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Gorné LD, Díaz S, Minden V, Onoda Y, Kramer K, Muir C, Michaletz ST, Lavorel S, Sharpe J, Jansen S, Slot M, Chacon E, Boenisch G. The acquisitive-conservative axis of leaf trait variation emerges even in homogeneous environments. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 129:709-722. [PMID: 33245747 PMCID: PMC9113165 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The acquisitive-conservative axis of plant ecological strategies results in a pattern of leaf trait covariation that captures the balance between leaf construction costs and plant growth potential. Studies evaluating trait covariation within species are scarcer, and have mostly dealt with variation in response to environmental gradients. Little work has been published on intraspecific patterns of leaf trait covariation in the absence of strong environmental variation. METHODS We analysed covariation of four leaf functional traits [specific leaf area (SLA) leaf dry matter content (LDMC), force to tear (Ft) and leaf nitrogen content (Nm)] in six Poaceae and four Fabaceae species common in the dry Chaco forest of Central Argentina, growing in the field and in a common garden. We compared intraspecific covariation patterns (slopes, correlation and effect size) of leaf functional traits with global interspecific covariation patterns. Additionally, we checked for possible climatic and edaphic factors that could affect the intraspecific covariation pattern. KEY RESULTS We found negative correlations for the LDMC-SLA, Ft-SLA, LDMC-Nm and Ft-Nm trait pairs. This intraspecific covariation pattern found both in the field and in the common garden and not explained by climatic or edaphic variation in the field follows the expected acquisitive-conservative axis. At the same time, we found quantitative differences in slopes among different species, and between these intraspecific patterns and the interspecific ones. Many of these differences seem to be idiosyncratic, but some appear consistent among species (e.g. all the intraspecific LDMC-SLA and LDMC-Nm slopes tend to be shallower than the global pattern). CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that the acquisitive-conservative leaf functional trait covariation pattern occurs at the intraspecific level even in the absence of relevant environmental variation in the field. This suggests a high degree of variation-covariation in leaf functional traits not driven by environmental variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas D Gorné
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CONICET, IMBiV, Córdoba, Argentina
- For correspondence. E-mail
| | - Sandra Díaz
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CONICET, IMBiV, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Vanessa Minden
- Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Landscape Ecology Group, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Biodiversity, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yusuke Onoda
- Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Oiwake, Kitashirakawa, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Koen Kramer
- Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
| | | | - Sean T Michaletz
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Steven Jansen
- Institute of Systematic Botany and Ecology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Martijn Slot
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Eduardo Chacon
- School of Biology, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
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Ren L, Huang Y, Pan Y, Xiang X, Huo J, Meng D, Wang Y, Yu C. Differential Investment Strategies in Leaf Economic Traits Across Climate Regions Worldwide. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:798035. [PMID: 35356106 PMCID: PMC8959930 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.798035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The leaf economics spectrum (LES) is the leading theory of plant ecological strategies based on functional traits, which explains the trade-off between dry matter investment in leaf structure and the potential rate of resource return, revealing general patterns of leaf economic traits investment for different plant growth types, functional types, or biomes. Prior work has revealed the moderating role of different environmental factors on the LES, but whether the leaf trait bivariate relationships are shifted across climate regions or across continental scales requires further verification. Here we use the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, a very widely used and robust criterion, as a basis for classifying climate regions to explore climatic differences in leaf trait relationships. We compiled five leaf economic traits from a global dataset, including leaf dry matter content (LDMC), specific leaf area (SLA), photosynthesis per unit of leaf dry mass (Amass), leaf nitrogen concentration (Nmass), and leaf phosphorus concentration (Pmass). Moreover, we primarily used the standardized major axis (SMA) analysis to establish leaf trait bivariate relationships and to explore differences in trait relationships across climate regions as well as intercontinental differences within the same climate type. Leaf trait relationships were significantly correlated across almost all subgroups (P < 0.001). However, there was no common slope among different climate zones or climate types and the slopes of the groups fluctuated sharply up and down from the global estimates. The range of variation in the SMA slope of each leaf relationship was as follows: LDMC-SLA relationships (from -0.84 to -0.41); Amass-SLA relationships (from 0.83 to 1.97); Amass-Nmass relationships (from 1.33 to 2.25); Nmass-Pmass relationships (from 0.57 to 1.02). In addition, there was significant slope heterogeneity among continents within the Steppe climate (BS) or the Temperate humid climate (Cf). The shifts of leaf trait relationships in different climate regions provide evidence for environmentally driven differential plant investment in leaf economic traits. Understanding these differences helps to better calibrate various plant-climate models and reminds us that smaller-scale studies may need to be carefully compared with global studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yongmei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yingping Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiang Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxuan Huo
