Linking grazing response of species abundance to functional traits in the Tibetan alpine meadow

Aim: Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models promise a novel approach for understanding community assembly and species abundance patterns. One of these models, the "Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology" (METE) reproduces many observed species abundance patterns, but is based on an aggregated representation of community structure that does not resolve species identity or explicitly represent species-specific functional traits. In this paper, METE is compared to "Very Entropic Growth" (VEG), a MaxEnt model with a less aggregated representation of community structure that represents species (more correctly, functional types) in terms of their per capita metabolic rates. We examine the contribution of metabolic traits to the patterns of community assembly predicted by VEG and, through aggregation, compare the results with METE predictions in order to gain insight into the biological factors underlying observed patterns of community assembly. Innovation: We formally compare two MaxEnt-based community models, METE and VEG, that differ as to whether or not they represent species-specific functional traits. We empirically test and compare the metabolic predictions of both models, thereby elucidating the role of metabolic traits in patterns of community assembly. Main Conclusions: Our analysis reveals that a key determinant of community metabolic patterns is the "density of species" distribution, defined as the intrinsic number of species with metabolic rates in a given range that are available to a community prior to filtering by environmental constraints. Our analysis suggests that appropriate choice of of the density of species in VEG may lead to more realistic predictions than METE, for which this distribution is not defined, and thus opens up new ways to understanding the link between functional traits and patterns of community assembly.

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Are functional traits a good predictor of global change impacts on tree species abundance dynamics in a subtropical forest?

Ecology Letters ◽

10.1111/ele.12497 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 1181-1189 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Ronghua Li ◽

Shidan Zhu ◽

Han Y. H. Chen ◽

Robert John ◽

Guoyi Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Global Change ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Tree Species ◽

Good Predictor ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Subtropical Forest ◽

Abundance Dynamics

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Plant functional traits explain species abundance patterns and strategies shifts among saplings and adult trees in Araucaria forests

Austral Ecology ◽

10.1111/aec.13044 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joice Klipel ◽

Rodrigo Scarton Bergamin ◽

Guilherme Dubal Dos Santos Seger ◽

Marcos Bergmann Carlucci ◽

Sandra Cristina Müller

Keyword(s):

Functional Traits ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Plant Functional Traits ◽

Abundance Patterns ◽

Adult Trees

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Species abundance is jointly determined by functional traits and negative density dependence in a subtropical forest in southern China

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtab009 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Weitao Wang ◽

Yun Jiang ◽

Buhang Li ◽

Nianxun Xi ◽

Yongfa Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Density Dependence ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Southern China ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Plant Functional Traits ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Combined Effects ◽

Negative Density Dependence

Abstract Aims The factors affecting species abundance are a subject of ongoing debates in community ecology. Empirical studies have demonstrated that tree abundance is affected by plant functional traits and negative density dependence (NDD). However, few studies have focused on the combined effects of negative density dependence and plant functional traits on species abundance. Methods In this study, we used tree functional traits and two census data from a 50-ha forest dynamic plot in the Heishiding (HSD) Nature Reserve to explore the combined effects of functional traits and NDD on species abundance. Using hierarchical Bayesian models, we analyzed how neighbor densities affected the survival of saplings from 130 species and extracted posterior means of the coefficients to represent NDD. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was then applied to investigate the causal relationships among species functional traits, negative density dependence, and species abundance. Important findings SEM showed that tree functional traits, including specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf N content (LNC), maximum electron transport rate (ETRmax), and conspecific adult negative density dependence (CNDDadult), together explained 20% of the total variation in tree abundance. Specifically, SLA affected tree abundance both directly and indirectly via CNDDadult, with a totally negative influence on abundance. LDMC and LNC had only indirect effects mediated by CNDDadult on tree abundance. ETRmax and LA had directly negative effects on abundance, but their direct connections with CNDDadult were not observed. In addition, CNDDadult was negatively correlated with species abundance, indicating that abundant species are under stronger negative density dependence. Among these investigated traits, SLA contributed the most to the variation in CNDDadult and abundance. We argued that our findings of trait-CNDDadult-abundance relationships can improve our understanding of the determinants of species commonness and rarity in forests.

