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Alberti M. Cities of the Anthropocene: urban sustainability in an eco-evolutionary perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220264. [PMID: 37952615 PMCID: PMC10645089 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Cities across the globe are driving systemic change in social and ecological systems by accelerating the rates of interactions and intensifying the links between human activities and Earth's ecosystems, thereby expanding the scale and influence of human activities on fundamental processes that sustain life. Increasing evidence shows that cities not only alter biodiversity, they change the genetic makeup of many populations, including animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. Urban-driven rapid evolution in species traits might have significant effects on socially relevant ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, pollination, water and air purification and food production. Despite increasing evidence that cities are causing rapid evolutionary change, current urban sustainability strategies often overlook these dynamics. The dominant perspectives that guide these strategies are essentially static, focusing on preserving biodiversity in its present state or restoring it to pre-urban conditions. This paper provides a systemic overview of the socio-eco-evolutionary transition associated with global urbanization. Using examples of observed changes in species traits that play a significant role in maintaining ecosystem function and resilience, I propose that these evolutionary changes significantly impact urban sustainability. Incorporating an eco-evolutionary perspective into urban sustainability science and planning is crucial for effectively reimagining the cities of the Anthropocene. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Alberti
- Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
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2
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Vahsen ML, Kleiner HS, Kodak H, Summers JL, Vahsen WL, Blum MJ, Megonigal JP, McLachlan JS. Complex eco-evolutionary responses of a foundational coastal marsh plant to global change. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:2121-2136. [PMID: 37452486 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the fate of coastal marshes requires understanding how plants respond to rapid environmental change. Environmental change can elicit shifts in trait variation attributable to phenotypic plasticity and act as selective agents to shift trait means, resulting in rapid evolution. Comparably, less is known about the potential for responses to reflect the evolution of trait plasticity. Here, we assessed the relative magnitude of eco-evolutionary responses to interacting global change factors using a multifactorial experiment. We exposed replicates of 32 Schoenoplectus americanus genotypes 'resurrected' from century-long, soil-stored seed banks to ambient or elevated CO2 , varying levels of inundation, and the presence of a competing marsh grass, across two sites with different salinities. Comparisons of responses to global change factors among age cohorts and across provenances indicated that plasticity has evolved in five of the seven traits measured. Accounting for evolutionary factors (i.e. evolution and sources of heritable variation) in statistical models explained an additional 9-31% of trait variation. Our findings indicate that evolutionary factors mediate ecological responses to environmental change. The magnitude of evolutionary change in plant traits over the last century suggests that evolution could play a role in pacing future ecosystem response to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan L Vahsen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Helena S Kleiner
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Haley Kodak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Jennifer L Summers
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Wendy L Vahsen
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Michael J Blum
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | | | - Jason S McLachlan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
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3
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Vahsen ML, Blum MJ, Megonigal JP, Emrich SJ, Holmquist JR, Stiller B, Todd-Brown KEO, McLachlan JS. Rapid plant trait evolution can alter coastal wetland resilience to sea level rise. Science 2023; 379:393-398. [PMID: 36701449 DOI: 10.1126/science.abq0595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Rapid evolution remains a largely unrecognized factor in models that forecast the fate of ecosystems under scenarios of global change. In this work, we quantified the roles of heritable variation in plant traits and of trait evolution in explaining variability in forecasts of the state of coastal wetland ecosystems. A common garden study of genotypes of the dominant sedge Schoenoplectus americanus, "resurrected" from time-stratified seed banks, revealed that heritable variation and evolution explained key ecosystem attributes such as the allocation and distribution of belowground biomass. Incorporating heritable trait variation and evolution into an ecosystem model altered predictions of carbon accumulation and soil surface accretion (a determinant of marsh resilience to sea level rise), demonstrating the importance of accounting for evolutionary processes when forecasting ecosystem dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Vahsen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - M J Blum
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - J P Megonigal
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - S J Emrich
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - J R Holmquist
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - B Stiller
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - K E O Todd-Brown
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - J S McLachlan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
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4
