scholarly journals The TRY Plant Trait Database - enhanced coverage and open access

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Kattge ◽  
Gerhard Boenisch ◽  
Sandra Diaz ◽  
Sandra Lavorel ◽  
Colin Prentice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Plant Trait ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Data Coverage

<p>Plant traits – the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants – determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystems properties and derived benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the essential basis for a vast area of research spanning evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management and restoration, biogeography to earth system modeling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community. Increasingly the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based research, including identi:cation of data gaps and subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we take stock of trait data compiled in TRY and analyze emerging patterns of data coverage, representativeness, and gaps. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits (stable within species) relevant to determine plant functional types commonly used in global vegetation models. For the trait ‘plant growth form’ complete species coverage is within reach. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modeling are characterized by intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment: completeness at global scale is impossible and representativeness challenging. Due to the sheer amount of data in the TRY database, machine learning for trait prediction is promising - but does not add new data. We therefore conclude that reducing data gaps and biases by further and more systematic mobilization of trait data and new in-situ trait measurements must continue to be a high priority. This can only be achieved by a community effort in collaboration with other initiatives.</p>

scholarly journals Operationalizing Plant Traits

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Kattge
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Plant Trait ◽  
Wide Range

Plant traits – the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants and their organs – determine how primary producers respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, influence ecosystem processes and services and provide a link from species richness to ecosystem functional diversity. Trait data thus represent the raw material for a wide range of research from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology to biogeography. The importance of these topics dictates the urgent need for more and better data and improved data availability and applicability, however, producing larger datasets that allow for more powerful, synthetic analyses increasingly relies on the integration of small, focused studies. Operationalizing plant functional traits has therefore been identified a key issue in plant and vegetation ecology. In 2007 the International Geosphere Bbiosphere Program (IGBP) and DIVERSITAS (together now Future Earth) initiated a global database of plant traits to make the data available for trait-based approaches in ecology and vegetation modelling. This was the start of the TRY initiative (https://www.try-db.org). In 2019 the TRY database contains about 12 million trait records for more than 300,000 plant taxa and 2000 traits. The data are publicly available under a CC BY license and so far contributed to more than 200 scientific publications. Based on experience in this bottom-up exercise, my presentation will provide a subjective view on what has been essential to make progress towards operationalizing plant traits and how far the plant trait community has progressed.

scholarly journals Mapping local and global variability in plant trait distributions

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (51) ◽  
pp. E10937-E10946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan E. Butler ◽  
Abhirup Datta ◽  
Habacuc Flores-Moreno ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Kirk R. Wythers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Earth System ◽  
System Models ◽  
Plant Trait ◽  
Earth System Models

Our ability to understand and predict the response of ecosystems to a changing environment depends on quantifying vegetation functional diversity. However, representing this diversity at the global scale is challenging. Typically, in Earth system models, characterization of plant diversity has been limited to grouping related species into plant functional types (PFTs), with all trait variation in a PFT collapsed into a single mean value that is applied globally. Using the largest global plant trait database and state of the art Bayesian modeling, we created fine-grained global maps of plant trait distributions that can be applied to Earth system models. Focusing on a set of plant traits closely coupled to photosynthesis and foliar respiration—specific leaf area (SLA) and dry mass-based concentrations of leaf nitrogen (Nm) and phosphorus (Pm), we characterize how traits vary within and among over 50,000 ∼50×50-km cells across the entire vegetated land surface. We do this in several ways—without defining the PFT of each grid cell and using 4 or 14 PFTs; each model’s predictions are evaluated against out-of-sample data. This endeavor advances prior trait mapping by generating global maps that preserve variability across scales by using modern Bayesian spatial statistical modeling in combination with a database over three times larger than that in previous analyses. Our maps reveal that the most diverse grid cells possess trait variability close to the range of global PFT means.

scholarly journals Microbial bioenergetics of coral-algal interactions

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ty N.F. Roach ◽  
Maria L. Abieri ◽  
Emma E. George ◽  
Ben Knowles ◽  
Douglas S. Naliboff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Maximal Power Output ◽  
Bioenergetic Analysis ◽  
Lower Oxygen ◽  
Thermodynamic Mechanism ◽  
Oxygen Concentrations

