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Ohlert T, Kimmel K, Avolio M, Chang C, Forrestel E, Gerstner BP, Hobbie SE, Reich P, Whitney KD, Komatsu K. The impact of trait number and correlation on functional diversity metrics in real-world ecosystems. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306342. [PMID: 39312525 PMCID: PMC11419356 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The use of trait-based approaches to understand ecological communities has increased in the past two decades because of their promise to preserve more information about community structure than taxonomic methods and their potential to connect community responses to subsequent effects of ecosystem functioning. Though trait-based approaches are a powerful tool for describing ecological communities, many important properties of commonly-used trait metrics remain unexamined. Previous work with simulated communities and trait distributions shows sensitivity of functional diversity measures to the number and correlation of traits used to calculate them, but these relationships have yet to be studied in actual plant communities with a realistic distribution of trait values, ecologically meaningful covariation of traits, and a realistic number of traits available for analysis. To address this gap, we used data from six grassland plant communities in Minnesota and New Mexico, USA to test how the number of traits and the correlation between traits used in the calculation of eight functional diversity indices impact the magnitude of functional diversity metrics in real plant communities. We found that most metrics were sensitive to the number of traits used to calculate them, but functional dispersion (FDis), kernel density estimation dispersion (KDE dispersion), and Rao's quadratic entropy (Rao's Q) maintained consistent rankings of communities across the range of trait numbers. Despite sensitivity of metrics to trait correlation, there was no consistent pattern between communities as to how metrics were affected by the correlation of traits used to calculate them. We recommend that future use of evenness metrics include sensitivity analyses to ensure results are robust to the number of traits used to calculate them. In addition, we recommend use of FDis, KDE dispersion, and Rao's Q when ecologically applicable due to their ability to produce consistent rankings among communities across a range of the numbers of traits used to calculate them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Ohlert
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Kaitlin Kimmel
- Global Water Security Center, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States of America
| | - Meghan Avolio
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Cynthia Chang
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, United States of America
| | - Elisabeth Forrestel
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Benjamin P. Gerstner
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Hobbie
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Peter Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
- Institute for Global Change Biology and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith South, NSW, Australia
| | - Kenneth D. Whitney
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Kimberly Komatsu
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, United States of America
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Kaarlejärvi E, Itter M, Tonteri T, Hamberg L, Salemaa M, Merilä P, Vanhatalo J, Laine AL. Inferring ecological selection from multidimensional community trait distributions along environmental gradients. Ecology 2024; 105:e4378. [PMID: 39056347 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of community assembly is critical for predicting the future of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Ecological selection ubiquitously shapes communities by selecting for individuals with the most suitable trait combinations. Detecting selection types on key traits across environmental gradients and over time has the potential to reveal the underlying abiotic and biotic drivers of community dynamics. Here, we present a model-based predictive framework to quantify the multidimensional trait distributions of communities (community trait spaces), which we use to identify ecological selection types shaping communities along environmental gradients. We apply the framework to over 3600 boreal forest understory plant communities with results indicating that directional, stabilizing, and divergent selection all modify community trait distributions and that the selection type acting on individual traits may change over time. Our results provide novel and rare empirical evidence for divergent selection within a natural system. Our approach provides a framework for identifying key traits under selection and facilitates the detection of processes underlying community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elina Kaarlejärvi
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Malcolm Itter
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Tiina Tonteri
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Leena Hamberg
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Maija Salemaa
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Päivi Merilä
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jarno Vanhatalo
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anna-Liisa Laine
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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3
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Oliveira EVDS, Landim MF, Gouveia SF. Assembly structures of coastal woody species of eastern South America: Patterns and drivers. PLANT DIVERSITY 2024; 46:611-620. [PMID: 39290883 PMCID: PMC11403147 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2024.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024]
Abstract
Tropical regions have provided new insights into how ecological communities are assembled. In dry coastal communities, water stress has been hypothesized to determine plant assembly structure by favoring preadapted lineages from neighboring ecosystems, consistent with functional clustering. However, it is unclear whether this hypothesis is sufficient to explain how coastal communities in tropical ecosystems are assembled. Here, we test whether water stress or other factors drive community assembly in woody plant communities across the coastal zone of Brazil, a tropical ecosystem. We characterized functional and phylogenetic structures of these communities and determined the underlying environmental factors (e.g., water stress, historical climate stability, edaphic constraints, and habitat heterogeneity) that drive their community assembly. Assemblages of coastal woody species show geographically varied patterns, including stochastic arrangements, clustering, and overdispersion of species relative to their traits and phylogenetic relatedness. Topographic complexity, water vapor pressure, and soil nutrient availability best explained the gradient in the functional structure. Water deficit, water vapor pressure, and soil organic carbon were the best predictors of variation in phylogenetic structure. Our results support the water-stress conservatism hypothesis on functional and phylogenetic structure, as well as the effect of habitat heterogeneity on functional structure and edaphic constraints on functional and phylogenetic structure. These effects are associated with increased phenotypic and phylogenetic divergence of woody plant assemblages, which is likely mediated by abiotic filtering and niche opportunities, suggesting a complex pattern of ecological assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Vinícius da Silva Oliveira
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of Biodiversity (INCT-EECBio), Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
| | | | - Sidney F Gouveia
- National Institute of Science and Technology Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of Biodiversity (INCT-EECBio), Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
- Department of Ecology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil
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4
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Xiong X, Feng L, Huang J, Wan W, Yang Y, Liu W. Species pool and local assembly processes drive β diversity of ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying microbial communities in rivers along a latitudinal gradient. Mol Ecol 2024:e17516. [PMID: 39188110 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024]
Abstract
Both regional species pool and local community assembly mechanism drive the microbial diversity patterns across geographical gradients. However, little has been done to separate their effects on the β diversity patterns of microbial communities involved in nitrogen (N) cycling in river ecosystems. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing of the archaeal amoA, bacterial amoA, nirK, and nirS genes, null model, and neutral community model to distinguish the relative importance of species pool and local assembly processes for ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying communities in river wetlands along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China. Results indicated that the β diversity of the nirS-type denitrifying community co-varied with γ diversity and environmental heterogeneity, implying that regional species pool and heterogeneous selection explained variation in β diversity. However, the β diversity of ammonia-oxidizing and nirK-type denitrifying communities did not correlate with γ diversity and environmental heterogeneity. The continuous hump distribution of β deviation along the latitudinal gradient and the lower species dispersal rate indicated that the dispersal limitation shaped the variation in β diversity of ammonia-oxidizing and nirK-type denitrifying communities. Additionally, biotic interactions drove ammonia-oxidizing and nirS-type denitrifying communities by influencing species co-occurrence patterns. Our study highlights the importance of regional species pool and local community assembly processes in shaping geographical patterns of N-cycling microorganisms and extends knowledge of their adaptability to a continuously changing environment on a large scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Danjiangkou Wetland Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
| | - Lian Feng
- College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa, China
| | - Jieya Huang
- College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa, China
| | - Wenjie Wan
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Danjiangkou Wetland Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuyi Yang
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Danjiangkou Wetland Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
| | - Wenzhi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Danjiangkou Wetland Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
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Ibalim S, Toko PS, Segar ST, Sagata K, Koane B, Miller SE, Novotny V, Janda M. Phylogenetic structure of moth communities (Geometridae, Lepidoptera) along a complete rainforest elevational gradient in Papua New Guinea. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0308698. [PMID: 39133743 PMCID: PMC11318904 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
We use community phylogenetics to elucidate the community assembly mechanisms for Geometridae moths (Lepidoptera) collected along a complete rainforest elevational gradient (200-3700 m a.s.l) on Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea. A constrained phylogeny based on COI barcodes for 604 species was used to analyse 1390 species x elevation occurrences at eight elevational sites separated by 500 m elevation increments. We obtained Nearest Relatedness Index (NRI), Nearest Taxon Index (NTI) and Standardised Effect Size of Faith's Phylogenetic Diversity (SES.PD) and regressed these on temperature, plant species richness and predator abundance as key abiotic and biotic predictors. We also quantified beta diversity in the moth communities between elevations using the Phylogenetic Sorensen index. Overall, geometrid communities exhibited phylogenetic clustering, suggesting environmental filters, particularly at higher elevations at and above 2200 m a.s.l and no evidence of overdispersion. NRI, NTI and SES.PD showed no consistent trends with elevation or the studied biotic and abiotic variables. Change in community structure was driven by turnover of phylogenetic beta-diversity, except for the highest 2700-3200 m elevations, which were characterised by nested subsets of lower elevation communities. Overall, the elevational signal of geometrid phylogeny was weak-moderate. Additional insect community phylogeny studies are needed to understand this pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sentiko Ibalim
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Pagi S. Toko
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Simon T. Segar
- Department of Crop and Environment Sciences, Harper Adams University, Newport, United Kingdom
| | - Katayo Sagata
- PNG Institute of Biological Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Bonny Koane
- New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Scott E. Miller
- Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Vojtech Novotny
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Janda
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
- Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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6
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Guilbeault-Mayers X, Laliberté E. Root phosphatase activity is coordinated with the root conservation gradient across a phosphorus gradient in a lowland tropical forest. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:636-647. [PMID: 38320974 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19567] [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: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Soil phosphorus (P) is a growth-limiting nutrient in tropical ecosystems, driving diverse P-acquisition strategies among plants. Particularly, mining for inorganic P through phosphomonoesterase (PME) activity is essential, given the substantial proportion of organic P in soils. Yet, the relationship between PME activity and other nutrient-acquisition root traits remains unclear. We measured root PME activity and commonly measured root traits, including root diameter, specific root length (SRL), root tissue density (RTD), and nitrogen concentration ([N]) in 18 co-occurring species across soils with varying P availability to better understand trees response to P supply. Root [N] and RTD were inversely related, and that axis was not clearly related to soil P supply. Both traits, however, correlated positively and negatively with PME activity, which responded strongly to P supply. Conversely, root diameter was inversely related to SRL, but this axis was not related to P supply. This pattern suggests that limiting similarity influenced variation along the diameter-SRL axis, explaining local trait diversity. Meanwhile, variation along the root [N]-RTD axis might best reflect environmental filtering. Overall, P availability indicator traits such as PME activity and root hairs only tended to be associated with these axes, highlighting limitations of these axes in describing convergent adaptations at local sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Guilbeault-Mayers
- Département de sciences biologiques, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B1, Canada
| | - Etienne Laliberté