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Wang H, Prentice IC, Wright IJ, Warton DI, Qiao S, Xu X, Zhou J, Kikuzawa K, Stenseth NC. Leaf economics fundamentals explained by optimality principles. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadd5667. [PMID: 36652527 PMCID: PMC9848425 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add5667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The life span of leaves increases with their mass per unit area (LMA). It is unclear why. Here, we show that this empirical generalization (the foundation of the worldwide leaf economics spectrum) is a consequence of natural selection, maximizing average net carbon gain over the leaf life cycle. Analyzing two large leaf trait datasets, we show that evergreen and deciduous species with diverse construction costs (assumed proportional to LMA) are selected by light, temperature, and growing-season length in different, but predictable, ways. We quantitatively explain the observed divergent latitudinal trends in evergreen and deciduous LMA and show how local distributions of LMA arise by selection under different environmental conditions acting on the species pool. These results illustrate how optimality principles can underpin a new theory for plant geography and terrestrial carbon dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - I. Colin Prentice
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Ian J. Wright
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith 2751, Australia
| | - David I. Warton
- School of Mathematics and Statistics and Evolution and Ecology Research Center, UNSW Sydney, Sidney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Shengchao Qiao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiangtao Xu
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, E139 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Jian Zhou
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Kihachiro Kikuzawa
- Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8836, Japan
| | - Nils Chr. Stenseth
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, Oslo NO-0316, Norway
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5
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Mozdzer TJ, McCormick MK, Slette IJ, Blum MJ, Megonigal JP. Rapid evolution of a coastal marsh ecosystem engineer in response to global change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 853:157846. [PMID: 35948126 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that global change can alter ecosystems by eliciting rapid evolution of foundational plants capable of shaping vital attributes and processes. Here we describe results of a field-scale exposure experiment and multilocus assays illustrating that elevated CO2 (eCO2) and nitrogen (N) enrichment can result in rapid shifts in genetic and genotypic variation in Phragmites australis, an ecologically dominant plant that acts as an ecosystem engineer in coastal marshes worldwide. Compared to control treatments, genotypic diversity declined over three years of exposure, especially to N enrichment. The magnitude of loss also increased over time under conditions of N enrichment. Comparisons of genotype frequencies revealed that proportional abundances shifted with exposure to eCO2 and N in a manner consistent with expected responses to selection. Comparisons also revealed evidence of tradeoffs that constrained exposure responses, where any particular genotype responded favorably to one factor rather than to different factors or to combinations of factors. These findings challenge the prevailing view that plant-mediated ecosystem outcomes of global change are governed primarily by differences in species responses to shifting environmental pressures and highlight the value of accounting for organismal evolution in predictive models to improve forecasts of ecosystem responses to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Mozdzer
- Bryn Mawr College, Department of Biology, 101 N. Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, United States of America; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD 21037, United States of America.
| | - Melissa K McCormick
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD 21037, United States of America.
| | - Ingrid J Slette
- Colorado State University, Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, 251 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States of America
| | - Michael J Blum
- University of Tennessee, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1416 Circle Dr, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States of America.
| | - J Patrick Megonigal
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD 21037, United States of America.
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6
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Gonzalez LM, Proulx SR, Moeller HV. Modeling the metabolic evolution of mixotrophic phytoplankton in response to rising ocean surface temperatures. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:136. [DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02092-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Climate change is expected to lead to warming in ocean surface temperatures which will have unequal effects on the rates of photosynthesis and heterotrophy. As a result of this changing metabolic landscape, directional phenotypic evolution will occur, with implications that cascade up to the ecosystem level. While mixotrophic phytoplankton, organisms that combine photosynthesis and heterotrophy to meet their energetic and nutritional needs, are expected to become more heterotrophic with warmer temperatures due to heterotrophy increasing at a faster rate than photosynthesis, it is unclear how evolution will influence how these organisms respond to warmer temperatures. In this study, we used adaptive dynamics to model the consequences of temperature-mediated increases in metabolic rates for the evolution of mixotrophic phytoplankton, focusing specifically on phagotrophic mixotrophs.
Results
We find that mixotrophs tend to evolve to become more reliant on phagotrophy as temperatures rise, leading to reduced prey abundance through higher grazing rates. However, if prey abundance becomes too low, evolution favors greater reliance on photosynthesis. These responses depend upon the trade-off that mixotrophs experience between investing in photosynthesis and phagotrophy. Mixotrophs with a convex trade-off maintain mixotrophy over the greatest range of temperatures; evolution in these “generalist” mixotrophs was found to exacerbate carbon cycle impacts, with evolving mixotrophs exhibiting increased sensitivity to rising temperature.
Conclusions
Our results show that mixotrophs may respond more strongly to climate change than predicted by phenotypic plasticity alone due to evolutionary shifts in metabolic investment. However, the type of metabolic trade-off experienced by mixotrophs as well as ecological feedback on prey abundance may ultimately limit the extent of evolutionary change along the heterotrophy-phototrophy spectrum.
