Dispersal syndromes can link intraspecific trait variability and meta-ecosystem functioning

Author(s):  
Allan Raffard ◽  
Elvire Bestion ◽  
Julien Cote ◽  
Bart Haegeman ◽  
Nicolas Schtickzelle ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Javier Puy ◽  
Carlos P Carmona ◽  
Hana Dvořáková ◽  
Vít Latzel ◽  
Francesco de Bello

Abstract Background and Aims The observed positive diversity effect on ecosystem functioning has rarely been assessed in terms of intraspecific trait variability within populations. Intraspecific phenotypic variability could stem both from underlying genetic diversity and from plasticity in response to environmental cues. The latter might derive from modifications to a plant’s epigenome and potentially last multiple generations in response to previous environmental conditions. We experimentally disentangled the role of genetic diversity and diversity of parental environments on population productivity, resistance against environmental fluctuations and intraspecific phenotypic variation. Methods A glasshouse experiment was conducted in which different types of Arabidopsis thaliana populations were established: one population type with differing levels of genetic diversity and another type, genetically identical, but with varying diversity levels of the parental environments (parents grown in the same or different environments). The latter population type was further combined, or not, with experimental demethylation to reduce the potential epigenetic diversity produced by the diversity of parental environments. Furthermore, all populations were each grown under different environmental conditions (control, fertilization and waterlogging). Mortality, productivity and trait variability were measured in each population. Key Results Parental environments triggered phenotypic modifications in the offspring, which translated into more functionally diverse populations when offspring from parents grown under different conditions were brought together in mixtures. In general, neither the increase in genetic diversity nor the increase in diversity of parental environments had a remarkable effect on productivity or resistance to environmental fluctuations. However, when the epigenetic variation was reduced via demethylation, mixtures were less productive than monocultures (i.e. negative net diversity effect), caused by the reduction of phenotypic differences between different parental origins. Conclusions A diversity of environmental parental origins within a population could ameliorate the negative effect of competition between coexisting individuals by increasing intraspecific phenotypic variation. A diversity of parental environments could thus have comparable effects to genetic diversity. Disentangling the effect of genetic diversity and that of parental environments appears to be an important step in understanding the effect of intraspecific trait variability on coexistence and ecosystem functioning.


2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1694) ◽  
pp. 20150272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin P. Wright ◽  
Gregory M. Ames ◽  
Rachel M. Mitchell

The importance of intraspecific trait variability for community dynamics and ecosystem functioning has been underappreciated. There are theoretical reasons for predicting that species that differ in intraspecific trait variability will also differ in their effects on ecosystem functioning, particularly in variable environments. We discuss whether species with greater trait variability are likely to exhibit greater temporal stability in their population dynamics, and under which conditions this might lead to stability in ecosystem functioning. Resolving this requires us to consider several questions. First, are species with high levels of variation for one trait equally variable in others? In particular, is variability in response and effects traits typically correlated? Second, what is the relative contribution of local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity to trait variability? If local adaptation dominates, then stability in function requires one of two conditions: (i) individuals of appropriate phenotypes present in the environment at high enough frequencies to allow for populations to respond rapidly to the changing environment, and (ii) high levels of dispersal and gene flow. While we currently lack sufficient information on the causes and distribution of variability in functional traits, filling in these key data gaps should increase our ability to predict how changing biodiversity will alter ecosystem functioning.


Flora ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 279 ◽  
pp. 151806
Author(s):  
Edilvane Inês Zonta ◽  
Guilherme Krahl de Vargas ◽  
João André Jarenkow

Ecography ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 856-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Lepš ◽  
Francesco de Bello ◽  
Petr Šmilauer ◽  
Jiří Doležal

Author(s):  
Raquel Benavides ◽  
Fernando Valladares ◽  
Christian Wirth ◽  
Sandra Müller ◽  
Michael Scherer-Lorenzen

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 916-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aina Garcia-Raventós ◽  
Aida Viza ◽  
José M. Tierno de Figueroa ◽  
Joan L. Riera ◽  
Cesc Múrria

Oecologia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 190 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-637
Author(s):  
Guochun Shen ◽  
En-Rong Yan ◽  
Avi Bar-Massada ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Heming Liu ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 20180865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea J. Little ◽  
Emanuel A. Fronhofer ◽  
Florian Altermatt

Dispersal can strongly influence ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Besides the direct contribution of dispersal to population dynamics, dispersers often differ in their phenotypic attributes from non-dispersers, which leads to dispersal syndromes. The consequences of such dispersal syndromes have been widely explored at the population and community level; however, to date, ecosystem-level effects remain unclear. Here, we examine whether dispersing and resident individuals of two different aquatic keystone invertebrate species have different contributions to detrital processing, a key function in freshwater ecosystems. Using experimental two-patch systems, we found no difference in leaf consumption rates with dispersal status of the common native species Gammarus fossarum . In Dikerogammarus villosus , however, a Ponto-Caspian species now expanding throughout Europe, dispersers consumed leaf litter at roughly three times the rate of non-dispersers. Furthermore, this put the contribution of dispersing D. villosus to leaf litter processing on par with native G. fossarum, after adjusting for differences in organismal size. Given that leaf litter decomposition is a key function in aquatic ecosystems, and the rapid species turnover in freshwater habitats with range expansions of non-native species, this finding suggests that dispersal syndromes may have important consequences for ecosystem functioning.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Shurong Zhou ◽  
Bill Shipley

Abstract Aims While recent studies have shown the importance of intraspecific trait variation in the processes of community assembly, we still know little about the contributions of intraspecific trait variability to ecosystem functions. Methods Here, we conducted a functional group removal experiment in an alpine meadow in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau over four years to investigate the relative importance of inter- and intra-specific variability in plant height for productivity. We split total variability in plant height within each of 75 manipulated communities into interspecific variability (TVinter) and intraspecific variability within a community (ITVwithin). Community weighted mean height among communities was decomposed into fixed community weighted mean (CWMfixed) and intraspecific variability among communities (ITVamong). We constructed a series of generalized additive mixed models and piecewise structural equation modelling to determine how trait variability (i.e., TVinter, ITVwithin, CWMfixed and ITVamong) indirectly mediated the changes in productivity in response to functional group removal. Important Findings Community productivity was not only affected directly by treatment manipulations, but also increased with both inter- and intra-specific variability (i.e., CWMfixed, ITVamong) in plant height indirectly. This suggests that both the “selection effect” and a “shade-avoidance syndrome” can incur higher CWMfixed and ITVamong, and may simultaneously operate to regulate productivity. Our findings provide new evidence that, besides interspecific variability, intraspecific trait variability in plant height also plays a role in maintaining net primary productivity.


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