- Département de sciences biologiques, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B1, Canada
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7
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Zheng C, Shi H, Wei J, Cui M, Lin Z, Gao Y, Yuan L, Wen Z. Evidence that spatial scale and environment factors explain grassland community assembly in woodland-grassland ecotones. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11644. [PMID: 38962022 PMCID: PMC11221066 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
How communities of living organisms assemble has long been a central question in ecology. The impact of habitat filtering and limiting similarity on plant community structures is well known, as both processes are influenced by individual responses to environmental fluctuations. Yet, the precise identifications and quantifications of the potential abiotic and biotic factors that shape community structures at a fine scale remains a challenge. Here, we applied null model approaches to assess the importance of habitat filtering and limiting similarity at two spatial scales. We used 63 natural vegetation plots, each measuring 5 × 5 m, with three nested subplots measuring 1 × 1 m, from the 2021 field survey, to examine the alpha diversity as well as beta diversity of plots and subplots. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to determine the impact of environmental variables on assembly rules. Our results demonstrate that habitat filtering is the dominant assembly rules at both the plot and subplot levels, although limiting similarity assumes stronger at the subplot level. Plot-level limiting similarity exhibited a positive association with fine-scale partitioning, suggesting that trait divergence originated from a combination of limiting similarity and spatial partitioning. Our findings also reveal that the community assembly varies more strongly with the mean annual temperature gradient than the mean annual precipitation. This investigation provides a pertinent illustration of non-random assembly rules from spatial scale and environmental factors in plant communities in the loess hilly region. It underscores the critical influence of spatial and environmental constraints in understanding the assembly of plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Zheng
- College of Grassland AgricultureNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Haijing Shi
- Institute of Soil and Water ConservationChinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water ResourcesYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
- Institute of Soil and Water ConservationNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Jiaqi Wei
- College of Grassland AgricultureNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Mengying Cui
- College of Grassland AgricultureNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Ziqi Lin
- College of Grassland AgricultureNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Institute of Soil and Water ConservationChinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water ResourcesYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Liuhuan Yuan
- College of Grassland AgricultureNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
| | - Zhongming Wen
- College of Grassland AgricultureNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
- Institute of Soil and Water ConservationChinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water ResourcesYanglingShaanxiPeople's Republic of China
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8
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Dallstream C, Soper FM. Integrating edaphic gradients and community assembly concepts into the multidimensional root trait space. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:509-512. [PMID: 38549514 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
This article is a Commentary on Guilbeault‐Mayers & Laliberté (2024), 243: 636–647.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Dallstream
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Fiona M Soper
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
- Bieler School of the Environment, McGill University, 3534 Rue University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2A7, Canada
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9
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Braun J, Lortie CJ. Environmental filtering mediates desert ant community assembly at two spatial scales. Oecologia 2024; 205:231-244. [PMID: 38761196 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05559-2] [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: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms that maintain species coexistence and determine patterns of community assembly are fundamental goals of ecology. Quantifying the relationship between species traits and stress gradients is a necessary step to disentangle assembly processes and to be able to predict the outcome of environmental change. We examined the hypothesis that desert ant communities are assembled by niche-based processes i.e., environmental filtering and limiting similarity. First, we used population-level morphological trait measurements to study the functional structure of ant communities along a dryland environmental stress gradient. Second, we developed species distribution models for each species to quantify large-scale climatic niche overlap between species. Body, femur, antennal scape, and head lengths were correlated with environmental gradients. Regionally, the ant community was significantly and functionally overdispersed in terms of morphological traits which suggests the importance of competition to ant community structure. Ant community assembly was also strongly influenced by environmental factors as the degree of functional trait divergence, but not phylogenetic divergence, decreased with increasing environmental stress. Thus, environmental stress likely mediates limiting similarity in these desert ecosystems. Species with lower climatic niche overlap were more dissimilar in morphological traits. This suggests that environmental filtering on ant functional traits is important at the scale of species distributions in addition to regional scales. This study shows that environmental and biotic filtering (i.e., niche-based assembly mechanisms) are jointly and non-independently structuring the ant community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna Braun
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - C J Lortie
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
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10
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Klimešová J, Herben T. Belowground morphology as a clue for plant response to disturbance and productivity in a temperate flora. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 242:61-76. [PMID: 38358032 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19584] [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: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Plants possess a large variety of nonacquisitive belowground organs, such as rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, and coarse roots. These organs determine a whole set of functions that are decisive in coping with climate, productivity, disturbance, and biotic interactions, and have been hypothesized to affect plant distribution along environmental gradients. We assembled data on belowground organ morphology for 1712 species from Central Europe and tested these hypotheses by quantifying relationships between belowground morphologies and species optima along ecological gradients related to productivity and disturbance. Furthermore, we linked these data with species co-occurrence in 30 115 vegetation plots from the Czech Republic to determine relationships between belowground organ diversity and these gradients. The strongest gradients determining belowground organ distribution were disturbance severity and frequency, light, and moisture. Nonclonal perennials and annuals occupy much smaller parts of the total environmental space than major types of clonal plants. Forest habitats had the highest diversity of co-occurring belowground morphologies; in other habitats, the diversity of belowground morphologies was generally lower than the random expectation. Our work shows that nonacquisitive belowground organs may be partly responsible for plant environmental niches. This adds a new dimension to the plant trait spectrum, currently based on acquisitive traits (leaves and fine roots) only.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jitka Klimešová
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Třeboň, CZ-379 82, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Benátská 2, Praha 2, CZ-128 01, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Herben
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Benátská 2, Praha 2, CZ-128 01, Czech Republic
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic
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11
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Liu S, Zhou T, Tan X, Mtemi WM, Jiang A. Stochastic processes shape the functional and phylogenetic structure of bird assemblages at the mine area in southwest China. Curr Zool 2024; 70:204-213. [PMID: 38726258 PMCID: PMC11078063 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms of community assembly is a key question in ecology. Metal pollution may result in significant changes in bird community structure and diversity, with implications for ecosystem processes and function. However, the relative importance of these processes in shaping the bird community at the polluted area is still not clear. Here, we explored bird species richness, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, and the assembly processes of community at the mine region of southwest China. Our results showed that the 3 dimensions of diversity at the mine area were lower than that at the reference sites. In the community assembly, the result was 0 < NRI/ NFRI < 1.96, which indicated deterministic processes (environmental filtering) might drive community clustering. The results of the neutral community model, and normalized stochasticity ratio, showed the dominant role of stochastic processes in shaping the bird community assembly. We further quantified the community-level habitat niche breadth (Bcom), and we found that there was no difference in Bcom-value between the mine area and reference sites. This indicates that the bird communities at the mine area and 3 reference sites were not subjected to extreme environmental selection (same or different resource allocation) to form a highly specialized niche. These findings provide insights into the distribution patterns and dominant ecological processes of bird communities under metal exposure, and extend the knowledge in community assembly mechanisms of bird communities living in the mine area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilong Liu
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 East University Road, Xixiangtang District, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Tianlong Zhou
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 East University Road, Xixiangtang District, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Xiaocai Tan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 East University Road, Xixiangtang District, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Wambura M Mtemi
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 East University Road, Xixiangtang District, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Aiwu Jiang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 East University Road, Xixiangtang District, Nanning 530004, China
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12
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Cheng J, Lončarević I, Cronberg N. Interspecific competition affects spore germination and gametophore development of mosses. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2024; 3:91. [PMID: 37810270 PMCID: PMC10558986 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.16004.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Background Interactions between moss species in their earliest growth stages have received little attention. To what extent interspecific competition or priority effects influence spore germination, protonemal development and gametophore emergence is unknown. We evaluated such effects in pairwise interaction between six common bryophyte species: Atrichum undulatum, Bryum argenteum, Ceratodon purpureus, Funaria hygrometrica, Hypnum cupressiforme, Leptobryum pyriforme. Methods Interspecific interactions were assessed in vitro. Spores were sterilized and sown on agar plates in three treatments: 1) as single species cultures (controls), 2) as pairwise species cultures inoculated simultaneously, and 3) with a time lag of 20 days between species. Data on time needed for spore germination, germination rate, the time needed for gametophore differentiation, number of gametophores per germinated spore and average diameter of colonies were collected. We also performed spore germination tests in single-species cultures at the start and end of the study, as well as tests for density-dependency at spore germination and gametophore formation. Results We observed strong pairwise interactive effects when sowing spores of different species simultaneously or with a delay of 20 days. The results indicate that spore germination is often inhibited by interspecific competition. The first species has an advantage as compared to the later colonizing species, i.e., an apparent priority effect. Interspecific interactions were also evident during gametophore development and included both inhibition and facilitation. Conclusion We found pronounced differences in the relative performance of species in interaction with other species during spore germination and gametophore formation. Allelopathic effects are the most probable explanation for these observations. Our results under sterile lab conditions are likely to reflect processes that occur in the wild, governing biotic filtering and bryophyte community assembly during primary and secondary colonization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingmin Cheng
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Nils Cronberg
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Kim D, Kwak JI, Lee TY, Kim L, Kim H, Nam SH, Hwang W, Wee J, Lee YH, Kim S, Kim JI, Hong S, Hyun S, Jeong SW, An YJ. TRIAD method to assess ecological risks of contaminated soils in abandoned mine sites. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 461:132535. [PMID: 37714001 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Site-specific soil ecological risk assessment is important for protecting soil ecosystems because it reflects the environmental factors at the site to detect ecological risks and develop risk management measures. This study assessed the ecological risks from chemical pollutants in abandoned mine sites using the TRIAD approach, evaluating its overall applicability, including the tiered system of assessment. A site-specific soil ecological risk assessment was conducted for five abandoned mine sites (Sites 1-4 and R, the reference site); integrated risks (IRs) for each site were calculated. Our results of the Tier 2 assessment showed that IRs at Sites 1-4 were 0.701, 0.758, 0.840, and 0.429, respectively. The IR classification was moderate, high, high, and low risk, in that order for Sites 1-4, the same as that for Tier 1. The IR had more varied analyses, emphasizing the significance of conducting higher tiered analyses under TRIAD while maintaining a balance between soil ecosystem protection and socioeconomic costs. Multiple analyses reduced the uncertainty of IR, thus enabling efficient risk management decision-making to protect soil ecosystems. Our study provides a basis for using the TRIAD for soil assessment and establishing policies for site-specific soil ecological risk assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dokyung Kim