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7
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Li S, Feng Q, Liu J, He Y, Shi L, Boyanov MI, O'Loughlin EJ, Kemner KM, Sanford RA, Shao H, He X, Sheng A, Cheng H, Shen C, Tu W, Dong Y. Carbonate Minerals and Dissimilatory Iron-Reducing Organisms Trigger Synergistic Abiotic and Biotic Chain Reactions under Elevated CO 2 Concentration. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:16428-16440. [PMID: 36301735 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c03843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Increasing CO2 emission has resulted in pressing climate and environmental issues. While abiotic and biotic processes mediating the fate of CO2 have been studied separately, their interactions and combined effects have been poorly understood. To explore this knowledge gap, an iron-reducing organism, Orenia metallireducens, was cultured under 18 conditions that systematically varied in headspace CO2 concentrations, ferric oxide loading, and dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) availability. The results showed that abiotic and biotic processes interactively mediate CO2 acidification and sequestration through "chain reactions", with pH being the dominant variable. Specifically, dolomite alleviated CO2 stress on microbial activity, possibly via pH control that transforms the inhibitory CO2 to the more benign bicarbonate species. The microbial iron reduction further impacted pH via the competition between proton (H+) consumption during iron reduction and H+ generation from oxidization of the organic substrate. Under Fe(III)-rich conditions, microbial iron reduction increased pH, driving dissolved CO2 to form bicarbonate. Spectroscopic and microscopic analyses showed enhanced formation of siderite (FeCO3) under elevated CO2, supporting its incorporation into solids. The results of these CO2-microbe-mineral experiments provide insights into the synergistic abiotic and biotic processes that alleviate CO2 acidification and favor its sequestration, which can be instructive for practical applications (e.g., acidification remediation, CO2 sequestration, and modeling of carbon flux).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuyi Li
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
| | - Qi Feng
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
| | - Juan Liu
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Yu He
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
| | - Liang Shi
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Wuhan430074, China
| | - Maxim I Boyanov
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois60439, United States
- Institute of Chemical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia1113, Bulgaria
| | - Edward J O'Loughlin
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois60439, United States
| | - Kenneth M Kemner
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois60439, United States
| | - Robert A Sanford
- Department of Geology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois60801, United States
| | - Hongbo Shao
- Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois61820, United States
| | - Xiao He
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Anxu Sheng
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Hang Cheng
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Chunhua Shen
- Center for Materials Research and Analysis, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Wenmao Tu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Yiran Dong
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Wuhan430074, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Yangtze Catchment Environmental Aquatic Science, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Wetland Evolution & Ecological Restoration, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan430074, China
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8
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Cherabier P, Ferrière R. Eco-evolutionary responses of the microbial loop to surface ocean warming and consequences for primary production. THE ISME JOURNAL 2022; 16:1130-1139. [PMID: 34864820 PMCID: PMC8940968 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01166-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Predicting the response of ocean primary production to climate warming is a major challenge. One key control of primary production is the microbial loop driven by heterotrophic bacteria, yet how warming alters the microbial loop and its function is poorly understood. Here we develop an eco-evolutionary model to predict the physiological response and adaptation through selection of bacterial populations in the microbial loop and how this will impact ecosystem function such as primary production. We find that the ecophysiological response of primary production to warming is driven by a decrease in regenerated production which depends on nutrient availability. In nutrient-poor environments, the loss of regenerated production to warming is due to decreasing microbial loop activity. However, this ecophysiological response can be opposed or even reversed by bacterial adaptation through selection, especially in cold environments: heterotrophic bacteria with lower bacterial growth efficiency are selected, which strengthens the "link" behavior of the microbial loop, increasing both new and regenerated production. In cold and rich environments such as the Arctic Ocean, the effect of bacterial adaptation on primary production exceeds the ecophysiological response. Accounting for bacterial adaptation through selection is thus critically needed to improve models and projections of the ocean primary production in a warming world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Cherabier
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, 75005, France.
