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Sigler K, Warren D, Tracy B, Forrestel E, Hogue G, Dornburg A. Assessing temporal biases across aggregated historical spatial data: a case study of North Carolina’s freshwater fishes. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kyra Sigler
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Raleigh North Carolina 27601 USA
- Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina 27695 USA
| | - Dan Warren
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Okinawa Japan
| | - Bryn Tracy
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Raleigh North Carolina 27601 USA
| | - Elisabeth Forrestel
- Department of Viticulture and Enology University of California Davis California 95616 USA
| | - Gabriela Hogue
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Raleigh North Carolina 27601 USA
| | - Alex Dornburg
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics University of North Carolina Charlotte Charlotte North Carolina 28223 USA
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Abstract
Fleshy fruits can be divided between climacteric (CL, showing a typical rise in respiration and ethylene production with ripening after harvest) and non-climacteric (NC, showing no rise). However, despite the importance of the CL/NC traits in horticulture and the fruit industry, the evolutionary significance of the distinction remains untested. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that NC fruits, which ripen only on the plant, are adapted to tree dispersers (feeding in the tree), and CL fruits, which ripen after falling from the plant, are adapted to ground dispersers. A literature review of 276 reports of 80 edible fruits found a strong correlation between CL/NC traits and the type of seed disperser: fruits dispersed by tree dispersers are more likely to be NC, and those dispersed by ground dispersers are more likely to be CL. NC fruits are more likely to have red-black skin and smaller seeds (preferred by birds), and CL fruits to have green-brownish skin and larger seeds (preferred by large mammals). These results suggest that the CL/NC traits have an important but overlooked seed dispersal function, and CL fruits may have an adaptive advantage in reducing ineffective frugivory by tree dispersers by falling before ripening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuya Fukano
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuuya Tachiki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
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Jiang F, Cadotte MW, Jin G. Individual-level leaf trait variation and correlation across biological and spatial scales. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:5344-5354. [PMID: 34026011 PMCID: PMC8131770 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Even with increasing interest in the ecological importance of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) for better understanding ecological processes, few studies have quantified ITV in seedlings and assessed constraints imposed by trade-offs and correlations among individual-level leaf traits. Estimating the amount and role of ITV in seedlings is important to understand tree recruitment and long-term forest dynamics. We measured ten different size, economics, and whole leaf traits (lamina and petiole) for more than 2,800 seedlings (height ≥ 10 cm and diameter at breast height < 1 cm) in 283 seedling plots and then quantified the amount of ITV and trait correlations across two biological (intraspecific and interspecific) and spatial (within and among plots) scales. Finally, we explored the effects of trait variance and sample size on the strength of trait correlations. We found about 40% (6%-63%) variation in leaf-level traits was explained by ITV across all traits. Lamina and petiole traits were correlated across biological and spatial scales, whereas leaf size traits (e.g., lamina area) were weakly correlated with economics traits (e.g., specific lamina area); lamina mass ratio was strongly related to the petiole length. Trait correlations varied among species, plots, and different scales but there was no evidence that the strength of trait relationships was stronger at broader than finer biological and spatial scales. While larger trait variance increased the strength of correlations, the sample size was the most important factor that was negatively related to the strength of trait correlations. Our results showed that a large amount of trait variation was explained by ITV, which highlighted the importance of considering ITV when using trait-based approaches in seedling ecology. In addition, sample size was an important factor that influenced the strength of trait correlations, which suggests that comparing trait correlations across studies should consider the differences in sample size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Jiang
- Center for Ecological ResearchNortheast Forestry UniversityHarbinChina
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Toronto ScarboroughTorontoONCanada
| | - Marc W. Cadotte
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Toronto ScarboroughTorontoONCanada
- Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoONCanada
| | - Guangze Jin
- Center for Ecological ResearchNortheast Forestry UniversityHarbinChina
- Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management‐Ministry of EducationNortheast Forestry UniversityHarbinChina
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Emery NC, La Rosa RJ. The Effects of Temporal Variation on Fitness, Functional Traits, and Species Distribution Patterns. Integr Comp Biol 2019; 59:503-516. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icz113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractTemporal variation is a powerful source of selection on life history strategies and functional traits in natural populations. Theory predicts that the rate and predictability of fluctuations should favor distinct strategies, ranging from phenotypic plasticity to bet-hedging, which are likely to have important consequences for species distribution patterns and their responses to environmental change. To date, we have few empirical studies that test those predictions in natural systems, and little is known about how genetic, environmental, and developmental factors interact to define the “fluctuation niche” of species in temporally variable environments. In this study, we evaluated the effects of hydrological variability on fitness and functional trait variation in three closely related plant species in the genus Lasthenia that occupy different microhabitats within vernal pool landscapes. Using a controlled greenhouse experiment, we manipulated the mean and variability in hydrological conditions by growing plants at different depths with respect to a shared water table and manipulating