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Wanner MS, Walter JA, Reuman DC, Bell TW, Castorani MCN. Dispersal synchronizes giant kelp forests. Ecology 2024; 105:e4270. [PMID: 38415343 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Spatial synchrony is the tendency for population fluctuations to be correlated among different locations. This phenomenon is a ubiquitous feature of population dynamics and is important for ecosystem stability, but several aspects of synchrony remain unresolved. In particular, the extent to which any particular mechanism, such as dispersal, contributes to observed synchrony in natural populations has been difficult to determine. To address this gap, we leveraged recent methodological improvements to determine how dispersal structures synchrony in giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), a global marine foundation species that has served as a useful system for understanding synchrony. We quantified population synchrony and fecundity with satellite imagery across 11 years and 880 km of coastline in southern California, USA, and estimated propagule dispersal probabilities using a high-resolution ocean circulation model. Using matrix regression models that control for the influence of geographic distance, resources (seawater nitrate), and disturbance (destructive waves), we discovered that dispersal was an important driver of synchrony. Our findings were robust to assumptions about propagule mortality during dispersal and consistent between two metrics of dispersal: (1) the individual probability of dispersal and (2) estimates of demographic connectivity that incorporate fecundity (the number of propagules dispersing). We also found that dispersal and environmental conditions resulted in geographic clusters with distinct patterns of synchrony. This study is among the few to statistically associate synchrony with dispersal in a natural population and the first to do so in a marine organism. The synchronizing effects of dispersal and environmental conditions on foundation species, such as giant kelp, likely have cascading effects on the spatial stability of biodiversity and ecosystem function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam S Wanner
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Jonathan A Walter
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Daniel C Reuman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Tom W Bell
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Max C N Castorani
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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2
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Muñoz-Reinoso JC. Factors affecting variability in fleshy cone production of Juniperus macrocarpa. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2023.103899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
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Castorani MCN, Bell TW, Walter JA, Reuman D, Cavanaugh KC, Sheppard LW. Disturbance and nutrients synchronise kelp forests across scales through interacting Moran effects. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1854-1868. [PMID: 35771209 PMCID: PMC9541195 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Spatial synchrony is a ubiquitous and important feature of population dynamics, but many aspects of this phenomenon are not well understood. In particular, it is largely unknown how multiple environmental drivers interact to determine synchrony via Moran effects, and how these impacts vary across spatial and temporal scales. Using new wavelet statistical techniques, we characterised synchrony in populations of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, a widely distributed marine foundation species, and related synchrony to variation in oceanographic conditions across 33 years (1987-2019) and >900 km of coastline in California, USA. We discovered that disturbance (storm-driven waves) and resources (seawater nutrients)-underpinned by climatic variability-act individually and interactively to produce synchrony in giant kelp across geography and timescales. Our findings demonstrate that understanding and predicting synchrony, and thus the regional stability of populations, relies on resolving the synergistic and antagonistic Moran effects of multiple environmental drivers acting on different timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max C. N. Castorani
- Department of Environmental SciencesUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVirginiaUSA
| | - Tom W. Bell
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics & EngineeringWoods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleMassachusettsUSA
- Earth Research InstituteUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jonathan A. Walter
- Department of Environmental SciencesUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVirginiaUSA
| | - Daniel C. Reuman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of KansasLawrenceKansasUSA
- Center for Ecological ResearchUniversity of KansasLawrenceKansasUSA
- Laboratory of PopulationsRockefeller UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Kyle C. Cavanaugh
- Department of GeographyUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Lawrence W. Sheppard
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of KansasLawrenceKansasUSA
- Marine Biological Association of the United KingdomPlymouthUK
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4
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Gratzer G, Pesendorfer MB, Sachser F, Wachtveitl L, Nopp‐Mayr U, Szwagrzyk J, Canham CD. Does fine scale spatiotemporal variation in seed rain translate into plant population structure? OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Georg Gratzer
- Inst. of Forest Ecology, Dept of Soil and Forest Sciences, BOKU – Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Mario B. Pesendorfer
- Inst. of Forest Ecology, Dept of Soil and Forest Sciences, BOKU – Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Frederik Sachser
- Inst. of Forest Ecology, Dept of Soil and Forest Sciences, BOKU – Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