| | - Régis Ferrière
- grid.462036.5Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, 75005 France ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XInternational Research Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Global Environmental Studies (iGLOBES), CNRS, ENS-PSL University, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
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9
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Monroe JG, Cai H, Des Marais DL. Diversity in nonlinear responses to soil moisture shapes evolutionary constraints in Brachypodium. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2021; 11:jkab334. [PMID: 34570202 PMCID: PMC8664479 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Water availability is perhaps the greatest environmental determinant of plant yield and fitness. However, our understanding of plant-water relations is limited because-like many studies of organism-environment interaction-it is primarily informed by experiments considering performance at two discrete levels-wet and dry-rather than as a continuously varying environmental gradient. Here, we used experimental and statistical methods based on function-valued traits to explore genetic variation in responses to a continuous soil moisture gradient in physiological and morphological traits among 10 genotypes across two species of the model grass genus Brachypodium. We find that most traits exhibit significant genetic variation and nonlinear responses to soil moisture variability. We also observe differences in the shape of these nonlinear responses between traits and genotypes. Emergent phenomena arise from this variation including changes in trait correlations and evolutionary constraints as a function of soil moisture. Our results point to the importance of considering diversity in nonlinear organism-environment relationships to understand plastic and evolutionary responses to changing climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Grey Monroe
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Haoran Cai
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - David L Des Marais
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA 02130, USA
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10
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Blum MJ, Saunders CJ, McLachlan JS, Summers J, Craft C, Herrick JD. A century-long record of plant evolution reconstructed from a coastal marsh seed bank. Evol Lett 2021; 5:422-431. [PMID: 34367666 PMCID: PMC8327947 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence is mounting that climate-driven shifts in environmental conditions can elicit organismal evolution, yet there are sparingly few long-term records that document the tempo and progression of responses, particularly for plants capable of transforming ecosystems. In this study, we "resurrected" cohorts of a foundational coastal marsh sedge (Schoenoplectus americanus) from a time-stratified seed bank to reconstruct a century-long record of heritable variation in response to salinity exposure. Common-garden experiments revealed that S. americanus exhibits heritable variation in phenotypic traits and biomass-based measures of salinity tolerance. We found that responses to salinity exposure differed among the revived cohorts, with plants from the early 20th century exhibiting greater salinity tolerance than those from the mid to late 20th century. Fluctuations in salinity tolerance could reflect stochastic variation but a congruent record of genotypic variation points to the alternative possibility that the loss and gain in functionality are driven by selection, with comparisons to historical rainfall and paleosalinity records suggesting that selective pressures vary according to shifting estuarine conditions. Because salinity tolerance in S. americanus is tightly coupled to primary productivity and other vital ecosystem attributes, these findings indicate that organismal evolution merits further consideration as a factor shaping coastal marsh responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Blum
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTennessee37996
| | - Colin J. Saunders
- Southeast Environmental Research CenterFlorida International UniversityMiamiFlorida33199
| | - Jason S. McLachlan
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Notre DameSouth BendIndiana46556
| | - Jennifer Summers
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTennessee37996
| | - Christopher Craft
- School of Public and Environmental AffairsIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndiana47405
| | - Jeffrey D. Herrick
- U.S Environmental Protection AgencyOffice of Research and DevelopmentResearch Triangle ParkNorth Carolina27711
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11
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Walworth NG, Hinners J, Argyle PA, Leles SG, Doblin MA, Collins S, Levine NM. The evolution of trait correlations constrains phenotypic adaptation to high CO 2 in a eukaryotic alga. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210940. [PMID: 34130504 PMCID: PMC8206706 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbes form the base of food webs and drive biogeochemical cycling. Predicting the effects of microbial evolution on global elemental cycles remains a significant challenge due to the sheer number of interacting environmental and trait combinations. Here, we present an approach for integrating multivariate trait data into a predictive model of trait evolution. We investigated the outcome of thousands of possible adaptive walks parameterized using empirical evolution data from the alga Chlamydomonas exposed to high CO2. We found that the direction of historical bias (existing trait correlations) influenced both the rate of adaptation and the evolved phenotypes (trait combinations). Critically, we use fitness landscapes derived directly from empirical trait values to capture known evolutionary phenomena. This work demonstrates that ecological models need to represent both changes in traits and changes in the correlation between traits in order to accurately capture phytoplankton evolution and predict future shifts in elemental cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan G Walworth
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371, USA
| | - Jana Hinners
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Phoebe A Argyle
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Suzana G Leles
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371, USA
| | - Martina A Doblin
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Sinéad Collins
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Naomi M Levine
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371, USA
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12
