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Christiansen DM, Römer G, Dahlgren JP, Borg M, Jones OR, Merinero S, Hylander K, Ehrlén J. High-resolution data are necessary to understand the effects of climate on plant population dynamics of a forest herb. Ecology 2024; 105:e4191. [PMID: 37878669 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Climate is assumed to strongly influence species distribution and abundance. Although the performance of many organisms is influenced by the climate in their immediate proximity, the climate data used to model their distributions often have a coarse spatial resolution. This is problematic because the local climate experienced by individuals might deviate substantially from the regional average. This problem is likely to be particularly important for sessile organisms like plants and in environments where small-scale variation in climate is large. To quantify the effect of local temperature on vital rates and population growth rates, we used temperature values measured at the local scale (in situ logger measures) and integral projection models with demographic data from 37 populations of the forest herb Lathyrus vernus across a wide latitudinal gradient in Sweden. To assess how the spatial resolution of temperature data influences assessments of climate effects, we compared effects from models using local data with models using regionally aggregated temperature data at several spatial resolutions (≥1 km). Using local temperature data, we found that spring frost reduced the asymptotic population growth rate in the first of two annual transitions and influenced survival in both transitions. Only one of the four regional estimates showed a similar negative effect of spring frost on population growth rate. Our results for a perennial forest herb show that analyses using regionally aggregated data often fail to identify the effects of climate on population dynamics. This emphasizes the importance of using organism-relevant estimates of climate when examining effects on individual performance and population dynamics, as well as when modeling species distributions. For sessile organisms that experience the environment over small spatial scales, this will require climate data at high spatial resolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ditte M Christiansen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gesa Römer
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop), University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Johan P Dahlgren
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop), University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Malin Borg
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Owen R Jones
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop), University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Sonia Merinero
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Bisang I, Ehrlén J, Hedenäs L. Life-history characteristics and historical factors are important to explain regional variation in reproductive traits and genetic diversity in perennial mosses. Ann Bot 2023; 132:29-42. [PMID: 36928083 PMCID: PMC10550275 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants have evolved an unrivalled diversity of reproductive strategies, including variation in the degree of sexual vs. clonal reproduction. This variation has important effects on the dynamics and genetic structure of populations. We examined the association between large-scale variation in reproductive patterns and intraspecific genetic diversity in two moss species where sex is manifested in the dominant haploid generation and sex expression is irregular. We predicted that in regions with more frequent realized sexual reproduction, populations should display less skewed sex ratios, should more often express sex and should have higher genetic diversity than in regions with largely clonal reproduction. METHODS We assessed reproductive status and phenotypic sex in the dioicous long-lived Drepanocladus trifarius and D. turgescens, in 248 and 438 samples across two regions in Scandinavia with frequent or rare realized sexual reproduction, respectively. In subsets of the samples, we analysed genetic diversity using nuclear and plastid sequence information and identified sex with a sex-specific molecular marker in non-reproductive samples. KEY RESULTS Contrary to our predictions, sex ratios did not differ between regions; genetic diversity did not differ in D. trifarius and it was higher in the region with rare sexual reproduction in D. turgescens. Supporting our predictions, relatively more samples expressed sex in D. trifarius in the region with frequent sexual reproduction. Overall, samples were mostly female. The degree of sex expression and genetic diversity differed between sexes. CONCLUSIONS Sex expression levels, regional sex ratios and genetic diversity were not directly associated with the regional frequency of realized sexual reproduction, and relationships and variation patterns differed between species. We conclude that a combination of species-specific life histories, such as longevity, overall degree of successful sexual reproduction and recruitment, and historical factors are important to explain this variation. Our data on haploid-dominated plants significantly complement plant reproductive biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Bisang
- Department of Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lars Hedenäs
- Department of Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
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3
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Ehrlén J, Valdés A, Helmutsdóttir VF, Marteinsdóttir B. Maladaptive plastic responses of flowering time to geothermal heating. Ecology 2023; 104:e4121. [PMID: 37309069 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity might increase fitness if the conditions under which it evolved remain unaltered, but becomes maladaptive if the environment no longer provides reliable cues for subsequent conditions. In seasonal environments, timing of reproduction can respond plastically to spring temperature, maximizing the benefits of a long season while minimizing the exposure to unfavorable cold temperatures. However, if the relationship between early spring temperatures and later conditions changes, the optimal response might change. In geothermally heated ecosystems, the plastic response of flowering time to springtime soil temperature that has evolved in unheated areas is likely to be non-optimal, because soil temperatures are higher and decoupled from air temperatures in heated areas. We therefore expect natural selection to favor a lower plasticity and a delayed flowering in these areas. Using observational data along a natural geothermal warming gradient, we tested the hypothesis that selection on flowering time depends on soil temperature and favors later flowering on warmer soils in the perennial Cerastium fontanum. In both study years, plants growing in warmer soils began flowering earlier than plants growing in colder soils, suggesting that first flowering date (FFD) responds plastically to soil temperature. In one of the two study years, selection favored earlier flowering in colder soils but later flowering in warmer soils, suggesting that the current level of plastic advance of FFD on warmer soils may be maladaptive in some years. Our results illustrate the advantages of using natural experiments, such as geothermal ecosystems, to examine selection in environments that recently have undergone major changes. Such knowledge is essential to understand and predict both ecological and evolutionary responses to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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4
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Valdés A, Arnold PA, Ehrlén J. Spring temperature drives phenotypic selection on plasticity of flowering time. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230670. [PMID: 37670583 PMCID: PMC10510446 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In seasonal environments, a high responsiveness of development to increasing temperatures in spring can infer benefits in terms of a longer growing season, but also costs in terms of an increased risk of facing unfavourable weather conditions. Still, we know little about how climatic conditions influence the optimal plastic response. Using 22 years of field observations for the perennial forest herb Lathyrus vernus, we assessed phenotypic selection on among-individual variation in reaction norms of flowering time to spring temperature, and examined if among-year variation in selection on plasticity was associated with spring temperature conditions. We found significant among-individual variation in mean flowering time and flowering time plasticity, and that plants that flowered earlier also had a more plastic flowering time. Selection favoured individuals with an earlier mean flowering time and a lower thermal plasticity of flowering time. Less plastic individuals were more strongly favoured in colder springs, indicating that spring temperature influenced optimal flowering time plasticity. Our results show how selection on plasticity can be linked to climatic conditions, and illustrate how we can understand and predict evolutionary responses of organisms to changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pieter A. Arnold
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600, Australia
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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5
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Koelemeijer IA, Ehrlén J, De Frenne P, Jönsson M, Berg P, Hylander K. Forest edge effects on moss growth are amplified by drought. Ecol Appl 2023; 33:e2851. [PMID: 36938961 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Forest fragmentation increases the amount of edges in the landscape. Differences in wind, radiation, and vegetation structure create edge-to-interior gradients in forest microclimate, and these gradients are likely to be more pronounced during droughts and heatwaves. Although the effects of climate extremes on edge influences have potentially strong and long-lasting impacts on forest understory biodiversity, they are not well understood and are not often considered in management and landscape planning. Here we used a novel method of retrospectively quantifying growth to assess biologically relevant edge influences likely caused by microclimate using Hylocomium splendens, a moss with annual segments. We examined how spatio-temporal variation in drought across 3 years and 46 sites in central Sweden, affected the depth and magnitude of edge influences. We also investigated whether edge effects during drought were influenced by differences in forest structure. Edge effects were almost twice as strong in the drought year compared to the non-drought years, but we did not find clear evidence that they penetrated deeper into the forest in the drought year. Edge influences were also greater in areas that had fewer days with rain during the drought year. Higher levels of forest canopy cover and tree height buffered the magnitude of edge influence in times of drought. Our results demonstrate that edge effects are amplified by drought, suggesting that fragmentation effects are aggravated when droughts become more frequent and severe. Our results suggest that dense edges and buffer zones with high canopy cover can be important ways to mitigate negative drought impacts in forest edges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Adia Koelemeijer
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle, Belgium
| | - Mari Jönsson
- Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter Berg
- SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute), S-601 76, Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
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6
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Valdés A, Helmutsdóttir VF, Marteinsdottir B, Ehrlén J. Selection against early flowering in geothermally heated soils is associated with pollen but not prey availability in a carnivorous plant. Am J Bot 2022; 109:1693-1701. [PMID: 35971628 PMCID: PMC9826420 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE In high-latitude environments, plastic responses of phenology to increasing spring temperatures allow plants to extend growing seasons while avoiding late frosts. However, evolved plasticity might become maladaptive if climatic conditions change and spring temperatures no longer provide reliable cues for conditions important for fitness. Maladaptative phenological responses might be related to both abiotic factors and mismatches with interacting species. When mismatches arise, we expect selection to favor changes in phenology. METHODS We combined observations along a soil temperature gradient in a geothermally heated area with pollen and prey supplementation experiments and examined how phenotypic selection on flowering time in the carnivorous plant Pinguicula vulgaris depends on soil temperature, and pollen and prey availability. RESULTS Flowering advanced and fitness decreased with increasing soil temperature. However, in pollen-supplemented plants, fitness instead increased with soil temperature. In heated soils, there was selection favoring later flowering, while earlier flowering was favored in unheated soils. This pattern remained also after artificially increasing pollen and prey availability. CONCLUSIONS Plant-pollinator mismatches can be an important reason why evolved plastic responses of flowering time to increasing spring temperatures become maladaptive under novel environmental conditions, and why there is selection to delay flowering. In our study, selection for later flowering remained after artificially increasing pollen availability, suggesting that abiotic factors also contribute to the observed selection. Identifying the factors that make evolved phenological responses maladaptive under novel conditions is fundamental for understanding and predicting evolutionary responses to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Vigdís F. Helmutsdóttir
- The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland851 HellaIceland
- Institute of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Iceland102 ReykjavíkIceland
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
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van Dijk LJA, Abdelfattah A, Ehrlén J, Tack AJM. Soil microbiomes drive aboveground plant–pathogen–insect interactions. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. A. van Dijk
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - Ahmed Abdelfattah
- Inst. of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz Univ. of Technology Graz Austria
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - Ayco J. M. Tack
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
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van Dijk LJA, Regazzoni EDE, Albrectsen BR, Ehrlén J, Abdelfattah A, Stenlund H, Pawlowski K, Tack AJM. Single, but not dual, attack by a biotrophic pathogen and a sap-sucking insect affects the oak leaf metabolome. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:897186. [PMID: 35991442 PMCID: PMC9381920 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.897186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Plants interact with a multitude of microorganisms and insects, both below- and above ground, which might influence plant metabolism. Despite this, we lack knowledge of the impact of natural soil communities and multiple aboveground attackers on the metabolic responses of plants, and whether plant metabolic responses to single attack can predict responses to dual attack. We used untargeted metabolic fingerprinting (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS) on leaves of the pedunculate oak, Quercus robur, to assess the metabolic response to different soil microbiomes and aboveground single and dual attack by oak powdery mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides) and the common oak aphid (Tuberculatus annulatus). Distinct soil microbiomes were not associated with differences in the metabolic profile of oak seedling leaves. Single attacks by aphids or mildew had pronounced but different effects on the oak leaf metabolome, but we detected no difference between the metabolomes of healthy seedlings and seedlings attacked by both aphids and powdery mildew. Our findings show that aboveground attackers can have species-specific and non-additive effects on the leaf metabolome of oak. The lack of a metabolic signature detected by GC-MS upon dual attack might suggest the existence of a potential negative feedback, and highlights the importance of considering the impacts of multiple attackers to gain mechanistic insights into the ecology and evolution of species interactions and the structure of plant-associated communities, as well as for the development of sustainable strategies to control agricultural pests and diseases and plant breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. A. van Dijk
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emilia D. E. Regazzoni
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ahmed Abdelfattah
- Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
| | - Hans Stenlund
- Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Katharina Pawlowski
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ayco J. M. Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Fernández-Fernández P, Sanczuk P, Vanneste T, Brunet J, Ehrlén J, Hedwall PO, Hylander K, Van Den Berge S, Verheyen K, De Frenne P. Different effects of warming treatments in forests versus hedgerows on the understorey plant Geum urbanum. Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2022; 24:734-744. [PMID: 35322913 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The effectiveness of hedgerows as functional corridors in the face of climate warming has been little researched. Here we investigated the effects of warming temperatures on plant performance and population growth of Geum urbanum in forests versus hedgerows in two European temperate regions. Adult individuals were transplanted in three forest-hedgerow pairs in each of two different latitudes, and an experimental warming treatment using open-top chambers was used in a full factorial design. Plant performance was analysed using mixed models and population performance was analysed using Integral Projection Models and elasticity analyses. Temperature increases due to open-top chamber installation were higher in forests than in hedgerows. In forests, the warming treatment had a significant negative effect on the population growth rate of G. urbanum. In contrast, no significant effect of the warming treatment on population dynamics was detected in hedgerows. Overall, the highest population growth rates were found in the forest control sites, which was driven by a higher fecundity rather than a higher survival probability. Effects of warming treatments on G. urbanum population growth rates differed between forests and hedgerows. In forests, warming treatments negatively affected population growth, but not in hedgerows. This could be a consequence of the overall lower warming achieved in hedgerows. We conclude that maintenance of cooler forest microclimates coul, at least temporarily, moderate the species response to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Fernández-Fernández
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gontrode-Melle, Belgium
| | - P Sanczuk
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gontrode-Melle, Belgium
| | - T Vanneste
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gontrode-Melle, Belgium
| | - J Brunet
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden
| | - J Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plan Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - P-O Hedwall
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden
| | - K Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plan Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - S Van Den Berge
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gontrode-Melle, Belgium
| | - K Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gontrode-Melle, Belgium
| | - P De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gontrode-Melle, Belgium
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Koelemeijer IA, Ehrlén J, Jönsson M, De Frenne P, Berg P, Andersson J, Weibull H, Hylander K. Interactive effects of drought and edge exposure on old-growth forest understory species. Landsc Ecol 2022; 37:1839-1853. [PMID: 35795191 PMCID: PMC9250463 DOI: 10.1007/s10980-022-01441-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Both climatic extremes and land-use change constitute severe threats to biodiversity, but their interactive effects remain poorly understood. In forest ecosystems, the effects of climatic extremes can be exacerbated at forest edges. OBJECTIVES We explored the hypothesis that an extreme summer drought reduced the richness and coverage of old-growth forest species, particularly in forest patches with high edge exposure. METHODS Using a high-resolution spatially explicit precipitation dataset, we could detect variability in drought intensity during the summer drought of 2018. We selected 60 old-growth boreal forest patches in central Sweden that differed in their level of drought intensity and amount of edge exposure. The year after the drought, we surveyed red-listed and old-growth forest indicator species of vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes. We assessed if species richness, composition, and coverage were related to drought intensity, edge exposure, and their interaction. RESULTS Species richness was negatively related to drought intensity in forest patches with a high edge exposure, but not in patches with less edge exposure. Patterns differed among organism groups and were strongest for cyanolichens, epiphytes associated with high-pH bark, and species occurring on convex substrates such as trees and logs. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the effects of an extreme climatic event on forest species can vary strongly across a landscape. Edge exposed old-growth forest patches are more at risk under extreme climatic events than those in continuous forests. This suggest that maintaining buffer zones around forest patches with high conservation values should be an important conservation measure. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-022-01441-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena A. Koelemeijer
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mari Jönsson
- Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Peter Berg
- SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute), 601 76 Norrköping, Sweden
| | | | - Henrik Weibull
- Naturcentrum AB, Strandtorget 3, 444 30 Stenungsund, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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11
