scholarly journals Patterns of floral allocation along an elevation gradient: variation in Senecio subalpinus growing in the Tatra Mountains

Alpine Botany ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-124
Author(s):  
Piotr Kiełtyk
Keyword(s):  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Tatra Mountains ◽  
Ecological Gradient ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Allocation Patterns ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
Elevational Shift ◽  
The Tatra Mountains ◽  
Gradient Variation

AbstractThis study examined the morphological variation in Senecio subalpinus W.D.J. Koch. (Asteraceae) along a 950-m elevation gradient in the Tatra Mountains, Central Europe, with emphasis on floral allocation patterns. Fifteen morphological traits were measured in 200 plants collected in the field from 20 sites then the findings were modelled by elevation using linear mixed-effects models. Plant aboveground biomass and height decreased steadily with increasing elevation; however, the most distinctive feature was the elevational shift in floral allocation patterns. Low-elevation plants had greater numbers of smaller flower heads with a lower overall number of flowers, while high-elevation plants had smaller numbers of bigger flower heads and a greater overall number of flowers. Accordingly, the mean individual flower mass increased significantly with increasing elevation. Interestingly, the width of the outer ligulate flowers also increased considerably with increasing elevation, increasing the fill of the overall circumference of the flower head. Results of this study confirmed that elevation is an important ecological gradient driving variation in vegetative and floral traits of S. subalpinus. Possible causes of the observed variations are subsequently discussed, including the varying effects of both abiotic and biotic factors with elevation gradients.

scholarly journals Intraspecific morphological variation of Bellidiastrum michelii (Asteraceae) along a 1,155 m elevation gradient in the Tatra Mountains

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11286
Author(s):  
Piotr Kiełtyk
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Variation ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Flower Head ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Floral Traits ◽  
Tatra Mountains ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Intraspecific Morphological Variation ◽  
The Tatra Mountains

Plant species that inhabit large elevation gradients in mountain regions are exposed to different environmental conditions. These different conditions may influence plant morphology via plastic responses and/or via genetic adaptation to the local environment. In this study, morphological variation was examined for Bellidiastrum michelii Cass. (Asteraceae) plants growing along a 1,155 m elevation gradient in the Tatra Mountains in Central Europe. The aim was to contribute to gaining a better understanding of within-species morphological variation in a mountain species across elevation gradients. Twelve morphological traits, which were measured for 340 plants collected from 34 sites, were plotted against elevation using Generalised Additive Models. Significant variation in B. michelii morphology was found across the elevation gradient. Plant size, in the form of plant height, total aboveground mass and total leaf mass, decreased significantly with increasing elevation. Similarly, floral traits, such as flower head mass, total flower mass, individual flower mass, flower head diameter and ligulate and tubular flower length, also decreased significantly with increasing elevation. However, the changes in these floral traits were not as large as those observed for plant size traits. Interestingly, the number of flowers produced by the plant, both ligulate and tubular, did not change across the studied elevation gradient. In this study, elevation was found to be an important gradient across which significant intraspecific morphological variation occurred in a mountain plant. These morphological changes may have occurred in response to various abiotic and biotic factors that change along elevation gradients.

scholarly journals Elevation Gradient Altered Soil C, N, and P Stoichiometry of Pinus taiwanensis Forest on Daiyun Mountain

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1089
Author(s):  
Lan Jiang ◽  
Zhongsheng He ◽  
Jinfu Liu ◽  
Cong Xing ◽  
Xinguang Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
C:N Ratio ◽  
Phosphate Fertilizer ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Driving Factors ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil P ◽  
C And N

Researches focused on soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) content and the stoichiometry characteristics along elevation gradients are important for effective management of forest ecosystems. Taking the soil of different elevations from 900 to 1700 m on Daiyun Mountain as the object, the elevation distribution of total C, N, and P in soil and their stoichiometry characteristics were studied. Also, the driving factors resulting in the spatial heterogeneity of soil stoichiometry are presented. The results show the following: (1) The average soil C and N content was 53.03 g·kg−1 and 3.82 g·kg−1, respectively. The content of C and N at high elevation was higher than that of at low elevation. Soil phosphorus fluctuated with elevation. (2) With increasing elevation, soil C:N ratio increased initially to 17.40 at elevation between 900–1000 m, and then decreased to 12.02 at elevation 1600 m. The changing trends of C:P and N:P were similar, and they all fluctuated with elevation. (3) Elevation, soil bulk density, and soil temperature were the main factors influencing the variation of soil C, N, and C:N. Soil pH and slope position were the driving factors for soil P, C:P, and N:P. The soil is rich in C and N, and has less total phosphorus on Daiyun Mountain. Raising the level of phosphate fertilizer appropriately can help to improve soil fertility and promote plant growth as well. In light of this information, in the near future, it will be necessary to conduct separation management of C, N, and P with regular monitoring systems to maintain favorable conditions for soil.