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Il Kwak
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae-Yang Lee
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Lia Kim
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Haemi Kim
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Sun Hwa Nam
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Wonjae Hwang
- Ojeong Resilience Institute, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - June Wee
- Ojeong Resilience Institute, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong Ho Lee
- Humanities and Ecology Consensus Resilience Laboratory, Hankyong National University, Anseong 17579, Republic of Korea
| | - Songhee Kim
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-In Kim
- Soil and Groundwater Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Republic of Korea
| | - Sunhee Hong
- Department of Plant Resources and Landscape, Hankyong National University, Anseong 17579, Republic of Korea
| | - Seunghun Hyun
- Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-Ro, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Woo Jeong
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea
| | - Youn-Joo An
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
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14
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Davison J, Gerz M, Hiiesalu I, Moora M, Semchenko M, Zobel M. Niche types and community assembly. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14327. [PMID: 37819920 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14327] [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: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Studies of niche differentiation and biodiversity often focus on a few niche dimensions due to the methodological challenge of describing hyperdimensional niche space. However, this may limit our understanding of community assembly processes. We used the full spectrum of realized niche types to study arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities: distinguishing abiotic and biotic, and condition and resource, axes. Estimates of differentiation in relation to different niche types were only moderately correlated. However, coexisting taxon niches were consistently less differentiated than expected, based on a regional null model, indicating the importance of habitat filtering at that scale. Nonetheless, resource niches were relatively more differentiated than condition niches, which is consistent with the effect of a resource niche-based coexistence mechanism. Considering niche types, and in particular distinguishing resource and condition niches, provides a more complete understanding of community assembly, compared with studying individual niche axes or the full niche.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Davison
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Maret Gerz
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Inga Hiiesalu
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mari Moora
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Marina Semchenko
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martin Zobel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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15
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Saccò M, Mammola S, Altermatt F, Alther R, Bolpagni R, Brancelj A, Brankovits D, Fišer C, Gerovasileiou V, Griebler C, Guareschi S, Hose GC, Korbel K, Lictevout E, Malard F, Martínez A, Niemiller ML, Robertson A, Tanalgo KC, Bichuette ME, Borko Š, Brad T, Campbell MA, Cardoso P, Celico F, Cooper SJB, Culver D, Di Lorenzo T, Galassi DMP, Guzik MT, Hartland A, Humphreys WF, Ferreira RL, Lunghi E, Nizzoli D, Perina G, Raghavan R, Richards Z, Reboleira ASPS, Rohde MM, Fernández DS, Schmidt SI, van der Heyde M, Weaver L, White NE, Zagmajster M, Hogg I, Ruhi A, Gagnon MM, Allentoft ME, Reinecke R. Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17066. [PMID: 38273563 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17066] [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: 08/19/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Groundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Disregarding the importance of groundwater as an ecosystem ignores its critical role in preserving surface biomes. To foster timely global conservation of groundwater, we propose elevating the concept of keystone species into the realm of ecosystems, claiming groundwater as a keystone ecosystem that influences the integrity of many dependent ecosystems. Our global analysis shows that over half of land surface areas (52.6%) has a medium-to-high interaction with groundwater, reaching up to 74.9% when deserts and high mountains are excluded. We postulate that the intrinsic transboundary features of groundwater are critical for shifting perspectives towards more holistic approaches in aquatic ecology and beyond. Furthermore, we propose eight key themes to develop a science-policy integrated groundwater conservation agenda. Given ecosystems above and below the ground intersect at many levels, considering groundwater as an essential component of planetary health is pivotal to reduce biodiversity loss and buffer against climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Saccò
- Subterranean Research and Groundwater Ecology (SuRGE) Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Stefano Mammola
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), National Research Council, Verbania Pallanza, Italy
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Roman Alther
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Rossano Bolpagni
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Anton Brancelj
- Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department for Environmental Science, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| | - David Brankovits
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), National Research Council, Verbania Pallanza, Italy
| | - Cene Fišer
- SubBio Lab, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Vasilis Gerovasileiou
- Faculty of Environment, Department of Environment, Ionian University, Zakynthos, Greece
- Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Thalassocosmos, Institute of Marine Biology, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Heraklion, Greece
| | - Christian Griebler
- Department of Functional & Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Simone Guareschi
- Estación Biologica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Grant C Hose
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kathryn Korbel
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Elisabeth Lictevout
- International Groundwater Resources Assessment Center (IGRAC), Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Florian Malard
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, Univ Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Alejandro Martínez
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), National Research Council, Verbania Pallanza, Italy
| | - Matthew L Niemiller
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
| | - Anne Robertson
- School of Life and Health Sciences, Roehampton University, London, UK
| | - Krizler C Tanalgo
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Cotabato, Philippines
| | - Maria Elina Bichuette
- Laboratory of Subterranean Studies (LES), Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Špela Borko
- SubBio Lab, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Traian Brad
- Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Matthew A Campbell
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Pedro Cardoso
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Fulvio Celico
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Steven J B Cooper
- South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences and Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - David Culver
- Department of Environmental Science, American University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Tiziana Di Lorenzo
- National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research Council of Italy (IRET CNR), Florence, Italy
| | - Diana M P Galassi
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences (MESVA), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Michelle T Guzik
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Adam Hartland
- Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Ruakura, Kirikiriroa, Aotearoa, New Zealand
| | - William F Humphreys
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira
- Centro de Estudos em Biologia Subterrânea, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Enrico Lunghi
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences (MESVA), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Daniele Nizzoli
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Giulia Perina
- Subterranean Research and Groundwater Ecology (SuRGE) Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rajeev Raghavan
- Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, India
| | - Zoe Richards
- Coral Conservation and Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Ana Sofia P S Reboleira
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Melissa M Rohde
- Rohde Environmental Consulting, LLC, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Graduate Program in Environmental Science, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | | | - Susanne I Schmidt
- Department of Lake Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Mieke van der Heyde
- Subterranean Research and Groundwater Ecology (SuRGE) Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Louise Weaver
- Water & Environment Group, Institute of Environmental Science & Research Ltd., Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Nicole E White
- Subterranean Research and Groundwater Ecology (SuRGE) Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Maja Zagmajster
- SubBio Lab, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ian Hogg
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
- Canadian High Arctic Research Station, Polar Knowledge Canada, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada
| | - Albert Ruhi
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Marthe M Gagnon
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Morten E Allentoft
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Robert Reinecke
- Institute of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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16
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Novella-Fernandez R, Brandl R, Pinkert S, Zeuss D, Hof C. Seasonal variation in dragonfly assemblage colouration suggests a link between thermal melanism and phenology. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8427. [PMID: 38114459 PMCID: PMC10730518 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44106-0] [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: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenology, the seasonal timing of life events, is an essential component of diversity patterns. However, the mechanisms involved are complex and understudied. Body colour may be an important factor, because dark-bodied species absorb more solar radiation, which is predicted by the Thermal Melanism Hypothesis to enable them to thermoregulate successfully in cooler temperatures. Here we show that colour lightness of dragonfly assemblages varies in response to seasonal changes in solar radiation, with darker early- and late-season assemblages and lighter mid-season assemblages. This finding suggests a link between colour-based thermoregulation and insect phenology. We also show that the phenological pattern of dragonfly colour lightness advanced over the last decades. We suggest that changing seasonal temperature patterns due to global warming together with the static nature of solar radiation may drive dragonfly flight periods to suboptimal seasonal conditions. Our findings open a research avenue for a more mechanistic understanding of phenology and spatio-phenological impacts of climate warming on insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Novella-Fernandez
- Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department for Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences, Freising, Germany.
| | - Roland Brandl
- Department of Ecology-Animal Ecology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Pinkert
- Department of Conservation Ecology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Dirk Zeuss
- Department of Geography-Environmental Informatics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Christian Hof
- Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department for Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences, Freising, Germany
- Department of Global Change Ecology, Biocentre, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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17
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Neale Z, Rudolf VHW. Predation and competition drive trait diversity across space and time. Ecology 2023; 104:e4182. [PMID: 37786267 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
Competition should play a key role in shaping community assembly and thereby local and regional biodiversity patterns. However, identifying its relative importance and effects in natural communities is challenging because theory suggests that competition can lead to different and even opposing patterns depending on the underlying mechanisms. Here, we have taken a different approach: rather than attempting to indirectly infer competition from diversity patterns, we compared trait diversity patterns in odonate (dragonfly and damselfly) communities across different spatial and temporal scales along a natural competition-predation gradient. At the local scale (within a community), we found that trait diversity increased with the size of top predators (from invertebrates to fish). This relationship is consistent with differences in taxonomic diversity, suggesting that competition reduces local trait diversity through competitive exclusion. Spatial (across communities) and temporal (within communities over time) trait variation peaked in communities with intermediate predators indicating that both high levels of competition or predation select for trait convergence of communities. This indicates that competition acts as a deterministic force that reduces trait diversity at the local, regional, and temporal scales, which contrasts with patterns at the taxonomic level. Overall, results from this natural experiment reveal how competition and predation interact to shape biodiversity patterns in natural communities across spatial and temporal scales and provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoey Neale
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Volker H W Rudolf
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
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18