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van Dijk LJA, Ehrlén J, Tack AJM. The relationship between pathogen life-history traits and metapopulation dynamics. New Phytol 2022; 233:2585-2598. [PMID: 34997974 PMCID: PMC9306763 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Plant pathogen traits, such as transmission mode and overwintering strategy, may have important effects on dispersal and persistence, and drive disease dynamics. Still, we lack insights into how life-history traits influence spatiotemporal disease dynamics. We adopted a multifaceted approach, combining experimental assays, theory and field surveys, to investigate whether information about two pathogen life-history traits - infectivity and overwintering strategy - can predict pathogen metapopulation dynamics in natural systems. For this, we focused on four fungal pathogens (two rust fungi, one chytrid fungus and one smut fungus) on the forest herb Anemone nemorosa. Pathogens infecting new plants mostly via spores (the chytrid and smut fungi) had higher patch occupancies and colonization rates than pathogens causing mainly systemic infections and overwintering in the rhizomes (the two rust fungi). Although the rust fungi more often occupied well-connected plant patches, the chytrid and smut fungi were equally or more common in isolated patches. Host patch size was positively related to patch occupancy and colonization rates for all pathogens. Predicting disease dynamics is crucial for understanding the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of host-pathogen interactions, and to prevent disease outbreaks. Our study shows that combining experiments, theory and field observations is a useful way to predict disease dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. A. van Dijk
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
| | - Ayco J. M. Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
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12
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Fogelström E, Zacchello G, Ehrlén J. Simultaneous selection on vegetative and reproductive phenology in a perennial herb. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8610. [PMID: 35222970 PMCID: PMC8847147 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The timing of different life‐history events is often correlated, and selection might only rarely be exerted independently on the timing of a single event. In plants, phenotypic selection has often been shown to favor earlier flowering. However, little is known about to what extent this selection acts directly versus indirectly via vegetative phenology, and if selection on the two traits is correlational. We estimated direct, indirect, and correlational phenotypic selection on vegetative and reproductive phenology over 3 years for flowering individuals of the perennial herb Lathyrus vernus. Direct selection favored earlier flowering and shorter timespans between leaf‐out and flowering in all years. However, early flowering was associated with early leaf‐out, and the direction of selection on leaf‐out day varied among years. As a result, selection on leaf‐out weakened selection for early flowering in one of the study years. We found no evidence of correlational selection. Our results highlight the importance of including temporally correlated traits when exploring selection on the phenology of seasonal events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fogelström
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Giulia Zacchello
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
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13
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Fogelström E, Zacchello G, Guasconi D, Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J. Spring and autumn phenology in an understory herb are uncorrelated and driven by different factors. Am J Bot 2022; 109:226-236. [PMID: 34655472 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Climate warming has altered the start and end of growing seasons in temperate regions. Ultimately, these changes occur at the individual level, but little is known about how previous seasonal life-history events, temperature, and plant-resource state simultaneously influence the spring and autumn phenology of plant individuals. METHODS We studied the relationships between the timing of leaf-out and shoot senescence over 3 years in a natural population of the long-lived understory herb Lathyrus vernus and investigated the effects of spring temperature, plant size, reproductive status, and grazing on spring and autumn phenology. RESULTS The timing of leaf-out and senescence were consistent within individuals among years. Leaf-out and senescence were not correlated with each other within years. Larger plants leafed out and senesced later, and size had no effect on growing season length. Reproductive plants leafed out earlier and had longer growing seasons than nonreproductive plants. Grazing had no detectable effects on phenology. Colder spring temperatures delayed senescence in two of three study years. CONCLUSIONS The timing of seasonal events, such as leaf-out and senescence in plants can be expressed largely independently within and among seasons and are influenced by different factors. Growing season start and length can often be dependent on plant condition and reproductive status. Knowledge about the drivers of growing season length of individuals is essential to more accurately predict species and community responses to environmental variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fogelström
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Giulia Zacchello
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden
| | - Daniela Guasconi
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
- Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Johan P Dahlgren
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5230, Denmark
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
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14
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Villellas J, Ehrlén J, Crone EE, Csergő AM, Garcia MB, Laine AL, Roach DA, Salguero-Gómez R, Wardle GM, Childs DZ, Elderd BD, Finn A, Munné-Bosch S, Bachelot B, Bódis J, Bucharova A, Caruso CM, Catford JA, Coghill M, Compagnoni A, Duncan RP, Dwyer JM, Ferguson A, Fraser LH, Griffoul E, Groenteman R, Hamre LN, Helm A, Kelly R, Laanisto L, Lonati M, Münzbergová Z, Nuche P, Olsen SL, Oprea A, Pärtel M, Petry WK, Ramula S, Rasmussen PU, Enri SR, Roeder A, Roscher C, Schultz C, Skarpaas O, Smith AL, Tack AJM, Töpper JP, Vesk PA, Vose GE, Wandrag E, Wingler A, Buckley YM. PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY MASKS RANGE-WIDE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION FOR VEGETATIVE BUT NOT REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS IN A SHORT-LIVED PLANT. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2378-2393. [PMID: 34355467 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity jointly shape intraspecific trait variation, but their roles differ among traits. In short-lived plants, reproductive traits may be more genetically determined due to their impact on fitness, whereas vegetative traits may show higher plasticity to buffer short-term perturbations. Combining a multi-treatment greenhouse experiment with observational field data throughout the range of a widespread short-lived herb, Plantago lanceolata, we (1) disentangled genetic and plastic responses of functional traits to a set of environmental drivers and (2) assessed how genetic differentiation and plasticity shape observational trait-environment relationships. Reproductive traits showed distinct genetic differentiation that largely determined observational patterns, but only when correcting traits for differences in biomass. Vegetative traits showed higher plasticity and opposite genetic and plastic responses, masking the genetic component underlying field-observed trait variation. Our study suggests that genetic differentiation may be inferred from observational data only for the traits most closely related to fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Villellas
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elizabeth E Crone
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anna Mária Csergő
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,Department of Botany and Soroksár Botanical Garden, Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Maria B Garcia
- Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Anna-Liisa Laine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Deborah A Roach
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Roberto Salguero-Gómez
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Glenda M Wardle
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Bret D Elderd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Alain Finn
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sergi Munné-Bosch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Benedicte Bachelot
- Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Judit Bódis
- Department of Plant Sciences and Biotechnology, Georgikon Faculty, University of Pannonia, Keszthely, Hungary
| | - Anna Bucharova
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institut of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Germany.,Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institut of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christina M Caruso
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jane A Catford
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK.,Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Matthew Coghill
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Aldo Compagnoni
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Richard P Duncan
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - John M Dwyer
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.,CSIRO Land & Water, EcoSciences Precinct, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Lauchlan H Fraser
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Liv Norunn Hamre
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway
| | - Aveliina Helm
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ruth Kelly
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Lauri Laanisto
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Michele Lonati
- Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Zuzana Münzbergová
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Paloma Nuche
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Adrian Oprea
- Botanic Garden "Anastasie Fatu", University "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" Iaşi, Romania
| | - Meelis Pärtel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - William K Petry
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Satu Ramula
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Pil U Rasmussen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Simone Ravetto Enri
- Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Anna Roeder
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christiane Roscher
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cheryl Schultz
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington, USA
| | - Olav Skarpaas
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Annabel L Smith
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Peter A Vesk
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Gregory E Vose
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth Wandrag
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Astrid Wingler
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Yvonne M Buckley
- School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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15
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Warner E, Marteinsdóttir B, Helmutsdóttir VF, Ehrlén J, Robinson SI, O'Gorman EJ. Impacts of soil temperature, phenology and plant community composition on invertebrate herbivory in a natural warming experiment. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily Warner
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus Berkshire UK
- Dept of Plant Sciences, Univ. of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Bryndís Marteinsdóttir
