Designing resilient and sustainable grasslands for a drier future: Adaptive strategies, functional traits and biotic interactions

Abstract Ecologically functional traits are the product of several, at times opposing, selective forces. Thus, ecomorphological patterns can be disrupted locally by biotic interactions, such as competition, and may not be consistent across lineages. Here, we studied the evolution of claws and toepads in relationship to macrohabitat (vegetation), use of structural microhabitat (perch height) and congeneric competition for two distantly related Lesser Antillean anole clades: the Anolis bimaculatus and Anolis roquet series. We collected univariate and geometric morphometric data from 254 individuals across 22 species to test the hypotheses that functional morphology should covary with both vegetation and perch height and that the presence of a competitor may disrupt such covariation. Our data showed predictable associations between morphology and macrohabitat on single-species islands but not when a congeneric competitor was present. The outcomes of competition differed between series, however. In the A. bimaculatus series, species with a sympatric congener diverged in claw and toepad traits consistent with functional predictions, whereas A. roquet series anoles showed either no association between habitat and morphology or the opposite pattern. Our results demonstrated that ecomorphological patterns across macrohabitats can be disrupted by competition-driven microhabitat partitioning and that specific morphological responses to similar ecological pressures can vary between lineages.

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Functional Genomics Differentiate Inherent and Environmentally Influenced Traits in Dinoflagellate and Diatom Communities

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms8040567 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 567 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stephanie Elferink ◽

Uwe John ◽

Stefan Neuhaus ◽

Sylke Wohlrab

Keyword(s):

Signal Transduction ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Sulfur Cycle ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Physiological Importance ◽

Metabolic Interactions ◽

Lysine Degradation

Dinoflagellates and diatoms are among the most prominent microeukaryotic plankton groups, and they have evolved different functional traits reflecting their roles within ecosystems. However, links between their metabolic processes and functional traits within different environmental contexts warrant further study. The functional biodiversity of dinoflagellates and diatoms was accessed with metatranscriptomics using Pfam protein domains as proxies for functional processes. Despite the overall geographic similarity of functional responses, abiotic (i.e., temperature and salinity; ~800 Pfam domains) and biotic (i.e., taxonomic group; ~1500 Pfam domains) factors influencing particular functional responses were identified. Salinity and temperature were identified as the main drivers of community composition. Higher temperatures were associated with an increase of Pfam domains involved in energy metabolism and a decrease of processes associated with translation and the sulfur cycle. Salinity changes were correlated with the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (e.g., terpenoids and polyketides) and signal transduction processes, indicating an overall strong effect on the biota. The abundance of dinoflagellates was positively correlated with nitrogen metabolism, vesicular transport and signal transduction, highlighting their link to biotic interactions (more so than diatoms) and suggesting the central role of species interactions in the evolution of dinoflagellates. Diatoms were associated with metabolites (e.g., isoprenoids and carotenoids), as well as lysine degradation, which highlights their ecological role as important primary producers and indicates the physiological importance of these metabolic pathways for diatoms in their natural environment. These approaches and gathered information will support ecological questions concerning the marine ecosystem state and metabolic interactions in the marine environment.

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Plant dominance in a subalpine montane meadow: biotic vs. abiotic controls of subordinate diversity within and across sites

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.5619 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e5619 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erika LaPlante ◽

Lara Souza

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Observational Study ◽

Plant Species ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Relative Abundance ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Removal Experiment ◽

