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Munoz F, Klausmeier CA, Gaüzère P, Kandlikar G, Litchman E, Mouquet N, Ostling A, Thuiller W, Algar AC, Auber A, Cadotte MW, Delalandre L, Denelle P, Enquist BJ, Fortunel C, Grenié M, Loiseau N, Mahaut L, Maire A, Mouillot D, Pimiento C, Violle C, Kraft NJB. The ecological causes of functional distinctiveness in communities. Ecol Lett 2023. [PMID: 37322850 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14265] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent work has shown that evaluating functional trait distinctiveness, the average trait distance of a species to other species in a community offers promising insights into biodiversity dynamics and ecosystem functioning. However, the ecological mechanisms underlying the emergence and persistence of functionally distinct species are poorly understood. Here, we address the issue by considering a heterogeneous fitness landscape whereby functional dimensions encompass peaks representing trait combinations yielding positive population growth rates in a community. We identify four ecological cases contributing to the emergence and persistence of functionally distinct species. First, environmental heterogeneity or alternative phenotypic designs can drive positive population growth of functionally distinct species. Second, sink populations with negative population growth can deviate from local fitness peaks and be functionally distinct. Third, species found at the margin of the fitness landscape can persist but be functionally distinct. Fourth, biotic interactions (positive or negative) can dynamically alter the fitness landscape. We offer examples of these four cases and guidelines to distinguish between them. In addition to these deterministic processes, we explore how stochastic dispersal limitation can yield functional distinctiveness. Our framework offers a novel perspective on the relationship between fitness landscape heterogeneity and the functional composition of ecological assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Munoz
- Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Christopher A Klausmeier
- W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Departments of Plant Biology & Integrative Biology, Program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan, USA
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Pierre Gaüzère
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Grenoble, France
| | - Gaurav Kandlikar
- Division of Biological Sciences and Division of Plant Science & Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Elena Litchman
- W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Departments of Plant Biology & Integrative Biology, Program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan, USA
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Nicolas Mouquet
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
- FRB - CESAB, Montpellier, France
| | - Annette Ostling
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Wilfried Thuiller
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Grenoble, France
| | - Adam C Algar
- Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
| | - Arnaud Auber
- IFREMER, Unité Halieutique Manche Mer du Nord, Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Marc W Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto-Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Léo Delalandre
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Pierre Denelle
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
| | - Claire Fortunel
- AMAP, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Matthias Grenié
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig University Ritterstraße 26, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicolas Loiseau
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Lucie Mahaut
- FRB - CESAB, Montpellier, France
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Anthony Maire
- EDF R&D, LNHE - Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, Chatou, France
| | - David Mouillot
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Catalina Pimiento
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, Panama
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Nathan J B Kraft
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Delalandre L, Gaüzère P, Thuiller W, Cadotte M, Mouquet N, Mouillot D, Munoz F, Denelle P, Loiseau N, Morin X, Violle C. Functionally distinct tree species support long-term productivity in extreme environments. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20211694. [PMID: 35042423 PMCID: PMC8767214 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1694] [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: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite evidence of a positive effect of functional diversity on ecosystem productivity, the importance of functionally distinct species (i.e. species that display an original combination of traits) is poorly understood. To investigate how distinct species affect ecosystem productivity, we used a forest-gap model to simulate realistic temperate forest successions along an environmental gradient and measured ecosystem productivity at the end of the successional trajectories. We performed 10 560 simulations with different sets and numbers of species, bearing either distinct or indistinct functional traits, and compared them to random assemblages, to mimic the consequences of a regional loss of species. Long-term ecosystem productivity dropped when distinct species were lost first from the regional pool of species, under the harshest environmental conditions. On the contrary, productivity was more dependent on ordinary species in milder environments. Our findings show that species functional distinctiveness, integrating multiple trait dimensions, can capture species-specific effects on ecosystem productivity. In a context of an environmentally changing world, they highlight the need to investigate the role of distinct species in sustaining ecosystem processes, particularly in extreme environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léo Delalandre
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | - Pierre Gaüzère
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University of Grenoble Alpes, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, Grenoble F-38000, France
| | - Wilfried Thuiller
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University of Grenoble Alpes, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, Grenoble F-38000, France
| | - Marc Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto-Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Nicolas Mouquet
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
- FRB—CESAB, Montpellier 34000, France
| | - David Mouillot
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - François Munoz
- University of Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LiPhy, Grenoble F-38000, France
| | - Pierre Denelle
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nicolas Loiseau
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Xavier Morin
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
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