- Soil Conservation Service of Iceland Hella Iceland
- Inst. of Life and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - Sinikka I. Robinson
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Helsinki Lahti Finland
| | - Eoin J. O'Gorman
- School of Life Sciences, Univ. of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester UK
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16
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Römer G, Christiansen DM, Buhr H, Hylander K, Jones OR, Merinero S, Reitzel K, Ehrlén J, Dahlgren JP. Drivers of large‐scale spatial demographic variation in a perennial plant. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Römer
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop) University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
- Department of Biology University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
| | - Ditte M. Christiansen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
| | - Hendrik Buhr
- Department of Medical Microbiology University Medical Center Utrecht Heidelberglaan 100 Utrecht3584 CXThe Netherlands
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
| | - Owen R. Jones
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop) University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
- Department of Biology University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
| | - Sonia Merinero
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences PO Box 7044 UppsalaSE‐750 07Sweden
| | - Kasper Reitzel
- Department of Biology University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University StockholmSE‐106 91Sweden
| | - Johan P. Dahlgren
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop) University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
- Department of Biology University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 Odense M5230Denmark
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17
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Shun Kurokawa
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
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18
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Wickander NJ, Rasmussen PU, Marteinsdóttir B, Ehrlén J, Tack AJM. Ecological and evolutionary responses of an arctic plant to variation in microclimate and soil. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Niklas J. Wickander
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - Pil U. Rasmussen
- The National Research Centre for the Working Environment Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Bryndís Marteinsdóttir
- The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland Gunnarsholt Hella Iceland
- Inst. of Life and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - Ayco J. M. Tack
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
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19
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Abstract
Insects and pathogens frequently exploit the same host plant and can potentially impact each other's performance. However, studies on plant–pathogen–insect interactions have mainly focused on a fixed temporal setting or on a single interaction partner. In this study, we assessed the impact of time of attacker arrival on the outcome and symmetry of interactions between aphids (Tuberculatus annulatus), powdery mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides), and caterpillars (Phalera bucephala) feeding on pedunculate oak, Quercus robur, and explored how single versus multiple attackers affect oak performance. We used a multifactorial greenhouse experiment in which oak seedlings were infected with either zero, one, two, or three attackers, with the order of attacker arrival differing among treatments. The performances of all involved organisms were monitored throughout the experiment. Overall, attackers had a weak and inconsistent impact on plant performance. Interactions between attackers, when present, were asymmetric. For example, aphids performed worse, but powdery mildew performed better, when co-occurring. Order of arrival strongly affected the outcome of interactions, and early attackers modified the strength and direction of interactions between later-arriving attackers. Our study shows that interactions between plant attackers can be asymmetric, time-dependent, and species specific. This is likely to shape the ecology and evolution of plant–pathogen–insect interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J A van Dijk
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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20
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Ehrlén J, Valdés A. Climate drives among‐year variation in natural selection on flowering time. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:653-662. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 12/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University SE‐106 91 Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University SE‐106 91 Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
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21
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Merinero S, Dahlberg CJ, Ehrlén J, Hylander K. Intraspecific variation influences performance of moss transplants along microclimate gradients. Ecology 2020; 101:e02999. [PMID: 32004379 PMCID: PMC7317517 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 11/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Identifying the environmental drivers of population dynamics is crucial to predict changes in species abundances and distributions under climate change. Populations of the same species might differ in their responses as a result of intraspecific variation. Yet the importance of such differences remains largely unexplored. We examined the responses of latitudinally distant populations of the forest moss Hylocomiastrum umbratum along microclimate gradients in Sweden. We transplanted moss mats from southern and northern populations to 30 sites with contrasting microclimates (i.e., replicated field common gardens) within a forest landscape, and recorded growth and survival of individual shoots over 3 yr. To evaluate the importance of intraspecific variation in responses to environmental factors, we assessed effects of the interactions between population origin and microclimate drivers on growth and survival. Effects on overall performance of transplanted populations were estimated using the product of survival and growth. We found differences between southern and northern populations in the response to summer temperature and snowmelt date in one of three yearly transitions. In this year, southern populations performed better in warm, southern‐like conditions than in cold, northern‐like conditions; and the reverse pattern was true for northern populations. Survival of all populations decreased with evaporation, consistent with the high hydric demands and poikilohydric nature of mosses. Our results are consistent with population adaptation to local climate, and suggest that intraspecific variation among populations can have important effects on the response of species to microclimate drivers. These findings highlight the need to account for differential responses in predictions of species abundance and distribution under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Merinero
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - C Johan Dahlberg
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.,The County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, SE-403 40, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
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22
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Smith AL, Hodkinson TR, Villellas J, Catford JA, Csergő AM, Blomberg SP, Crone EE, Ehrlén J, Garcia MB, Laine AL, Roach DA, Salguero-Gómez R, Wardle GM, Childs DZ, Elderd BD, Finn A, Munné-Bosch S, Baudraz MEA, Bódis J, Brearley FQ, Bucharova A, Caruso CM, Duncan RP, Dwyer JM, Gooden B, Groenteman R, Hamre LN, Helm A, Kelly R, Laanisto L, Lonati M, Moore JL, Morales M, Olsen SL, Pärtel M, Petry WK, Ramula S, Rasmussen PU, Enri SR, Roeder A, Roscher C, Saastamoinen M, Tack AJM, Töpper JP, Vose GE, Wandrag EM, Wingler A, Buckley YM. Global gene flow releases invasive plants from environmental constraints on genetic diversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:4218-4227. [PMID: 32034102 PMCID: PMC7049112 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915848117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
When plants establish outside their native range, their ability to adapt to the new environment is influenced by both demography and dispersal. However, the relative importance of these two factors is poorly understood. To quantify the influence of demography and dispersal on patterns of genetic diversity underlying adaptation, we used data from a globally distributed demographic research network comprising 35 native and 18 nonnative populations of Plantago lanceolata Species-specific simulation experiments showed that dispersal would dilute demographic influences on genetic diversity at local scales. Populations in the native European range had strong spatial genetic structure associated with geographic distance and precipitation seasonality. In contrast, nonnative populations had weaker spatial genetic structure that was not associated with environmental gradients but with higher within-population genetic diversity. Our findings show that dispersal caused by repeated, long-distance, human-mediated introductions has allowed invasive plant populations to overcome environmental constraints on genetic diversity, even without strong demographic changes. The impact of invasive plants may, therefore, increase with repeated introductions, highlighting the need to constrain future introductions of species even if they already exist in an area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabel L Smith
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland;
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, 4343, Australia
| | - Trevor R Hodkinson
- Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Jesus Villellas
- Departamento Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MNCN-CSIC), E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jane A Catford
- Department of Geography, King's College London, WC2B 4BG London, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Mária Csergő
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Horticultural Science, Szent István University, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
- Soroksár Botanical Garden, Faculty of Horticultural Science, Szent István University, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Simone P Blomberg
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maria B Garcia
- Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, CSIC, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Anna-Liisa Laine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Deborah A Roach
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904
| | | | - Glenda M Wardle
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Bret D Elderd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
| | - Alain Finn
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sergi Munné-Bosch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maude E A Baudraz
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Judit Bódis
- Georgikon Faculty, University of Pannonia, H-8360 Keszthely, Hungary
| | - Francis Q Brearley
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, M1 5GD Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Bucharova
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Ecosystem and Biodiversity Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Christina M Caruso