Plant Removal ◽

Montane Meadow

Background Understanding the underlying factors that determine the relative abundance of plant species is critical to predict both biodiversity and ecosystem function. Biotic and abiotic factors can shape the distribution and the relative abundance of species across natural communities, greatly influencing local biodiversity. Methods Using a combination of an observational study and a five-year plant removal experiment we: (1) documented how plant diversity and composition of montane meadow assemblages vary along a plant dominance gradient using an observational study; (2) tracked above- and belowground functional traits of co-dominant plant species Potentilla and Festuca along a plant dominance gradient in an observational study; (3) determined whether plant species diversity and composition was directly influenced by commonly occurring species Potentilla and Festuca with the use of a randomized plot design, 5-year plant removal experiment (no removal control, Potentilla removed, Festuca removed, n = 10). Results We found that subordinate species diversity and compositional dissimilarity were greatest in Potentilla and Festuca co-dominated sites, where neither Potentilla nor Festuca dominated, rather than at sites where either species became dominant. Further, while above- and belowground plant functional traits varied along a dominance gradient, they did so in a way that inconsistently predicted plant species relative abundance. Also, neither variation in plant functional traits of Festuca and Potentilla nor variation in resources and conditions (such as soil nitrogen and temperature) explained our subordinate diversity patterns. Finally, neither Potentilla nor Festuca influenced subordinate diversity or composition when we directly tested for their impacts in a plant removal experiment. Discussion Taken together, patterns of subordinate diversity and composition were likely driven by abiotic factors rather than biotic interactions. As a result, the role of abiotic factors influencing local-level species interactions can be just as important as biotic interactions themselves in structuring plant communities.

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Dominance across montane meadows: Patterns and processes structuring plant communities

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26640 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Erika LaPlante ◽

Lara Souza

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Observational Study ◽

Plant Species ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Relative Abundance ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Removal Experiment ◽

Plant Removal

Background. Understanding the underlying factors that determine the relative abundance of plant species is critical to predict both biodiversity and ecosystem function. Biotic and abiotic factors can shape the distribution and the relative abundance of species across natural communities, greatly influencing local biodiversity. Methods. Using a combination of an observational study and a five-year plant removal experiment we: (1) documented how plant diversity and composition of montane meadow assemblages vary along a plant dominance gradient using an observational study; (2) tracked above- and belowground functional traits of co-dominant plant species Potentilla and Festuca along a plant dominance gradient in an observational study; (3) determined whether plant species diversity and composition was directly influenced by commonly occurring species Potentilla and Festuca with the use of a randomized plot design, 5-year plant removal experiment (no removal control, Potentilla removed, Festuca removed, n=10) . Results. We found that subordinate species diversity and compositional dissimilarity were greatest in Potentilla and Festuca co-dominated sites, where neither Potentilla nor Festuca dominated, rather than at sites where either species became dominant. Further, while above- and belowground plant functional traits varied along a dominance gradient, they did so in a way that inconsistently predicted plant species relative abundance. Also, neither variation in plant functional traits of Festuca and Potentilla nor variation in resources and conditions (such as soil nitrogen and temperature) explained our subordinate diversity patterns. Finally, neither Potentilla nor Festuca influenced subordinate diversity or composition when we directly tested for their impacts in a plant removal experiment. Discussion. Taken together, patterns of subordinate diversity and composition were likely driven by abiotic factors rather than biotic interactions. As a result, the role of abiotic factors influencing local-level species interactions can be just as important as biotic interactions themselves in structuring plant communities.

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Using evolutionary functional-structural plant modelling to understand the effect of climate change on plant populations

10.32942/osf.io/6be84 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jorad de Vries

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Plant Fitness ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Climate Change Responses ◽

Mechanistic Basis

The “holy grail” of trait-based ecology is to predict the fitness of a species in a particular environment based on its functional traits, which has become all the more relevant in the light of global change. However, current ecological models are ill-equipped to predict ecological responses to novel conditions due to their reliance on statistical methods and current observations rather than the mechanisms underlying how functional traits interact with the environment to determine plant fitness. Here, I will advocate the use of functional-structural plant (FSP) modelling in combination with evolutionary modelling to explore climate change responses in natural plant communities. Gaining a mechanistic understanding of how trait-environment interactions drive natural selection in novel environments requires consideration of individual plants with multidimensional phenotypes in dynamic environments that include abiotic gradients and biotic interactions, and their effect on the different vital rates that determine plant fitness. Evolutionary FSP modelling explicitly represents the trait-environment interactions that drive eco-evolutionary dynamics from individual to population scales and allows for efficient navigation of the large, complex and dynamic fitness landscapes that emerge from considering multidimensional plants in multidimensional environments. Using evolutionary FSP modelling as a tool to study climate change responses of plant communities can further our understanding of the mechanistic basis of these responses, and in particular, the role of local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, and gene flow.

