1
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Hargreaves AL, Ensing J, Rahn O, Oliveira FMP, Burkiewicz J, Lafond J, Haeussler S, Byerley-Best MB, Lazda K, Slinn HL, Martin E, Carlson ML, Sformo TL, Dawson-Glass E, Chiuffo MC, Vargas-Rodriguez YL, García-Jiménez CI, Gomes IJMT, Klemet-N'Guessan S, Paolucci L, Joly S, Mehltreter K, Muñoz J, Buono C, Brodie JF, Rodriguez-Campbell A, Veen T, Freeman BG, Lee-Yaw JA, Muñoz JC, Paquette A, Butler J, Suaréz E. Latitudinal gradients in seed predation persist in urbanized environments. Nat Ecol Evol 2024:10.1038/s41559-024-02504-7. [PMID: 39237759 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02504-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
Urbanization is creating a new global biome, in which cities and suburbs around the world often resemble each other more than the local natural areas they replaced. But while urbanization can profoundly affect ecology at local scales, we know little about whether it disrupts large-scale ecological patterns. Here we test whether urbanization disrupts a macroecological pattern central to ecological and evolutionary theory: the increase in seed predation intensity from high to low latitudes. Across 14,000 km of latitude spanning the Americas, we compared predation intensity on two species of standardized experimental seeds in urbanized and natural areas. In natural areas, predation on both seed species increased fivefold from high latitudes to the tropics, one of the strongest latitudinal gradients in species interactions documented so far. Surprisingly, latitudinal gradients in predation were equally strong in urbanized areas despite significant habitat modification. Nevertheless, urbanization did affect seed predation. Compared with natural areas, urbanization reduced overall predation and vertebrate predation, did not affect predation by invertebrates in general, and increased predation by ants. Our results show that macroecological patterns in predation intensity can persist in urbanized environments, even as urbanization alters the relative importance of predators and potentially the evolutionary trajectory of urban populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John Ensing
- Department of Biology, Okanagan College, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Olivia Rahn
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Fernanda M P Oliveira
- Departamento de Ciências Biológica, Universidade de Pernambuco; Campus Garanhuns, Garanhuns, Pernambuco, Brasil
| | - Jérôme Burkiewicz
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Joëlle Lafond
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sybille Haeussler
- University of Northern British Columbia, Smithers, British Columbia, Canada
| | - M Brooke Byerley-Best
- Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Kira Lazda
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Heather L Slinn
- Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
- Vive Crop Protection, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ella Martin
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew L Carlson
- Alaska Center for Conservation Science, University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Todd L Sformo
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | | | - Mariana C Chiuffo
- INIBIOMA, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, CONICET, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | | | | | - Inácio J M T Gomes
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Lucas Paolucci
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Simon Joly
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
- Montreal Botanical Garden, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Klaus Mehltreter
- Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Jenny Muñoz
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Carmela Buono
- Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Jedediah F Brodie
- Biological Science and Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
- Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
| | | | - Thor Veen
- Quest University Canada, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Benjamin G Freeman
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- School of Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Julie A Lee-Yaw
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Esteban Suaréz
- Instituto Biósfera and Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
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2
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Sun L, He Y, Cao M, Wang X, Zhou X, Yang J, Swenson NG. Tree phytochemical diversity and herbivory are higher in the tropics. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1426-1436. [PMID: 38937611 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02444-2] [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: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
A long-standing but poorly tested hypothesis in plant ecology and evolution is that biotic interactions play a more important role in producing and maintaining species diversity in the tropics than in the temperate zone. A core prediction of this hypothesis is that tropical plants deploy a higher diversity of phytochemicals within and across communities because they experience more herbivore pressure than temperate plants. However, simultaneous comparisons of phytochemical diversity and herbivore pressure in plant communities from the tropical to the temperate zone are lacking. Here we provide clear support for this prediction by examining phytochemical diversity and herbivory in 60 tree communities ranging from species-rich tropical rainforests to species-poor subalpine forests. Using a community metabolomics approach, we show that phytochemical diversity is higher within and among tropical tree communities than within and among subtropical and subalpine communities, and that herbivore pressure and specialization are highest in the tropics. Furthermore, we show that the phytochemical similarity of trees has little phylogenetic signal, indicating rapid divergence between closely related species. In sum, we provide several lines of evidence from entire tree communities showing that biotic interactions probably play an increasingly important role in generating and maintaining tree diversity in the lower latitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - Yunyun He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
- University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - Xuezhao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
- University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiang Zhou
- School of Ethnic Medicine, Key Lab of Chemistry in Ethnic Medicinal Resources, State Ethnic Affairs Commission & Ministry of Education of China, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China
| | - Jie Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China.
| | - Nathan G Swenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
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3
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Delavaux CS, Crowther TW, Bever JD, Weigelt P, Gora EM. Mutualisms weaken the latitudinal diversity gradient among oceanic islands. Nature 2024; 627:335-339. [PMID: 38418873 PMCID: PMC10937366 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07110-y] [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: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) dominates global patterns of diversity1,2, but the factors that underlie the LDG remain elusive. Here we use a unique global dataset3 to show that vascular plants on oceanic islands exhibit a weakened LDG and explore potential mechanisms for this effect. Our results show that traditional physical drivers of island biogeography4-namely area and isolation-contribute to the difference between island and mainland diversity at a given latitude (that is, the island species deficit), as smaller and more distant islands experience reduced colonization. However, plant species with mutualists are underrepresented on islands, and we find that this plant mutualism filter explains more variation in the island species deficit than abiotic factors. In particular, plant species that require animal pollinators or microbial mutualists such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi contribute disproportionately to the island species deficit near the Equator, with contributions decreasing with distance from the Equator. Plant mutualist filters on species richness are particularly strong at low absolute latitudes where mainland richness is highest, weakening the LDG of oceanic islands. These results provide empirical evidence that mutualisms, habitat heterogeneity and dispersal are key to the maintenance of high tropical plant diversity and mediate the biogeographic patterns of plant diversity on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille S Delavaux
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich, Switzerland.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
| | - Thomas W Crowther
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - James D Bever
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Kansas Biological Survey, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Patrick Weigelt
- Department of Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Campus Institute Data Science, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Evan M Gora
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá City, Panamá
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA
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4
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Rubio VE, Swenson NG. On functional groups and forest dynamics. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:23-30. [PMID: 37673714 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Functional trait variation measured on continuous scales has helped ecologists to unravel important ecological processes. However, forest ecologists have recently moved back toward using functional groups. There are pragmatic and biological rationales for focusing on functional groups. Both of these approaches have inherent limitations including binning clearly continuous distributions, poor trait-group matching, and narrow conceptual frameworks for why groups exist and how they evolved. We believe the pragmatic use of functional groups due to data deficiencies will eventually erode. Conversely, we argue that existing conceptual frameworks for why a limited number of tree functional groups may exist is a useful, but flawed, starting point for modeling forests that can be improved through the consideration of unmeasured axes of functional variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa E Rubio
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.
| | - Nathan G Swenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.