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Richard P Duncan
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia
| | - John M Dwyer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- CSIRO Land & Water, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Ben Gooden
- CSIRO Health & Biosecurity, CSIRO, Black Mountain, ACT 2601, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | | | - Liv Norunn Hamre
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, N-6856 Sogndal, Norway
| | - Aveliina Helm
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ruth Kelly
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Lauri Laanisto
- Biodiversity and Nature Tourism, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Michele Lonati
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, 10015 Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Joslin L Moore
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Melanie Morales
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Research Group of Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions, Faculty of Biology, University of Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Siri Lie Olsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
| | - Meelis Pärtel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - William K Petry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Satu Ramula
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Pil U Rasmussen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, 2100 København Ø, Denmark
| | - Simone Ravetto Enri
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Science, University of Torino, 10015 Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Anna Roeder
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christiane Roscher
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- Organismal and Evolutionary Research Programme, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Gregory E Vose
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Elizabeth M Wandrag
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
| | - Astrid Wingler
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork T23 N73K, Ireland
| | - Yvonne M Buckley
- Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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23
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Greiser C, Ehrlén J, Meineri E, Hylander K. Hiding from the climate: Characterizing microrefugia for boreal forest understory species. Glob Chang Biol 2020; 26:471-483. [PMID: 31833152 PMCID: PMC7027894 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming is likely to shift the range margins of species poleward, but fine-scale temperature differences near the ground (microclimates) may modify these range shifts. For example, cold-adapted species may survive in microrefugia when the climate gets warmer. However, it is still largely unknown to what extent cold microclimates govern the local persistence of populations at their warm range margin. We located 99 microrefugia, defined as sites with edge populations of 12 widespread boreal forest understory species (vascular plants, mosses, liverworts and lichens) in an area of ca. 24,000 km2 along the species' southern range margin in central Sweden. Within each population, a logger measured temperature eight times per day during one full year. Using univariate and multivariate analyses, we examined the differences of the populations' microclimates with the mean and range of microclimates in the landscape, and identified the typical climate, vegetation and topographic features of these habitats. Comparison sites were drawn from another logger data set (n = 110), and from high-resolution microclimate maps. The microrefugia were mainly places characterized by lower summer and autumn maximum temperatures, late snow melt dates and high climate stability. Microrefugia also had higher forest basal area and lower solar radiation in spring and autumn than the landscape average. Although there were common trends across northern species in how microrefugia differed from the landscape average, there were also interspecific differences and some species contributed more than others to the overall results. Our findings provide biologically meaningful criteria to locate and spatially predict potential climate microrefugia in the boreal forest. This opens up the opportunity to protect valuable sites, and adapt forest management, for example, by keeping old-growth forests at topographically shaded sites. These measures may help to mitigate the loss of genetic and species diversity caused by rear-edge contractions in a warmer climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Greiser
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Eric Meineri
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
- CNRSIRDIMBEAix Marseille University, University of AvignonMarseilleFrance
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
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24
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Sherman DA, Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J, García MB. Sex and the cost of reproduction through the life course of an extremely long-lived herb. Oecologia 2019; 191:369-375. [PMID: 31428868 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04491-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite being central concepts for life history theory, little is known about how reproductive effort and costs vary with individual age once plants have started to reproduce. We conducted a 5-year field study and estimated age-dependent reproductive effort for both sexes in the extraordinarily long-lived dioecious plant Borderea pyrenaica. We also evaluated costs of reproduction on vital rates for male and female plants, both by examining effects of differences in individual reproductive effort under natural conditions, and by conducting a flower removal experiment, aimed at decreasing reproductive effort. Reproductive effort was fairly constant and independent of age for males, which may reflect a strategy of adjusting overall reproductive output by spreading reproduction over the life course. Females had a higher total effort, which first increased and then decreased with age. The latter may be a response to an increasing reproductive value-an inverse of a terminal investment-or a sign of reproductive senescence due to an age-related physiological decline. Seed production was lower in plants with higher previous reproductive effort and this effect increased with age. We found no evidence for costs of reproduction on other vital rates for either sex. Experimental flower removal only resulted in progressively more negative effects on flower production in older male plants, whereas female vital rates were unaffected. Overall, this study demonstrates that not only sex, but also age influences resource allocation trade-offs and, thus, plant life history evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle A Sherman
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark
| | - Johan P Dahlgren
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark. .,Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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25
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Valdés A, Marteinsdóttir B, Ehrlén J. A natural heating experiment: Phenotypic and genotypic responses of plant phenology to geothermal soil warming. Glob Chang Biol 2019; 25:954-962. [PMID: 30430704 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Under global warming, the survival of many populations of sedentary organisms in seasonal environments will largely depend on their ability to cope with warming in situ by means of phenotypic plasticity or adaptive evolution. This is particularly true in high-latitude environments, where current growing seasons are short, and expected temperature increases large. In such short-growing season environments, the timing of growth and reproduction is critical to survival. Here, we use the unique setting provided by a natural geothermal soil warming gradient (Hengill geothermal area, Iceland) to study the response of Cerastium fontanum flowering phenology to temperature. We hypothesized that trait expression and phenotypic selection on flowering phenology are related to soil temperature, and tested the hypothesis that temperature-driven differences in selection on phenology have resulted in genetic differentiation using a common garden experiment. In the field, phenology was related to soil temperature, with plants in warmer microsites flowering earlier than plants at colder microsites. In the common garden, plants responded to spring warming in a counter-gradient fashion; plants originating from warmer microsites flowered relatively later than those originating from colder microsites. A likely explanation for this pattern is that plants from colder microsites have been selected to compensate for the shorter growing season by starting development at lower temperatures. However, in our study we did not find evidence of variation in phenotypic selection on phenology in relation to temperature, but selection consistently favoured early flowering. Our results show that soil temperature influences trait expression and suggest the existence of genetically based variation in flowering phenology leading to counter-gradient local adaptation along a gradient of soil temperatures. An important implication of our results is that observed phenotypic responses of phenology to global warming might often be a combination of short-term plastic responses and long-term evolutionary responses, acting in different directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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26
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D. Inouye
- Biological Science Florida State University Tallahassee Florida 32306 USA
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
- Rocky Mountain Biological Lab Gothic Colorado 81224 USA
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
| | - Nora Underwood
- Biological Science Florida State University Tallahassee Florida 32306 USA
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
- Rocky Mountain Biological Lab Gothic Colorado 81224 USA
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27
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Valdés A, Ehrlén J. Resource overlap and dilution effects shape host plant use in a myrmecophilous butterfly. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:649-658. [PMID: 30688361 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The effects of consumers on fitness of resource organisms are a complex function of the spatio-temporal distribution of the resources, consumer functional responses and trait preferences, and availability of other resources. The ubiquitous variation in the intensity of species interactions has important consequences for the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of natural populations. Nevertheless, little is known about the processes causing this variation and their operational scales. Here, we examine how variation in the intensity of a consumer-resource interaction is related to resource timing, resource density and abundance of other resources. Using the butterfly consumer Phengaris alcon and its two sequential resources, the host plant Gentiana pneumonanthe and the host ants Myrmica spp., we investigated how butterfly egg-laying depended on focal host plant phenology, density and phenology of neighbouring host plants and host ant abundance. Butterflies preferred plants that simultaneously maximized the availability of both larval resources in time and space, that is, they chose early-flowering plants that were of higher nutritional quality for larvae where host ants were abundant. Both the probability of oviposition and the number of eggs were lower in plant individuals with a high neighbour density than in more isolated plants, and this dilution effect was stronger when neighbours flowered early. Our results show that plant-herbivore interactions simultaneously depend on the spatio-temporal distribution of a focal resource and on the small-scale spatial variation in the abundance of other herbivore resources. Given that consumers have negative effects on fitness and prefer certain timing of the resource organisms, this implies that processes acting at the levels of individuals, populations and communities simultaneously contribute to variation in consumer-mediated natural selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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28