Human impacts are causing ecosystem phase shifts from coral- to algal-dominated reef systems on a global scale. As these ecosystems undergo transition, there is an increased incidence of coral-macroalgal interactions. Mounting evidence indicates that the outcome of these interaction events is, in part, governed by microbially mediated dynamics. The allocation of available energy through different trophic levels, including the microbial food web, determines the outcome of these interactions and ultimately shapes the benthic community structure. However, little is known about the underlying thermodynamic mechanisms involved in these trophic energy transfers. This study utilizes a novel combination of methods including calorimetry, flow cytometry, and optical oxygen measurements, to provide a bioenergetic analysis of coral-macroalgal interactions in a controlled aquarium setting. We demonstrate that the energetic demands of microbial communities at the coral-algal interaction interface are higher than in the communities associated with either of the macroorganisms alone. This was evident through higher microbial power output (energy use per unit time) and lower oxygen concentrations at interaction zones compared to areas distal from the interface. Increases in microbial power output and lower oxygen concentrations were significantly correlated with the ratio of heterotrophic to autotrophic microbes but not the total microbial abundance. These results suggest that coral-algal interfaces harbor higher proportions of heterotrophic microbes that are optimizing maximal power output, as opposed to yield. This yield to power shift offers a possible thermodynamic mechanism underlying the transition from coral- to algal-dominated reef ecosystems currently being observed worldwide. As changes in the power output of an ecosystem are a significant indicator of the current state of the system, this analysis provides a novel and insightful means to quantify microbial impacts on reef health.

scholarly journals Neotyphodium impacts on soil nematode communities: rhizosphere- and litter-mediated interactions

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 107-110
Author(s):  
M. Omacini ◽  
E.J. Chaneton ◽  
C.M. Ghersa
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Lolium Multiflorum ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Patch Dynamics ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Soil Nematode ◽  
Patch Occupancy ◽  
Nematode Communities ◽  
Endophyte Infection ◽  
Soil Nematode Communities

There is a growing recognition that endophyte effects on host plant traits may be propagated through food chains. We studied Neotyphodium occultans effects on soil nematode communities mediated by current and past patch occupancy by endophyteinfected Lolium multiflorum populations. A microcosm experiment was performed to evaluate whether abundance and diversity of nematodes at different trophic levels were affected by endophyte infection through rhizosphere-mediated or littermediated effects. We found that presence of endophyte-infected plants and their aerial litter both triggered a bottom-up trophic cascade enhancing the abundance of herbivorous and predaceous nematode taxa. Endophyte infection also increased overall nematode richness, mostly through changes induced at the highest trophic level in this soil food web. Our results suggest that fungal endophytes can modify the linkages between aboveand belowground community compartments, with potential consequences on plant patch dynamics. Keywords: soil food webs, Lolium multiflorum, Neotyphodium occultans, plant-soil feedback, after-life effects, indirect interactions, trophic cascades

Predator Effects on Plant-Pollinator Interactions, Plant Reproduction, Mating Systems, and Evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-340
Author(s):  
Amanda D. Benoit ◽  
Susan Kalisz
Keyword(s):  
Mating Systems ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Plant Reproduction ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Pollinator Abundance ◽  
Plant Pollinator ◽  
Predator Effects

Plants are the foundation of the food web and therefore interact directly and indirectly with myriad organisms at higher trophic levels. They directly provide nourishment to mutualistic and antagonistic primary consumers (e.g., pollinators and herbivores), which in turn are consumed by predators. These interactions produce cascading indirect effects on plants (either trait-mediated or density-mediated). We review how predators affect plant-pollinator interactions and thus how predators indirectly affect plant reproduction, fitness, mating systems, and trait evolution. Predators can influence pollinator abundance and foraging behavior. In many cases, predators cause pollinators to visit plants less frequently and for shorter durations. This decline in visitation can lead to pollen limitation and decreased seed set. However, alternative outcomes can result due to differences in predator, pollinator, and plant functional traits as well as due to altered interaction networks with plant enemies. Furthermore, predators may indirectly affect the evolution of plant traits and mating systems.

scholarly journals PRDM9 Diversity at Fine Geographical Scale Reveals Contrasting Evolutionary Patterns and Functional Constraints in Natural Populations of House Mice