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Castro Sánchez-Bermejo P, Davrinche A, Matesanz S, Harpole WS, Haider S. Within-individual leaf trait variation increases with phenotypic integration in a subtropical tree diversity experiment. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:1390-1404. [PMID: 37710419 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Covariation of plant functional traits, that is, phenotypic integration, might constrain their variability. This was observed for inter- and intraspecific variation, but there is no evidence of a relationship between phenotypic integration and the functional variation within single plants (within-individual trait variation; WTV), which could be key to understand the extent of WTV in contexts like plant-plant interactions. We studied the relationship between WTV and phenotypic integration in c. 500 trees of 21 species in planted forest patches varying in species richness in subtropical China. Using visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIRS), we measured nine leaf morphological and chemical traits. For each tree, we assessed metrics of single and multitrait variation to assess WTV, and we used plant trait network properties based on trait correlations to quantify phenotypic integration. Against expectations, strong phenotypic integration within a tree led to greater variation across leaves. Not only this was true for single traits, but also the dispersion in a tree's multitrait hypervolume was positively associated with tree's phenotypic integration. Surprisingly, we only detected weak influence of the surrounding tree-species diversity on these relationships. Our study suggests that integrated phenotypes allow the variability of leaf phenotypes within the organism and supports that phenotypic integration prevents maladaptive variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Castro Sánchez-Bermejo
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 06108, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Andréa Davrinche
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 06108, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Research Centre for Ecological Change (REC), Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Silvia Matesanz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - W Stanley Harpole
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 06108, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Sylvia Haider
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 06108, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of Ecology, Lüneburg, 21335, Germany
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19
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Alves-de-Lima L, Calixto ES, de Oliveira ML, Novaes LR, Almeida EAB, Torezan-Silingardi HM. Flowering Time Variation in Two Sympatric Tree Species Contributes to Avoid Competition for Pollinator Services. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3347. [PMID: 37836087 PMCID: PMC10574496 DOI: 10.3390/plants12193347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Competition is an important biological filter that can define crucial features of species' natural history, like survival and reproduction success. We evaluated in the Brazilian tropical savanna whether two sympatric and congenereric species, Qualea multiflora Mart. and Q. parviflora Mart. (Vochysiaceae), compete for pollinator services, testing whether there is a better competitor or whether plants present any anti-competitive mechanism. Additionally, we investigated the breeding system, pollinators, and flowering phenology of both species. The results showed that Q. multiflora and Q. parviflora are dependent on pollinators for fruit formation, as they exhibited a self-incompatible and non-agamospermic breeding system. These plants shared the same guild of pollinators, which was formed by bees and hummingbirds, and an overlap in the flower visitation time was observed. Each plant species had different pollinator attraction strategies: Q. multiflora invested in floral resource quality, while Q. parviflora invested in resource quantity. The blooming time showed a temporal flowering partition, with highly sequential flowering and no overlap. Qualea parviflora bloomed intensely from September to October, while Q. multiflora bloomed from November to January, with the flowering peak occurring in December. The two Qualea species have morphologically similar flowers, are sympatric, and share the same pollinator community, with overlapping foraging activity during the day. However, they do not compete for pollinator services as they exhibit an anti-competitive mechanism mediated by temporal flowering partition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Alves-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38400-902, MG, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Soares Calixto
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, SP, Brazil
- Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 3261, USA
| | - Marcos Lima de Oliveira
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38400-902, MG, Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, SP, Brazil
| | - Letícia Rodrigues Novaes
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38400-902, MG, Brazil
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla, 41009 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Eduardo A. B. Almeida
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, SP, Brazil
| | - Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38400-902, MG, Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, SP, Brazil
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Choi S, Yang JW, Kim JE, Jeon H, Shin S, Wui D, Kim LS, Kim BJ, Son H, Min K. Infectivity and stress tolerance traits affect community assembly of plant pathogenic fungi. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1234724. [PMID: 37692392 PMCID: PMC10486888 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1234724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how ecological communities assemble is an urgent research priority. In this study, we used a community ecology approach to examine how ecological and evolutionary processes shape biodiversity patterns of plant pathogenic fungi, Fusarium graminearum and F. asiaticum. High-throughput screening revealed that the isolates had a wide range of phenotypic variation in stress tolerance traits. Net Relatedness Index (NRI) and Nearest Taxon Index (NTI) values were computed based on stress-tolerant distance matrices. Certain local regions exhibited positive values of NRI and NTI, indicating phenotypic clustering within the fungal communities. Competition assays of the pooled strains were conducted to investigate the cause of clustering. During stress conditions and wheat colonization, only a few strains dominated the fungal communities, resulting in reduced diversity. Overall, our findings support the modern coexistence theory that abiotic stress and competition lead to phenotypic similarities among coexisting organisms by excluding large, low-competitive clades. We suggest that agricultural environments and competition for host infection lead to locally clustered communities of plant pathogenic fungi in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoung Choi
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Wook Yang
- Crop Cultivation and Environment Research Division, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Eun Kim
- Research Institute of Climate Change and Agriculture, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeju, Republic of Korea
| | - Hosung Jeon
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Soobin Shin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dayoun Wui
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Lee Seul Kim
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung Joo Kim
- Crop Cultivation and Environment Research Division, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hokyoung Son
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyunghun Min
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Yoneya K, Miki T, Katayama N. Plant volatiles and priority effects interactively determined initial community assembly of arthropods on multiple willow species. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10270. [PMID: 37492458 PMCID: PMC10364932 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant traits, which are often species specific, can serve as environmental filtering for community assembly on plants. At the same time, the species identity of the initially colonizing arthropods would vary between plant individuals, which would subsequently influence colonizing arthropods and community development in the later stages. However, it remains unclear whether interindividual divergence due to priority effects is equally important as plant trait-specific environmental filtering in the initial stages. In this study, we propose that plant volatile organic compounds (PVOCs) may play a crucial role as an environmental filter in the initial stages of community assembly, which can prevent the community assembly process from being purely stochastic. To test this hypothesis, we conducted short term but highly frequent monitoring (19 observations over 9 days) of arthropod community assembly on intact individuals of six willow species in a common garden. PVOC compositions were analyzed before starting the experiment and compared with arthropod compositions occurring on Days 1-2 of the experiment (earliest colonizer community) and those occurring on Days 8-9 of the experiment (subsequent colonizer community). Unintentionally, deer herbivory also occurred at night of Day 2. Distance-based statistics demonstrated that PVOC compositions were plant species specific, but neither the earliest colonizer nor the subsequent colonizer community composition could be explained by plant species identity. Rather, Procrustes analysis showed that both the PVOC composition and that of the earliest colonizer community can be used to explain the subsequent colonizer community. In addition, the linkage between PVOCs and the subsequent colonizer community was stronger on individuals with deer herbivory. These findings indicate that PVOCs have widespread effects on initial community assembly, as well as priority effects brought on by stochastic immigration, and that plant species identity only has weak and indirect effects on the actual composition of the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kinuyo Yoneya
- Faculty of AgricultureKindai UniversityNaraJapan
- Center for Biodiversity ScienceRyukoku UniversityOtsuJapan
| | - Takeshi Miki
- Center for Biodiversity ScienceRyukoku UniversityOtsuJapan
- Faculty of Advanced Science and TechnologyRyukoku UniversityOtsuJapan
| | - Noboru Katayama
- General EducationFaculty of CommerceOtaru University of CommerceOtaruJapan
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22
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Tripathi R, Reza A, Mertel A, Su G, Calabrese JM. A network-based approach to identifying correlations between phylogeny, morphological traits and occurrence of fish species in US river basins. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287482. [PMID: 37352314 PMCID: PMC10289417 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The complex network framework has been successfully used to model interactions between entities in Complex Systems in the Biological Sciences such as Proteomics, Genomics, Neuroscience, and Ecology. Networks of organisms at different spatial scales and in different ecosystems have provided insights into community assembly patterns and emergent properties of ecological systems. In the present work, we investigate two questions pertaining to fish species assembly rules in US river basins, a) if morphologically similar fish species also tend to be phylogenetically closer, and b) to what extent are co-occurring species that are phylogenetically close also morphologically similar? For the first question, we construct a network of Hydrologic Unit Code 8 (HUC8) regions as nodes with interaction strengths (edges) governed by the number of common species. For each of the modules of this network, which are found to be geographically separated, there is differential yet significant evidence that phylogenetic distance predicts morphological distance. For the second question, we construct and analyze nearest neighbor directed networks of species based on their morphological distances and phylogenetic distances. Through module detection on these networks and comparing the module-level mean phylogenetic distance and mean morphological distance with the number of basins of common occurrence of species in modules, we find that both phylogeny and morphology of species have significant roles in governing species co-occurrence, i.e. phylogenetically and morphologically distant species tend to co-exist more. In addition, between the two quantities (morphological distance and phylogentic distance), we find that morphological distance is a stronger determinant of species co-occurrences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richa Tripathi
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Görlitz, Germany
| | - Amit Reza
- Nikhef, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Institute for Gravitational and Subatomic Physics (GRASP), Utrecht University, CC Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Adam Mertel
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Görlitz, Germany
| | - Guohuan Su
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Görlitz, Germany
| | - Justin M. Calabrese
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Görlitz, Germany
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
- Dept. of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States of America
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23
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Wu GL, Fang H, Cui Z, Zhao J. Warming-driven indirect effects on alpine grasslands: short-term gravel encroachment rapidly reshapes community structure and reduces community stability. Oecologia 2023:10.1007/s00442-023-05393-y. [PMID: 37258693 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05393-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The community stability is the main ability to resist and be resilient to climate changes. In a world of climate warming and melting glaciers, alpine gravel encroachment was occurring universally and threatening hillside grassland ecosystem. Gravel encroachment caused by climate warming and glacial melting may alter community structure and community stability in alpine meadow. Yet, the effects of climate warming-induced gravel encroachment on grassland communities are unknown. Here, a 1-year short-term field experiment was conducted to explore the early stage drive process of gravel encroachment on community structure and stability at four different gravel encroachment levels 0%, 30%, 60%, and 90% gravel coverage at an alpine meadow on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau, by analyzing the changes of dominant species stability and species asynchrony to the simulated gravel encroachment processes. Gravel encroachment rapidly changed the species composition and species ranking of alpine meadow plant community in a short period of time. Specifically, community stability of alpine meadow decreased by 61.78-79.48%, which may be due to the reduced dominant species stability and species asynchrony. Species asynchrony and dominant species stability were reduced by 2.65-17.39% and 46.51-67.97%, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that gravel encroachment presents a severe negative impact on community structure and stability of alpine meadow in the short term, the longer term and comprehensive study should be conducted to accurate prediction of global warming-induced indirect effects on alpine grassland ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gao-Lin Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, No. 26, Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100, China.
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resource, Yangling, 712100, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, 710061, China.