the magnitude of stochastic fluctuations in the water table over time. We found that all species had similarly high relative fitness above the water table, but differed in their sensitivities to water table fluctuations. Specifically, the two species from vernal pools basins, where soil moisture is controlled by a perched water table, were negatively affected by the stochasticity treatments. In contrast, a species from the upland habitat surrounding vernal pools, where stochastic precipitation events control soil moisture variation, was insensitive to experimental fluctuations in the water table. We found strong signatures of genetic, environmental (plastic), and developmental variation in four traits that can influence plant hydrological responses. Three of these traits varied across plant development and among experimental treatments in directions that aligned with constitutive differences among species, suggesting that multiple sources of variation align to facilitate phenotypic matching with the hydrological environment in Lasthenia. We found little evidence for predicted patterns of phenotypic plasticity and bet-hedging in species and traits from predictable and stochastic environments, respectively. We propose that selection for developmental shifts in the hydrological traits of Lasthenia species has reduced or modified selection for plasticity at any given stage of development. Collectively, these results suggest that variation in species’ sensitivities to hydrological stochasticity may explain why vernal pool Lasthenia species do not occur in upland habitat, and that all three species integrate genetic, environmental, and developmental information to manage the unique patterns of temporal hydrological variation in their respective microhabitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy C Emery
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0334, USA
| | - Raffica J La Rosa
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0334, USA
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Tittes SB, Walker JF, Torres-Martínez L, Emery NC. Grow Where You Thrive, or Where Only You Can Survive? An Analysis of Performance Curve Evolution in a Clade with Diverse Habitat Affinities. Am Nat 2019; 193:530-544. [PMID: 30912965 DOI: 10.1086/701827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Performance curves are valuable tools for quantifying the fundamental niches of organisms and testing hypotheses about evolution, life-history trade-offs, and the drivers of variation in species' distribution patterns. Here, we present a novel Bayesian method for characterizing performance curves that facilitates comparisons among species. We then use this model to quantify and compare the hydrological performance curves of 14 different taxa in the genus Lasthenia, an ecologically diverse clade of plants that collectively occupy a variety of habitats with unique hydrological features, including seasonally flooded wetlands called vernal pools. We conducted a growth chamber experiment to measure each taxon's fitness across five hydrological treatments that ranged from severe drought to extended flooding, and we identified differences in hydrological performance curves that explain their associations with vernal pool and terrestrial habitats. Our analysis revealed that the distribution of vernal pool taxa in the field does not reflect their optimal hydrological environments: all taxa, regardless of habitat affinity, have highest fitness under similar hydrological conditions of saturated soil without submergence. We also found that a taxon's relative position across flood gradients within vernal pools is best predicted by the height of its performance curve. These results demonstrate the utility of our approach for generating insights into when and how performance curves evolve among taxa as they diversify into distinct environments. To facilitate its use, the modeling framework has been developed into an R package.
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Goud EM, Sparks JP. Leaf stable isotopes suggest shared ancestry is an important driver of functional diversity. Oecologia 2018; 187:967-975. [PMID: 29955990 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4186-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Plant physiological strategies of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) uptake and metabolism are often regarded as outcomes of environmental selection. This is likely true, but the role of evolutionary history may also be important in shaping patterns of functional diversity. Here, we used leaf C and N stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N) as integrators of physiological processes to assess the relative roles of phylogenetic history and environment in a diverse group of Ericaceae species native to North America. We found strong phylogenetic signal in both leaf δ13C and δ15N, suggesting that close relatives have similar physiological strategies. The signal of phylogeny was generally stronger than that of the local environment. However, within some specialized environments (e.g., wetlands, sandy soils), we found environmental effects and/or niche conservatism. Phylogenetic signal in δ13C appears to be most closely related to the constraints on metabolic demand and supply of C, and δ15N appears to be most strongly related to mycorrhizal associations within the family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie M Goud
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
| | - Jed P Sparks
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
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Korshunova T, Lundin K, Malmberg K, Picton B, Martynov A. First true brackish-water nudibranch mollusc provides new insights for phylogeny and biogeography and reveals paedomorphosis-driven evolution. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192177. [PMID: 29538398 PMCID: PMC5851531 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A unique example of brackish water fjord-related diversification of a new nudibranch genus and species Bohuslania matsmichaeli gen. n., sp. n. is presented. There are only few previously known brackish-water opisthobranchs and B. matsmichaeli gen. n., sp. n. is the first ever described brackish-water nudibranch with such an extremely limited known geographical range and apparently strict adherence to salinity levels lower than 20 per mille. Up to date the new taxon has been found only in a very restricted area in the Idefjord, bordering Sweden and Norway, but not in any other apparently suitable localities along the Swedish and Norwegian coasts. We also show in this study for the first time the molecular phylogenetic sister relationship between the newly discovered genus Bohuslania and the genus Cuthona. This supports the validity of the family Cuthonidae, which was re-established recently. Furthermore, it contributes to the understanding of the evolutionary patterns and classification of the whole group Nudibranchia. Molecular and morphological data indicate that brackish water speciation was triggered by paedomorphic evolution among aeolidacean nudibranchs at least two times independently. Thus, the present discovery of this new nudibranch genus contributes to several biological fields, including integration of molecular and morphological data as well as phylogenetic and biogeographical patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Korshunova
- Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology, Moscow, Russia
- Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Kennet Lundin
- Gothenburg Natural History museum, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Bernard Picton
- National Museums Northern Ireland, Cultra, United Kingdom
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Damián X, Fornoni J, Domínguez CA, Boege K. Ontogenetic changes in the phenotypic integration and modularity of leaf functional traits. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xóchitl Damián
- Instituto de EcologíaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México Mexico
| | - Juan Fornoni
- Instituto de EcologíaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México Mexico
| | - César A. Domínguez
- Instituto de EcologíaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México Mexico
| | - Karina Boege
- Instituto de EcologíaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México Mexico
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Torres-Martínez L, Weldy P, Levy M, Emery NC. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in precipitation patterns explain population-level germination strategies in an edaphic specialist. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2017; 119:253-265. [PMID: 27551027 PMCID: PMC5321057 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcw161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 04/24/2016] [Accepted: 06/10/2016] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Many locally endemic species in biodiversity hotspots are restricted to edaphic conditions that are fixed in the landscape, limiting their potential to track climate change through dispersal. Instead, such species experience strong selection for germination strategies that can track suitable conditions through time. Germination strategies were compared among populations across the geographic range of a California vernal pool annual, Lasthenia fremontii Local germination strategies were tested to determine the associations with geographic variation in precipitation patterns. METHODS This study evaluated patterns of seed germination, dormancy and mortality in response to simulated variation in the timing, amount and duration of the first autumn precipitation event using seeds from six populations that span a geographic gradient in precipitation. Next, it was tested whether the germination strategies of different populations can be predicted by historical precipitation patterns that characterize each site. KEY RESULTS A significant positive relationship was observed between the historical variability in autumn precipitation and the extent of dormancy in a population. Marginal populations, with histories of the most extreme but constant autumn precipitation levels, expressed the lowest dormancy levels. Populations from sites with historically higher levels of autumn precipitation tended to germinate faster, but this tendency was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Germination in L. fremontii is cued by the onset of the first rains that characterize the beginning of winter in California's Great Central Valley. However, populations differ in how fast they germinate and the fraction of seeds that remain dormant when germination cues occur. The results suggest that seed dormancy may be a key trait for populations to track increasingly drier climates predicted by climate change models. However, the low dormancy and high mortality levels observed among seeds of the southernmost, driest populations make them most vulnerable to local extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Torres-Martínez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
| | - Phillip Weldy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
| | - Morris Levy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
| | - Nancy C Emery
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Campus Box 334, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0334, USA
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Ortiz‐Medrano A, Scantlebury DP, Vázquez‐Lobo A, Mastretta‐Yanes A, Piñero D. Morphological and niche divergence of pinyon pines. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:2886-96. [PMID: 27092235 PMCID: PMC4803999 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Revised: 01/03/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The environmental variables that define a species ecological niche should be associated with the evolutionary patterns present in the adaptations that resulted from living in these conditions. Thus, when comparing across species, we can expect to find an association between phylogenetically independent phenotypic characters and ecological niche evolution. Few studies have evaluated how organismal phenotypes might mirror patterns of niche evolution if these phenotypes reflect adaptations. Doing so could contribute on the understanding of the origin and maintenance of phenotypic diversity observed in nature. Here, we show the pattern of niche evolution of the pinyon pine lineage (Pinus subsection Cembroides); then, we suggest morphological adaptations possibly related to niche divergence, and finally, we test for correlation between ecological niche and morphology. We demonstrate that niche divergence is the general pattern within the clade and that it is positively correlated with adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Ortiz‐Medrano
- Departamento de EcologíaInstituto de EcologíaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoAP 70‐275Mexico CityMéxico
- Present address: Universidad del Medio AmbienteCamino al Castellano 4Valle de BravoMéxico
| | | | - Alejandra Vázquez‐Lobo
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y ConservaciónUniversidad Autónoma del Estado de MorelosCuernavacaMéxico
| | - Alicia Mastretta‐Yanes
- CONACYT Research Fellow assigned to CONABIOCoordinación de Análisis de Riesgo y BioseguridadDirección General de Análisis de PrioridadesComisión Nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la BiodiversidadMexico CityMexico
| | - Daniel Piñero
- Departamento de EcologíaInstituto de EcologíaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoAP 70‐275Mexico CityMéxico
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