- Inst. of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, Dept of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, BOKU – Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Laura Wachtveitl
- Inst. of Forest Ecology, Dept of Soil and Forest Sciences, BOKU – Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Ursula Nopp‐Mayr
- Inst. of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, Dept of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, BOKU – Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Jerzy Szwagrzyk
- Dept of Botany and Nature Conservation, Forest Biodiversity Inst., Univ. of Agriculture Kraków Poland
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Abstract
Although it has long been recognized that seed production by many forest trees varies greatly from year to year, masting (along with 'mast fruiting', 'mast seeding' and 'masting behaviour') as a concept referring to such variability is a relatively recent development. Here, I provide a brief history of masting research, highlighting some of the early contributions by foresters, zoologists and others that paved the way for the burgeoning number of studies currently being conducted by researchers around the world. Of particular current interest is work attempting to understand the proximate mechanisms, evolutionary drivers and community effects of this important ecological phenomenon as well as the ways that climate change may influence masting behaviour in the future. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter D Koenig
- Hastings Natural History Reservation, University of California Berkeley, Carmel Valley, CA 93924, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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Pesendorfer MB, Bowman R, Gratzer G, Pruett S, Tringali A, Fitzpatrick JW. Fire history and weather interact to determine extent and synchrony of mast-seeding in rhizomatous scrub oaks of Florida. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200381. [PMID: 34657464 PMCID: PMC8520774 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In disturbance-prone ecosystems, fitness consequences of plant reproductive strategies are often determined by the relative timing of seed production and disturbance events, but the role of disturbances as proximate drivers of seed production has been overlooked. We use long-term data on seed production in Quercus chapmanii, Q. geminata and Q. inopina, rhizomatous oaks found in south central Florida's oak scrub, to investigate the role of fire history and its interaction with weather in shaping acorn production and its synchrony. Acorn production increased with the time since last fire, combined with additive or interactive effects of spring precipitation (+) or drought (-). Furthermore, multiple matrix regression models revealed that ramet pairs with shared fire history were more synchronous in seed production than ones that burned in different years. Long-term trends suggest that increasingly drier spring weather, in interaction with fire frequency, may drive a decline of seed production. Such declines could affect the community of acorn-reliant vertebrates in the Florida scrub, including endangered Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens). These results illustrate that fire can function as a proximate driver of seed production in mast-seeding species, highlighting the increasingly recognized importance of interactions among reproductive strategies and disturbance regimes in structuring plant populations and communities. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario B. Pesendorfer
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, A-1180 Vienna, Austria
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
- Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA
| | - Reed Bowman
- Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL 33960, USA
| | - Georg Gratzer
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, A-1180 Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - John W. Fitzpatrick
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
- Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL 33960, USA
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Ascoli D, Hacket-Pain A, Pearse IS, Vacchiano G, Corti S, Davini P. Modes of climate variability bridge proximate and evolutionary mechanisms of masting. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200380. [PMID: 34657463 PMCID: PMC8520781 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence that variable and synchronous reproduction in seed plants (masting) correlates to modes of climate variability, e.g. El Niño Southern Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation. In this perspective, we explore the breadth of knowledge on how climate modes control reproduction in major masting species throughout Earth's biomes. We posit that intrinsic properties of climate modes (periodicity, persistence and trends) drive interannual and decadal variability of plant reproduction, as well as the spatial extent of its synchrony, aligning multiple proximate causes of masting through space and time. Moreover, climate modes force lagged but in-phase ecological processes that interact synergistically with multiple stages of plant reproductive cycles. This sets up adaptive benefits by increasing offspring fitness through either economies of scale or environmental prediction. Community-wide links between climate modes and masting across plant taxa suggest an evolutionary role of climate variability. We argue that climate modes may 'bridge' proximate and ultimate causes of masting selecting for variable and synchronous reproduction. The future of such interaction is uncertain: processes that improve reproductive fitness may remain coupled with climate modes even under changing climates, but chances are that abrupt global warming will affect Earth's climate modes so rapidly as to alter ecological and evolutionary links. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Ascoli
- Department DISAFA, University of Torino (IT), Torino TO, Italy
| | - Andrew Hacket-Pain
- Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool (UK), UK
| | - Ian S. Pearse
- Fort Collins Science Center, US Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Susanna Corti
- Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-ISAC), Bologna, Italy
| | - Paolo Davini
- Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-ISAC), Torino, Italy
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Bogdziewicz M, Hacket-Pain A, Ascoli D, Szymkowiak J. Environmental variation drives continental-scale synchrony of European beech reproduction. Ecology 2021; 102:e03384. [PMID: 33950521 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Spatial synchrony is the tendency of spatially separated populations to display similar temporal fluctuations. Synchrony affects regional ecosystem functioning, but it remains difficult to disentangle its underlying mechanisms. We leveraged regression on distance matrices and geography of synchrony to understand the processes driving synchrony of European beech masting over the European continent. Masting in beech shows distance-decay, but significant synchrony is maintained at spatial scales of up to 1,500 km. The spatial synchrony of the weather cues that drive interannual variation in reproduction also explains the regional spatial synchrony of masting. Proximity played no apparent role in influencing beech masting synchrony after controlling for synchrony in environmental variation. Synchrony of beech reproduction shows a clear biogeographical pattern, decreasing from the northwest to southeast Europe. Synchrony networks for weather cues resemble networks for beech masting, indicating that the geographical structure of weather synchrony underlies the biogeography of masting synchrony. Our results support the hypothesis that environmental factors, the Moran effect, are key drivers of spatial synchrony in beech seed production at regional scales. The geographical patterns of regional synchronization of masting have implications for regional forest production, gene flow, carbon cycling, disease dynamics, biodiversity, and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Bogdziewicz
- Department of Systematic Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Andrew Hacket-Pain
- Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Davide Ascoli
- Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Jakub Szymkowiak
- Population Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
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Bogdziewicz M, Pesendorfer M, Crone EE, Pérez-Izquierdo C, Bonal R. Flowering synchrony drives reproductive success in a wind-pollinated tree. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1820-1826. [PMID: 32981190 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Synchronised and quasi-periodic production of seeds by plant populations, known as masting, is implicated in many ecological processes, but how it arises remains poorly understood. Flowering and pollination dynamics are hypothesised to provide the mechanistic link for the observed relationship between weather and population-level seed production. We report the first experimental test of the phenological synchrony hypotheses as a driver of pollen limitation in mast seeding oaks (Quercus ilex). Higher flowering synchrony yielded greater pollination efficiency, which resulted in 2-fold greater seed set in highly synchronised oaks compared to asynchronous individuals. Pollen addition removed the negative effect of asynchronous flowering on seed set. Because phenological synchrony operates through environmental variation, this result suggests that oak masting is synchronised by exogenous rather than endogenous factors. It also points to a mechanism by which changes in flowering phenology can affect plant reproduction of mast-seeding plants, with subsequent implications for community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Bogdziewicz
- Department of Systematic Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Mario Pesendorfer
- Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, Institute of Forest Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Raul Bonal
- INDEHESA, Forest Research Group, University of Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain
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10
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LaMontagne JM, Pearse IS, Greene DF, Koenig WD. Mast seeding patterns are asynchronous at a continental scale. NATURE PLANTS 2020; 6:460-465. [PMID: 32341539 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-020-0647-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Resource pulses are rare events with a short duration and high magnitude that drive the dynamics of both plant and animal populations and communities1. Mast seeding is perhaps the most common type of resource pulse that occurs in terrestrial ecosystems2, is characterized by the synchronous and highly variable production of seed crops by a population of perennial plants3,4, is widespread both taxonomically and geographically5, and is often associated with nutrient scarcity6. The rare production of abundant seed crops (mast events) that are orders of magnitude greater than crops during low seed years leads to high reproductive success in seed consumers and has cascading impacts in ecosystems2,7. Although it has been suggested that mast seeding is potentially synchronized at continental scales8, studies are largely constrained to local areas covering tens to hundreds of kilometres. Furthermore, summer temperature, which acts as a cue for mast seeding9, shows patterns at continental scales manifested as a juxtaposition of positive and negative anomalies that have been linked to irruptive movements of boreal seed-eating birds10,11. Here, we show a breakdown in synchrony of mast seeding patterns across space, leading to asynchrony at the continental scale. In an analysis of synchrony for a transcontinental North America tree species spanning distances of greater than 5,200 km, we found that mast seeding patterns were significantly asynchronous at distances of greater than 2,000 km apart (all P < 0.05). Other studies have shown declines in synchrony across distance, but not asynchrony. Spatiotemporal variation in summer temperatures at the continental scale drives patterns of synchrony in mast seeding, and we anticipate that this affects the spatial dynamics of numerous seed-eating communities, from insects to small mammals to the large-scale migration patterns of boreal seed-eating birds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ian S Pearse