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Murugan A, Husain K, Rust MJ, Hepler C, Bass J, Pietsch JMJ, Swain PS, Jena SG, Toettcher JE, Chakraborty AK, Sprenger KG, Mora T, Walczak AM, Rivoire O, Wang S, Wood KB, Skanata A, Kussell E, Ranganathan R, Shih HY, Goldenfeld N. Roadmap on biology in time varying environments. Phys Biol 2021; 18:10.1088/1478-3975/abde8d. [PMID: 33477124 PMCID: PMC8652373 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/abde8d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Biological organisms experience constantly changing environments, from sudden changes in physiology brought about by feeding, to the regular rising and setting of the Sun, to ecological changes over evolutionary timescales. Living organisms have evolved to thrive in this changing world but the general principles by which organisms shape and are shaped by time varying environments remain elusive. Our understanding is particularly poor in the intermediate regime with no separation of timescales, where the environment changes on the same timescale as the physiological or evolutionary response. Experiments to systematically characterize the response to dynamic environments are challenging since such environments are inherently high dimensional. This roadmap deals with the unique role played by time varying environments in biological phenomena across scales, from physiology to evolution, seeking to emphasize the commonalities and the challenges faced in this emerging area of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvind Murugan
- James Franck Institute, Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America
| | - Kabir Husain
- James Franck Institute, Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America
| | - Michael J Rust
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America
- Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America
| | - Chelsea Hepler
- Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, United States of America
| | - Joseph Bass
- Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, United States of America
| | - Julian M J Pietsch
- SynthSys: Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, United Kingdom
| | - Peter S Swain
- SynthSys: Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, United Kingdom
| | - Siddhartha G Jena
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America
| | - Jared E Toettcher
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America
| | - Arup K Chakraborty
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
- Ragon Institute of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
| | - Kayla G Sprenger
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
- Ragon Institute of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
| | - T Mora
- Laboratoire de physique, Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - A M Walczak
- Laboratoire de physique, Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - O Rivoire
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Shenshen Wang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Kevin B Wood
- Departments of Biophysics and Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1055, United States of America
| | - Antun Skanata
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, 12 Waverly Place, Rm. 206, New York, NY 10003, United States of America
| | - Edo Kussell
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, 12 Waverly Place, Rm. 206, New York, NY 10003, United States of America
| | - Rama Ranganathan
- Center for Physics of Evolving Systems, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and the Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637, United States of America
| | - Hong-Yan Shih
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61801, United States of America
- Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Nigel Goldenfeld
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61801, United States of America
- Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61801, United States of America
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13
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Pataki DE, Alberti M, Cadenasso ML, Felson AJ, McDonnell MJ, Pincetl S, Pouyat RV, Setälä H, Whitlow TH. The Benefits and Limits of Urban Tree Planting for Environmental and Human Health. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.603757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many of the world’s major cities have implemented tree planting programs based on assumed environmental and social benefits of urban forests. Recent studies have increasingly tested these assumptions and provide empirical evidence for the contributions of tree planting programs, as well as their feasibility and limits, for solving or mitigating urban environmental and social issues. We propose that current evidence supports local cooling, stormwater absorption, and health benefits of urban trees for local residents. However, the potential for urban trees to appreciably mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution over a wide array of sites and environmental conditions is limited. Consequently, urban trees appear to be more promising for climate and pollution adaptation strategies than mitigation strategies. In large part, this is due to space constraints limiting the extent of urban tree canopies relative to the current magnitude of emissions. The most promising environmental and health impacts of urban trees are those that can be realized with well-stewarded tree planting and localized design interventions at site to municipal scales. Tree planting at these scales has documented benefits on local climate and health, which can be maximized through targeted site design followed by monitoring, adaptive management, and studies of long-term eco-evolutionary dynamics.
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14
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Mozdzer TJ, Watson EB, Orem WH, Swarzenski CM, Turner RE. Unraveling the Gordian Knot: Eight testable hypotheses on the effects of nutrient enrichment on tidal wetland sustainability. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 743:140420. [PMID: 32758808 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The position of tidal wetlands at the land-sea interface makes them especially vulnerable to the effects of nutrient discharges and sea level rise (SLR). Experimental studies of coastal wetland nutrient additions report conflicting results among and within habitats, highlighting the importance of site-specific factors, and how spatial and temporal scaling modulates responses. This suite of influences as SLR accelerates creates a "Gordian Knot" that may compromise coastal habitat integrity. We present eight testable hypotheses here to loosen this knot by identifying critical modulators about nutrient form, soil type and porosity, physiochemical gradients, and eco-evolutionary responses that may control the impacts of nutrient enrichment on coastal wetland sustainability: (1) the delivery and form of the nutrient shapes the ecosystem response; (2) soil type mediates the effects of nutrient enrichment on marshes; (3) belowground responses cannot be solely explained by phenotypic responses; (4) shifting zones of redox and salinity gradients modulate nutrient enrichment impacts; (5) eco-evolutionary processes can drive responses to nutrient availability; (6) nutrient enrichment leads to multiple changed ecosystem states; (7) biogeography trumps a plant's plastic responses to nutrient enrichment; and, (8) nutrient-enhanced wetlands are more susceptible to additional (and anticipated) anthropogenic changes. They provide a framework to investigate and integrate the urgently needed research to understand how excess nutrients threaten the sustainability of coastal wetlands, and wetlands in general. While there is no single 'right way' to test these hypotheses, including a combination of complex and simple, highly-replicated experiments is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Mozdzer
- Department of Biology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA.