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Toftegaard T, Posledovich D, Navarro‐Cano JA, Wiklund C, Gotthard K, Ehrlén J. Butterfly–host plant synchrony determines patterns of host use across years and regions. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tenna Toftegaard
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm Univ. SE106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Diana Posledovich
- Dept of Zoology Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - José A. Navarro‐Cano
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm Univ. SE106 91 Stockholm Sweden
- Desertification Research Centre (CSIC‐UV‐GV) Moncada, Valencia Spain
| | | | - Karl Gotthard
- Dept of Zoology Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm Univ. Stockholm Sweden
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29
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Valdés A, Ehrlén J. Caterpillar seed predators mediate shifts in selection on flowering phenology in their host plant. Ecology 2018; 98:228-238. [PMID: 28052392 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Variation in selection among populations and years has important implications for evolutionary trajectories of populations. Yet, the agents of selection causing this variation have rarely been identified. Selection on the time of reproduction within a season in plants might differ both among populations and among years, and selection can be mediated by both mutualists and antagonists. We investigated if differences in the direction of phenotypic selection on flowering phenology among 20 populations of Gentiana pneumonanthe during 2 yr were related to the presence of the butterfly seed predator Phengaris alcon, and if butterfly incidence was associated with the abundance of the butterfly's second host, Myrmica ants. In plant populations without the butterfly, phenotypic selection favored earlier flowering. In populations where the butterfly was present, caterpillars preferentially attacked early-flowering individuals, shifting the direction of selection to favoring later flowering. Butterfly incidence in plant populations increased with ant abundance. Our results demonstrate that antagonistic interactions can shift the direction of selection on flowering phenology, and suggest that such shifts might be associated with differences in the community context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
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30
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Thomann M, Ehrlén J, Ågren J. Grazers affect selection on inflorescence height both directly and indirectly and effects change over time. Ecology 2018; 99:2167-2175. [PMID: 30047592 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Selection mediated by one biotic agent will often be modified by the presence of other biotic interactions, and the importance of such indirect effects might change over time. We conducted an 11-yr field experiment to test the prediction that large grazers affect selection on floral display of the dimorphic herb Primula farinosa not only directly through differential grazing damage, but also indirectly by affecting vegetation height and thereby selection mediated by pollinators and seed predators. Exclusion of large grazers increased vegetation height and the strength of pollinator-mediated selection for tall inflorescences and seed-predator-mediated selection for short inflorescences. The direct effect of grazers on selection resulting from differential grazing damage to the two scape morphs showed no temporal trend. By contrast, the increase in vegetation height in exclosures over time was associated with an increase in selection mediated by pollinators and seed predators. In the early years of the experiment, the indirect effects of grazers on selection mediated by pollinators and seed predators were weak, whereas at the end of the experiment, the indirect effects were of similar magnitude as the direct effect due to differential grazing damage. The results demonstrate that the indirect effects of a selective agent can be as strong as its direct effects, and that the relative importance of direct vs. indirect effects on selection can change over time. A full understanding of the ecological processes governing variation in selection thus requires that both direct and indirect effects of biotic interactions are assessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Thomann
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, SE-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jon Ågren
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, SE-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
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31
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Kharouba HM, Ehrlén J, Gelman A, Bolmgren K, Allen JM, Travers SE, Wolkovich EM. Global shifts in the phenological synchrony of species interactions over recent decades. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:5211-5216. [PMID: 29666247 PMCID: PMC5960279 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1714511115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 177] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenological responses to climate change (e.g., earlier leaf-out or egg hatch date) are now well documented and clearly linked to rising temperatures in recent decades. Such shifts in the phenologies of interacting species may lead to shifts in their synchrony, with cascading community and ecosystem consequences. To date, single-system studies have provided no clear picture, either finding synchrony shifts may be extremely prevalent [Mayor SJ, et al. (2017) Sci Rep 7:1902] or relatively uncommon [Iler AM, et al. (2013) Glob Chang Biol 19:2348-2359], suggesting that shifts toward asynchrony may be infrequent. A meta-analytic approach would provide insights into global trends and how they are linked to climate change. We compared phenological shifts among pairwise species interactions (e.g., predator-prey) using published long-term time-series data of phenological events from aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems across four continents since 1951 to determine whether recent climate change has led to overall shifts in synchrony. We show that the relative timing of key life cycle events of interacting species has changed significantly over the past 35 years. Further, by comparing the period before major climate change (pre-1980s) and after, we show that estimated changes in phenology and synchrony are greater in recent decades. However, there has been no consistent trend in the direction of these changes. Our findings show that there have been shifts in the timing of interacting species in recent decades; the next challenges are to improve our ability to predict the direction of change and understand the full consequences for communities and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather M Kharouba
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616;
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andrew Gelman
- Department of Statistics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Kjell Bolmgren
- Unit for Field-Based Forest Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-363 94 Lammhult, Sweden
| | - Jenica M Allen
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824
| | - Steve E Travers
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108
| | - Elizabeth M Wolkovich
- Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston MA, 02130
- Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138
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32
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm Univ.; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm Univ.; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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33
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Posledovich D, Toftegaard T, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J, Gotthard K. Phenological synchrony between a butterfly and its host plants: Experimental test of effects of spring temperature. J Anim Ecol 2017; 87:150-161. [PMID: 29048758 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Climate-driven changes in the relative phenologies of interacting species may potentially alter the outcome of species interactions. Phenotypic plasticity is expected to be important for short-term response to new climate conditions, and differences between species in plasticity are likely to influence their temporal overlap and interaction patterns. As reaction norms of interacting species may be locally adapted, any such climate-induced change in interaction patterns may vary among localities. However, consequences of spatial variation in plastic responses for species interactions are understudied. We experimentally explored how temperature affected synchrony between spring emergence of a butterfly, Anthocharis cardamines, and onset of flowering of five of its host plant species across a latitudinal gradient. We also studied potential effects on synchrony if climate-driven northward expansions would be faster in the butterflies than in host plants. Lastly, to assess how changes in synchrony influence host use we carried out an experiment to examine the importance of the developmental stage of plant reproductive structures for butterfly oviposition preference. In southern locations, the butterflies were well-synchronized with the majority of their local host plant species across temperatures, suggesting that thermal plasticity in butterfly development matches oviposition to host plant development and that thermal reaction norms of insects and plants result in similar advancement of spring phenology in response to warming. In the most northern region, however, relative phenology between the butterfly and two of its host plant species changed with increased temperature. We also show that the developmental stage of plants was important for egg-laying, and conclude that temperature-induced changes in synchrony in the northernmost region are likely to lead to shifts in host use in A. cardamines if spring temperatures become warmer. Northern expansion of butterfly populations might possibly have a positive effect on keeping up with host plant phenology with more northern host plant populations. Considering that the majority of insect herbivores exploit multiple plant species differing in their phenological response to spring temperatures, temperature-induced changes in synchrony might lead to shifts in host use and changes in species interactions in many temperate communities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tenna Toftegaard
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karl Gotthard
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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34