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5
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Vaessen RW, Jansen PA, Richard-Hansen C, Boot RGA, Denis T, Derroire G, Petronelli P, de Vries JS, Barry KE, Ter Steege H, van Kuijk M. Defaunation changes leaf trait composition of recruit communities in tropical forests in French Guiana. Ecology 2023; 104:e3872. [PMID: 36121050 PMCID: PMC10078438 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3872] [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: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Hunting impacts tropical vertebrate populations, causing declines of species that function as seed dispersers and predators, or that browse seedlings and saplings. Whether and how the resulting reductions in seed dispersal, seed predation, and browsing translate to changes in the tree composition is poorly understood. Here, we assess the effect of defaunation on the functional composition of communities of tree recruits in tropical rainforests in French Guiana. We selected eight sites along a gradient of defaunation, caused by differences in hunting pressure, in otherwise intact old-growth forests in French Guiana. We measured shifts in functional composition by comparing leaf and fruit traits and wood density between tree recruits (up to 5 cm diameter at breast height) and adults, and tested whether and how these compositional shifts related to defaunation. We found a positive relationship with defaunation for shifts in specific leaf area, a negative relationship for shifts of leaf toughness and wood density, and a weak relationship for shifts in fruit traits. Our results suggest that the loss of vertebrates affects ecological processes such as seed dispersal and browsing, of which browsing remains understudied. Even though these changes sometimes seem minor, together they result in major shifts in forest composition. These changes have long-term ramifications that may alter forest dynamics for generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rens W Vaessen
- Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Patrick A Jansen
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Center for Tropical Forest Science, Ancon, Panama
| | - Cécile Richard-Hansen
- OFB/DRAS/UPFSEO, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana
| | - René G A Boot
- Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.,Tropenbos International, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Denis
- OFB/DRAS/UPFSEO, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Géraldine Derroire
- CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Pascal Petronelli
- CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Jesse S de Vries
- Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Kathryn E Barry
- Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Hans Ter Steege
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.,Systems Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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6
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Fyllas NM, Chrysafi D, Avtzis DN, Moreira X. Photosynthetic and defensive responses of two Mediterranean oaks to insect leaf herbivory. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 42:2282-2293. [PMID: 35766868 PMCID: PMC9832970 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpac067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Insect herbivory is a dominant interaction across virtually all ecosystems globally and has dramatic effects on plant function such as reduced photosynthesis activity and increased levels of defenses. However, most previous work assessing the link between insect herbivory, photosynthesis and plant defenses has been performed on cultivated model plant species, neglecting a full understanding of patterns in natural systems. In this study, we performed a field experiment to investigate the effects of herbivory by a generalist foliar feeding insect (Lymantria dispar) and leaf mechanical damage on multiple leaf traits associated with defense against herbivory and photosynthesis activity on two sympatric oak species with contrasting leaf habit (the evergreen Quercus coccifera L. and the deciduous Quercus pubescens Willd). Our results showed that, although herbivory treatments and oak species did not strongly affect photosynthesis and dark respiration, these two factors exerted interactive effects. Insect herbivory and mechanical damage (vs control) decreased photosynthesis activity for Q. coccifera but not for Q. pubescens. Insect herbivory and mechanical damage tended to increase chemical (increased flavonoid and lignin concentration) defenses, but these effects were stronger for Q. pubescens. Overall, this study shows that two congeneric oak species with contrasting leaf habit differ in their photosynthetic and defensive responses to insect herbivory. While the evergreen oak species followed a more conservative strategy (reduced photosynthesis and higher physical defenses), the deciduous oak species followed a more acquisitive strategy (maintained photosynthesis and higher chemical defenses).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Despina Chrysafi
- Biodiversity Conservation Lab, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene 81100, Greece
| | - Dimitrios N Avtzis
- Forest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization, Thessaloniki 57006, Greece
| | - Xoaquín Moreira
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apartado de Correos 28, Pontevedra, Galicia 36080, Spain
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7
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Wu W, Wang X, Zhao T, Zhang W, Fang S, Xu Y, Zhang K. Tropical-temperate comparisons in insect seed predation vary between study levels and years. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9256. [PMID: 36188509 PMCID: PMC9484303 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9256] [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: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The biotic interaction hypothesis, which states the species interaction becomes stronger in the tropics, is deeply rooted in classic ecological literature and widely accepted to contribute to the latitudinal gradients of biodiversity. Tests in latitudinal insect-plant interaction have emphasized leaf-eating insects on a single or a few plant species rather than within an entire community and mixed accumulating evidence, leaving the biotic interaction hypothesis disputed. We aimed to test the hypothesis by quantifying insect seed predation in a pair of tropical and temperate forest communities with similar elevations. We applied a consistent study design to sample predispersal seeds with systematically set seed traps in 2019-2020 and examined internally feeding insects. The intensity of seed predation was measured and further applied to tropical versus temperate comparison at two levels (cross-species and community-wide). Our results showed every latitudinal pattern associated with different study levels and years, that is, negative (greater granivory in the tropics in community-wide comparison in 2020), positive (less granivory in the tropics in community-wide and cross-species comparison in 2019), and missing (similar level of granivory in the tropics in cross-species comparisons in 2020). The cross-species level analyses ignore differences among species in seed production and weaken or even lose the latitudinal trend detected by community-wide comparisons. The between-year discrepancy in tropical-temperate comparisons relates to the highly variable annual seed composition in the temperate forest due to mast seeding of dominant species. Our study highlights that long-term community-level researches across biomes are essential to assess the latitudinal biotic interaction hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenlan Wu
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Xiaoxue Wang
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Tao Zhao
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Wenfu Zhang
- Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesMenglaChina
| | - Shuai Fang
- Institute of Applied EcologyChinese Academy of SciencesShenyangChina
| | - Yu Xu
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Kai Zhang
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
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8
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Weissflog A, Markesteijn L, Aiello A, Healey J, Geipel I. Do prey shape, time of day, and plant trichomes affect the predation rate on plasticine prey in tropical rainforests? Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anita Weissflog
- School of Natural Sciences Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
| | - Lars Markesteijn
- School of Natural Sciences Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
- Area of Biodiversity and Conservation, Department of Biology and Geography, Physics and Inorganic Chemistry University Rey Juan Carlos Madrid Spain
| | | | - John Healey
- School of Natural Sciences Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd UK
| | - Inga Geipel
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
- CoSys Lab, Faculty of Applied Engineering University of Antwerp Antwerpen Belgium
- Flanders Make Strategic Research Centre Lommel Belgium
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9
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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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10
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Massad TJ, Richards LA, Philbin C, Fumiko Yamaguchi L, Kato MJ, Jeffrey CS, Oliveira C, Ochsenrider K, M de Moraes M, Tepe EJ, Cebrian Torrejon G, Sandivo M, Dyer LA. The chemical ecology of tropical forest diversity: Environmental variation, chemical similarity, herbivory, and richness. Ecology 2022; 103:e3762. [PMID: 35593436 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Species richness in tropical forests is correlated with other dimensions of diversity, including the diversity of plant-herbivore interactions and the phytochemical diversity that influences those interactions. Understanding the complexity of plant chemistry and the importance of phytochemical diversity for plant-insect interactions and overall forest richness has been enhanced significantly by the application of metabolomics to natural systems. The present work used proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H-NMR) profiling of crude leaf extracts to study phytochemical similarity and diversity among Piper plants growing naturally in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil. Spectral profile similarity and chemical diversity were quantified to examine the relationship between metrics of phytochemical diversity, specialist and generalist herbivory, and understory plant richness. Herbivory increased with understory species richness, while generalist herbivory increased and specialist herbivory decreased with the diversity of Piper leaf material available. Specialist herbivory increased when conspecific host plants were more spectroscopically dissimilar. Spectral similarity was lower among individuals of common species, and they were also more spectrally diverse, indicating phytochemical diversity is beneficial to plants. Canopy openness and soil nutrients also influenced chemistry and herbivory. The complex relationships uncovered in this study add information to our growing understanding of the importance of phytochemical diversity for plant-insect interactions and tropical plant species richness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Joy Massad
- Department of Scientific Services, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique.,Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - Lora A Richards
- Department of Biology, Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA.,Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Casey Philbin
- Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | | | - Massuo J Kato
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - Christopher S Jeffrey
- Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Celso Oliveira
- Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | | | - Marcílio M de Moraes
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brasil
| | - Eric J Tepe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | | | | | - Lee A Dyer
- Department of Biology, Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA.,Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
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11
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Zvereva EL, Kozlov MV. Latitudinal gradient in the intensity of biotic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems: Sources of variation and differences from the diversity gradient revealed by meta-analysis. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2506-2520. [PMID: 34322961 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis (LBIH) states that the intensity of biotic interactions increases from high to low latitudes. This hypothesis, which may partly explain latitudinal gradients in biodiversity, remains hotly debated, largely due to variable outcomes of published studies. We used meta-analysis to identify the scope of the LBIH in terrestrial ecosystems. For this purpose, we explored the sources of variation in the strength of latitudinal changes in herbivory, carnivory and parasitism (119 publications) and compared these gradients with gradients in the diversity of the respective groups of animals (102 publications). Overall, both herbivory and carnivory decreased towards the poles, while parasitism increased. The latitudinal gradient in herbivory and carnivory was threefold stronger above 50-60° than at lower latitudes and was significant due to interactions involving ectothermic consumers, studies using standardised prey (i.e. prey lacking local anti-predator adaptations) and studies aimed at testing LBIH. The poleward decrease in biodiversity did not differ between ectothermic and endothermic animals or among climate zones and was fourfold stronger than decrease in herbivory and carnivory. The discovered differences between the gradients in biotic interactions and biodiversity suggest that these two global macroecological patterns are likely shaped by different factors.
