scholarly journals Intraspecific trait variation in plants: a renewed focus on its role in ecological processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A C Westerband ◽  
J L Funk ◽  
K E Barton
Keyword(s):  
Population Biology ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Secondary Chemistry ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Ecosystem Properties ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract Background Investigating the causes and consequences of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) in plants is not novel, as it has long been recognized that such variation shapes biotic and abiotic interactions. While evolutionary and population biology have extensively investigated ITV, only in the last 10 years has interest in ITV surged within community and comparative ecology. Scope Despite this recent interest, still lacking are thorough descriptions of ITV’s extent, the spatial and temporal structure of ITV, and stronger connections between ITV and community and ecosystem properties. Our primary aim in this review is to synthesize the recent literature and ask: (1) How extensive is intraspecific variation in traits across scales, and what underlying mechanisms drive this variation? (2) How does this variation impact higher-order ecological processes (e.g. population dynamics, community assembly, invasion, ecosystem productivity)? (3) What are the consequences of ignoring ITV and how can these be mitigated? and (4) What are the most pressing research questions, and how can current practices be modified to suit our research needs? Our secondary aim is to target diverse and underrepresented traits and plant organs, including anatomy, wood, roots, hydraulics, reproduction and secondary chemistry. In addressing these aims, we showcase papers from the Special Issue. Conclusions Plant ITV plays a key role in determining individual and population performance, species interactions, community structure and assembly, and ecosystem properties. Its extent varies widely across species, traits and environments, and it remains difficult to develop a predictive model for ITV that is broadly applicable. Systematically characterizing the sources (e.g. ontogeny, population differences) of ITV will be a vital step forward towards identifying generalities and the underlying mechanisms that shape ITV. While the use of species means to link traits to higher-order processes may be appropriate in many cases, such approaches can obscure potentially meaningful variation. We urge the reporting of individual replicates and population means in online data repositories, a greater consideration of the mechanisms that enhance and constrain ITV’s extent, and studies that span sub-disciplines.

scholarly journals Leaf traits and performance vary with plant age and water availability in Artemisia californica

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Funk ◽  
Julie E Larson ◽  
Gregory Vose
Keyword(s):  
Water Availability ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Coastal Sage Scrub ◽  
Plant Age ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Artemisia Californica ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation ◽  
Canopy Volume ◽  
And Performance

Abstract Background and Aims Leaf functional traits are strongly tied to growth strategies and ecological processes across species, but few efforts have linked intraspecific trait variation to performance across ontogenetic and environmental gradients. Plants are believed to shift towards more resource-conservative traits in stressful environments and as they age. However, uncertainty as to how intraspecific trait variation aligns with plant age and performance in the context of environmental variation may limit our ability to use traits to infer ecological processes at larger scales. Methods We measured leaf physiological and morphological traits, canopy volume and flowering effort for Artemisia californica (California sagebrush), a dominant shrub species in the coastal sage scrub community, under conditions of 50, 100 and 150 % ambient precipitation for 3 years. Key Results Plant age was a stronger driver of variation in traits and performance than water availability. Older plants demonstrated trait values consistent with a more conservative resource-use strategy, and trait values were less sensitive to drought. Several trait correlations were consistent across years and treatments; for example, plants with high photosynthetic rates tended to have high stomatal conductance, leaf nitrogen concentration and light-use efficiency. However, the trade-off between leaf construction and leaf nitrogen evident in older plants was absent for first-year plants. While few traits correlated with plant growth and flowering effort, we observed a positive correlation between leaf mass per area and performance in some groups of older plants. Conclusions Overall, our results suggest that trait sensitivity to the environment is most visible during earlier stages of development, after which intraspecific trait variation and relationships may stabilize. While plant age plays a major role in intraspecific trait variation and sensitivity (and thus trait-based inferences), the direct influence of environment on growth and fecundity is just as critical to predicting plant performance in a changing environment.

scholarly journals Evidence that Intraspecific Trait Variation among Nasal Bacteria Shapes the Distribution of Staphylococcus aureus

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 3811-3815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Libberton ◽  
Rosanna E. Coates ◽  
Michael A. Brockhurst ◽  
Malcolm J. Horsburgh
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Growth Inhibition ◽  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Bacterial Flora ◽  
Nasal Carriage ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation

ABSTRACTNasal carriage ofStaphylococcus aureusis a risk factor for infection, yet the bacterial determinants required for carriage are poorly defined. Interactions betweenS. aureusand other members of the bacterial flora may determine colonization and have been inferred in previous studies by using correlated species distributions. However, traits mediating species interactions are often polymorphic, suggesting that understanding how interactions structure communities requires a trait-based approach. We characterizedS. aureusgrowth inhibition by the culturable bacterial aerobe consortia of 60 nasal microbiomes, and this revealed intraspecific variation in growth inhibition and that inhibitory isolates clustered within communities that were culture negative forS. aureus. Across microbiomes, the cumulative community-level growth inhibition was negatively associated withS. aureusincidence. To fully understand the ecological processes structuring microbiomes, it will be crucial to account for intraspecific variation in the traits that mediate species interactions.