| | - Hui Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, No. 26, Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Zeng Cui
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resource, Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Jingxue Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
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Chai Y, Qiu S, Wang K, Xu J, Guo Y, Wang M, Yue M, Wang M, Zhu J. Partitioning and integrating of plant traits and phylogeny in assessing diversity along secondary forest succession in Loess Plateau of China. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10055. [PMID: 37181202 PMCID: PMC10170657 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Assessing plant diversity during community succession based on plant trait and phylogenetic features within a community (alpha scale) and among communities (beta scale) could improve our understanding of community succession mechanism. However, whether changes of community functional diversity at alpha and beta scale are structured by different traits and whether integrating plant traits and phylogeny can enhance the ability in detecting diversity pattern have not been studied in detail. Thirty plots representing different successional stages were established on the Loess Plateau of China and 15 functional traits were measured for all coexisting species. We first analyzed the functional alpha and beta diversity along succession by decomposing species trait into alpha and beta components and then integrated key traits with phylogenetic information to explore their roles in shaping species turnover during community succession. We found that functional alpha diversity increased along successional stages and was structured by morphological traits, while beta diversity decreased during succession and was more structured by stoichiometry traits. Phylogenetic alpha diversity showed congruent pattern with functional alpha diversity because of phylogenetic conservation of trait alpha components (variation within community), while beta diversity showed incongruent pattern due to phylogenetic randomness of trait beta components (variation among communities). Furthermore, only integrating relatively conserved traits (plant height and seed mass) and phylogenetic information can raise the detecting ability in assessing diversity change. Overall, our results reveal the increasing niche differentiation within community and functional convergence among communities with succession process, indicating the importance of matching traits with scale in studying community functional diversity and the asymmetry of traits and phylogeny in reflecting species ecological differences under long-term selection pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongfu Chai
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western ChinaNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- School of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Shen Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western ChinaNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- School of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Kaiyue Wang
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western ChinaNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- School of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Jinshi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western ChinaNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- School of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Yaoxin Guo
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western ChinaNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- School of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Mao Wang
- College of Grassland and Environment SciencesXinjiang Agricultural UniversityUrumchiChina
| | - Ming Yue
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western ChinaNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- School of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Mingjie Wang
- Shuanglong State‐owned Ecological Experimental Forest Station of Qiaoshan State‐owned Forestry Administration of Yan'an CityYan'anChina
| | - Jiangang Zhu
- Shuanglong State‐owned Ecological Experimental Forest Station of Qiaoshan State‐owned Forestry Administration of Yan'an CityYan'anChina
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25
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Aragón L, Messier J, Atuesta-Escobar N, Lasso E. Tropical shrubs living in an extreme environment show convergent ecological strategies but divergent ecophysiological strategies. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 131:491-502. [PMID: 36655596 PMCID: PMC10072103 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad002] [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: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Trait-based frameworks assess plant survival strategies using different approaches. Some frameworks use functional traits to assign species to a priori defined ecological strategies. Others use functional traits as the central element of a species ecophysiological strategy. We compared these two approaches by asking: (1) what is the primary ecological strategy of three dominant co-occurring shrub species from inselbergs based on the CSR scheme, and (2) what main functional traits characterize the ecophysiological strategy of the species based on their use of carbon, water and light? METHODS We conducted our study on a Colombian inselberg. In this extreme environment with multiple stressors (high temperatures and low resource availability), we expected all species to be stress tolerant (S in the CSR scheme) and have similar ecophysiological strategies. We measured 22 anatomical, morphological and physiological leaf traits. KEY RESULTS The three species have convergent ecological strategies as measured by CSR (S, Acanthella sprucei; and S/CS, Mandevilla lancifolia and Tabebuia orinocensis) yet divergent resource-use strategies as measured by their functional traits. A. sprucei has the most conservative carbon use, risky water use and a shade-tolerant strategy. M. lancifolia has acquisitive carbon use, safe water use and a shade-tolerant strategy. T. orinocensis has intermediate carbon use, safe water use and a light-demanding strategy. Additionally, stomatal traits that are easy to measure are valuable to describe resource-use strategies because they are highly correlated with two physiological functions that are hard to measure: stomatal conductance and maximum photosynthesis per unit mass. CONCLUSIONS The two approaches provide complementary information on species strategies. Plant species can co-occur in extreme environments, such as inselbergs, because they exhibit convergent primary ecological strategies but divergent ecophysiological strategies, allowing them to use limiting resources differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Aragón
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Julie Messier
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | | | - Eloisa Lasso
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apt. 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
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26
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Lan G, Wei Y, Li Y, Wu Z. Diversity and assembly of root-associated microbiomes of rubber trees. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1136418. [PMID: 37063173 PMCID: PMC10102524 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1136418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Understanding the diversity and assembly of the microbiomes of plant roots is crucial to manipulate them for sustainable ecosystem functioning. However, there are few reports about microbial communities at a continuous fine-scale of roots for rubber trees. METHODS We investigate the structure, diversity, and assembly of bacterial and fungal communities for the soil (non-rhizosphere), rhizosphere, and rhizoplane as well as root endosphere of rubber trees using the amplicon sequencing of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) and Internally Transcribed Spacer (ITS) genes. RESULTS We show that 18.69% of bacterial and 20.20% of fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the rhizoplane derived from the endosphere and 20.64% of bacterial and 20.60% of fungal OTUs from the soil. This suggests that the rhizoplane microbial community was a mixed community of soil and endosphere microbial communities and that microorganisms can disperse bidirectionally across different compartments of the plant root. On the other hand, in the absence of an enrichment or depletion of core bacterial and fungal OTUs in the rhizosphere, little differences in microbial composition as well as a more shared microbial network structure between the soil and the rhizosphere support the theory that the rhizosphere microbial community is a subset of the soil community. A large number of functional genes (such as nitrogen fixation and nitrite reduction) and more enriched core OTUs as well as a less stable but more complex network structure were observed in the rhizoplane of rubber tree roots. This demonstrated that the rhizoplane is the most active root compartment and a hotspot for plant-soil-environment interactions. In addition, bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizoplane were more stochastic compared to the rhizosphere and soil. DISCUSSION Our study expands our understanding of root-associated microbial community structure and function, which may provide the scientific basis for sustainable agriculture through biological process management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoyu Lan
- Rubber Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China
- Tropical Forestry Ecology Group, Hainan Danzhou Tropical Agro-ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Danzhou, Hainan, China
| | - Yaqing Wei
- Rubber Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China
- College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Yuwu Li
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Zhixiang Wu
- Rubber Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China
- Tropical Forestry Ecology Group, Hainan Danzhou Tropical Agro-ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Danzhou, Hainan, China
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Estrada-Peña A, Fernández-Ruiz N. An Agenda for Research of Uncovered Epidemiological Patterns of Tick-Borne Pathogens Affecting Human Health. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:2206. [PMID: 36767573 PMCID: PMC9915995 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The panorama of ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBP) is complex due to the many interactions among vertebrates, vectors, and habitats, occurring at different scales. At a broad spatial range, climate and host availability regulate most tick processes, including questing activity, development, and survival. At a local scale, interactions are obscured by a high indeterminacy, making it arduous to record in field surveys. A solid modelling framework could translate the local/regional empirical findings into larger scales, shedding light on the processes governing the circulation of TBP. In this opinion paper, we advocate for a re-formulation of some paradigms in the research of these outstanding cycles of transmission. We propose revisiting concepts that faced criticisms or lacked solid support, together with the development of a conceptual scheme exploring the circulation of TBP under a range of conditions. We encourage (i) an adequate interpretation of the niche concept of both ticks and vertebrate/reservoir hosts interpreting the (a)biotic components that shape the tick's niche, (ii) an assessment of the role played by the communities of wild vertebrates on the circulation of pathogens, and (iii) the development of new approaches, based on state-of-the-art epidemiological concepts, to integrate findings and modelling efforts on TBP over large regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustín Estrada-Peña
- Department of Animal Pathology, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Natalia Fernández-Ruiz
- Department of Animal Pathology, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
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Sun M, Li M, Zhou Y, Liu J, Shi W, Wu X, Xie B, Deng Y, Gao Z. Nitrogen deposition enhances the deterministic process of the prokaryotic community and increases the complexity of the microbial co-network in coastal wetlands. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:158939. [PMID: 36170917 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Global nitrogen deposition has increased significantly in recent years. At present, research on the effects of different amounts and types of nitrogen deposition on soil microorganisms in coastal wetlands is scarce. In this study, based on 7 years of simulated nitrogen deposition at multiple levels (low, medium, high) and of multiple types (NH4NO3, NH4Cl, KNO3), the effects of different nitrogen deposition conditions on the diversity, community assembly processes, co-networks, and community function of soil prokaryotes in coastal wetlands were examined. The results showed that, compared with that in control, the microbial α diversity increased significantly under nitrogen deposition (P < 0.05). However, it decreased significantly in the high-NH4NO3 and high-NH4Cl treatments (P < 0.05). The deterministic process of community assembly was strengthened under the different types of nitrogen deposition. Compared with that under NH4+-N deposition, the microbial co-network under NO3--N deposition was more complex. Network stability significantly decreased under different NH4+-N deposition levels. In addition, the results of FAPROTAX functional prediction showed that microbial community functional groups associated with carbon and nitrogen cycling changed significantly (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our results emphasize that nitrogen deposition environments cause changes in soil microbial community structure and interactions, and may also affect soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, but the effects of different forms and levels of nitrogen deposition are not consistent. This study provides new insights for evaluating the changes in soil microbial communities in coastal wetlands caused by different types of long-term nitrogen deposition, and has scientific significance for assessing the ecological effects of long-term nitrogen deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyue Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China
| | - Mingcong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; Shandong Engineering Research Center of Plant-Microbia Restoration for Saline-alkali Land, Tai'an 271018, China
| | - Yuqi Zhou
- Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Jiai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China
| | - Wenchong Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China
| | | | - Baohua Xie
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, CAS, Shandong provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, Shandong, China; Yellow River Delta Field Observation and Research Station of Coastal Wetland Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dongying 257500, China.
| | - Ye Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Zheng Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China; Shandong Engineering Research Center of Plant-Microbia Restoration for Saline-alkali Land, Tai'an 271018, China.