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12
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Sherry TW. Sensitivity of Tropical Insectivorous Birds to the Anthropocene: A Review of Multiple Mechanisms and Conservation Implications. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.662873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigraph: “The house is burning. We do not need a thermometer. We need a fire hose.” (P. 102, Janzen and Hallwachs, 2019). Insectivorous birds are declining widely, and for diverse reasons. Tropical insectivorous birds, more than 60% of all tropical birds, are particularly sensitive to human disturbances including habitat loss and fragmentation, intensive agriculture and pesticide use, and climate change; and the mechanisms are incompletely understood. This review addresses multiple, complementary and sometimes synergistic explanations for tropical insectivore declines, by categorizing explanations into ultimate vs. proximate, and direct versus indirect. Ultimate explanations are diverse human Anthropocene activities and the evolutionary history of these birds. This evolutionary history, synthesized by the Biotic Challenge Hypothesis (BCH), explains tropical insectivorous birds' vulnerabilities to many proximate threats as a function of both these birds' evolutionary feeding specialization and poor dispersal capacity. These traits were favored evolutionarily by both the diversity of insectivorous clades competing intensely for prey and co-evolution with arthropods over long evolutionary time periods. More proximate, ecological threats include bottom-up forces like declining insect populations, top-down forces like meso-predator increases, plus the Anthropocene activities underlying these factors, especially habitat loss and fragmentation, agricultural intensification, and climate change. All these conditions peak in the lowland, mainland Neotropics, where insectivorous bird declines have been repeatedly documented, but also occur in other tropical locales and continents. This multiplicity of interacting evolutionary and ecological factors informs conservation implications and recommendations for tropical insectivorous birds: (1) Why they are so sensitive to global change phenomena is no longer enigmatic, (2) distinguishing ultimate versus proximate stressors matters, (3) evolutionary life-histories predispose these birds to be particularly sensitive to the Anthropocene, (4) tropical regions and continents vary with respect to these birds' ecological sensitivity, (5) biodiversity concepts need stronger incorporation of species' evolutionary histories, (6) protecting these birds will require more, larger reserves for multiple reasons, and (7) these birds have greater value than generally recognized.
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Abstract
To cope with environmental challenges, plants produce a wide diversity of phytochemicals, which are also the source of numerous medicines. Despite decades of research in chemical ecology, we still lack an understanding of the organization of plant chemical diversity across species and ecosystems. To address this challenge, we hypothesized that molecular diversity is not only related to species diversity, but also constrained by trophic, climatic, and topographical factors. We screened the metabolome of 416 vascular plant species encompassing the entire alpine elevation range and four alpine bioclimatic regions in order to characterize their phytochemical diversity. We show that by coupling phylogenetic information, topographic, edaphic, and climatic variables, we predict phytochemical diversity, and its inherent composition, of plant communities throughout landscape. Spatial mapping of phytochemical diversity further revealed that plant assemblages found in low to midelevation habitats, with more alkaline soils, possessed greater phytochemical diversity, whereas alpine habitats possessed higher phytochemical endemism. Altogether, we present a general tool that can be used for predicting hotspots of phytochemical diversity in the landscape, independently of plant species taxonomic identity. Such an approach offers promising perspectives in both drug discovery programs and conservation efforts worldwide.
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14
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Holeski LM, Keefover-Ring K, Sobel JM, Kooyers NJ. Evolutionary history and ecology shape the diversity and abundance of phytochemical arsenals across monkeyflowers. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:571-583. [PMID: 33484000 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We examine the extent to which phylogenetic effects and ecology are associated with macroevolutionary patterns of phytochemical defence production across the Mimulus phylogeny. We grew plants from 21 species representing the five major sections of the Mimulus phylogeny in a common garden to assess how the arsenals (NMDS groupings) and abundances (concentrations) of a phytochemical defence, phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs), vary across the phylogeny. Very few PPGs are widespread across the genus, but many are common to multiple sections of the genus. Phytochemical arsenals cluster among sections in an NMDS and are not associated with total concentration of PPGs. There is a strong phylogenetic signal for phytochemical arsenal composition across the Mimulus genus, whereas ecological variables such as growing season length, latitude, and elevation do not significantly influence arsenal. In contrast, there is little phylogenetic signal for total PPG concentration, and this trait is significantly influenced by several ecological factors. Phytochemical arsenals and abundances are influenced by plant life history form. Both phylogenetic effects and ecology are related to phytochemical patterns across species, albeit in different ways. The independence of phytochemical defence concentrations from arsenal compositions indicates that these aspects of defence may continue to evolve independently of one another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liza M Holeski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Ken Keefover-Ring
- Departments of Botany and Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - James M Sobel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA
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15
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Wulff JL. Targeted predator defenses of sponges shape community organization and tropical marine ecosystem function. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janie L. Wulff
- Department of Biological Science Florida State University Tallahassee Florida32306‐4295USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Republic of Panama
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16
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Song X, Corlett RT. Enemies mediate distance- and density-dependent mortality of tree seeds and seedlings: a meta-analysis of fungicide, insecticide and exclosure studies. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202352. [PMID: 33468003 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Conspecific negative distance- and density-dependence is often assumed to be one of the most important mechanisms controlling forest community assembly and species diversity globally. Plant pathogens, and insect and mammalian herbivores, are the most common natural enemy types that have been implicated in this phenomenon, but their general effects at different plant life stages are still unclear. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of studies that involved robust manipulative experiments, using fungicides, insecticides and exclosures, to assess the contributions of different natural enemy types to distance- and density-dependent effects at seed and seedling stages. We found that distance- and density-dependent mortality caused by natural enemies was most likely at the seedling stage and was greater at higher mean annual temperatures. Conspecific negative distance- and density-dependence at the seedling stage is significantly weakened when fungicides were applied. By contrast, negative conspecific distance- and density-dependence is not a general pattern at the seed stage. High seed mass reduced distance- and density-dependent mortality at the seed stage. Seed studies excluding only large mammals found significant negative conspecific distance-dependent mortality, but exclusion of all mammals resulted in a non-significant effect of conspecifics. Our study suggests that plant pathogens are a major cause of distance- and density-dependent mortality at the seedling stage, while the impacts of herbivores on seedlings have been understudied. At the seed stage, large and small mammals, respectively, weaken and enhance negative conspecific distance-dependent mortality. Future research should identify specific agents of mortality, investigate the interactions among different enemy types and assess how global change may affect natural enemies and thus influence the strength of conspecific distance- and density-dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, People's Republic of China.,Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, People's Republic of China
| | - Richard T Corlett
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, People's Republic of China.,Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, People's Republic of China
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17
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Song X, Lim JY, Yang J, Luskin MS. When do Janzen-Connell effects matter? A phylogenetic meta-analysis of conspecific negative distance and density dependence experiments. Ecol Lett 2020; 24:608-620. [PMID: 33382527 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The Janzen-Connell (J-C) hypothesis suggests that specialised natural enemies cause distance- or density-dependent mortality among host plants and is regarded as an important mechanism for species coexistence. However, there remains debate about whether this phenomenon is widespread and how variation is structured across taxa and life stages. We performed the largest meta-analysis of experimental studies conducted under natural settings to date. We found little evidence of distance-dependent or density-dependent mortality when grouping all types of manipulations. Our analysis also reveals very large variation in response among species, with 38.5% of species even showing positive responses to manipulations. However, we found a strong signal of distance-dependent mortality among seedlings but not seed experiments, which we attribute to (a) seedlings sharing susceptible tissues with adults (leaves, wood, roots), (b) seedling enemies having worse dispersal than seed enemies and (c) seedlings having fewer physical and chemical defences than seeds. Both density- and distance-dependent mortality showed large variation within genera and families, suggesting that J-C effects are not strongly phylogenetically conserved. There were no clear trends with latitude, rainfall or study duration. We conclude that J-C effects may not be as pervasive as widely thought. Understanding the variation in J-C effects provides opportunities for new discoveries that will refine our understanding of J-C effects and its role in species coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Song
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, 666303, China.,Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, China
| | - Jun Ying Lim
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Jie Yang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, 666303, China.,Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, China
| | - Matthew Scott Luskin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld., 4072, Australia
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18
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García‐Robledo C, Kuprewicz EK, Baer CS, Clifton E, Hernández GG, Wagner DL. The Erwin equation of biodiversity: From little steps to quantum leaps in the discovery of tropical insect diversity. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos García‐Robledo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | - Erin K. Kuprewicz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | - Christina S. Baer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | - Elizabeth Clifton
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | - Georgia G. Hernández
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | - David L. Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
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19
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Roesti M, Anstett DN, Freeman BG, Lee-Yaw JA, Schluter D, Chavarie L, Rolland J, Holzman R. Pelagic fish predation is stronger at temperate latitudes than near the equator. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1527. [PMID: 32235853 PMCID: PMC7109113 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15335-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Species interactions are widely thought to be strongest in the tropics, potentially contributing to the greater number of species at lower latitudes. Yet, empirical tests of this "biotic interactions" hypothesis remain limited and often provide mixed results. Here, we analyze 55 years of catch per unit effort data from pelagic longline fisheries to estimate the strength of predation exerted by large predatory fish in the world's oceans. We test two central tenets of the biotic interactions hypothesis: that predation is (1) strongest near the equator, and (2) positively correlated with species richness. Counter to these predictions, we find that predation is (1) strongest in or near the temperate zone and (2) negatively correlated with oceanic fish species richness. These patterns suggest that, at least for pelagic fish predation, common assumptions about the latitudinal distribution of species interactions do not apply, thereby challenging a leading explanation for the latitudinal gradient in species diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius Roesti
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Daniel N Anstett
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Benjamin G Freeman
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Julie A Lee-Yaw
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Dolph Schluter
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Louise Chavarie
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Jonathan Rolland
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Quartier Sorge, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roi Holzman
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Ramat Aviv, Israel
- Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences, 8810302, Eilat, Israel
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20
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Hargreaves AL, Germain RM, Bontrager M, Persi J, Angert AL. Local Adaptation to Biotic Interactions: A Meta-analysis across Latitudes. Am Nat 2020; 195:395-411. [PMID: 32097037 DOI: 10.1086/707323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Adaptation to local conditions can increase species' geographic distributions and rates of diversification, but which components of the environment commonly drive local adaptation-particularly the importance of biotic interactions-is unclear. Biotic interactions should drive local adaptation when they impose consistent divergent selection; if this is common, we expect transplant experiments to detect more frequent and stronger local adaptation when biotic interactions are left intact. We tested this hypothesis using a meta-analysis of transplant experiments from >125 studies (mostly of plants). Overall, local adaptation was common, and biotic interactions affected fitness. Nevertheless, local adaptation was neither more common nor stronger when biotic interactions were left intact, either between experimental treatments within studies (control vs. biotic interactions experimentally manipulated) or between studies that used natural versus biotically altered transplant environments. However, the effect of ameliorating negative interactions varied with latitude, suggesting that interactions may promote local adaptation more often in tropical than in temperate ecosystems, although few tropical studies were available to test this. Our results suggest that biotic interactions often fail to drive local adaptation even though they strongly affect fitness, perhaps because temperate biotic environments are unpredictable at the spatiotemporal scales required for local adaptation.