scholarly journals Turnover of Lecanoroid Mycobionts and Their Trebouxia Photobionts Along an Elevation Gradient in Bolivia Highlights the Role of Environment in Structuring the Lichen Symbiosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Medeiros ◽  
Edyta Mazur ◽  
Jolanta Miadlikowska ◽  
Adam Flakus ◽  
Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Single Species ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Clade C ◽  
Community Shifts ◽  
Molecular Dataset

Shifts in climate along elevation gradients structure mycobiont–photobiont associations in lichens. We obtained mycobiont (lecanoroid Lecanoraceae) and photobiont (Trebouxia alga) DNA sequences from 89 lichen thalli collected in Bolivia from a ca. 4,700 m elevation gradient encompassing diverse natural communities and environmental conditions. The molecular dataset included six mycobiont loci (ITS, nrLSU, mtSSU, RPB1, RPB2, and MCM7) and two photobiont loci (ITS, rbcL); we designed new primers to amplify Lecanoraceae RPB1 and RPB2 with a nested PCR approach. Mycobionts belonged to Lecanora s.lat., Bryonora, Myriolecis, Protoparmeliopsis, the “Lecanora” polytropa group, and the “L.” saligna group. All of these clades except for Lecanora s.lat. occurred only at high elevation. No single species of Lecanoraceae was present along the entire elevation gradient, and individual clades were restricted to a subset of the gradient. Most Lecanoraceae samples represent species which have not previously been sequenced. Trebouxia clade C, which has not previously been recorded in association with species of Lecanoraceae, predominates at low- to mid-elevation sites. Photobionts from Trebouxia clade I occur at the upper extent of mid-elevation forest and at some open, high-elevation sites, while Trebouxia clades A and S dominate open habitats at high elevation. We did not find Trebouxia clade D. Several putative new species were found in Trebouxia clades A, C, and I. These included one putative species in clade A associated with Myriolecis species growing on limestone at high elevation and a novel lineage sister to the rest of clade C associated with Lecanora on bark in low-elevation grassland. Three different kinds of photobiont switching were observed, with certain mycobiont species associating with Trebouxia from different major clades, species within a major clade, or haplotypes within a species. Lecanoraceae mycobionts and Trebouxia photobionts exhibit species turnover along the elevation gradient, but with each partner having a different elevation threshold at which the community shifts completely. A phylogenetically defined sampling of a single diverse family of lichen-forming fungi may be sufficient to document regional patterns of Trebouxia diversity and distribution.

scholarly journals Variation in ant-mediated seed dispersal along elevation gradients

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Del Toro ◽  
Relena R Ribbons
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Seed Removal ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Lower Elevation

Ant-mediated seed dispersal, also known as myrmecochory, is a widespread and important mutualism that structures both plant and insect communities. However the extent to which myrmecochory is driven by abiotic and biotic environmental factors remains unclear. We used a replicated standardized seed removal experiment along elevation gradients in four mountain ranges in the southwestern United States to test predictions that: (1) seed removal rates would be greater at lower elevations, and (2) seed species identity influences seed removal rates, (i.e. seeds from their native elevation range would be removed at higher rates than seeds outside of their range). Both predictions were supported. Seed removal rates were ~25% higher at lower elevation sites than at higher elevation sites. The low elevation Datura and high elevation Iris were removed at higher rates in their respective native ranges. We attribute observed differences in dispersal rates to changes in ant community composition, functional diversity, and abundance, suggesting that temperature variation along the elevation gradient.

scholarly journals Differential phenotypic and genetic expression of defence compounds in a plant–herbivore interaction along elevation

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 160226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana L. Salgado ◽  
Tomasz Suchan ◽  
Loïc Pellissier ◽  
Sergio Rasmann ◽  
Anne-Lyse Ducrest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Tissue Replacement ◽  
Plant Herbivore ◽  
Optimal Defence

