1
|
LaManna JA, Hartig F, Myers JA, Freckleton RP, Detto M, Surendra A, Doolittle CJ, Bachelot B, Bagchi R, Comita LS, DeFilippis DM, Huanca-Nunez N, Hülsmann L, Jevon FV, Johnson DJ, Krishnadas M, Magee LJ, Mangan SA, Milici VR, Murengera ALB, Schnitzer SA, Smith DJB, Stein C, Sullivan MK, Torres E, Umaña MN, Delavaux CS. Consequences of Local Conspecific Density Effects for Plant Diversity and Community Dynamics. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14506. [PMID: 39354892 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/11/2024] [Indexed: 10/03/2024]
Abstract
Conspecific density dependence (CDD) in plant populations is widespread, most likely caused by local-scale biotic interactions, and has potentially important implications for biodiversity, community composition, and ecosystem processes. However, progress in this important area of ecology has been hindered by differing viewpoints on CDD across subfields in ecology, lack of synthesis across CDD-related frameworks, and misunderstandings about how empirical measurements of local CDD fit within the context of broader ecological theories on community assembly and diversity maintenance. Here, we propose a conceptual synthesis of local-scale CDD and its causes, including species-specific antagonistic and mutualistic interactions. First, we compare and clarify different uses of CDD and related concepts across subfields within ecology. We suggest the use of local stabilizing/destabilizing CDD to refer to the scenario where local conspecific density effects are more negative/positive than heterospecific effects. Second, we discuss different mechanisms for local stabilizing and destabilizing CDD, how those mechanisms are interrelated, and how they cut across several fields of study within ecology. Third, we place local stabilizing/destabilizing CDD within the context of broader ecological theories and discuss implications and challenges related to scaling up the effects of local CDD on populations, communities, and metacommunities. The ultimate goal of this synthesis is to provide a conceptual roadmap for researchers studying local CDD and its implications for population and community dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A LaManna
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Florian Hartig
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jonathan A Myers
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Robert P Freckleton
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Matteo Detto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Akshay Surendra
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Cole J Doolittle
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Bénédicte Bachelot
- Department of Plant Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Robert Bagchi
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Liza S Comita
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - David M DeFilippis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | | | - Lisa Hülsmann
- Ecosystem Analysis and Simulation (EASI) Lab, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Fiona V Jevon
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Daniel J Johnson
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Meghna Krishnadas
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Lukas J Magee
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Scott A Mangan
- Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA
| | - Valerie R Milici
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Daniel J B Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Claudia Stein
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, Alabama, USA
| | - Megan K Sullivan
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Ethan Torres
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - María Natalia Umaña
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Camille S Delavaux
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang S, Hong P, Adler PB, Allan E, Hautier Y, Schmid B, Spaak JW, Feng Y. Towards mechanistic integration of the causes and consequences of biodiversity. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:689-700. [PMID: 38503639 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
The global biodiversity crisis has stimulated decades of research on three themes: species coexistence, biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships (BEF), and biodiversity-ecosystem functional stability relationships (BEFS). However, studies on these themes are largely independent, creating barriers to an integrative understanding of the causes and consequences of biodiversity. Here we review recent progress towards mechanistic integration of coexistence, BEF, and BEFS. Mechanisms underlying the three themes can be linked in various ways, potentially creating either positive or negative relationships between them. That said, we generally expect positive associations between coexistence and BEF, and between BEF and BEFS. Our synthesis represents an initial step towards integrating causes and consequences of biodiversity; future developments should include more mechanistic approaches and broader ecological contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shaopeng Wang
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Pubin Hong
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Peter B Adler
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland; Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584, CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jurg W Spaak
- Landscape ecology, RPTU Kaiserslautern Landau, 76829 Landau, Germany
| | - Yanhao Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cheplick GP. Philomatry in plants: why do so many species have limited seed dispersal? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2022; 109:29-45. [PMID: 34679185 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Many have noted limited seed dispersal of plants in diverse environments and attempted evolutionary explanations for it. Although philopatric ("love of fatherland") is used by zoologists to describe organisms that remain near their place of origin, philomatric ("love of motherland") is proposed as more appropriate for plants because seeds develop on the maternal parent, fecundity and dispersal are maternally influenced characteristics, and the term dovetails with the mother-site hypothesis (MSH) for the evolution of restricted dispersal. Proximate reasons for philomatry include intrinsic drivers such as morphological features of diaspores and where on the maternal parent they are produced. Extrinsic drivers include local environmental conditions, surrounding vegetation, and ineffective dispersal agents. The MSH proposes that selection should favor philomatry in a population adapted to a particular habitat because offspring will likewise be adapted to that same habitat. Several studies show philomatry can mitigate distance-dependent costs of dispersing into surrounding inhospitable areas. Undispersed diaspores can eliminate energetic costs of accessory structures or biochemicals needed by dispersible diaspores, but it is unclear whether these costs are significant to the evolution of philomatry. Disadvantages of limited dispersal are inability to escape deteriorating habitat conditions, inability to colonize new habitats, and inbreeding among offspring. Heterocarpic species offset these disadvantages by producing dispersed plus undispersed diaspores. A conceptual framework is presented relating dispersal distance to the probability of seedling establishment. Future research should recognize dispersal as a covarying syndrome of multiple life history traits and focus on ecological selection agents that favor philomatry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P Cheplick
- Biology Program, Plant Science Subprogram, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
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
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Hülsmann L, Chisholm RA, Hartig F. Is Variation in Conspecific Negative Density Dependence Driving Tree Diversity Patterns at Large Scales? Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 36:151-163. [PMID: 33589047 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.10.003] [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: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Half a century ago, Janzen and Connell hypothesized that the high tree species diversity in tropical forests is maintained by specialized natural enemies. Along with other mechanisms, these can cause conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) and thus maintain species diversity. Numerous studies have measured proxies of CNDD worldwide, but doubt about its relative importance remains. We find ample evidence for CNDD in local populations, but methodological limitations make it difficult to assess if CNDD scales up to control community diversity and thereby local and global biodiversity patterns. A combination of more robust statistical methods, new study designs, and eco-evolutionary models are needed to provide a more definite evaluation of the importance of CNDD for geographic variation in plant species diversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hülsmann
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Ryan A Chisholm
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Florian Hartig
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|