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21
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Hargreaves AL, Suárez E, Mehltreter K, Myers-Smith I, Vanderplank SE, Slinn HL, Vargas-Rodriguez YL, Haeussler S, David S, Muñoz J, Carlos Almazán-Núñez R, Loughnan D, Benning JW, Moeller DA, Brodie JF, Thomas HJ, Morales M. PA. Seed predation increases from the Arctic to the Equator and from high to low elevations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau4403. [PMID: 30801010 PMCID: PMC6382403 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau4403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Species interactions have long been predicted to increase in intensity toward the tropics and low elevations because of gradients in climate, productivity, or biodiversity. Despite their importance for understanding global ecological and evolutionary processes, plant-animal interaction gradients are particularly difficult to test systematically across large geographic gradients, and evidence from smaller, disparate studies is inconclusive. By systematically measuring postdispersal seed predation using 6995 standardized seed depots along 18 mountains in the Pacific cordillera, we found that seed predation increases by 17% from the Arctic to the Equator and by 17% from 4000 meters above sea level to sea level. Clines in total predation, likely driven by invertebrates, were consistent across treeline ecotones and within continuous forest and were better explained by climate seasonality than by productivity, biodiversity, or latitude. These results suggest that species interactions play predictably greater ecological and evolutionary roles in tropical, lowland, and other less seasonal ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. L. Hargreaves
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Ave., Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Esteban Suárez
- Instituto Biósfera & Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador
| | - Klaus Mehltreter
- Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., carretera antigua a Coatepec No. 351, El Haya, Xalapa, 91070 Veracruz, México
| | - Isla Myers-Smith
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
| | - Sula E. Vanderplank
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Carr Tijuana-Ensenada 3918, Fraccionamiento Zona Playitas, 22860 Ensenada, México
- Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Heather L. Slinn
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada Reno, 1664 N Virginia street, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Yalma L. Vargas-Rodriguez
- National Council of Science and Technology & University of Guadalajara, Apdo. Postal 4-014, Col. La Loma, Guadalajara, 44421 Jalisco, México
| | - Sybille Haeussler
- Bulkley Valley Research Centre and University of Northern British Columbia, Smithers, BC, Canada
| | - Santiago David
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jenny Muñoz
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez
- Laboratorio Integral de Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n, Chilpancingo, 39000 Guerrero, México
| | - Deirdre Loughnan
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - John W. Benning
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - David A. Moeller
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Jedediah F. Brodie
- Division of Biological Sciences and Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Haydn J.D. Thomas
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
| | - P. A. Morales M.
- Herbario Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 67 No. 53-108, Medellín, Colombia
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22
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Cobo‐Quinche J, Endara M, Valencia R, Muñoz‐Upegui D, Cárdenas RE. Physical, but not chemical, antiherbivore defense expression is related to the clustered spatial distribution of tropical trees in an Amazonian forest. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:1750-1763. [PMID: 30847070 PMCID: PMC6392389 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The conspecific negative density dependence hypothesis states that mortality of young trees (seedlings and saplings) is higher near conspecific adults due to mechanisms such as allelopathy, intraspecific competition, and pest facilitation, explaining why in the tropics, most of plant species tend to be rare and live dispersed. However, there are some tree species that defy this expectation and grow in large clusters of conspecific juveniles and adults. We hypothesize that conspecifics living in clusters show higher and/or more variable defensive profiles than conspecifics with dispersed distributions.We evaluated our hypothesis by assessing the expression of physical leaf traits (thickness, and the resistance to punch, tear and shear) and leaf chemical defenses for six clustered and six non-clustered tree species in Yasuní National Park, Ecuadorian Amazon. We ask ourselves whether (a) clustered species have leaves with higher physical resistance to damage and more chemical defenses variability than non-clustered species; (b) saplings of clustered species may show higher physical resistance to damage and higher variation on chemical leaf defenses than their conspecific adults, and (c) saplings of non-clustered species show lower resistance to physical damage and lower variation in chemical defenses compared to conspecific adults.Overall, our study did not support any of our hypotheses. Remarkably, we found that soluble metabolites were significantly species-specific.Our study suggests that plants physical but not chemical leaf antiherbivore defenses may be a crucial strategy for explaining survivorship of clustered species. Trees in Yasuní may also fall along a suite of tolerance/escape/defense strategies based on limitations of each species physiological constraints for survival and establishment. We conclude that other mechanisms, such as those related to indirect defenses, soil nutrient exploitation efficiency, volatile organic compounds, delayed leaf-greening, and seed dispersal mechanisms, shall be evaluated to understand conspecific coexistence in this forest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Cobo‐Quinche
- Herbario QCA, Laboratorio de Ecología de Plantas, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
| | - María‐José Endara
- Department of BiologyUniversity of UtahSalt Lake CityUtah
- Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio ClimáticoUniversidad Tecnológica IndoaméricaQuitoEcuador
| | - Renato Valencia
- Herbario QCA, Laboratorio de Ecología de Plantas, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
| | - Dolly Muñoz‐Upegui
- Museo de Zoología QCAZ, Laboratorio de Entomología, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
| | - Rafael E. Cárdenas
- Herbario QCA, Laboratorio de Ecología de Plantas, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
- Museo de Zoología QCAZ, Laboratorio de Entomología, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
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23
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Hodgkins SB, Richardson CJ, Dommain R, Wang H, Glaser PH, Verbeke B, Winkler BR, Cobb AR, Rich VI, Missilmani M, Flanagan N, Ho M, Hoyt AM, Harvey CF, Vining SR, Hough MA, Moore TR, Richard PJH, De La Cruz FB, Toufaily J, Hamdan R, Cooper WT, Chanton JP. Tropical peatland carbon storage linked to global latitudinal trends in peat recalcitrance. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3640. [PMID: 30194308 PMCID: PMC6128871 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06050-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Peatlands represent large terrestrial carbon banks. Given that most peat accumulates in boreal regions, where low temperatures and water saturation preserve organic matter, the existence of peat in (sub)tropical regions remains enigmatic. Here we examined peat and plant chemistry across a latitudinal transect from the Arctic to the tropics. Near-surface low-latitude peat has lower carbohydrate and greater aromatic content than near-surface high-latitude peat, creating a reduced oxidation state and resulting recalcitrance. This recalcitrance allows peat to persist in the (sub)tropics despite warm temperatures. Because we observed similar declines in carbohydrate content with depth in high-latitude peat, our data explain recent field-scale deep peat warming experiments in which catotelm (deeper) peat remained stable despite temperature increases up to 9 °C. We suggest that high-latitude deep peat reservoirs may be stabilized in the face of climate change by their ultimately lower carbohydrate and higher aromatic composition, similar to tropical peats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne B Hodgkins
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
| | - Curtis J Richardson
- Duke University Wetland Center, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - René Dommain
- Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Hongjun Wang
- Duke University Wetland Center, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Paul H Glaser
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Brittany Verbeke
- Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - B Rose Winkler
- Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - Alexander R Cobb
- Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, 138602, Singapore
| | - Virginia I Rich
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Malak Missilmani
- Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA-CHAMSI), EDST and Faculty of Sciences I, Lebanese University, Campus Rafic Hariri, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Neal Flanagan
- Duke University Wetland Center, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Mengchi Ho
- Duke University Wetland Center, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Alison M Hoyt
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07701, Jena, Germany
| | - Charles F Harvey
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - S Rose Vining
- Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85716, USA
| | - Moira A Hough
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85716, USA
| | - Tim R Moore
- Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B9, Canada
| | - Pierre J H Richard
- Département de Géographie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H2V 2B8, Canada
| | - Florentino B De La Cruz
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Joumana Toufaily
- Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA-CHAMSI), EDST and Faculty of Sciences I, Lebanese University, Campus Rafic Hariri, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Rasha Hamdan
- Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA-CHAMSI), EDST and Faculty of Sciences I, Lebanese University, Campus Rafic Hariri, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - William T Cooper
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Chanton
- Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA.