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Fogelström E, Olofsson M, Posledovich D, Wiklund C, Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J. Plant-herbivore synchrony and selection on plant flowering phenology. Ecology 2017; 98:703-711. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Revised: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fogelström
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Martin Olofsson
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Diana Posledovich
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan P. Dahlgren
- Department of Biology; Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark; Campusvej 55 SE-106 91 Odense M Denmark
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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35
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Stålhandske S, Olofsson M, Gotthard K, Ehrlén J, Wiklund C, Leimar O. Phenological matching rather than genetic variation in host preference underlies geographical variation in host plants used by orange tip butterflies. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Martin Olofsson
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Karl Gotthard
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Olof Leimar
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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36
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König MAE, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J. Butterfly oviposition preference is not related to larval performance on a polyploid herb. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:2781-9. [PMID: 27217940 PMCID: PMC4863005 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Revised: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The preference–performance hypothesis predicts that female insects maximize their fitness by utilizing host plants which are associated with high larval performance. Still, studies with several insect species have failed to find a positive correlation between oviposition preference and larval performance. In the present study, we experimentally investigated the relationship between oviposition preferences and larval performance in the butterfly Anthocharis cardamines. Preferences were assessed using both cage experiments and field data on the proportion of host plant individuals utilized in natural populations. Larval performance was experimentally investigated using larvae descending from 419 oviposition events by 21 females on plants from 51 populations of two ploidy types of the perennial herb Cardamine pratensis. Neither ploidy type nor population identity influenced egg survival or larval development, but increased plant inflorescence size resulted in a larger final larval size. There was no correlation between female oviposition preference and egg survival or larval development under controlled conditions. Moreover, variation in larval performance among populations under controlled conditions was not correlated with the proportion of host plants utilized in the field. Lastly, first instar larvae added to plants rejected for oviposition by butterfly females during the preference experiment performed equally well as larvae growing on plants chosen for oviposition. The lack of a correlation between larval performance and oviposition preference for A. cardamines under both experimental and natural settings suggests that female host choice does not maximize the fitness of the individual offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin A E König
- Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University SE106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University SE106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University SE106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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Dahlgren JP, Bengtsson K, Ehrlén J. The demography of climate-driven and density-regulated population dynamics in a perennial plant. Ecology 2016. [DOI: 10.1890/15-0804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Johan P. Dahlgren
- Department of Biology, Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging; University of Southern Denmark; Campusvej 55 DK-5230 Odense M Denmark
| | - Karin Bengtsson
- Department of Ecology and Genetics; Uppsala University; Box 256 SE-751 05 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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Hambäck PA, Dahlgren JP, Andersson P, Rabasa SG, Bommarco R, Ehrlén J. Plant trait-mediated interactions between early and late herbivores on common figwort (Scrophularia nodosa) and effects on plant seed set. Écoscience 2015. [DOI: 10.2980/18-4-3422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Abstract
Optimal timing of reproduction within a season may be influenced by several abiotic and biotic factors. These factors sometimes affect different components of fitness, making assessments of net selection difficult. We used estimates of offspring fitness to examine how pre-dispersal seed predation influences selection on flowering schedule in an herb with a bimodal flowering pattern, Actaea spicata. Within individuals, seeds from flowers on early terminal inflorescences had a higher germination rate and produced larger seedlings than seeds from flowers on late basal inflorescences. Reproductive value, estimated using demographic integral projection models and accounting for size-dependent differences in future performance, was two times higher for intact seeds from early flowers than for seeds from late flowers. Fruits from late flowers were, however, much more likely to escape seed predation than fruits from early flowers. Reproductive values of early and late flowers balanced at a predation intensity of 63%. Across 15 natural populations, the strength of selection for allocation to late flowers was positively correlated with mean seed predation intensity. Our results suggest that the optimal shape of the flowering schedule, in terms of the allocation between early and late flowers, is determined by the trade-off between offspring number and quality, and that variation in antagonistic interactions among populations influences the balancing of this trade-off. At the same time they illustrate that phenotypic selection analyses that fail to account for differences in offspring fitness might be misleading.
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41
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Bisang I, Ehrlén J, Korpelainen H, Hedenäs L. No evidence of sexual niche partitioning in a dioecious moss with rare sexual reproduction. Ann Bot 2015; 116:771-779. [PMID: 26359424 PMCID: PMC4590334 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcv133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2015] [Revised: 05/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Roughly half of the species of bryophytes have separate sexes (dioecious) and half are hermaphroditic (monoecious). This variation has major consequences for the ecology and evolution of the different species. In some sexually reproducing dioecious bryophytes, sex ratio has been shown to vary with environmental conditions. This study focuses on the dioecious wetland moss Drepanocladus trifarius, which rarely produces sexual branches or sporophytes and lacks apparent secondary sex characteristics, and examines whether genetic sexes exhibit different habitat preferences, i.e. whether sexual niche partitioning occurs. METHODS A total of 277 shoots of D. trifarius were randomly sampled at 214 locations and 12 environmental factors were quantified at each site. Sex was assigned to the individual shoots collected in the natural environments, regardless of their reproductive status, using a specifically designed molecular marker associated with female sex. KEY RESULTS Male and female shoots did not differ in shoot biomass, the sexes were randomly distributed with respect to each other, and environmental conditions at male and female sampling locations did not differ. Collectively, this demonstrates a lack of sexual niche segregation. Adult genetic sex ratio was female-biased, with 2·8 females for every male individual. CONCLUSIONS The results show that although the sexes of D. trifarius did not differ with regard to annual growth, spatial distribution or habitat requirements, the genetic sex ratio was nevertheless significantly female-biased. This supports the notion that factors other than sex-related differences in reproductive costs and sexual dimorphism can also drive the evolution of biased sex ratios in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Bisang
- Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden,
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden and
| | - Helena Korpelainen
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 27, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lars Hedenäs
- Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
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42
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Toftegaard T, Posledovich D, Navarro-Cano JA, Wiklund C, Gotthard K, Ehrlén J. Variation in plant thermal reaction norms along a latitudinal gradient - more than adaptation to season length. OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.02323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tenna Toftegaard
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm Univ.; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | | | - José A. Navarro-Cano
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm Univ.; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
- Desertification Research Centre (CSIC-UV-GV); ES-46113 Moncada Valencia Spain
| | | | - Karl Gotthard
- Dept of Zoology; Stockholm Univ.; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Dept of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm Univ.; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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Posledovich D, Toftegaard T, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J, Gotthard K. The developmental race between maturing host plants and their butterfly herbivore - the influence of phenological matching and temperature. J Anim Ecol 2015; 84:1690-9. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 06/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tenna Toftegaard
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; Stockholm Sweden
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; Stockholm Sweden
| | - Karl Gotthard
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; Stockholm Sweden
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König MAE, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J. Timing of flowering and intensity of attack by a butterfly herbivore in a polyploid herb. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:1863-72. [PMID: 26140202 PMCID: PMC4485967 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2014] [Revised: 02/16/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Timing of plant development both determines the abiotic conditions that the plant experiences and strongly influences the intensity of interactions with other organisms. Plants and herbivores differ in their response to environmental cues, and spatial and temporal variation in environmental conditions might influence the synchrony between host plants and herbivores, and the intensity of their interactions. We investigated whether differences in first day of flowering among and within 21 populations of the polyploid herb Cardamine pratensis influenced the frequency of oviposition by the butterfly Anthocharis cardamines during four study years. The proportion of plants that became oviposited upon differed among populations, but these differences were not related to mean flowering phenology within the population in any of the four study years. Attack rates in the field were also not correlated with resistance to oviposition estimated under controlled conditions. Within populations, the frequency of butterfly attack was higher in early-flowering individuals in two of the four study years, while there was no significant relationship in the other 2 years. Larger plants were more likely to become oviposited upon in all 4 years. The effects of first flowering day and size on the frequency of butterfly attack did not differ among populations. The results suggest that differences in attack intensities among populations are driven mainly by differences in the environmental context of populations while mean differences in plant traits play a minor role. The fact that within populations timing of flowering influenced the frequency of herbivore attack only in some years and suggests that herbivore-mediated selection on plant phenology differs among years, possibly because plants and herbivores respond differently to environmental cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin A E König