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, IL, USA
- Fort Collins Science Center, US Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - David F Greene
- Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, USA
| | - Walter D Koenig
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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11
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Barringer BC, Koenig WD, Pearse IS, Knops JMH. Population ecology and spatial synchrony in the abundance of leaf gall wasps within and among populations of valley oak (
Quercus lobata
). POPUL ECOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/1438-390x.12040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Walter D. Koenig
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior Cornell University Ithaca New York
| | - Ian S. Pearse
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center Fort Collins Colorado
| | - Johannes M. H. Knops
- Department of Health and Environmental Sciences Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University Suzhou China
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12
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Bogdziewicz M, Ascoli D, Hacket‐Pain A, Koenig WD, Pearse I, Pesendorfer M, Satake A, Thomas P, Vacchiano G, Wohlgemuth T, Tanentzap A. From theory to experiments for testing the proximate mechanisms of mast seeding: an agenda for an experimental ecology. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:210-220. [PMID: 31858712 PMCID: PMC6973031 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Highly variable and synchronised production of seeds by plant populations, known as masting, is implicated in many important ecological processes, but how it arises remains poorly understood. The lack of experimental studies prevents underlying mechanisms from being explicitly tested, and thereby precludes meaningful predictions on the consequences of changing environments for plant reproductive patterns and global vegetation dynamics. Here we review the most relevant proximate drivers of masting and outline a research agenda that takes the biology of masting from a largely observational field of ecology to one rooted in mechanistic understanding. We divide the experimental framework into three main processes: resource dynamics, pollen limitation and genetic and hormonal regulation, and illustrate how specific predictions about proximate mechanisms can be tested, highlighting the few successful experiments as examples. We envision that the experiments we outline will deliver new insights into how and why masting patterns might respond to a changing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Bogdziewicz
- Department of Systematic ZoologyFaculty of BiologyAdam Mickiewicz University in PoznańUmutlowska 8961‐614PoznańPoland
| | - Davide Ascoli
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food SciencesUniversity of Turin10095 GrugliascoTorinoItaly
| | - Andrew Hacket‐Pain
- Department of Geography and PlanningSchool of Environmental SciencesUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | | | - Ian Pearse
- Fort Collins Science Center U.S. Geological SurveyFort CollinsCOUSA
| | - Mario Pesendorfer
- Lab of OrnithologyCornell UniversityIthacaNY14850USA
- Institute of Forest EcologyDepartment of Forest and Soil SciencesUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | - Akiko Satake
- Department of BiologyFaculty of ScienceKyushu University819‐0395FukuokaJapan
| | - Peter Thomas
- School of Life SciencesKeele UniversityStaffordshireST5 5BGUK
| | | | - Thomas Wohlgemuth
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLForest Dynamics, Zürcherstrasse 111CH‐8903BirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - Andrew Tanentzap
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of CambridgeDowning StCambridgeCB2 3EAUK
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Abstract
Climate change leads to global drought-induced stress and increased plant mortality. Tree species living in rapidly changing climate conditions are exposed to danger and must adapt to new climate conditions to survive. Trees respond to changes in the environment in numerous ways. Physiological modulation at the seed stage, germination strategy and further development are influenced by many different factors. We review forest abiotic threats (such as drought and heat), including biochemical responses of plants to stress, and biotic threats (pathogens and insects) related to global warming. We then discus the varied adaptations of tree species to changing climate conditions such as seed resistance to environmental stress, improved by an increase in temperature, affinity to specific fungal symbionts, a wide range of tolerance to abiotic environmental conditions in the offspring of populations occurring in continental climate, and germination strategies closely linked to the ecological niche of the species. The existing studies do not clearly indicate whether tree adaptations are shaped by epigenetics or phenology and do not define the role of phenotypic plasticity in tree development. We have created a juxtaposition of literature that is useful in identifying the factors that play key roles in these processes. We compare scientific evidence that species distribution and survival are possible due to phenotypic plasticity and thermal memory with studies that testify that trees’ phenology depends on phylogenesis, but this issue is still open. It is possible that studies in the near future will bring us closer to understanding the mechanisms through which trees adapt to stressful conditions, especially in the context of epigenetic memory in long-lived organisms, and allow us to minimize the harmful effects of climatic events by predicting tree species’ responses or by developing solutions such as assisted migration to mitigate the consequences of these phenomena.
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