scholarly journals Shifts between cooperation and antagonism driven by individual variation: A systematic synthesis review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Patrick Moran ◽  
Barbara Caspers ◽  
Nayden Chakarov ◽  
Uli Ernst ◽  
Claudia Fricke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Synthesis Methods ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation ◽  
Plant Animal Interactions ◽  
Aggressive Personality

The outcomes of ecological interactions fall along a continuum from cooperative (mutually beneficial) to antagonistic (detrimental to one or both parties). This applies at both interspecific (e.g. plant-animal interactions) and intraspecific levels (e.g. male-female interactions). Phenotypic variation among individuals is increasingly being recognised as an important factor in ecological processes, and trait variation in either interacting party may determine the outcome of the interaction, such as whether a symbiont provides net costs or benefits to their host, or whether two conspecifics decide to cooperatively forage or to compete over food. This systematic review investigates the role of intraspecific trait variation (‘ITV’) in determining the cooperative-antagonistic outcome of ecological interactions. Based on a literature collection of 95 empirical and theoretical publications meeting our inclusion criteria, we give an overview of the various mechanisms that can lead to shifts between antagonism and cooperation within or between species. We describe two broad classes of interrelated mechanisms that may drive shifts in outcomes. First, trait frequency effects occur when processes influencing a population’s composition of traits linked to cooperation or antagonism (e.g. aggressive personality types, cheater/exploiter phenotypes etc.) lead to net shifts in interaction outcome. Second, systemic variance effects occur when changes in the amount of ITV in the population (as opposed to the mean phenotype) is the factor driving shifts. Both heritable genetic differences among individuals and phenotypic plasticity are important sources of phenotypic variation. The specific mix of heritable vs. plastic ITV may determine whether a change from cooperative to antagonistic, or vice versa, is likely to be short-term (i.e. context-dependent) or lead to more persistent shifts (e.g. mutualism breakdown). To guide future research on this topic we describe knowledge gaps and divergences between empirical and theoretical literature, further highlighting the value of applying research synthesis methods in ecology and evolution.

scholarly journals Intraspecific trait variation alters the outcome of competition in freshwater ciliates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Flöder ◽  
Joanne Yong ◽  
Toni Klauschies ◽  
Ursula Gaedke ◽  
Tobias Poprick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trait Variation ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation ◽  
Freshwater Ciliates

scholarly journals Intraspecific trait variation drives grassland species richness and productivity under changing precipitation

Ecosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meifeng Deng ◽  
Weixing Liu ◽  
Ping Li ◽  
Lin Jiang ◽  
Shaopeng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Grassland Species ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation

scholarly journals Intraspecific trait variation across scales: implications for understanding global change responses

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily V. Moran ◽  
Florian Hartig ◽  
David M. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Global Change ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation

scholarly journals Predicting intraspecific trait variation among California's grasses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brody Sandel ◽  
Claire Pavelka ◽  
Thomas Hayashi ◽  
Lachlan Charles ◽  
Jennifer Funk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trait Variation ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation

scholarly journals Intraspecific Trait Variation Is Correlated with Establishment Success of Alien Mammals

2015 ◽  
Vol 185 (6) ◽  
pp. 737-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela González-Suárez ◽  
Sven Bacher ◽  
Jonathan M. Jeschke
Keyword(s):  
Trait Variation ◽  
Establishment Success ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation

scholarly journals What Does Productivity Really Mean? Towards an Integrative Paradigm in the Search for Biodiversity-Productivity Relationships

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangjun HU ◽  
Qinfeng GUO
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Real Root ◽  
Spatial Scaling ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
The Real ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

How species diversity relates to productivity remains a major debate. To date, however, the underlying mechanisms that regulate the ecological processes involved are still poorly understood. Three major issues persist in early efforts at resolution. First, in the context that productivity drives species diversity, how the pathways operate is poorly-explained. Second, productivity  per se varies with community or ecosystem maturity. If diversity indeed drives productivity, the criterion of choosing appropriate measures for productivity is not available. Third, spatial scaling suggests that sampling based on small-plots may not be suitable for formulating species richness-productivity relationships (SRPRs). Thus, the long-standing assumption simply linking diversity with productivity and pursuing a generalizing pattern may not be robust. We argue that productivity, though defined as ‘the rate of biomass production’, has been measured in two ways environmental surrogates and biomass production leading to misinterpretations and difficulty in the pursuit of generalizable SRPRs. To tackle these issues, we developed an integrative theoretical paradigm encompassing richer biological and physical contexts and clearly reconciling the major processes of the systems, using proper productivity measures and sampling units. We conclude that loose interpretation and confounding measures of productivity may be the real root of current SRPR inconsistencies and debate.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document