cambridge, UK, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, , Haifa, Israel
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