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24
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McDowell N, Allen CD, Anderson-Teixeira K, Brando P, Brienen R, Chambers J, Christoffersen B, Davies S, Doughty C, Duque A, Espirito-Santo F, Fisher R, Fontes CG, Galbraith D, Goodsman D, Grossiord C, Hartmann H, Holm J, Johnson DJ, Kassim AR, Keller M, Koven C, Kueppers L, Kumagai T, Malhi Y, McMahon SM, Mencuccini M, Meir P, Moorcroft P, Muller-Landau HC, Phillips OL, Powell T, Sierra CA, Sperry J, Warren J, Xu C, Xu X. Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 219:851-869. [PMID: 29451313 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Tree mortality rates appear to be increasing in moist tropical forests (MTFs) with significant carbon cycle consequences. Here, we review the state of knowledge regarding MTF tree mortality, create a conceptual framework with testable hypotheses regarding the drivers, mechanisms and interactions that may underlie increasing MTF mortality rates, and identify the next steps for improved understanding and reduced prediction. Increasing mortality rates are associated with rising temperature and vapor pressure deficit, liana abundance, drought, wind events, fire and, possibly, CO2 fertilization-induced increases in stand thinning or acceleration of trees reaching larger, more vulnerable heights. The majority of these mortality drivers may kill trees in part through carbon starvation and hydraulic failure. The relative importance of each driver is unknown. High species diversity may buffer MTFs against large-scale mortality events, but recent and expected trends in mortality drivers give reason for concern regarding increasing mortality within MTFs. Models of tropical tree mortality are advancing the representation of hydraulics, carbon and demography, but require more empirical knowledge regarding the most common drivers and their subsequent mechanisms. We outline critical datasets and model developments required to test hypotheses regarding the underlying causes of increasing MTF mortality rates, and improve prediction of future mortality under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nate McDowell
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99354, USA
| | - Craig D Allen
- US Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, Los Alamos, NM, 87544, USA
| | - Kristina Anderson-Teixeira
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20036, USA
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Paulo Brando
- Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA, 02450, USA
- Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental de Amazonia, Lago Norte, Brasilia, Brazil
| | - Roel Brienen
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Jeff Chambers
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Brad Christoffersen
- Department of Biology and School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA
| | - Stuart Davies
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20036, USA
| | - Chris Doughty
- SICCS, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA
| | - Alvaro Duque
- Departmento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Columbia, Medellín, Columbia
| | | | - Rosie Fisher
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, 80305, USA
| | - Clarissa G Fontes
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - David Galbraith
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Devin Goodsman
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA
| | | | - Henrik Hartmann
- Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Plank Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Jennifer Holm
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | | | - Abd Rahman Kassim
- Geoinformation Programme, Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Michael Keller
- International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Jardin Botanico Sur, 1201 Calle Ceiba, San Juan, 00926, Puerto Rico
- Embrapa Agricultural Informatics, Parque Estacao Biologica, Brasilia DF, 70770, Brazil
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
| | - Charlie Koven
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Lara Kueppers
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Tomo'omi Kumagai
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7 Chome-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8654, Japan
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 2JD, UK
| | - Sean M McMahon
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20036, USA
| | - Maurizio Mencuccini
- ICREA, CREAF, University of Barcelona, Gran Via de les Corts Catalenes, 585 08007, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Patrick Meir
- Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, UK
| | | | - Helene C Muller-Landau
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá
| | - Oliver L Phillips
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Thomas Powell
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Carlos A Sierra
- Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Plank Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - John Sperry
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Jeff Warren
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
| | - Chonggang Xu
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA
| | - Xiangtao Xu
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
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25
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Robertson LP, Hall CR, Forster PI, Carroll AR. Alkaloid diversity in the leaves of Australian Flindersia (Rutaceae) species driven by adaptation to aridity. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2018; 152:71-81. [PMID: 29734038 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2018.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The genus Flindersia (Rutaceae) comprises 17 species of mostly Australian endemic trees. Although most species are restricted to rainforests, four have evolved to grow in semi-arid and arid environments. In this study, the leaf alkaloid diversity of rainforest and semi-arid/arid zone adapted Australian Flindersia were compared by LC/MS-MS and NMR spectroscopy. Contrary to expectations, Flindersia alkaloid diversity was strongly correlated with environmental aridity, where species predominating in drier regions produced more alkaloids than their wet rainforest congenerics. Rainforest species were also more chemically similar to each other than were the four semi-arid/arid zone species. There was a significant relationship between the presence of alkaloid structural classes and phylogenetic distance, suggesting that alkaloid profiles are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. The results suggest that the radiation of Flindersia species out of the rainforest and into drier environments has promoted the evolution of unique alkaloid diversity. Plants growing in arid and semi-arid regions of Australia may represent an untapped source of undescribed specialised metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke P Robertson
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Gold Coast, Australia; Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan 4111, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Casey R Hall
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond 2753, Australia
| | - Paul I Forster
- Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Toowong 4066, Queensland, Australia
| | - Anthony R Carroll
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Gold Coast, Australia; Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan 4111, Brisbane, Australia.
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26
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Dyer LA, Philbin CS, Ochsenrider KM, Richards LA, Massad TJ, Smilanich AM, Forister ML, Parchman TL, Galland LM, Hurtado PJ, Espeset AE, Glassmire AE, Harrison JG, Mo C, Yoon S, Pardikes NA, Muchoney ND, Jahner JP, Slinn HL, Shelef O, Dodson CD, Kato MJ, Yamaguchi LF, Jeffrey CS. Modern approaches to study plant–insect interactions in chemical ecology. Nat Rev Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1038/s41570-018-0009-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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27
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Roels SM, Porter JL, Lindell CA. Predation pressure by birds and arthropods on herbivorous insects affected by tropical forest restoration strategy. Restor Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.12693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven M. Roels
- Department of Integrative Biology Michigan State University 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing MI 44824 U.S.A
| | - Jade L. Porter
- Forsite Consultants Ltd Salmon Arm British Columbia V1E 2Y9 Canada
| | - Catherine A. Lindell
- Department of Integrative Biology Michigan State University 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing MI 44824 U.S.A
- Center for Global Change and Earth Observations Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 U.S.A
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28
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Coley PD, Endara MJ, Kursar TA. Consequences of interspecific variation in defenses and herbivore host choice for the ecology and evolution of Inga, a speciose rainforest tree. Oecologia 2018; 187:361-376. [PMID: 29428967 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4080-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
We summarize work on a speciose Neotropical tree genus, Inga (Fabaceae), examining how interspecific variation in anti-herbivore defenses may have evolved, how defenses shape host choice by herbivores and how they might regulate community composition and influence species radiations. Defenses of expanding leaves include secondary metabolites, extrafloral nectaries, rapid leaf expansion, trichomes, and synchrony and timing of leaf production. These six classes of defenses are orthogonal, supporting independent evolutionary trajectories. Moreover, only trichomes show a phylogenetic signature, suggesting evolutionary lability in nearly all defenses. The interspecific diversity in secondary metabolite profiles does not arise from the evolution of novel compounds, but from novel combinations of common compounds, presumably due to changes in gene regulation. Herbivore host choice is determined by plant defensive traits, not host phylogeny. Neighboring plants escape each other's pests if their defenses differ enough, thereby enforcing the high local diversity typical of tropical forests. Related herbivores feed on hosts with similar defenses, implying that there are phylogenetic constraints placed on the herbivore traits that are associated with host use. Divergence in defensive traits among Inga appears to be driven by herbivore pressure. However, the lack of congruence between herbivore and host phylogeny suggests that herbivores are tracking defenses, choosing hosts based on traits for which they already have adaptations. There is, therefore, an asymmetry in the host-herbivore evolutionary arms race.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phyllis D Coley
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA. .,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama.