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University Stockholm, SE106 91, Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University Stockholm, SE106 91, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University Stockholm, SE106 91, Sweden
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Ehrlén J, Morris WF. Predicting changes in the distribution and abundance of species under environmental change. Ecol Lett 2015; 18:303-14. [PMID: 25611188 PMCID: PMC4674973 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 197] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Revised: 09/03/2014] [Accepted: 12/17/2014] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Environmental changes are expected to alter both the distribution and the abundance of organisms. A disproportionate amount of past work has focused on distribution only, either documenting historical range shifts or predicting future occurrence patterns. However, simultaneous predictions of abundance and distribution across landscapes would be far more useful. To critically assess which approaches represent advances towards the goal of joint predictions of abundance and distribution, we review recent work on changing distributions and on effects of environmental drivers on single populations. Several methods have been used to predict changing distributions. Some of these can be easily modified to also predict abundance, but others cannot. In parallel, demographers have developed a much better understanding of how changing abiotic and biotic drivers will influence growth rate and abundance in single populations. However, this demographic work has rarely taken a landscape perspective and has largely ignored the effects of intraspecific density. We advocate a synthetic approach in which population models accounting for both density dependence and effects of environmental drivers are used to make integrated predictions of equilibrium abundance and distribution across entire landscapes. Such predictions would constitute an important step forward in assessing the ecological consequences of environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm UniversityStockholm, Sweden
| | - William F Morris
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala UniversityUppsala, Sweden
- Department of Biology, Duke UniversityDurham, NC, USA
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Navarro-Cano JA, Karlsson B, Posledovich D, Toftegaard T, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J, Gotthard K. Climate change, phenology, and butterfly host plant utilization. Ambio 2015; 44 Suppl 1:S78-88. [PMID: 25576283 PMCID: PMC4289000 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-014-0602-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge of how species interactions are influenced by climate warming is paramount to understand current biodiversity changes. We review phenological changes of Swedish butterflies during the latest decades and explore potential climate effects on butterfly-host plant interactions using the Orange tip butterfly Anthocharis cardamines and its host plants as a model system. This butterfly has advanced its appearance dates substantially, and its mean flight date shows a positive correlation with latitude. We show that there is a large latitudinal variation in host use and that butterfly populations select plant individuals based on their flowering phenology. We conclude that A. cardamines is a phenological specialist but a host species generalist. This implies that thermal plasticity for spring development influences host utilization of the butterfly through effects on the phenological matching with its host plants. However, the host utilization strategy of A. cardamines appears to render it resilient to relatively large variation in climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose A. Navarro-Cano
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Bengt Karlsson
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Diana Posledovich
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tenna Toftegaard
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karl Gotthard
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Abstract
Microrefugia are sites that support populations of species when their ranges contract during unfavorable climate episodes. Here, we review and discuss two aspects relevant for microrefugia. First, distributions of different species are influenced by different climatic variables. Second, climatic variables differ in the degree of local decoupling from the regional climate. Based on this, we suggest that only species limited by climatic conditions decoupled from the regional climate can benefit from microrefugia. We argue that this restriction has received little attention in spite of its importance for microrefugia as a mechanism for species resilience (the survival of unfavorable episodes and subsequent range expansion). Presence of microrefugia will depend on both the responses of individual species to local climatic variation and how climate-forcing factors shape the correlation between local and regional climate across space and time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Miska Luoto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Eric Meineri
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Dahlgren JP, Ostergård H, Ehrlén J. Local environment and density-dependent feedbacks determine population growth in a forest herb. Oecologia 2014; 176:1023-32. [PMID: 25224800 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3073-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2014] [Accepted: 08/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Linking spatial variation in environmental factors to variation in demographic rates is essential for a mechanistic understanding of the dynamics of populations. However, we still know relatively little about such links, partly because feedbacks via intraspecific density make them difficult to observe in natural populations. We conducted a detailed field study and investigated simultaneous effects of environmental factors and the intraspecific density of individuals on the demography of the herb Lathyrus vernus. In regression models of vital rates we identified effects associated with spring shade on survival and growth, while density was negatively correlated with these vital rates. Density was also negatively correlated with average individual size in the study plots, which is consistent with self-thinning. In addition, average plant sizes were larger than predicted by density in plots that were less shaded by the tree canopy, indicating an environmentally determined carrying capacity. A size-structured integral projection model based on the vital rate regressions revealed that the identified effects of shade and density were strong enough to produce differences in stable population sizes similar to those observed in the field. The results illustrate how the local environment can determine dynamics of populations and that intraspecific density may have to be more carefully considered in studies of plant demography and population viability analyses of threatened species. We conclude that demographic approaches incorporating information about both density and key environmental factors are powerful tools for understanding the processes that interact to determine population dynamics and abundances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan P Dahlgren
- Department of Biology and Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark,
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Posledovich D, Toftegaard T, Navarro-Cano JA, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J, Gotthard K. Latitudinal variation in thermal reaction norms of post-winter pupal development in two butterflies differing in phenological specialization. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Diana Posledovich
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Tenna Toftegaard
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Jose A. Navarro-Cano
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Karl Gotthard
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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50
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König MAE, Lehtilä K, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J. Among-population variation in tolerance to larval herbivory by Anthocharis cardamines in the polyploid herb Cardamine pratensis. PLoS One 2014; 9:e99333. [PMID: 24945875 PMCID: PMC4063699 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants have two principal defense mechanisms to decrease fitness losses to herbivory: tolerance, the ability to compensate fitness after damage, and resistance, the ability to avoid damage. Variation in intensity of herbivory among populations should result in variation in plant defense levels if tolerance and resistance are associated with costs. Yet little is known about how levels of tolerance are related to resistance and attack intensity in the field, and about the costs of tolerance. In this study, we used information about tolerance and resistance against larval herbivory by the butterfly Anthocharis cardamines under controlled conditions together with information about damage in the field for a large set of populations of the perennial plant Cardamine pratensis. Plant tolerance was estimated in a common garden experiment where plants were subjected to a combination of larval herbivory and clipping. We found no evidence of that the proportion of damage that was caused by larval feeding vs. clipping influenced plant responses. Damage treatments had a negative effect on the three measured fitness components and also resulted in an earlier flowering in the year after the attack. Tolerance was related to attack intensity in the population of origin, i.e. plants from populations with higher attack intensity were more likely to flower in the year following damage. However, we found no evidence of a relationship between tolerance and resistance. These results indicate that herbivory drives the evolution for increased tolerance, and that changes in tolerance are not linked to changes in resistance. We suggest that the simultaneous study of tolerance, attack intensity in the field and resistance constitutes a powerful tool to understand how plant strategies to avoid negative effects of herbivore damage evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin A. E. König
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Kari Lehtilä
- School of Natural Science, Technology and Environmental Studies, Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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