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Functional traits associated with plant colonizing and competitive ability influence species abundance during secondary succession: Evidence from subalpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.4110 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (13) ◽

pp. 6529-6536 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hui Zhang ◽

Wei Qi ◽

Kun Liu

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Secondary Succession ◽

Competitive Ability ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Subalpine Meadows

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Exploring the functional strategies adopted by coastal plants along an ecological gradient by means of morpho-functional traits

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4689 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Ciccarelli ◽

Cleusa Bona

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

C4 Photosynthesis ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Sand Dunes ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Strong Interactions ◽

Ecological Gradient

Coastal dunes are characterised by strong interactions between biotic and abiotic factors along a short gradient from the shoreline to the inland region. We carried out an ecological analysis of the vegetation in a protected area of the Italian coast to evaluate the relationships among species abundance; the occurrence of morphoanatomical traits related to leaves, stems and roots; and soil variables. Three transects were established perpendicular to the shoreline with 27 plots distributed in the frontal dunes, back dunes, and temporarily wet dune slacks.The analysis based on community weighted mean values is consistent with the ecological constraints along the shoreline-inland gradient. The front-plots were characterised by the presence of pioneer communities (with succulent leaves as evidenced by the high limb thickness values and the low LDMC values) that are well adapted to the harsh environmental conditions of these habitats. Farther from the sea, the back-plot vegetation was characterised by functional traits (especially high LDMC values) that are consistent with the less-extreme ecological conditions. Last, the slack-plots seemed to be very interesting from a functional point of view. They were dominated by geophytes that had adopted C4 photosynthesis and had amphistomatic leaves and abundant aerenchyma in the roots.The native vs. invasive status, C4 photosynthesis, leaf trichomes and aerenchyma in the roots were significantly correlated with soil moisture, organic matter content and pH. These results demonstrate the usefulness of anatomical traits (especially those of the root system) in understanding the functional strategies adopted by plants.Last, invasive species tended to occupy plots with high levels of soil moisture, and they were not abundant in the habitats with more arid conditions. These data confirmed that alien species are less adapted to the harsh environmental conditions of coastal sand dunes. Increasing the spatial extent of the study area and integrating other functional traits, such as ecophysiological or regenerative characteristics, into the study may allow the development of a more comprehensive functional framework of the invasion process. All this information can be used to develop appropriate management strategies for coastal dune ecosystems.

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Relative species abundance successfully predicts nestedness and interaction frequency of monthly pollination networks in an alpine meadow

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0224316 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. e0224316 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lei Hu ◽

Yuran Dong ◽

Shucun Sun

Keyword(s):

Alpine Meadow ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Interaction Frequency

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Functional Traits Are Good Predictors of Tree Species Abundance Across 101 Subtropical Forest Species in China

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.541577 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Ronghua Li ◽

Shidan Zhu ◽

Juyu Lian ◽

Hui Zhang ◽

Hui Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Content ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Phosphorus Content ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Leaf Nitrogen ◽

Subtropical Forest ◽

Evergreen Forest ◽

Forest Plot ◽

Stem Density ◽

Leaf Nitrogen Content

What causes variation in species abundance for a given site remains a central question in community ecology. Foundational to trait-based ecology is the expectation that functional traits determine species abundance. However, the relative success of using functional traits to predict relative abundance is questionable. One reason is that the diversity in plant function is greater than that characterized by the few most commonly and easily measurable traits. Here, we measured 10 functional traits and the stem density of 101 woody plant species in a 200,000 m2 permanent, mature, subtropical forest plot (high precipitation and high nitrogen, but generally light- and phosphorus-limited) in southern China to determine how well relative species abundance could be predicted by functional traits. We found that: (1) leaf phosphorus content, specific leaf area, maximum CO2 assimilation rate, maximum stomata conductance, and stem hydraulic conductivity were significantly and negatively associated with species abundance, (2) the ratio of leaf nitrogen content to leaf phosphorus content (N:P) and wood density were significantly positively correlated with species abundance; (3) neither leaf nitrogen content nor leaf turgor loss point were related to species abundance; (4) a combination of N:P and maximum stomata conductance accounted for 44% of the variation in species’ abundances. Taken together, our findings suggested that the combination of these functional traits are powerful predictors of species abundance. Species with a resource-conservative strategy that invest more in their tissues are dominant in the mature, subtropical, evergreen forest.

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