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Fruiting phenology and nutrient content variation among sympatric figs and the ecological correlates

Botanical Studies ◽

10.1186/s40529-019-0275-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yu-Ting Huang ◽

Ya-Fu Lee ◽

Yen-Min Kuo ◽

Sing-Yi Chang ◽

Chia-Ling Wu

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Species Differences ◽

Size Variation ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Breeding Systems ◽

Fruiting Phenology ◽

Ecological Correlates ◽

Water Contents

Abstract Background Figs are key resources for tropical frugivores and display unique fruiting patterns. While monoecious figs support both seeds and wasp rearing, dioecious plants perform the tasks separately and produce seeded figs in smaller asynchronous crops. Thus dioecious females, compared to monoecious figs, may afford to invest more efforts to maximize seediness, or increase fruit pulp, water content, and nutrient rewards to attract frugivores for better seed dispersal. Yet size variation among and within fig species in either breeding system may lead to complicated resource allocation. We assessed fruiting phenology, measured fig morphological traits, and analyzed fig nutrient contents of the monoecious Ficus caulocarpa and F. subpisocarpa and the dioecious F. ampelas and F. irisana in a sympatric tropical forest to investigate species differences and size effects on fig functional traits and their ecological correlates. Results All four species fruited nearly year-round. Monoecious figs’ inter-tree asynchronous crops had high peak mature crop sizes over much shorter fruiting periods than dioecious figs. Among trees, F. subpisocarpa and F. irisana were greater in fig-size and size variation, F. caulocarpa and F. ampelas comparatively displayed large variation in fig compositions. As fig size increased, water contents gradually increased in large-fig species, but seediness with a decreasing trend in small-fig species. Dioecious figs had lower pulp-seed ratio but tended to have higher water contents than monoecious figs, particularly within a similar size range. Dioecious figs also had higher carbohydrates, whereas monoecious figs contained higher fiber and lipid contents. Conclusions Our study revealed species differences in certain fig functional traits that were correlated with fig size or their breeding systems, with substantial inter-tree variation. This partially supported the predictions regarding their fruiting strategies of aiding seed dispersal by frugivores, yet suggests a fruiting plasticity of individual trees subject to environmental constraints and their biotic interactions.

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Dominance across montane meadows: Patterns and processes structuring plant communities

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26640v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Erika LaPlante ◽

Lara Souza

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Observational Study ◽

Plant Species ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Relative Abundance ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Removal Experiment ◽

Plant Removal

Background. Understanding the underlying factors that determine the relative abundance of plant species is critical to predict both biodiversity and ecosystem function. Biotic and abiotic factors can shape the distribution and the relative abundance of species across natural communities, greatly influencing local biodiversity. Methods. Using a combination of an observational study and a five-year plant removal experiment we: (1) documented how plant diversity and composition of montane meadow assemblages vary along a plant dominance gradient using an observational study; (2) tracked above- and belowground functional traits of co-dominant plant species Potentilla and Festuca along a plant dominance gradient in an observational study; (3) determined whether plant species diversity and composition was directly influenced by commonly occurring species Potentilla and Festuca with the use of a randomized plot design, 5-year plant removal experiment (no removal control, Potentilla removed, Festuca removed, n=10) . Results. We found that subordinate species diversity and compositional dissimilarity were greatest in Potentilla and Festuca co-dominated sites, where neither Potentilla nor Festuca dominated, rather than at sites where either species became dominant. Further, while above- and belowground plant functional traits varied along a dominance gradient, they did so in a way that inconsistently predicted plant species relative abundance. Also, neither variation in plant functional traits of Festuca and Potentilla nor variation in resources and conditions (such as soil nitrogen and temperature) explained our subordinate diversity patterns. Finally, neither Potentilla nor Festuca influenced subordinate diversity or composition when we directly tested for their impacts in a plant removal experiment. Discussion. Taken together, patterns of subordinate diversity and composition were likely driven by abiotic factors rather than biotic interactions. As a result, the role of abiotic factors influencing local-level species interactions can be just as important as biotic interactions themselves in structuring plant communities.