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29
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Trindade DPF, Carmona CP, Reitalu T, Pärtel M. Observed and dark diversity dynamics over millennial time scales: fast life-history traits linked to expansion lags of plants in northern Europe. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221904. [PMID: 36629107 PMCID: PMC9832556 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1904] [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: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Global change drivers (e.g. climate and land use) affect the species and functional traits observed in a local site but also its dark diversity-the set of species and traits locally suitable but absent. Dark diversity links regional and local scales and, over time, reveals taxa under expansion lags by depicting the potential biodiversity that remains suitable but is absent locally. Since global change effects on biodiversity are both spatially and temporally scale dependent, examining long-term temporal dynamics in observed and dark diversity would be relevant to assessing and foreseeing biodiversity change. Here, we used sedimentary pollen data to examine how both taxonomic and functional observed and dark diversity changed over the past 14 500 years in northern Europe. We found that taxonomic and functional observed and dark diversity increased over time, especially after the Late Glacial and during the Late Holocene. However, dark diversity dynamics revealed expansion lags related to species' functional characteristics (dispersal limitation and stress intolerance) and an extensive functional redundancy when compared to taxa in observed diversity. We highlight that assessing observed and dark diversity dynamics is a promising tool to examine biodiversity change across spatial scales, its possible causes, and functional consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego P. F. Trindade
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Juhan Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Carlos P. Carmona
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Juhan Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Triin Reitalu
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Juhan Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
- Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia
| | - Meelis Pärtel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Juhan Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
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Li H, Luo P, Yang H, Xie W, Luo C, Jia H, Cheng Y, Huang Y. Understanding the taxonomic homogenization of road-influenced plant assemblages in the Qionglai mountain range: A functional and phylogenetic perspective. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 13:1086185. [PMID: 36699838 PMCID: PMC9868858 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1086185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
As an increasingly prevalent form of human activity, roads drive the taxonomic homogenization of mountain plant assemblages, threatening global biodiversity. However, little is known about how mountain roads impact functional and phylogenetic beta diversity and how these effects are related to taxonomic homogenization. To understand the mechanism of taxonomic homogenization triggered by mountain roads, we used species absence/presence data from 76 plots (2 m*50 m) and values for 12 traits measured on 978 species from the interior and roadside communities in the Qionglai mountain range, one of the temperate regions with the highest plant species richness in the world. We used a structural equation modeling approach (SEM) to consider several surrogates of road disturbance (changes in soil physicochemical properties and the presence or absence of roads) and the causal relationship between three facets of beta diversity (taxonomic beta diversity, TBD; functional beta diversity, FBD and phylogenetic beta diversity, PBD). The results suggest that TBD, FBD and PBD respond inconsistently to mountain roads, despite strong positive correlations between the three facets of plant beta diversity in the study area. Compared with the interior community, the βtotal.tax and βtotal.func of the roadside community decreased by 2.54% and 2.22%, respectively, which were related to the reduction of species and trait richness differences and replacements; however, we did not find the same results when assessing the changes in βtotal.phy, which represents tip-weighted PBD (twPBD). Furthermore, the largest effect of roads on beta diversity was reflected in basal-weighted PBD (bwPBD), which decreased by 9.97%, indicating that those species with fewer extant relatives and longer evolutionary histories are more sensitive to mountain roads. Therefore, it is necessary to take targeted protection measures for ancient species in roadside communities. In addition, we believe that it is still necessary to take measures to prevent the further dispersal of nonnative species, although the presence of non-native species in roadside plots has led to small changes in three facets of beta diversity. There were causal relationships between the three facets of beta diversity, but their intensity and sign different in the SEM of different components of beta diversity (i.e., richness difference and replacement). Our findings suggest that the homogenization of community species composition at the landscape scale arises by a combination of adaptive responses of the functional traits of organisms to environmental consistency (e.g., reduced the differences in soil variables) caused by roads and resorting or reassembly of community clades composition due to environmental filtering. These results contribute to our comprehensive understanding of the impact of mountain roads on plant diversity, which highlights the complex relationship between human pressure and biodiversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honglin Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Wenwen Xie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chuan Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Honghong Jia
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Cheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Huang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Campos BH, Pilon NAL, Gonçalves L, Ivanauskas NM, Durigan G. The neglected tropical grasslands: first record of campo com murundus and its plant communities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. BIOTA NEOTROPICA 2023. [DOI: 10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2022-1401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Abstract Tropical grasslands have been systematically neglected worldwide in maps, conservation policies, and ecological studies. After eradicating invasive pine trees from a Cerrado reserve in southeastern Brazil, an unprecedented grassy ecosystem arose in recent satellite images. In the field, we confirmed the first record of wet grasslands with termite mounds – locally named campo com murundus ˗ beyond 21°S in the São Paulo state. Besides reporting this occurrence, we sampled the two plant communities forming this peculiar vegetation type (the mounds and the waterlogged matrix around them) to investigate if they are floristically and functionally distinct. We also explored how these two communities relate to those of the surrounding open vegetation types (savanna, dry and wet grassland). Woody plants were recorded on the mounds but not in the matrix, although the two communities share some ground layer species. Compared to the adjacent vegetation types, the mounds were floristically distinct and functionally more balanced in growth forms, dispersal syndrome, and tolerance to waterlogging. We hope this borderline record of campo com murundus can stimulate the search for other unnoticed remnants out of their known occurrence region, triggering efforts for their conservation and studies to improve comprehension of these iconic ecosystems.
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Madrigal-González J, Luzuriaga AL, Escudero A, Ferrandis P, Calatayud J. Warming reverses directionality in the richness-abundance relationship in ephemeral Mediterranean plant communities. Ecology 2023; 104:e3870. [PMID: 36116044 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent findings in forests worldwide have demonstrated how directionality in the richness-abundance causality shifts along global climate gradients: The so-called more-species hypothesis (richness determines abundance) prevails in Earth's most productive climates, whereas the opposite, the so-called more-individuals hypothesis (abundance determines richness), is more likely to prevail in climatically harsh conditions. Since temporal variability is the norm, a critical question is whether this directionality shift is also a function of temporal climatic fluctuations locally. Here, we analyze whether directionality in the richness-abundance relationship is contingent on temporal variability over 10 annual consecutive realizations in ephemeral plant assemblages. Our results support the idea that the more-species hypothesis prevailed in the most benign years, whereas the more-individuals hypothesis did so during less productive years, which were significantly linked to the warmest years. These results support the idea that rising temperatures can reverse directionality in the richness-abundance relationship in these annual plant communities, and therefore, climate warming can have a significant effect on the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functions, such as productivity, by altering the prevalence of primary mechanisms involved in species assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Madrigal-González
- Área de Ecología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Ecología, Parasitología, Edafología y Química agrícola, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.,Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, EiFAB, University of Valladolid, Soria, Spain
| | - Arantzazu L Luzuriaga
- Área Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física Aplicada y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Área Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física Aplicada y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Ferrandis
- Instituto Botánico de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Joaquín Calatayud
- Área Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física Aplicada y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
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López DP, Freestone AL. Biotic interactions shape trait assembly of marine communities across time and latitude. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221838. [PMID: 36541174 PMCID: PMC9768644 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1838] [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: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Assembly processes are highly dynamic with biotic filters operating more intensely at local scales, yet the strength of biotic interactions can vary across time and latitude. Predation, for example, can be stronger at lower latitudes, while competition can intensify at later stages of assembly due to resource limitation. Since biotic filters act upon functional traits of organisms, we explored trait-mediated community assembly in diverse marine assemblages from four regions along the Pacific coast of North and Central America. Using predator exclusion experiments and two assembly stages, we tested the hypotheses that non-random trait patterns would emerge during late assembly at all regions due to competition and at lower latitude regions regardless of assembly stage due to predation. As expected, trait divergence occurred in late assembly but only at higher latitude regions, while in tropical Panama, relaxed predation caused trait divergence during late assembly. Moreover, colonizing trait strategies were common during early assembly while competitive strategies were favoured during late assembly at higher latitude regions. Predation-resistant traits were only favoured in Panama during both assembly stages. Our large-scale manipulative study demonstrates that different biotic interactions across time and latitude can have important consequences for trait assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana P. López
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Amy L. Freestone
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
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Hou W, He M, Qi Y, Liu T, Luo J. Soil nematode community assembly in a primary tropical lowland rainforest. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1034829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
More than half of the world's tropical lowland rainforests have been lost due to conversion to agricultural land (such as rubber plantations). Thus, ecological restoration in degraded tropical lowland rainforests is crucial. The first step to restoration is restoring soil functioning (i.e., soil fertility, carbon, and nitrogen cycling) to levels similar to those in the primary tropical lowland rainforest. This requires understanding soil nematode community assembly in primary tropical lowland rainforest, which has never been explored in this habitat. In this study, we measured species compositions of plant and soil nematode communities and soil characteristics (pH, total and available nitrogen, phosphorus, and soil water content) in a primary tropical lowland rainforest, which is located on Hainan Island, China. We performed two tests (the null-model test and distance-based Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) and redundancy analysis-based variance partitioning) to quantify the relative contribution of the deterministic (abiotic filtering and biotic interactions) and stochastic processes (random processes and dispersal limitation) to the soil nematode community. We found that a deterministic process (habitat filtering) determined nematode community assembly in our tropical lowland rainforest. Moreover, soil properties, but not plant diversity, were the key determinants of nematode community assembly. We have, for the first time, managed to identify factors that contribute to the nematode community assembly in the tropical lowland rainforest. This quantified community assembly mechanism can guide future soil functioning recovery of the tropical lowland rainforest.
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Olszewski P, Puchałka R, Sewerniak P, Koprowski M, Ulrich W. Does intraspecific trait variability affect understorey plant community assembly? ACTA OECOLOGICA 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2022.103863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Ben Saadi C, Cayuela L, Bañares de Dios G, de Aledo JG, Matas-Granados L, Salinas N, La Torre Cuadros MDLÁ, Macía MJ. Latitudinal patterns and environmental drivers of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of woody plants in western Amazonian terra firme forests. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:978299. [PMID: 36275574 PMCID: PMC9585299 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.978299] [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: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Elucidating how environmental factors drive plant species distributions and how they affect latitudinal diversity gradients, remain essential questions in ecology and biogeography. In this study we aimed: 1) to investigate the relationships between all three diversity attributes, i.e., taxonomic diversity (TD), functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD); 2) to quantify the latitudinal variation in these diversity attributes in western Amazonian terra firme forests; and 3) to understand how climatic and edaphic drivers contribute to explaining diversity patterns. We inventoried ca. 15,000 individuals from ca. 1,250 species, and obtained functional trait records for ca. 5,000 woody plant individuals in 50 plots of 0.1 ha located in five terra firme forest sites spread over a latitudinal gradient of 1200 km covering ca. 10°C in latitude in western Amazonia. We calculated all three diversity attributes using Hill numbers: q = 0 (richness), q = 1 (richness weighted by relative abundance), and q = 2 (richness weighted by dominance). Generalized linear mixed models were constructed for each diversity attribute to test the effects of different uncorrelated environmental predictors comprising the temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, soil pH and soil bulk density, as well as accounting for the effect of spatial autocorrelation, i.e., plots aggregated within sites. We confirmed that TD (q = 0, q = 1, and q = 2), FD (q = 0, q = 1, and q = 2), and PD (q = 0) increased monotonically towards the Equator following the latitudinal diversity gradient. The importance of rare species could explain the lack of a pattern for PD (q = 1 and q = 2). Temperature seasonality, which was highly correlated with latitude, and annual precipitation were the main environmental drivers of variations in TD, FD, and PD. All three diversity attributes increased with lower temperature seasonality, higher annual precipitation, and lower soil pH. We confirmed the existence of latitudinal diversity gradients for TD, FD, and PD in hyperdiverse Amazonian terra firme forests. Our results agree well with the predictions of the environmental filtering principle and the favourability hypothesis, even acting in a 10°C latitudinal range within tropical climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Ben Saadi