Elevation gradients impose large differences in abiotic and biotic conditions over short distances, in turn, likely driving differences in gene expression more than would genetic variation per se , as natural selection and drift are less likely to fix alleles at such a narrow spatial scale. As elevation increases, the pressure exerted on plants by herbivores and on arthropod herbivores by predators decreases, and organisms spanning the elevation gradient are thus expected to show lower levels of defence at high elevation. The alternative hypothesis, based on the optimal defence theory, is that defence allocation should be higher in low-resource habitats such as those at high elevation, due to higher costs associated with tissue replacement. In this study, we analyse variation with elevation in (i) defence compound content in the plant Lotus corniculatus and (ii) gene expression associated with defence against predators in the specific phytophagous moth, Zygaena filipendulae . Both species produce cyanogenic glycosides (CNglcs) such as lotaustralin and linamarin as defence mechanisms, with the moth, in addition, being able to sequester CNglcs from its host plant. Specifically, we tested the assumption that the defence-associated phenotype in plants and the gene expression in the insect herbivore should covary between low- and high-elevation environments. We found that L. corniculatus accumulated more CNglcs at high elevation, a result in agreement with the optimal defence theory. By contrast, we found that the levels of expression in the defence genes of Z. filipendulae larvae were not related to the CNglc content of their host plant. Overall, expression levels were not correlated with elevation either, with the exception of the UGT33A1 gene, which showed a marginally significant trend towards higher expression at high elevation when using a simple statistical framework. These results suggest that the defence phenotype of plants against herbivores, and subsequent herbivore sequestration machineries and de novo production, are based on a complex network of interactions.

scholarly journals Climate Sensitivity of Tropical Trees Along an Elevation Gradient in Rwanda

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam Mujawamariya ◽  
Aloysie Manishimwe ◽  
Bonaventure Ntirugulirwa ◽  
Etienne Zibera ◽  
Daniel Ganszky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Climate Sensitivity ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Nutrient Ratios ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Use Efficiency

Elevation gradients offer excellent opportunities to explore the climate sensitivity of vegetation. Here, we investigated elevation patterns of structural, chemical, and physiological traits in tropical tree species along a 1700–2700 m elevation gradient in Rwanda, central Africa. Two early-successional (Polyscias fulva, Macaranga kilimandscharica) and two late-successional (Syzygium guineense, Carapa grandiflora) species that are abundant in the area and present along the entire gradient were investigated. We found that elevation patterns in leaf stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), net photosynthesis (An), and water-use efficiency were highly season-dependent. In the wet season, there was no clear variation in gs or An with elevation, while E was lower at cooler high-elevation sites. In the dry season, gs, An, and E were all lower at drier low elevation sites. The leaf-to-air temperature difference was smallest in P. fulva, which also had the highest gs and E. Water-use efficiency (An/E) increased with elevation in the wet season, but not in the dry season. Leaf nutrient ratios indicated that trees at all sites are mostly P limited and the N:P ratio did not decrease with increasing elevation. Our finding of strongly decreased gas exchange at lower sites in the dry season suggests that both transpiration and primary production would decline in a climate with more pronounced dry periods. Furthermore, we showed that N limitation does not increase with elevation in the forests studied, as otherwise most commonly reported for tropical montane forests.

scholarly journals Variation in ant-mediated seed dispersal along elevation gradients

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Del Toro ◽  
Relena R. Ribbons
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Seed Removal ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Elevation Range

Ant-mediated seed dispersal, also known as myrmecochory, is a widespread and important mutualism that structures both plant and ant communities. However, the extent to which ant functional types (e.g., granivorous generalists vs. myrmecochorous ants) across environmental gradients affect seed removal rates is not fully understood. We used a replicated, standardized seed removal experiment along elevation gradients in four mountain ranges in the southwestern United States to test predictions that: (1) seed removal rates would be greater at lower elevations, and (2) seed species identity influences seed removal rates (i.e., seeds from their native elevation range would be removed at higher rates than seeds outside of their native elevation range). Both predictions were supported. Seed removal rates were ∼25% higher at lower elevation sites than at higher elevation sites. The low elevation Datura and high elevation Iris were removed at higher rates in their respective native ranges. We attribute observed differences in dispersal rates to changes in ant community composition, functional diversity, and abundance. We also suggest that temperature variation along the elevation gradient may explain these differences in seed removal rates.

scholarly journals Variation in ant-mediated seed dispersal along elevation gradients

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Del Toro ◽  
Relena R Ribbons
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Seed Removal ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Lower Elevation

Ant-mediated seed dispersal, also known as myrmecochory, is a widespread and important mutualism that structures both plant and insect communities. However the extent to which myrmecochory is driven by abiotic and biotic environmental factors remains unclear. We used a replicated standardized seed removal experiment along elevation gradients in four mountain ranges in the southwestern United States to test predictions that: (1) seed removal rates would be greater at lower elevations, and (2) seed species identity influences seed removal rates, (i.e. seeds from their native elevation range would be removed at higher rates than seeds outside of their range). Both predictions were supported. Seed removal rates were ~25% higher at lower elevation sites than at higher elevation sites. The low elevation Datura and high elevation Iris were removed at higher rates in their respective native ranges. We attribute observed differences in dispersal rates to changes in ant community composition, functional diversity, and abundance, suggesting that temperature variation along the elevation gradient.

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