| | - Elizabeth Burke Watson
- Department of Biodiversity, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
| | - William H Orem
- U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Mail Stop 956, Reston, VA 20192-0002, USA.
| | - Christopher M Swarzenski
- U.S. Geological Survey, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, 3535 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70816, USA.
| | - R Eugene Turner
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
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15
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Schmitz OJ, Leroux SJ. Food Webs and Ecosystems: Linking Species Interactions to the Carbon Cycle. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-104730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
All species within ecosystems contribute to regulating carbon cycling because of their functional integration into food webs. Yet carbon modeling and accounting still assumes that only plants, microbes, and invertebrate decomposer species are relevant to the carbon cycle. Our multifaceted review develops a case for considering a wider range of species, especially herbivorous and carnivorous wild animals. Animal control over carbon cycling is shaped by the animals’ stoichiometric needs and functional traits in relation to the stoichiometry and functional traits of their resources. Quantitative synthesis reveals that failing to consider these mechanisms can lead to serious inaccuracies in the carbon budget. Newer carbon-cycle models that consider food-web structure based on organismal functional traits and stoichiometry can offer mechanistically informed predictions about the magnitudes of animal effects that will help guide new empirical research aimed at developing a coherent understanding of the interactions and importance of all species within food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J. Schmitz
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
| | - Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada
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16
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Saban JM, Watson-Lazowski A, Chapman MA, Taylor G. The methylome is altered for plants in a high CO 2 world: Insights into the response of a wild plant population to multigenerational exposure to elevated atmospheric [CO 2 ]. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:6474-6492. [PMID: 32902071 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Unravelling plant responses to rising atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2 ]) has largely focussed on plastic functional attributes to single generation [CO2 ] exposure. Quantifying the consequences of long-term, decadal multigenerational exposure to elevated [CO2 ] and the genetic changes that may underpin evolutionary mechanisms with [CO2 ] as a driver remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated both plastic and evolutionary plant responses to elevated [CO2 ] by applying multi-omic technologies using populations of Plantago lanceolata L., grown in naturally high [CO2 ] for many generations in a CO2 spring. Seed from populations at the CO2 spring and an adjacent control site (ambient [CO2 ]) were grown in a common environment for one generation, and then offspring were grown in ambient or elevated [CO2 ] growth chambers. Low overall genetic differentiation between the CO2 spring and control site populations was found, with evidence of weak selection in exons. We identified evolutionary divergence in the DNA methylation profiles of populations derived from the spring relative to the control population, providing the first evidence that plant methylomes may respond to elevated [CO2 ] over multiple generations. In contrast, growth at elevated [CO2 ] for a single generation induced limited methylome remodelling (an order of magnitude fewer differential methylation events than observed between populations), although some of this appeared to be stably transgenerationally inherited. In all, 59 regions of the genome were identified where transcripts exhibiting differential expression (associated with single generation or long-term natural exposure to elevated [CO2 ]) co-located with sites of differential methylation or with single nucleotide polymorphisms exhibiting significant inter-population divergence. This included genes in pathways known to respond to elevated [CO2 ], such as nitrogen use efficiency and stomatal patterning. This study provides the first indication that DNA methylation may contribute to plant adaptation to future atmospheric [CO2 ] and identifies several areas of the genome that are targets for future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine M Saban
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | - Mark A Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Gail Taylor
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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17
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Liancourt P, Song X, Macek M, Santrucek J, Dolezal J. Plant's-eye view of temperature governs elevational distributions. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:4094-4103. [PMID: 32320507 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Explaining species geographic distributions by macroclimate variables is the most common approach for getting mechanistic insights into large-scale diversity patterns and range shifts. However, species' traits influencing biophysical processes can produce a large decoupling from ambient air temperature, which can seriously undermine biogeographical inference. We combined stable oxygen isotope theory with a trait-based approach to assess leaf temperature during carbon assimilation (TL ) and its departure (ΔT) from daytime free air temperature during the growing season (Tgs ) for 158 plant species occurring from 3,400 to 6,150 m a.s.l. in Western Himalayas. We uncovered a general extent of temperature decoupling in the region. The interspecific variation in ΔT was best explained by the combination of plant height and δ13 C, and leaf dry matter content partly captured the variation in TL . The combination of TL and ΔT, with ΔT contributing most, explained the interspecific difference in elevational distributions. Stable oxygen isotope theory appears promising for investigating how plants perceive temperatures, a pivotal information to species biogeographic distributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Liancourt
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Plant Ecology Group, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Xin Song
- College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Martin Macek
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Santrucek
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Dolezal
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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18