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Cayuela
- Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Guillermo Bañares de Dios
- Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Julia G. de Aledo
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Matas-Granados
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Norma Salinas
- Sección Quíımica, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
- School of Geography and Environment, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - María de los Ángeles La Torre Cuadros
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Científica del Sur, Villa el Salvador, Peru
- Departamento de Manejo Forestal, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru
| | - Manuel J. Macía
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Schamp BS, Gridzak R, Greco DA, Lavender TM, Kunasingam A, Murtha JA, Jensen AM, Pollari A, Santos L. Examining the relative influence of dispersal and competition on co-occurrence and functional trait patterns in response to disturbance. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275443. [PMID: 36206246 PMCID: PMC9544017 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Disturbance gradients are particularly useful for understanding the relative influences of competition and dispersal. Shortly after disturbance, plant composition should be influenced more strongly by dispersal than competition; over time, this should reverse, with competition becoming more important. As such, we predicted that plant functional traits associated with high dispersal ability would be over-represented shortly after a disturbance event occurs, while those associated with high competitive ability would have increased representation as time progresses. Additionally, it has been suggested that competitive interactions may contribute to negative co-occurrence patterns; if this is the case, negative co-occurrence patterns should also increase as time-since-disturbance increases. Here, we examine how functional trait and co-occurrence patterns change over time following a herbicide-based disturbance, compared to undisturbed vegetation, in a temperate, old-field grassland dominated by herbaceous perennials. In our study system, negative co-occurrence patterns were most pronounced in disturbed plots one year after herbicide application, consistent with several lines of evidence that dispersal can strongly impact both composition and co-occurrence patterns. Over three years post-disturbance, co-occurrence patterns in disturbed plots decreased, becoming more similar to control plots. This pattern is inconsistent with the expectation that competition contributes to negative co-occurrence patterns, at least over three growing seasons. More pronounced negative co-occurrence patterns were associated with higher species evenness among plots. Functional traits related to increased dispersal (mean seed mass, and proportion of stoloniferous/rhizomatous species) and competitive ability (mean species height, and mean specific leaf area) did not differ significantly across treatments, with the exception of mean height in the third-year post-disturbance; however, the overall trajectory of this trait was inconsistent with theoretical expectations. Overall, co-occurrence patterns changed across the gradient of time-since disturbance, but not as expected; functional trait patterns (trait means, functional diversity measures) were not responsive to our experimental disturbance gradient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon S. Schamp
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Riley Gridzak
- Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Danielle A. Greco
- Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Anusha Kunasingam
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joanna A. Murtha
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ashley M. Jensen
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
| | - Aksel Pollari
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lidianne Santos
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
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Guerra JG, Cabello F, Fernández-Quintanilla C, Peña JM, Dorado J. Plant functional diversity is affected by weed management through processes of trait convergence and divergence. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:993051. [PMID: 36275538 PMCID: PMC9585284 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.993051] [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: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Weed management involving tillage and/or herbicides has generally led to a decline of plant diversity in agroecosystems, with negative impacts on ecosystem services provision. The use of plant covers has become the predominant alternative in vineyard management, with numerous studies focusing on analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of plant covers compared to the aforementioned management. Although the impacts of weed management on taxonomic diversity have been widely studied, many gaps remain on their effects on plant functional diversity. As plant functional diversity is linked to the delivery of key ecosystem services in agroecosystems, understanding these effects could enable the development of more sustainable practices. From 2008 to 2018, a long-term trial was carried out in a Mediterranean vineyard to assess different agricultural practices. In this article, we examined how weed management, as well as irrigation use, could affect plant functional diversity. Based on 10 functional traits, such as plant height, specific leaf area or seed mass, we measured different indices of functional diversity and used null models to detect processes of trait convergence and divergence. Our results revealed that weed management and irrigation use had a significant effect on plant functional diversity. Mown plots showed the highest functional richness but were functionally convergent, since mowing was a strong functional filter on most of the traits. Tillage also behaved as a functional filter on some vegetative traits, but favored the divergence of certain reproductive traits. Herbicide-treated and irrigated plots showed the highest values of functional divergence by promoting more competitive species with more divergent trait values. The effect of weed management on these community assembly processes was shaped by the use of irrigation in vineyard rows, leading to functional divergence in those vegetative traits related to resource acquisition and seed mass. These results suggest that greater functional diversity may be associated with the bias caused by higher occurrence of competitive species (e.g. Convolvulus arvensis, Sonchus asper) with contrasting values for certain traits. Therefore, since these species are considered harmful to crops, higher plant functional diversity might not be a desirable indicator in agroecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose G. Guerra
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Félix Cabello
- Instituto Madrileño de Investigación y Desarrollo Rural, Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDRA), Finca El Encín, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - José M. Peña
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - José Dorado
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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Rodríguez-Pérez J, Imbert B, Peralta J. Environment and density-dependency explain the fine-scale aggregation of tree recruits before and after thinning in a mixed forest of Southern Europe. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13892. [PMID: 36117536 PMCID: PMC9477080 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Thinning in forest management primarily reduces the density of trees and alters the patchiness and spatial complexity of environmental factors and individual interactions between plant recruits. At fine spatial scales, little is known about the relative weight of ecological processes affecting tree regeneration before and after thinning events. Here we studied the density and aggregation of tree recruits in fully-mapped plots located in mixed forests in Northern Iberian Peninsula (Southern Europe) for over four years, which comprises one year before and three years after a thinning event. We applied spatial point-pattern analyses to examine (a) the aggregation of recruits, and their association with trees and (b) the relative effect of both environmental (i.e., the patchiness of the local environment) and density-dependent factors (i.e., the aggregation of trees and/or recruits) to predict the density, aggregation, and survival of recruits. We found, in thinning plots, that recruits were less dense, their aggregation pattern was more heterogeneous, were distributed randomly in respect of trees and their survival was almost unaffected by the tree proximity. By contrast, recruits in control plots were denser, were only aggregated at distances lower than 1.0 m, were closer to trees, and such closer distance to trees affected negatively in their survival. Independently of the treatment, the aggregation of recruits was chiefly determined by the density-dependent factors at less than 1.0 m and environmental factors at distances beyond that proximity. Overall, our results suggest that thinning affected the aggregation of recruits at two spatial scales: (a) by favoring the tree-recruit and recruit-recruit facilitation at less than 1.0 m and (b) by modifying spatial heterogeneity of the environment at distances beyond that proximity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Rodríguez-Pérez
- Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology (IMAB), Centro Jerónimo de Ayanz, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain,Department of Sciences, Campus Arrosadía, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Bosco Imbert
- Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology (IMAB), Centro Jerónimo de Ayanz, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain,Department of Sciences, Campus Arrosadía, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Javier Peralta
- Department of Sciences, Campus Arrosadía, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
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Ohlert T, Kimmel K, Avolio M, Chang C, Forrestel E, Gerstner B, Hobbie SE, Komastu K, Reich P, Whitney K. Exploring the impact of trait number and type on functional diversity metrics in real-world ecosystems. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272791. [PMID: 36006866 PMCID: PMC9409596 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of trait-based approaches to understand ecological communities has increased in the past two decades because of their promise to preserve more information about community structure than taxonomic methods and their potential to connect community responses to subsequent effects of ecosystem functioning. Though trait-based approaches are a powerful tool for describing ecological communities, many important properties of commonly-used trait metrics remain unexamined. Previous work in studies that simulate communities and trait distributions show consistent sensitivity of functional richness and evenness measures to the number of traits used to calculate them, but these relationships have yet to be studied in actual plant communities with a realistic distribution of trait values, ecologically meaningful covariation of traits, and a realistic number of traits available for analysis. Therefore, we propose to test how the number of traits used and the correlation between traits used in the calculation of functional diversity indices impacts the magnitude of eight functional diversity metrics in real plant communities. We will use trait data from three grassland plant communities in the US to assess the generality of our findings across ecosystems and experiments. We will determine how eight functional diversity metrics (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, functional dispersion, kernel density estimation (KDE) richness, KDE evenness, KDE dispersion, Rao's Q) differ based on the number of traits used in the metric calculation and on the correlation of traits when holding the number of traits constant. Without a firm understanding of how a scientist's choices impact these metric, it will be difficult to compare results among studies with different metric parametrization and thus, limit robust conclusions about functional composition of communities across systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Ohlert
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Kaitlin Kimmel
- Mad Agriculture, Boulder, Colorado
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Meghan Avolio
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Cynthia Chang
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, United States of America
| | - Elisabeth Forrestel
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Benjamin Gerstner
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Hobbie
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Kimberly Komastu
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, United States of America
| | - Peter Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
- Institute for Global Change Biology and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith South, NSW, Australia
| | - Kenneth Whitney
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
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41
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Fu W, Cao Y, Li X, Sun J, Liu F, Li W. The responses of riparian plant communities to environmental and spatial factors in the upper Han River basin, China. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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42
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Albor C, Ashman T, Stanley A, Martel C, Arceo‐Gómez G. Flower color and flowering phenology mediate plant‐pollinator interaction assembly in a diverse co‐flowering community. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cristopher Albor
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Calgary Calgary Alberta Canada
| | - Tia‐Lynn Ashman
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA
| | - Amber Stanley
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA
- Department of Biological Sciences East Tennessee State University Johnson City Tennessee USA
| | - Carlos Martel
- Department of Biological Sciences East Tennessee State University Johnson City Tennessee USA
- Current address: Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew London United Kingdom
| | - Gerardo Arceo‐Gómez
- Department of Biological Sciences East Tennessee State University Johnson City Tennessee USA
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43
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J PR, J L G, L PI, J M A, C AA, A LG, A R. Scale dependency of ectomycorrhizal fungal community assembly processes in Mediterranean mixed forests. MYCORRHIZA 2022; 32:315-325. [PMID: 35660964 PMCID: PMC9184349 DOI: 10.1007/s00572-022-01083-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The assembly of biological communities depends on deterministic and stochastic processes whose influence varies across spatial and temporal scales. Although ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi play a key role in forest ecosystems, our knowledge on ECM community assembly processes and their dependency on spatial scales is still scarce. We analysed the assembly processes operating on ECM fungal communities associated with Cistus albidus L. and Quercus spp. in Mediterranean mixed forests (Southern Spain), for which root tip ECM fungi were characterized by high-throughput sequencing. The relative contribution of deterministic and stochastic processes that govern the ECM fungal community assembly was inferred by using phylogenetic and compositional turnover descriptors across spatial scales. Our results revealed that stochastic processes had a significantly higher contribution than selection on root tip ECM fungal community assembly. The strength of selection decreased at the smallest scale and it was linked to the plant host identity and the environment. Dispersal limitation increased at finer scales, whilst drift showed the opposite pattern likely suggesting a main influence of priority effects on ECM fungal community assembly. This study highlights the potential of phylogeny to infer ECM fungal community responses and brings new insights into the ecological processes affecting the structure and dynamics of Mediterranean forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prieto-Rubio J
- Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín (EEZ), CSIC, 1, Rd. Profesor Albareda, 18008, Granada, Spain.