| | - María-José Endara
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.,Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático e Ingeniería en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, EC170103, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Thomas A Kursar
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
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29
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Fonseca JP, Hoffmann L, Cabral BCA, Dias VHG, Miranda MR, de Azevedo Martins AC, Boschiero C, Bastos WR, Silva R. Contrasting the microbiomes from forest rhizosphere and deeper bulk soil from an Amazon rainforest reserve. Gene 2017; 642:389-397. [PMID: 29155257 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2017.11.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Revised: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Pristine forest ecosystems provide a unique perspective for the study of plant-associated microbiota since they host a great microbial diversity. Although the Amazon forest is one of the hotspots of biodiversity around the world, few metagenomic studies described its microbial community diversity thus far. Understanding the environmental factors that can cause shifts in microbial profiles is key to improving soil health and biogeochemical cycles. Here we report a taxonomic and functional characterization of the microbiome from the rhizosphere of Brosimum guianense (Snakewood), a native tree, and bulk soil samples from a pristine Brazilian Amazon forest reserve (Cuniã), for the first time by the shotgun approach. We identified several fungi and bacteria taxon significantly enriched in forest rhizosphere compared to bulk soil samples. For archaea, the trend was the opposite, with many archaeal phylum and families being considerably more enriched in bulk soil compared to forest rhizosphere. Several fungal and bacterial decomposers like Postia placenta and Catenulispora acidiphila which help maintain healthy forest ecosystems were found enriched in our samples. Other bacterial species involved in nitrogen (Nitrobacter hamburgensis and Rhodopseudomonas palustris) and carbon cycling (Oligotropha carboxidovorans) were overrepresented in our samples indicating the importance of these metabolic pathways for the Amazon rainforest reserve soil health. Hierarchical clustering based on taxonomic similar microbial profiles grouped the forest rhizosphere samples in a distinct clade separated from bulk soil samples. Principal coordinate analysis of our samples with publicly available metagenomes from the Amazon region showed grouping into specific rhizosphere and bulk soil clusters, further indicating distinct microbial community profiles. In this work, we reported significant shifts in microbial community structure between forest rhizosphere and bulk soil samples from an Amazon forest reserve that are probably caused by more than one environmental factors such as rhizosphere and soil depth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Pedro Fonseca
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil; The Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK 73401, USA.
| | - Luisa Hoffmann
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil.
| | - Bianca Catarina Azeredo Cabral
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil.
| | - Victor Hugo Giordano Dias
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Marcio Rodrigues Miranda
- Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Núcleo de Ciência e Tecnologia, Porto Velho, RO 76815800, Brazil
| | - Allan Cezar de Azevedo Martins
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil.
| | | | | | - Rosane Silva
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil.
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30
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Zhang H, Bonser SP, Chen SC, Hitchcock T, Moles AT. Is the proportion of clonal species higher at higher latitudes in Australia? AUSTRAL ECOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hongxiang Zhang
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; NSW 2052 Australia
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology; CAS; Changchun China
| | - Stephen P. Bonser
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Si-Chong Chen
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Timothy Hitchcock
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Angela T. Moles
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; NSW 2052 Australia
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31
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Endara MJ, Coley PD, Ghabash G, Nicholls JA, Dexter KG, Donoso DA, Stone GN, Pennington RT, Kursar TA. Coevolutionary arms race versus host defense chase in a tropical herbivore-plant system. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E7499-E7505. [PMID: 28827317 PMCID: PMC5594685 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707727114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Coevolutionary models suggest that herbivores drive diversification and community composition in plants. For herbivores, many questions remain regarding how plant defenses shape host choice and community structure. We addressed these questions using the tree genus Inga and its lepidopteran herbivores in the Amazon. We constructed phylogenies for both plants and insects and quantified host associations and plant defenses. We found that similarity in herbivore assemblages between Inga species was correlated with similarity in defenses. There was no correlation with phylogeny, a result consistent with our observations that the expression of defenses in Inga is independent of phylogeny. Furthermore, host defensive traits explained 40% of herbivore community similarity. Analyses at finer taxonomic scales showed that different lepidopteran clades select hosts based on different defenses, suggesting taxon-specific histories of herbivore-host plant interactions. Finally, we compared the phylogeny and defenses of Inga to phylogenies for the major lepidopteran clades. We found that closely related herbivores fed on Inga with similar defenses rather than on closely related plants. Together, these results suggest that plant defenses might be more evolutionarily labile than the herbivore traits related to host association. Hence, there is an apparent asymmetry in the evolutionary interactions between Inga and its herbivores. Although plants may evolve under selection by herbivores, we hypothesize that herbivores may not show coevolutionary adaptations, but instead "chase" hosts based on the herbivore's own traits at the time that they encounter a new host, a pattern more consistent with resource tracking than with the arms race model of coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- María-José Endara
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840;
- Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito EC170103, Ecuador
| | - Phyllis D Coley
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panamá
| | - Gabrielle Ghabash
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840
| | - James A Nicholls
- Ashworth Labs, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JY, United Kingdom
| | - Kyle G Dexter
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, United Kingdom
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, United Kingdom
| | - David A Donoso
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 17-01-2759, Ecuador
| | - Graham N Stone
- Ashworth Labs, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JY, United Kingdom
| | | | - Thomas A Kursar
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panamá
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32
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33
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Salazar D, Jaramillo MA, Marquis RJ. Chemical similarity and local community assembly in the species rich tropical genus Piper. Ecology 2017; 97:3176-3183. [PMID: 27870051 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Revised: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Community ecologists have strived to find mechanisms that mediate the assembly of natural communities. Recent evidence suggests that natural enemies could play an important role in the assembly of hyper-diverse tropical plant systems. Classic ecological theory predicts that in order for coexistence to occur, species differences must be maximized across biologically important niche dimensions. For plant-herbivore interactions, it has been recently suggested that, within a particular community, plant species that maximize the difference in chemical defense profiles compared to neighboring taxa will have a relative competitive advantage. Here we tested the hypothesis that plant chemical diversity can affect local community composition in the hyper-diverse genus Piper at a lowland wet forest location in Costa Rica. We first characterized the chemical composition of 27 of the most locally abundant species of Piper. We then tested whether species with different chemical compositions were more likely to coexist. Finally, we assessed the degree to which Piper phylogenetic relationships are related to differences in secondary chemical composition and community assembly. We found that, on average, co-occurring species were more likely to differ in chemical composition than expected by chance. Contrary to expectations, there was no phylogenetic signal for overall secondary chemical composition. In addition we found that species in local communities were, on average, more phylogenetically closely related than expected by chance, suggesting that functional traits other than those measured here also influence local assembly. We propose that selection by herbivores for divergent chemistries between closely related species facilitates the coexistence of a high diversity of congeneric taxa via apparent competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Salazar
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, 1005 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, California, 94720-3140, USA.,Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | | | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
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34
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Marquis RJ, Salazar D, Baer C, Reinhardt J, Priest G, Barnett K. Ode to Ehrlich and Raven or how herbivorous insects might drive plant speciation. Ecology 2017; 97:2939-2951. [PMID: 27870033 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2015] [Revised: 06/27/2016] [Accepted: 07/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Fifty years ago, Ehrlich and Raven proposed that insect herbivores have driven much of plant speciation, particularly at tropical latitudes. There have been no explicit tests of their hypotheses. Indeed there were no proposed mechanisms either at the time or since by which herbivores might generate new plant species. Here we outline two main classes of mechanisms, prezygotic and postzygotic, with a number of scenarios in each by which herbivore-driven changes in host plant secondary chemistry might lead to new plant lineage production. The former apply mainly to a sympatric model of speciation while the latter apply to a parapatric or allopatric model. Our review suggests that the steps of each mechanism are known to occur individually in many different systems, but no scenario has been thoroughly investigated in any one system. Nevertheless, studies of Dalechampia and its herbivores and pollinators, and patterns of defense tradeoffs in trees on different soil types in the Peruvian Amazon provide evidence consistent with the original hypotheses of Ehrlich and Raven. For herbivores to drive sympatric speciation, our findings suggest that interactions with both their herbivores and their pollinators should be considered. In contrast, herbivores may drive speciation allopatrically without any influence by pollinators. Finally, there is evidence that these mechanisms are more likely to occur at low latitudes and thus more likely to produce new species in the tropics. The mechanisms we outline provide a predictive framework for further study of the general role that herbivores play in diversification of their host plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | - Diego Salazar
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Bldg #3140, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
| | - Christina Baer
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | - Jason Reinhardt
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA.,Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - Galen Priest
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | - Kirk Barnett
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751, Australia
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35