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Lugo AE. Effects of Extreme Disturbance Events: From Ecesis to Social–Ecological–Technological Systems. Ecosystems 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-020-00491-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractEcologists addressed the effects of disturbances from the onset of the field by focusing on ecesis, which is the process by which organisms migrate and establish under the environmental conditions created by disturbances. Ecesis is the onset of succession, a self-organizing process whose nature, speed, and outcome depend in part on the outcomes of ecesis and the residual legacies remaining after disturbances. A by-product of succession after a disturbance is the reorganization of species dominance, or novelty. The degree of novelty in the outcome increases with the severity of the disturbance event. Initially, ecologists focused mostly on non-anthropogenic disturbances, but as human activity intensified and became a global force, more attention was given to the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on ecosystems. Today, anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic disturbances and their interactions are increasingly affecting ecosystems, particularly those exposed to extreme disturbance events. Extreme disturbance events are complex and low probability events composed of several disturbance forces that individually and in synergy affect different sectors of ecosystems, including the conditions that drive ecesis. I review the literature on disturbance research including the effects of extreme disturbance events on social–ecological–technological systems (SETSs). A SETS is an ecosystem defined by the flow and accumulation of energy through the medium of organisms, constructed infrastructure, institutions, and their environment. Human intentions, values, and capacities are part of the functioning of SETS, and they can drive ecological processes as do non-anthropogenic forces. Moreover, human-directed activities after an extreme disturbance event affect whole landscapes. The passage of hurricane María over the Puerto Rico SETS established that extreme disturbance events are of such power and complexity that they can influence the level and kind of relationship between humans and the environment, including the structure and species composition of the ecological systems within SETS. However, extreme disturbance events such as hurricanes have not changed the successional trajectory originally impulsed by anthropogenic disturbances. Thus, the species composition and functioning of novel forests in Puerto Rico are tied to economic activity in the social and technological sectors of SETS. It is no longer possible to interpret ecosystem functioning without considering the synergy between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic extreme disturbances.
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19
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Fulton EA, Blanchard JL, Melbourne-Thomas J, Plagányi ÉE, Tulloch VJD. Where the Ecological Gaps Remain, a Modelers' Perspective. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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20
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Monroe JG, Gill B, Turner KG, McKay JK. Drought regimens predict life history strategies in Heliophila. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 223:2054-2062. [PMID: 31087648 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Explaining variation in life history strategies is an enduring goal of evolutionary biology and ecology. Early theory predicted that for plants, annual and perennial life histories reflect adaptations to environments that experience alternative drought regimens. Nevertheless, empirical support for this hypothesis from comparative analyses remains lacking. Here, we test classic life history theory in Heliophila L. (Brassicaceae), a diverse genus of flowering plants native to Africa, controlling for phylogeny and integrating 34 yr of satellite-based drought detection with 2192 herbaria occurrence records. We find that the common ancestor of these species was likely to be an annual, and that perenniality and annuality have repeatedly evolved, an estimated seven and five times, respectively. By comparing historical drought regimens, we show that annuals rather than perennial species occur in environments where droughts are significantly more frequent. We also find evidence that annual plants adapt to predictable drought regimens by escaping drought-prone seasons as seeds. These results yield compelling support for longstanding theoretical predictions by revealing the importance of drought frequency and predictability to explain plant life history. More broadly, this work highlights scalable approaches, integrating herbaria records and remote sensing to address outstanding questions in evolutionary ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Grey Monroe
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
- College of Agriculture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
| | - Brian Gill
- Institute for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Kathryn G Turner
- Biology Department, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
| | - John K McKay
- College of Agriculture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
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21
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Collateral effects of microplastic pollution on aquatic microorganisms: An ecological perspective. Trends Analyt Chem 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2018.11.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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22
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Walker TWN, Weckwerth W, Bragazza L, Fragner L, Forde BG, Ostle NJ, Signarbieux C, Sun X, Ward SE, Bardgett RD. Plastic and genetic responses of a common sedge to warming have contrasting effects on carbon cycle processes. Ecol Lett 2018; 22:159-169. [PMID: 30556313 PMCID: PMC6334510 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming affects plant physiology through genetic adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, but little is known about how these mechanisms influence ecosystem processes. We used three elevation gradients and a reciprocal transplant experiment to show that temperature causes genetic change in the sedge Eriophorum vaginatum. We demonstrate that plants originating from warmer climate produce fewer secondary compounds, grow faster and accelerate carbon dioxide (CO2) release to the atmosphere. However, warmer climate also caused plasticity in E. vaginatum, inhibiting nitrogen metabolism, photosynthesis and growth and slowing CO2 release into the atmosphere. Genetic differentiation and plasticity in E. vaginatum thus had opposing effects on CO2 fluxes, suggesting that warming over many generations may buffer, or reverse, the short‐term influence of this species over carbon cycle processes. Our findings demonstrate the capacity for plant evolution to impact ecosystem processes, and reveal a further mechanism through which plants will shape ecosystem responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom W N Walker