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Dehui Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Ozment KA, Welti EAR, Shaffer M, Kaspari M. Tracking nutrients in space and time: Interactions between grazing lawns and drought drive abundances of tallgrass prairie grasshoppers. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:5413-5423. [PMID: 34026017 PMCID: PMC8131794 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We contrast the response of arthropod abundance and composition to bison grazing lawns during a drought and non-drought year, with an emphasis on acridid grasshoppers, an important grassland herbivore.Grazing lawns are grassland areas where regular grazing by mammalian herbivores creates patches of short-statured, high nutrient vegetation. Grazing lawns are predictable microsites that modify microclimate, plant structure, community composition, and nutrient availability, with likely repercussions for arthropod communities.One year of our study occurred during an extreme drought. Drought mimics some of the effects of mammalian grazers: decreasing above-ground plant biomass while increasing plant foliar percentage nitrogen.We sampled arthropods and nutrient availability on and nearby ("off") 10 bison-grazed grazing lawns in a tallgrass prairie in NE Kansas. Total grasshopper abundance was higher on grazing lawns and the magnitude of this difference increased in the wetter year of 2019 compared to 2018, when drought led to high grass foliar nitrogen concentrations on and off grazing lawns. Mixed-feeding grasshopper abundances were consistently higher on grazing lawns while grass-feeder and forb-feeder abundances were higher on lawns only in 2019, the wetter year. In contrast, the abundance of other arthropods (e.g., Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Araneae) did not differ on and off lawns, but increased overall in 2019, relative to the drought of 2018.Understanding these local scale patterns of abundances and community composition improves predictability of arthropod responses to ongoing habitat change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina A. Ozment
- Geographical Ecology GroupDepartment of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOKUSA
| | - Ellen A. R. Welti
- Geographical Ecology GroupDepartment of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOKUSA
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum FrankfurtGelnhausenGermany
| | | | - Michael Kaspari
- Geographical Ecology GroupDepartment of BiologyUniversity of OklahomaNormanOKUSA
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Wang D, Nkurunziza V, Barber NA, Zhu H, Wang J. Introduced ecological engineers drive behavioral changes of grasshoppers, consequently linking to its abundance in two grassland plant communities. Oecologia 2021; 195:1007-1018. [PMID: 33625579 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04880-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Introduced ecosystem engineers are expected to have extensive ecological impacts on a broad range of resident biota by altering the physical-chemical structure of ecosystems. Livestock that are potentially important introduced ecosystem engineers in grassland systems could create and/or modify habitats for native plant-dwelling insects. Yet, there is little knowledge of how insects respond to engineering effects of introduced livestock. To bridge this gap, we tested how domestic sheep affects the behavior and abundance of a native grasshopper Euchorthippus unicolor at both low (11.8 ± 0.4 plant species per plot) and high (19.8 ± 0.5 plant species per plot) diversity sites. Results found grasshoppers shifted their resting and feeding locations from the upper to the intermediate or low layers of vegetation, and fed on more plants species following livestock engineering effects. In the low plant diversity habitats, grazing caused grasshoppers to increase switching frequency, spend more time searching for host plants, and reduce time spent feeding, but had opposite effects on all the three behaviors in the high-diversity habitats. Moreover, grazing engineering effects on behavioral changes of grasshoppers were potentially related to their abundance. Overall, this study highlights native insect species' behavior and abundance in responses to introduced ecological engineers, and suggests that ecosystem engineers of non-native species have strong and important impacts extending beyond their often most obvious and frequently documented direct ecological effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deli Wang
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China
| | - Venuste Nkurunziza
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China
| | - Nicholas A Barber
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - Hui Zhu
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China. .,School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China.