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Schneider GF, Cheesman AW, Winter K, Turner BL, Sitch S, Kursar TA. Current ambient concentrations of ozone in Panama modulate the leaf chemistry of the tropical tree Ficus insipida. CHEMOSPHERE 2017; 172:363-372. [PMID: 28088026 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.12.109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Revised: 12/17/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a major air pollutant and greenhouse gas, affecting carbon dynamics, ecological interactions, and agricultural productivity across continents and biomes. Elevated [O3] has been documented in tropical evergreen forests, the epicenters of terrestrial primary productivity and plant-consumer interactions. However, the effects of O3 on vegetation have not previously been studied in these forests. In this study, we quantified ambient O3 in a region shared by forests and urban/commercial zones in Panama and found levels two to three times greater than in remote tropical sites. We examined the effects of these ambient O3 levels on the growth and chemistry of seedlings of Ficus insipida, a regionally widespread tree with high stomatal conductance, using open-top chambers supplied with ozone-free or ambient air. We evaluated the differences across treatments in biomass and, using UPLC-MS-MS, leaf secondary metabolites and membrane lipids. Mean [O3] in ambient air was below the levels that induce chronic stress in temperate broadleaved trees, and biomass did not differ across treatments. However, leaf secondary metabolites - including phenolics and a terpenoid - were significantly downregulated in the ambient air treatment. Membrane lipids were present at lower concentrations in older leaves grown in ambient air, suggesting accelerated senescence. Thus, in a tree species with high O3 uptake via high stomatal conductance, current ambient [O3] in Panamanian forests are sufficient to induce chronic effects on leaf chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald F Schneider
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
| | - Alexander W Cheesman
- College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia
| | - Klaus Winter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Benjamin L Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Stephen Sitch
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas A Kursar
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
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Anstett DN, Nunes KA, Baskett C, Kotanen PM. Sources of Controversy Surrounding Latitudinal Patterns in Herbivory and Defense. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:789-802. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2016] [Revised: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 07/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Bixenmann RJ, Coley PD, Weinhold A, Kursar TA. High herbivore pressure favors constitutive over induced defense. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:6037-49. [PMID: 27648224 PMCID: PMC5016630 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 05/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Theoretical and empirical studies show that, when past or current herbivory is a reliable cue of future attack and defenses are costly, defenses can be induced only when needed and thereby permit investment in other functions such as growth or reproduction. Theory also states that, in environments where herbivory is constantly high, constitutive defenses should be favored. Here, we present data to support the second aspect of the induced resistance hypothesis. We examined herbivore-induced responses for four species of Inga (Fabaceae), a common canopy tree in Neotropical forests. We quantified chemical defenses of expanding leaves, including phenolic, saponin and toxic amino acids, in experimental field treatments with and without caterpillars. Because young leaves lack fiber and are higher in protein than mature leaves, they typically lose >25% of their leaf area during the few weeks of expansion. We predicted that the high rates of attack would select for investment in constitutive defenses over induction. Our data show that chemical defenses were quite unresponsive to herbivory. We demonstrated that expanding leaves showed no or only small increases in investment in secondary metabolites, and no qualitative changes in the phenolic compound profile in response to herbivory. The proteinogenic amino acid tyrosine, which can be toxic at high concentrations, showed the greatest levels of induction. SYNTHESIS These results provide some of the first support for theoretical predictions that the evolution of induced vs. constitutive defenses depends on the risk of herbivory. In habitats with constant and high potential losses to herbivores, such as tropical rainforests, high investments in constitutive defenses are favored over induction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J. Bixenmann
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Utah257S 1400ESalt Lake CityUtah84112
| | - Phyllis D. Coley
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Utah257S 1400ESalt Lake CityUtah84112
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBox 0843‐03092BalboaRepublic of Panama
| | - Alexander Weinhold
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Utah257S 1400ESalt Lake CityUtah84112
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigDeutscher Platz 5eLeipzig04103Germany
| | - Thomas A. Kursar
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Utah257S 1400ESalt Lake CityUtah84112
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBox 0843‐03092BalboaRepublic of Panama
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Barônio GJ, Maciel AA, Oliveira AC, Kobal RO, Meireles DA, Brito VL, Rech AR. Plantas, polinizadores e algumas articulações da biologia da polinização com a teoria ecológica. RODRIGUÉSIA 2016. [DOI: 10.1590/2175-7860201667201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Resumo A consolidação em uma área do conhecimento acontece principalmente quando as informações acerca de um determinado fato ou fenômeno são sistematizadas na forma de uma teoria explicativa, capaz de gerar novas hipóteses testáveis. Na biologia da polinização, o teste de diversas hipóteses ecológicas permitiu ampliar o entendimento sobre os processos que originam, mantêm, alteram ou ainda excluem as interações entre plantas e visitantes florais, gerando os padrões observados na natureza. Visando sintetizar esse panorama teórico e oferecer condições para que novas questões relacionadas ao funcionamento de interações de polinização sejam geradas, compilamos aqui um conjunto de 25 hipóteses, ideias e teorias ecológicas que fornecem aporte conceitual para a área. Essas ideias estão relacionadas a aspectos reprodutivos, morfológicos, cognitivos, macroecológicos e de coexistência, de acordo com a especialização das interações entre as plantas e seus polinizadores. Ao apresentarmos essas ideias principais, esperamos promover a utilização de uma abordagem teórico-conceitual explícita no planejamento e desenvolvimento de estudos em biologia da polinização. Concluímos com a expectativa de que essa contribuição direcione os estudos em biologia da polinização no Brasil e contribua para o avanço e internacionalização das pesquisas desenvolvidas no país.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - André R. Rech
- Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Brazil
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Vermeij GJ. Plant defences on land and in water: why are they so different? ANNALS OF BOTANY 2016; 117:1099-109. [PMID: 27091505 PMCID: PMC4904178 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcw061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plants (attached photosynthesizing organisms) are eaten by a wide variety of herbivorous animals. Despite a vast literature on plant defence, contrasting patterns of antiherbivore adaptation among marine, freshwater and land plants have been little noticed, documented or understood. SCOPE Here I show how the surrounding medium (water or air) affects not only the plants themselves, but also the sensory and locomotor capacities of herbivores and their predators, and I discuss patterns of defence and host specialization of plants and herbivores on land and in water. I analysed the literature on herbivory with special reference to mechanical defences and sensory cues emitted by plants. Spines, hairs, asymmetrically oriented features on plant surfaces, and visual and olfactory signals that confuse or repel herbivores are common in land plants but rare or absent in water-dwelling plants. Small terrestrial herbivores are more often host-specific than their aquatic counterparts. I propose that patterns of selection on terrestrial herbivores and plants differ from those on aquatic species. Land plants must often attract animal dispersers and pollinators that, like their herbivorous counterparts, require sophisticated locomotor and sensory abilities. Plants counter their attractiveness to animal helpers by evolving effective contact defences and long-distance cues that mislead or warn herbivores. The locomotor and sensory world of small aquatic herbivores is more limited. These characteristics result from the lower viscosity and density of air compared with water as well as from limitations on plant physiology and signal transmission in water. Evolutionary innovations have not eliminated the contrasts in the conditions of life between water and land. CONCLUSION Plant defence can be understood fully when herbivores and their victims are considered in the broader context of other interactions among coexisting species and of the medium in which these interactions occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geerat J Vermeij
- University of California, Davis, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Salazar D, Jaramillo A, Marquis RJ. The impact of plant chemical diversity on plant-herbivore interactions at the community level. Oecologia 2016; 181:1199-208. [PMID: 27129320 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3629-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the role of diversity in ecosystem processes and species interactions is a central goal of ecology. For plant-herbivore interactions, it has been hypothesized that when plant species diversity is reduced, loss of plant biomass to herbivores increases. Although long-standing, this hypothesis has received mixed support. Increasing plant chemical diversity with increasing plant taxonomic diversity is likely to be important for plant-herbivore interactions at the community level, but the role of chemical diversity is unexplored. Here we assess the effect of volatile chemical diversity on patterns of herbivore damage in naturally occurring patches of Piper (Piperaceae) shrubs in a Costa Rican lowland wet forest. Volatile chemical diversity negatively affected total, specialist, and generalist herbivore damage. Furthermore, there were differences between the effects of high-volatility and low-volatility chemical diversity on herbivore damage. High-volatility diversity reduced specialist herbivory, while low-volatility diversity reduced generalist herbivory. Our data suggest that, although increased plant diversity is expected to reduce average herbivore damage, this pattern is likely mediated by the diversity of defensive compounds and general classes of anti-herbivore traits, as well as the degree of specialization of the herbivores attacking those plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Salazar
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, 1005 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3140, USA. .,Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.
| | - Alejandra Jaramillo
- Facultad de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA
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Moles AT, Ollerton J. Is the notion that species interactions are stronger and more specialized in the tropics a zombie idea? Biotropica 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Angela T. Moles
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Australia NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Jeff Ollerton
- School of Science and Technology University of Northampton Newton Building Avenue Campus Northampton NN2 6JD UK
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The equal effectiveness of different defensive strategies. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13049. [PMID: 26267426 PMCID: PMC4533318 DOI: 10.1038/srep13049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 07/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants have evolved a variety of defensive strategies to resist herbivory, but at the interspecific level, the relative effectiveness of these strategies has been poorly evaluated. In this study, we compared the level of herbivory between species that depend on ants as indirect defenders and species that rely primarily on their own direct defenses. Using a dataset of 871 species and 1,405 data points, we found that in general, ant-associated species had levels of herbivory equal to those of species that are unattractive to ants; the pattern was unaffected by plant life form, climate and phylogenetic relationships between species. Interestingly, species that offer both food and nesting spaces for ants suffered significantly lower herbivory compared to species that offer either food or nesting spaces only or no reward for ants. A negative relationship between herbivory and latitude was detected, but the pattern can be changed by ants. These findings suggest that, at the interspecific level, the effectiveness of different defensive strategies may be equal. Considering the effects of herbivory on plant performance and fitness, the equal effectiveness of different defensive strategies may play an important role in the coexistence of various species at the community scale.