- Department of Soil, Plant and Environmental Quality, Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
- Escuela Internacional de Doctorado, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Garrido J L
- Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín (EEZ), CSIC, 1, Rd. Profesor Albareda, 18008, Granada, Spain
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), CSIC, Seville, Spain
| | - Pérez-Izquierdo L
- Department of Soil, Plant and Environmental Quality, Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Madrid, Spain
- BC3 Basque Centre For Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
| | - Alcántara J M
- Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
- Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra en Andalucía (IISTA), Granada, Spain
| | - Azcón-Aguilar C
- Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín (EEZ), CSIC, 1, Rd. Profesor Albareda, 18008, Granada, Spain
| | - López-García A
- Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín (EEZ), CSIC, 1, Rd. Profesor Albareda, 18008, Granada, Spain
- Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
- Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra en Andalucía (IISTA), Granada, Spain
| | - Rincón A
- Department of Soil, Plant and Environmental Quality, Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Madrid, Spain
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44
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Sinha A, Chatterjee N, Krishnamurthy R, Ormerod SJ. Community assembly, functional traits, and phylogeny in Himalayan river birds. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9012. [PMID: 35784086 PMCID: PMC9204853 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneity in riverine habitats acts as a template for species evolution that influences river communities at different spatio-temporal scales. Although birds are conspicuous elements of these communities, the roles of phylogeny, functional traits, and habitat character in their niche use or species' assembly have seldom been investigated. We explored these themes by surveying multiple headwaters over 3000 m of elevation in the Himalayan Mountains of India where the specialist birds of montane rivers reach their greatest diversity on Earth. After ordinating community composition, species traits, and habitat character, we investigated whether river bird traits varied with elevation in ways that were constrained or independent of phylogeny, hypothesizing that trait patterns reflect environmental filtering. Community composition and trait representation varied strongly with increasing elevation and river naturalness as species that foraged in the river/riparian ecotone gave way to small insectivores with direct trophic dependence on the river or its immediate channel. These trends were influenced strongly by phylogeny as communities became more clustered by functional traits at a higher elevation. Phylogenetic signals varied among traits, however, and were reflected in body mass, bill size, and tarsus length more than in body size, tail length, and breeding strategy. These variations imply that community assembly in high-altitude river birds reflects a blend of phylogenetic constraint and habitat filtering coupled with some proximate niche-based moulding of trait character. We suggest that the regional co-existence of river birds in the Himalaya is facilitated by this same array of factors that together reflect the highly heterogeneous template of river habitats provided by these mountain headwaters.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ramesh Krishnamurthy
- Wildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
- Faculty of ForestryUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Steve J. Ormerod
- Water Research Institute, Cardiff School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
- Freshwater Biological AssociationAmbleside, CumbriaUK
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45
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The Synergy of Patterns vs. Processes at Community Level: A Key Linkage for Subtropical Native Forests along the Urban Riparian Zone. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13071041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Riparian zones possesses unique ecological position with biota differing from aquatic body and terrestrial lands, and plant–animal coevolution through a propagule-dispersal process may be the main factor for the framework of riparian vegetation was proposed. In the current study, the riparian forests and avifauna along with three subtropical mountainous riparian belts of Chongqing, China, were investigated, and multivariate analysis technique was adopted to examine the associations among the plants’ and birds’ species. The results show that: (1) the forest species’ composition and vertical layers are dominated by native catkins of Moraceae species, which have the reproductive traits with small and numerous propagules facilitating by frugivorous bird species, revealing an evolutionary trend different from the one in the terrestrial plant climax communities in the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests. The traits may provide a biological base for the plant–bird coevolution; (2) there are significant associations of plant–bird species clusters, i.e., four plant–bird coevolution groups (PBs) were divided out according to the plant species’ dominance and growth form relating to the fruit-dispersing birds’ abundance; (3) the correlation intensity within a PB ranks as PB I > II > IV > III, indicating the PB I is the leading type of coevolution mainly shaped by the dominant plant species of Moraceae; (4) the PB correlation may be a key node between patterns vs. process of a riparian ecosystem responsible for the riparian native vegetation, or even the ecosystem health. Our results contribute understanding the plant–animal coevolution interpreting the forests’ structures in riparian environments. The results may also be used by urban planner and managers to simulate the patterns for restoring a more stable riparian biota, a better functioning ecosystem in subtropical zone.
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46
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Collins CG, Elmendorf SC, Smith JG, Shoemaker L, Szojka M, Swift M, Suding KN. Global change re-structures alpine plant communities through interacting abiotic and biotic effects. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1813-1826. [PMID: 35763598 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Global change is altering patterns of community assembly, with net outcomes dependent on species' responses to the abiotic environment, both directly and mediated through biotic interactions. Here, we assess alpine plant community responses in a 15-year factorial nitrogen addition, warming and snow manipulation experiment. We used a dynamic competition model to estimate the density-dependent and -independent processes underlying changes in species-group abundances over time. Density-dependent shifts in competitive interactions drove long-term changes in abundance of species-groups under global change while counteracting environmental drivers limited the growth response of the dominant species through density-independent mechanisms. Furthermore, competitive interactions shifted with the environment, primarily with nitrogen and drove non-linear abundance responses across environmental gradients. Our results highlight that global change can either reshuffle species hierarchies or further favour already-dominant species; predicting which outcome will occur requires incorporating both density-dependent and -independent mechanisms and how they interact across multiple global change factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney G Collins
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.,Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sarah C Elmendorf
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Jane G Smith
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Lauren Shoemaker
- Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Megan Szojka
- Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Margaret Swift
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Katharine N Suding
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
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47
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Salas-López A, Violle C, Munoz F, Menzel F, Orivel J. Effects of Habitat and Competition on Niche Partitioning and Community Structure in Neotropical Ants. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.863080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition for limited resources can yield two contrasting outcomes in community structure, namely, either (i) dominance of most competitive species (with functional convergence of the traits conferring this ability), or (ii) niche partitioning of species using distinct resources. In addition, varying resource availability in different environmental contexts is expected to yield varying community dynamics and composition between the contexts (habitat filtering). We addressed resource-based ant community structure in a tropical ecosystem. We expected ant species to display varying trophic preferences and foraging behaviors, allowing habitat selection and niche differentiation in ant assemblages. Furthermore, we expected habitat filtering to occur between open and forested areas in the landscape mosaic, and competition to further influence local species co-occurrence. We assessed resource use in nine ant assemblages distributed in two habitats (i.e., forests and croplands), devising two separate experiments using bait-traps to characterize ant species’ trophic preference (e.g., eating prey, seeds, sugars) and their ability to obtain a same resource in heterogeneous forms (e.g., on vegetation, litter, with variable amounts…). The majority of baits offered were rapidly exploited in the two habitats suggesting important resource limitations. Forest and cropland ant communities differed, however, in the proportions of resources exploited, suggesting different competitive pressures toward specific resources between habitats. Within each habitat, ants preferentially exploited the same resources, suggesting habitat filtering, but locally, interspecific resource partitioning resulted in a reduction of resource overlap compared to habitat scale. Our study provides evidence of the effects of habitat filtering and competition for resource in tropical ant community structure. Our findings also suggest that niche filtering and niche partitioning are co-variant forces determining the identity of the species present in local assemblages.
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48
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Salazar D, Marquis RJ. Testing the role of local plant chemical diversity on plant-herbivore interactions and plant species coexistence. Ecology 2022; 103:e3765. [PMID: 35611398 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that herbivorous insects influence local composition and richness of Neotropical plant species, particularly in species-rich genera. Species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and chemical diversity all influence the ability of insect herbivores to find and utilize their hosts. The relative impact of these components of diversity on species coexistence and plant-herbivore interactions is not well understood. We constructed 60 local communities of up to 13 species of Piper (Piperaceae) in native, mature forest at a lowland wet forest location in Costa Rica. Species composition of each community was chosen such that species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and GCMS-based chemical diversity were varied independently among communities. We predicted that chemical diversity would most strongly affect the communities across time, with smaller effects of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. Thirteen months after the experimental planting, we assessed survivorship of each cutting, measured total leaf area loss of the survivors, leaf area loss to generalist and specialist herbivorous insect species, and local extinction of species. Generalist and specialist herbivory decreased with increasing levels of species richness and phylogenetic diversity, respectively. Surprisingly, there was no independent effect of chemical diversity on any of the three measures of herbivore damage. Nevertheless, plots with a higher chemical and phylogenetic diversity showed decreased plant mortality and local species extinction. Overall, our results suggest that both chemical and phylogenetic similarity are important factors in the assembly and maintenance of tropical plant communities. The fact that chemical diversity influences plant mortality suggests that leaf herbivores, and possibly other plant natural enemies, could increase plant diversity via selective mortality of similar chemotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Salazar
- International Center for Tropical Botany, Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
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49
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Li T, Yang H, Yang X, Guo Z, Fu D, Liu C, Li S, Pan Y, Zhao Y, Xu F, Gao Y, Duan C. Community assembly during vegetation succession after metal mining is driven by multiple processes with temporal variation. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8882. [PMID: 35509610 PMCID: PMC9055294 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms governing community assembly is fundamental to ecological restoration and clarification of the assembly processes associated with severe disturbances (characterized by no biological legacy and serious environmental problems) is essential. However, a systematic understanding of community assembly in the context of severe anthropogenic disturbance remains lacking. Here, we explored community assembly processes after metal mining, which is considered to be a highly destructive activity to provide insight into the assembly rules associated with severe anthropogenic disturbance. Using a chronosequence approach, we selected vegetation patches representing different successional stages and collected data on eight plant functional traits from each stage. The traits were classified as establishment and regenerative traits. Based on these traits, null models were constructed to identify the processes driving assembly at various successional stages. Comparison of our observations with the null models indicated that establishment and regenerative traits converged in the primary stage of succession. As succession progressed, establishment traits shifted to neutral assembly, whereas regeneration traits alternately converged and diverged. The observed establishment traits were equal to expected values, whereas regenerative traits diverged significantly after more than 20 years of succession. Furthermore, the available Cr content was linked strongly to species' ecological strategies. In the initial stages of vegetation succession in an abandoned metal mine, the plant community was mainly affected by the available metal content and dispersal limitation. It was probably further affected by strong interspecific interaction after the environmental conditions had improved, and stochastic processes became dominant during the stage with a successional age of more than 20 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Li
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Huaju Yang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Xinting Yang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Zhaolai Guo
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Denggao Fu
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Chang’e Liu
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Shiyu Li
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Ying Pan
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Yonggui Zhao
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
| | - Fang Xu
- YICI Municipal Garden Engineering Co. Ltd Kunming China
| | - Yang Gao
- YICI Municipal Garden Engineering Co. Ltd Kunming China
| | - Changqun Duan
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Yunnan University Kunming China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments Yunnan University Kunming China
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50
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Durigan G, Pilon NA, Souza FM, Melo AC, Ré DS, Souza SC. Low‐intensity cattle grazing is better than cattle exclusion to drive secondary savannas toward the features of native Cerrado vegetation. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Giselda Durigan
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Hidrologia Floresta Estadual de Assis Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais Assis Brazil
- Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) Campinas Brazil
| | - Natashi A.L. Pilon
- Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) Campinas Brazil
| | - Flaviana M. Souza
- Ministério Público do Estado de São Paulo Grupo de Atuação Especial de Defesa do Meio Ambiente Campinas Brazil
| | - Antônio C.G. Melo
- Fundação para Conservação e Produção Florestal do Estado de São Paulo São Paulo Brazil
| | - Danilo Scorzoni Ré
- Departamento de Ciências Florestais Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP) Botucatu Brazil
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