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Inferring community assembly processes from functional seed trait variation along temperature gradient

10.1101/2021.12.17.473108 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sergey Rosbakh ◽

Loic Chalmandrier ◽

Shyam Phartyal ◽

Peter Poschlod

Keyword(s):

Functional Traits ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Community Assembly ◽

Vegetative Growth ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Resource Acquisition ◽

Seed Traits ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Vegetative Traits ◽

Germination Traits

Assembly of plant communities has long been scrutinized through the lens of trait-based ecology. Studies generally analyze functional traits related to the vegetative growth, survival and resource acquisition and thus ignore how ecological processes may affect plants at other stages of their lifecycle, particularly when seeds disperse, persist in soil and germinate. Here, we analyzed an extensive data set of 16 traits for 167 species measured in-situ in 36 grasslands located along an elevational gradient and compared the impact of abiotic filtering, biotic interactions and dispersal on traits reflecting different trait categories: plant vegetative growth, germination, dispersal, and seed morphology. For each community, we quantified community weighted mean (CWM) and functional diversity (FD) for all traits and established their relationships to mean annual temperature. The seed traits were weakly correlated to vegetative traits and thus constituted independent axes of plant phenotypical variation that were affected differently by the ecological processes considered. Abiotic filtering impacted mostly the vegetative traits and to a lesser extent on seed germination and morphological traits. Increasing low-temperature stress towards colder sites selected for short-stature, slow-growing and frost-tolerant species that produce small quantity of smaller seeds with higher degree of dormancy, high temperature requirements for germination and comparatively low germination speed. Biotic interactions, specifically competition in the lowlands and facilitation in uplands, also filtered certain functional traits in the study communities. The benign climate in lowlands promoted plant with competitive strategies including fast growth and resource acquisition (vegetative growth traits) and early and fast germination (germination traits), whereas the effects of facilitation on the vegetative and germination traits were cancelled out by the strong abiotic filtering. The changes in the main dispersal vector from zoochory to anemochory along the gradient strongly affected the dispersal and the seed morphological trait structure of the communities. Specifically, stronger vertical turbulence and moderate warm-upwinds combined with low grazing intensity selected for light and non-round shaped seeds with lower terminal velocity and endozoochorous potential. Synthesis: We clearly demonstrate that, in addition to vegetation traits, seed traits can substantially contribute to functional structuring of plant communities along environmental gradients. Thus, the hard seed traits related to germination and dispersal are critical to detect multiple, complex community assembly rules. Consequently, such traits should be included in core lists of plant traits and, when applicable, be incorporated into analysis of community assembly.

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Intraspecific trait variability and genetic diversity in the adaptive strategies of serpentine and non-serpentine populations of Silene paradoxa L.

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-020-04780-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lorenzo Lazzaro ◽

Ilaria Colzi ◽

Daniele Ciampi ◽

Cristina Gonnelli ◽

Lorenzo Lastrucci ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Gene Pool ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Adaptive Strategies ◽

Adaptive Strategy ◽

Serpentine Soils ◽

Intraspecific Trait Variation ◽

Edaphic Conditions ◽

Silene Paradoxa

Abstract Aims We investigated whether individuals of Silene paradoxa L., grown in serpentine and non-serpentine soils, displayed variation in functional traits and adaptive strategies together with a differentiation of the gene pool. We hypothesised that individuals growing in serpentine sites may be exposed to a higher degree of stress, resulting in measurable differences in leaf traits and adaptive strategies, and as well that the differences in the soil type were associated with a genetic process of differentiation. Methods We analysed a specific set of leaf functional traits of populations of S. paradoxa grown on serpentine and non-serpentine soils. Furthermore, DNA-fingerprinting techniques were used to further dissect the emergence of genetic processes of differentiation linked to the different soil types. Results We detected a relevant intraspecific trait variation in S. paradoxa, with the populations from serpentine sites significantly polarised towards the stress-tolerant adaptive strategy. This polarisation came with a shift in gene pool selection, even if we did not detect quantitative differences in the genetic diversity or evidence of genetic drift. Conclusions The results indicate that particular edaphic conditions acted on the selection of some regions of the species’ genome, independently of the site, with various portions of the genome being exclusive to or prevalent in the serpentine or non-serpentine populations.

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