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Schuldt A, Bruelheide H, Härdtle W, Assmann T, Li Y, Ma K, von Oheimb G, Zhang J. Early positive effects of tree species richness on herbivory in a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment influence tree growth. THE JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2015; 103:563-571. [PMID: 26690688 PMCID: PMC4672697 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Despite the importance of herbivory for the structure and functioning of species-rich forests, little is known about how herbivory is affected by tree species richness, and more specifically by random vs. non-random species loss. We assessed herbivore damage and its effects on tree growth in the early stage of a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment in subtropical China that features random and non-random extinction scenarios of tree mixtures numbering between one and 24 species. In contrast to random species loss, the non-random extinction scenarios were based on the tree species' local rarity and specific leaf area - traits that may strongly influence the way herbivory is affected by plant species richness. Herbivory increased with tree species richness across all scenarios and was unaffected by the different species compositions in the random and non-random extinction scenarios. Whereas tree growth rates were positively related to herbivory on plots with smaller trees, growth rates significantly declined with increasing herbivory on plots with larger trees. Our results suggest that the effects of herbivory on growth rates increase from monocultures to the most species-rich plant communities and that negative effects with increasing tree species richness become more pronounced with time as trees grow larger. Synthesis. Our results indicate that key trophic interactions can be quick to become established in forest plantations (i.e. already 2.5 years after tree planting). Stronger herbivory effects on tree growth with increasing tree species richness suggest a potentially important role of herbivory in regulating ecosystem functions and the structural development of species-rich forests from the very start of secondary forest succession. The lack of significant differences between the extinction scenarios, however, contrasts with findings from natural forests of higher successional age, where rarity had negative effects on herbivory. This indicates that the effects of non-random species loss could change with forest succession.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Schuldt
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University LüneburgScharnhorststr. 1, D-21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Helge Bruelheide
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, University of HalleAm Kirchtor 1, D-06108, Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-LeipzigDeutscher Platz 5e, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Werner Härdtle
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University LüneburgScharnhorststr. 1, D-21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Thorsten Assmann
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University LüneburgScharnhorststr. 1, D-21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Ying Li
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University LüneburgScharnhorststr. 1, D-21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Keping Ma
- Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, 100093, China
| | - Goddert von Oheimb
- Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, Technische Universität DresdenPienner Str. 7, D-01737, Tharandt, Germany
| | - Jiayong Zhang
- Institute of Ecology, Zhejiang Normal UniversityYinbing Road 688, 321004, Jinhua, China
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Schimel D, Pavlick R, Fisher JB, Asner GP, Saatchi S, Townsend P, Miller C, Frankenberg C, Hibbard K, Cox P. Observing terrestrial ecosystems and the carbon cycle from space. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:1762-76. [PMID: 25472464 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Revised: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 11/08/2014] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystem and carbon cycle feedbacks will significantly impact future climate, but their responses are highly uncertain. Models and tipping point analyses suggest the tropics and arctic/boreal zone carbon-climate feedbacks could be disproportionately large. In situ observations in those regions are sparse, resulting in high uncertainties in carbon fluxes and fluxes. Key parameters controlling ecosystem carbon responses, such as plant traits, are also sparsely observed in the tropics, with the most diverse biome on the planet treated as a single type in models. We analyzed the spatial distribution of in situ data for carbon fluxes, stocks and plant traits globally and also evaluated the potential of remote sensing to observe these quantities. New satellite data products go beyond indices of greenness and can address spatial sampling gaps for specific ecosystem properties and parameters. Because environmental conditions and access limit in situ observations in tropical and arctic/boreal environments, use of space-based techniques can reduce sampling bias and uncertainty about tipping point feedbacks to climate. To reliably detect change and develop the understanding of ecosystems needed for prediction, significantly, more data are required in critical regions. This need can best be met with a strategic combination of remote and in situ data, with satellite observations providing the dense sampling in space and time required to characterize the heterogeneity of ecosystem structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Schimel
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91101, USA
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Young RM, Schoenrock KM, von Salm JL, Amsler CD, Baker BJ. Structure and Function of Macroalgal Natural Products. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1308:39-73. [PMID: 26108497 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2684-8_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Since the initial discovery of marine phyco-derived secondary metabolites in the 1950s there has been a rapid increase in the description of new algal natural products. These metabolites have multiple ecological roles as well as commercial value as potential drugs or lead compounds. With the emergence of resistance to our current arsenal of drugs as well as the development of new chemotherapies for currently untreatable diseases, new compounds must be sourced. As outlined in this chapter algae produce a diverse range of chemicals many of which have potential for the treatment of human afflictions.In this chapter we outline the classes of metabolites produced by this chemically rich group of organisms as well as their respective ecological roles in the environment. Algae are found in nearly every environment on earth, with many of these organisms possessing the ability to shape the ecosystem they inhabit. With current challenges to climate stability, understanding how these important organisms interact with their environment as well as one another might afford better insight into how they respond to a changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M Young
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
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Asner GP, Martin RE, Carranza-Jiménez L, Sinca F, Tupayachi R, Anderson CB, Martinez P. Functional and biological diversity of foliar spectra in tree canopies throughout the Andes to Amazon region. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2014; 204:127-139. [PMID: 24942328 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Accepted: 05/11/2014] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Spectral properties of foliage express fundamental chemical interactions of canopies with solar radiation. However, the degree to which leaf spectra track chemical traits across environmental gradients in tropical forests is unknown. We analyzed leaf reflectance and transmittance spectra in 2567 tropical canopy trees comprising 1449 species in 17 forests along a 3400-m elevation and soil fertility gradient from the Amazonian lowlands to the Andean treeline. We developed quantitative links between 21 leaf traits and 400-2500-nm spectra, and developed classifications of tree taxa based on spectral traits. Our results reveal enormous inter-specific variation in spectral and chemical traits among canopy trees of the western Amazon. Chemical traits mediating primary production were tightly linked to elevational changes in foliar spectral signatures. By contrast, defense compounds and rock-derived nutrients tracked foliar spectral variation with changing soil fertility in the lowlands. Despite the effects of abiotic filtering on mean foliar spectral properties of tree communities, the spectra were dominated by phylogeny within any given community, and spectroscopy accurately classified 85-93% of Amazonian tree species. Our findings quantify how tropical tree canopies interact with sunlight, and indicate how to measure the functional and biological diversity of forests with spectroscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P Asner
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Roberta E Martin
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Loreli Carranza-Jiménez
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Felipe Sinca
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Raul Tupayachi
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Christopher B Anderson
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Paola Martinez
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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Stevenson PR, Link A, Onshuus A, Quiroz AJ, Velasco M. Estimation of Seed Shadows Generated by Andean Woolly Monkeys (Lagothrix lagothricha lugens). INT J PRIMATOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-014-9795-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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49
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Large-scale wind disturbances promote tree diversity in a Central Amazon forest. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103711. [PMID: 25099118 PMCID: PMC4123898 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Canopy gaps created by wind-throw events, or blowdowns, create a complex mosaic of forest patches varying in disturbance intensity and recovery in the Central Amazon. Using field and remote sensing data, we investigated the short-term (four-year) effects of large (>2000 m2) blowdown gaps created during a single storm event in January 2005 near Manaus, Brazil, to study (i) how forest structure and composition vary with disturbance gradients and (ii) whether tree diversity is promoted by niche differentiation related to wind-throw events at the landscape scale. In the forest area affected by the blowdown, tree mortality ranged from 0 to 70%, and was highest on plateaus and slopes. Less impacted areas in the region affected by the blowdown had overlapping characteristics with a nearby unaffected forest in tree density (583±46 trees ha−1) (mean±99% Confidence Interval) and basal area (26.7±2.4 m2 ha−1). Highly impacted areas had tree density and basal area as low as 120 trees ha−1 and 14.9 m2 ha−1, respectively. In general, these structural measures correlated negatively with an index of tree mortality intensity derived from satellite imagery. Four years after the blowdown event, differences in size-distribution, fraction of resprouters, floristic composition and species diversity still correlated with disturbance measures such as tree mortality and gap size. Our results suggest that the gradients of wind disturbance intensity encompassed in large blowdown gaps (>2000 m2) promote tree diversity. Specialists for particular disturbance intensities existed along the entire gradient. The existence of species or genera taking an intermediate position between undisturbed and gap specialists led to a peak of rarefied richness and diversity at intermediate disturbance levels. A diverse set of species differing widely in requirements and recruitment strategies forms the initial post-disturbance cohort, thus lending a high resilience towards wind disturbances at the community level.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Charles J Godfray
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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