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.,Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK.,Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ, Lancaster, UK
| | - Wolfram Weckwerth
- Department of Ecogenomics & Systems Biology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria.,Vienna Metabolomics Centre (VIME), University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Luca Bragazza
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Ecological Systems Laboratory (ECOS), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Life Science and Biotechnologies, University of Ferrara, 44100, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Lena Fragner
- Department of Ecogenomics & Systems Biology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria.,Vienna Metabolomics Centre (VIME), University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Brian G Forde
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ, Lancaster, UK
| | - Nicholas J Ostle
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK.,Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ, Lancaster, UK
| | - Constant Signarbieux
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Ecological Systems Laboratory (ECOS), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Xiaoliang Sun
- Department of Ecogenomics & Systems Biology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria.,Vienna Metabolomics Centre (VIME), University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Susan E Ward
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ, Lancaster, UK
| | - Richard D Bardgett
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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23
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Koltz AM, Burkle LA, Pressler Y, Dell JE, Vidal MC, Richards LA, Murphy SM. Global change and the importance of fire for the ecology and evolution of insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 29:110-116. [PMID: 30551816 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is drastically altering global fire regimes, which may affect the structure and function of insect communities. Insect responses to fire are strongly tied to fire history, plant responses, and changes in species interactions. Many insects already possess adaptive traits to survive fire or benefit from post-fire resources, which may result in community composition shifting toward habitat and dietary generalists as well as species with high dispersal abilities. However, predicting community-level resilience of insects is inherently challenging due to the high degree of spatiotemporal and historical heterogeneity of fires, diversity of insect life histories, and potential interactions with other global change drivers. Future work should incorporate experimental approaches that specifically consider spatiotemporal variability and regional fire history in order to integrate eco-evolutionary processes in understanding insect responses to fire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Koltz
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | - Laura A Burkle
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, 310 Lewis Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | - Yamina Pressler
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, 1499 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Jane E Dell
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Mayra C Vidal
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, 2050 E Iliff Ave, Boettcher West, Denver, CO 80210, USA
| | - Lora A Richards
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Shannon M Murphy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, 2050 E Iliff Ave, Boettcher West, Denver, CO 80210, USA.
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24
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Malik AA, Puissant J, Buckeridge KM, Goodall T, Jehmlich N, Chowdhury S, Gweon HS, Peyton JM, Mason KE, van Agtmaal M, Blaud A, Clark IM, Whitaker J, Pywell RF, Ostle N, Gleixner G, Griffiths RI. Land use driven change in soil pH affects microbial carbon cycling processes. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3591. [PMID: 30181597 PMCID: PMC6123395 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05980-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Soil microorganisms act as gatekeepers for soil–atmosphere carbon exchange by balancing the accumulation and release of soil organic matter. However, poor understanding of the mechanisms responsible hinders the development of effective land management strategies to enhance soil carbon storage. Here we empirically test the link between microbial ecophysiological traits and topsoil carbon content across geographically distributed soils and land use contrasts. We discovered distinct pH controls on microbial mechanisms of carbon accumulation. Land use intensification in low-pH soils that increased the pH above a threshold (~6.2) leads to carbon loss through increased decomposition, following alleviation of acid retardation of microbial growth. However, loss of carbon with intensification in near-neutral pH soils was linked to decreased microbial biomass and reduced growth efficiency that was, in turn, related to trade-offs with stress alleviation and resource acquisition. Thus, less-intensive management practices in near-neutral pH soils have more potential for carbon storage through increased microbial growth efficiency, whereas in acidic soils, microbial growth is a bigger constraint on decomposition rates. Land use intensification could modify microbial activity and thus ecosystem function. Here, Malik et al. sample microbes and carbon-related functions across a land use gradient, demonstrating that microbial biomass and carbon use efficiency are reduced in human-impacted near-neutral pH soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashish A Malik
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK. .,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 92697, USA.
| | | | - Kate M Buckeridge
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Tim Goodall
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Nico Jehmlich
- Department of Molecular Systems Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, 04318, Germany
| | - Somak Chowdhury
- Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, 07745, Germany
| | - Hyun Soon Gweon
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, UK
| | - Jodey M Peyton
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Kelly E Mason
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK
| | | | - Aimeric Blaud
- Department of Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Ian M Clark
- Department of Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | | | | | - Nick Ostle
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Gerd Gleixner
- Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, 07745, Germany
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