Environmental filtering structures tree functional traits combination and lineages across space in tropical tree assemblages

Tropical tree biodiversity motivates an extremely large amount of research and some of the most passionate debates in ecology and evolution. Research into tropical tree biodiversity generally has been very biased towards one axis of biodiversity-species diversity. Less work has focused on the functional diversity of tropical trees and I argue that this has greatly limited our ability to not only understand the species diversity in tropical tree assemblages, but their distributions through space and time. Increasingly plant ecologists have turned to measuring plant functional traits to estimate functional diversity and to uncover the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying the distribution and dynamics of tropical trees. Here I review much of the recent work on functional traits in tropical tree community ecology. I will highlight what I believe are the most important findings and which research directions are not likely to progress in the future. I also argue that functionally based investigations of tropical trees are likely to be revolutionized in the coming years through the incorporation of functional genomic approaches. The paper ends with a discussion of three major research areas or areas in need of focus that could lead to rapid advances in functionally based investigations of tropical trees.

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Using functional traits and phylogenetic trees to examine the assembly of tropical tree communities

Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2745.2012.01966.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 100 (3) ◽

pp. 690-701 ◽

Cited By ~ 139

Author(s):

Christopher Baraloto ◽

Olivier J. Hardy ◽

C. E. Timothy Paine ◽

Kyle G. Dexter ◽

Corinne Cruaud ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Traits ◽

Phylogenetic Trees ◽

Tropical Tree ◽

Tree Communities

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Functional traits and environmental filtering drive community assembly in a species-rich tropical system

Ecology ◽

10.1890/08-1449.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 91 (2) ◽

pp. 386-398 ◽

Cited By ~ 302

Author(s):

Edwin Lebrija-Trejos ◽

Eduardo A. Pérez-García ◽

Jorge A. Meave ◽

Frans Bongers ◽

Lourens Poorter

Keyword(s):

Functional Traits ◽

Community Assembly ◽

Environmental Filtering ◽

Tropical System

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Phylogenetic turnover in tropical tree communities: impact of environmental filtering, biogeography and mesoclimatic niche conservatism

Global Ecology and Biogeography ◽

10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00742.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. 1007-1016 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Olivier J. Hardy ◽

Pierre Couteron ◽

François Munoz ◽

B. R. Ramesh ◽

Raphaël Pélissier

Keyword(s):

Environmental Filtering ◽

Tropical Tree ◽

Niche Conservatism ◽

Tree Communities

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Is coexistence between non-native and native Erythrinidae species mediated by niche differentiation or environmental filtering? A case study in the upper Paraná River floodplain

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/1982-0224-20160142 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Larissa S. Pereira ◽

Fábio T. Mise ◽

Luiz F. C. Tencatt ◽

Matheus T. Baumgartner ◽

Angelo A. Agostinho

Keyword(s):

Introduced Species ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Native Species ◽

Species Coexistence ◽

Niche Breadth ◽

Similarity Theory ◽

Environmental Filtering ◽

Niche Differentiation ◽

Limiting Similarity ◽

Environmental Filters

ABSTRACT The limiting similarity theory predicts that divergence in the functional traits of native and introduced species is an essential component in species establishment, as introduced species must occupy a niche that is unoccupied by resident species. On the other hand, the environmental filtering hypothesis predicts convergence between introduced and native species, as both possess traits that make them adapted to the local abiotic environment. Morphology, spatial co-occurrence, diet, feeding selectivity, and niche breadth and overlap of Erythrinidae were evaluated to detect possible mechanisms acting in the coexistence between non-native and native species. Native (Hoplias sp. B and Hoplias cf. malabaricus) and non-native (Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and Hoplias mbigua) species presented differences in morphological traits, spatial co-occurrence, diet, selectivity, and niche breadth and overlap. The mechanisms mediating species coexistence seem to vary according to species. The absence of spatial and feeding overlap suggests that non-native species H. unitaeniatus occupy a different niche than native species, supporting its successful establishment without eliminating the native species. However, low feeding overlap and similar morphologies between non-native and native species of Hoplias point to environmental filters; in this case, the non-native H. mbigua is able to establish due to similarities in functional traits.

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Convergent evolution of niche structure in Northeast Pacific kelp forests

10.1101/2020.02.24.963421 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Samuel Starko ◽

Kyle W. Demes ◽

Christopher J. Neufeld ◽

Patrick T. Martone

Keyword(s):

Functional Traits ◽

Adaptive Radiation ◽

Niche Partitioning ◽

Environmental Filtering ◽

Wave Disturbance ◽

Kelp Forests ◽

Benthic Habitat ◽

List Type ◽

Northeast Pacific ◽

Close Relatives

AbstractMuch of the morphological and ecological diversity present on earth is believed to have arisen through the process of adaptive radiation. Yet, this is seemingly at odds with substantial evidence that niches tend to be similar among closely related species (i.e., niche conservatism). Identifying the relative importance of these opposing processes in different circumstances is therefore essential to our understanding of the interaction between ecological and evolutionary phenomena.In this study, we make use of recent advances in our understanding of the phylogeny of kelps (Laminariales) to investigate niche evolution in one of the most important groups of benthic habitat-forming organisms on the planet. We quantify functional traits and use community sampling data from a kelp diversity hotspot to determine which traits are responsible for the habitat (β) niche of kelps and whether they are labile or conserved across the kelp phylogeny.We find that combinations of functional traits have evolved convergently across kelp subclades and that these traits are significant predictors of community structure. Specifically, traits associated with whole-kelp structural reinforcement and material properties were found to be significantly correlated with species distributions along a gradient of wave disturbance and thus predict the outcome of environmental filtering. However, kelp assemblages were made up of species that are more phylogenetically distinct than predicted from null models (i.e., phylogenetic overdispersion), suggesting that niche partitioning along this gradient of wave disturbance has been an important driver of divergence between close relatives.These results collectively demonstrate that environmental filtering by waves plays an essential role in determining the habitat niche of kelps across local communities and further suggest that this community-level process can drive phenotypic divergence between close relatives. We propose that parallel adaptive radiation of kelp subclades has shaped the diversity and species composition of kelp forests in the Northeast Pacific and we discuss how evidence from the literature on incipient or ongoing speciation events support this hypothesis.

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