| | - Jingting Wang
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China
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5
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Coggan NV, Hayward MW, Gibb H. A global database and "state of the field" review of research into ecosystem engineering by land animals. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:974-994. [PMID: 29488217 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystem engineers have been widely studied for terrestrial systems, but global trends in research encompassing the range of taxa and functions have not previously been synthesised. We reviewed contemporary understanding of engineer fauna in terrestrial habitats and assessed the methods used to document patterns and processes, asking: (a) which species act as ecosystem engineers and with whom do they interact? (b) What are the impacts of ecosystem engineers in terrestrial habitats and how are they distributed? (c) What are the primary methods used to examine engineer effects and how have these developed over time? We considered the strengths, weaknesses and gaps in knowledge related to each of these questions and suggested a conceptual framework to delineate "significant impacts" of engineering interactions for all terrestrial animals. We collected peer-reviewed publications examining ecosystem engineer impacts and created a database of engineer species to assess experimental approaches and any additional covariates that influenced the magnitude of engineer impacts. One hundred and twenty-two species from 28 orders were identified as ecosystem engineers, performing five ecological functions. Burrowing mammals were the most researched group (27%). Half of all studies occurred in dry/arid habitats. Mensurative studies comparing sites with and without engineers (80%) were more common than manipulative studies (20%). These provided a broad framework for predicting engineer impacts upon abundance and species diversity. However, the roles of confounding factors, processes driving these patterns and the consequences of experimentally adjusting variables, such as engineer density, have been neglected. True spatial and temporal replication has also been limited, particularly for emerging studies of engineer reintroductions. Climate change and habitat modification will challenge the roles that engineers play in regulating ecosystems, and these will become important avenues for future research. We recommend future studies include simulation of engineer effects and experimental manipulation of engineer densities to determine the potential for ecological cascades through trophic and engineering pathways due to functional decline. We also recommend improving knowledge of long-term engineering effects and replication of engineer reintroductions across landscapes to better understand how large-scale ecological gradients alter the magnitude of engineering impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole V Coggan
- Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC., Australia
| | - Matthew W Hayward
- Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Subiaco East, W.A., Australia.,School of the Environment, Bangor University, Wales, UK
| | - Heloise Gibb
- Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC., Australia
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6
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Plas F, Klink R, Manning P, Olff H, Fischer M. Sensitivity of functional diversity metrics to sampling intensity. Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fons Plas
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt Germany
| | - Roel Klink
- Division of Conservation Biology Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Bern Erlachstrasse 9a 3012 Bern Switzerland
| | - Pete Manning
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt Germany
| | - Han Olff
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen PO Box 11103 9700CC Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Markus Fischer
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt Germany
- Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern Altenbergrain 21 3013 Bern Switzerland
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7
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Gosling CM, Schrama M, van Erk A, Olff H, Cromsigt JPGM. Mammalian herbivores, grass height and rainfall drive termite activity at different spatial scales in an African savanna. Biotropica 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cleo M. Gosling
- 73 Duiker Street PO box 1417 Hoedspruit 1380 Limpopo South Africa
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group; Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Maarten Schrama
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group; Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen The Netherlands
- University of Manchester; Michael Smith Building Oxford Road M13 9PT Manchester U.K
| | - Aafke van Erk
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group; Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Han Olff
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group; Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt
- Department of Wildlife; Fish; and Environmental Studies; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; 901 83 Umeå Sweden
- Department of Zoology; Centre for African Conservation Ecology; Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; PO Box 77000 Port Elisabeth South Africa
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Davies AB, van Rensburg BJ, Robertson MP, Levick SR, Asner GP, Parr CL. Seasonal variation in the relative dominance of herbivore guilds in an African savanna. Ecology 2016; 97:1618-24. [DOI: 10.1890/15-1905.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Davies
- Centre for Invasion Biology; Department of Zoology and Entomology; University of Pretoria; Pretoria 0002 South Africa
- Department of Global Ecology; Carnegie Institution for Science; 260 Panama Street Stanford California 94305 USA
| | - Berndt J. van Rensburg
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Queensland; St. Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
- Department of Zoology, DST-NRF Centre for Invasion Biology; University of Johannesburg; Auckland Park Johannesburg 2006 South Africa
| | - Mark P. Robertson
- Centre for Invasion Biology; Department of Zoology and Entomology; University of Pretoria; Pretoria 0002 South Africa
| | - Shaun R. Levick
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Hans-Knöll Street 10 Jena 07745 Germany
| | - Gregory P. Asner
- Department of Global Ecology; Carnegie Institution for Science; 260 Panama Street Stanford California 94305 USA
| | - Catherine L. Parr
- School of Environmental Sciences; University of Liverpool; Liverpool L69 3GP United Kingdom
- Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental Science; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg 2000 South Africa
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