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1686-1700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Covadonga Vara ◽  
Laia Capilla ◽  
Luca Ferretti ◽  
Alice Ledda ◽  
Rosa A Sánchez-Guillén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Data Set

Abstract One of the major challenges in evolutionary biology is the identification of the genetic basis of postzygotic reproductive isolation. Given its pivotal role in this process, here we explore the drivers that may account for the evolutionary dynamics of the PRDM9 gene between continental and island systems of chromosomal variation in house mice. Using a data set of nearly 400 wild-caught mice of Robertsonian systems, we identify the extent of PRDM9 diversity in natural house mouse populations, determine the phylogeography of PRDM9 at a local and global scale based on a new measure of pairwise genetic divergence, and analyze selective constraints. We find 57 newly described PRDM9 variants, this diversity being especially high on Madeira Island, a result that is contrary to the expectations of reduced variation for island populations. Our analysis suggest that the PRDM9 allelic variability observed in Madeira mice might be influenced by the presence of distinct chromosomal fusions resulting from a complex pattern of introgression or multiple colonization events onto the island. Importantly, we detect a significant reduction in the proportion of PRDM9 heterozygotes in Robertsonian mice, which showed a high degree of similarity in the amino acids responsible for protein–DNA binding. Our results suggest that despite the rapid evolution of PRDM9 and the variability detected in natural populations, functional constraints could facilitate the accumulation of allelic combinations that maintain recombination hotspot symmetry. We anticipate that our study will provide the basis for examining the role of different PRDM9 genetic backgrounds in reproductive isolation in natural populations.

scholarly journals New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Pérez-Harguindeguy ◽  
S. Díaz ◽  
E. Garnier ◽  
S. Lavorel ◽  
H. Poorter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Ecosystem Properties ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Wide Range

Plant functional traits are the features (morphological, physiological, phenological) that represent ecological strategies and determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels and influence ecosystem properties. Variation in plant functional traits, and trait syndromes, has proven useful for tackling many important ecological questions at a range of scales, giving rise to a demand for standardised ways to measure ecologically meaningful plant traits. This line of research has been among the most fruitful avenues for understanding ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes. It also has the potential both to build a predictive set of local, regional and global relationships between plants and environment and to quantify a wide range of natural and human-driven processes, including changes in biodiversity, the impacts of species invasions, alterations in biogeochemical processes and vegetation–atmosphere interactions. The importance of these topics dictates the urgent need for more and better data, and increases the value of standardised protocols for quantifying trait variation of different species, in particular for traits with power to predict plant- and ecosystem-level processes, and for traits that can be measured relatively easily. Updated and expanded from the widely used previous version, this handbook retains the focus on clearly presented, widely applicable, step-by-step recipes, with a minimum of text on theory, and not only includes updated methods for the traits previously covered, but also introduces many new protocols for further traits. This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant traits, leaf traits, root and stem traits and regenerative traits, and puts particular emphasis on traits important for predicting species’ effects on key ecosystem properties. We hope this new handbook becomes a standard companion in local and global efforts to learn about the responses and impacts of different plant species with respect to environmental changes in the present, past and future.

scholarly journals Effects of plant intraspecific diversity across three trophic levels: Underlying mechanisms and plant traits

2016 ◽  
Vol 103 (10) ◽  
pp. 1810-1818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Abdala-Roberts ◽  
Johnattan Hernández-Cumplido ◽  
Luis Chel-Guerrero ◽  
David Betancur-Ancona ◽  
Betty Benrey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Intraspecific Diversity ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

scholarly journals The third dimension: How fire-related research can advance ecology and evolutionary biology

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byron Lamont ◽  
Tianhua He
Keyword(s):  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Environmental Interactions ◽  
Third Dimension ◽  
In Fire

Most of the Earth’s vegetated surface is fireprone but the relevance of fire in understanding how nature works is not always recognized. We aim to show that, by adding the fire dimension to observations on biological phenomena, interpretations can be im-proved; how fire-related research can be used to answer ‘fundamental’ questions in ecology; and how theories/models developed for fireprone ecosystems can be applied to advancing disturbance ecology, biogeography and evolutionary biology more generally. We compiled lists from the world-wide web of the most highly cited papers in fire ecology, and examined papers that had been approached from multiple viewpoints, including fire. We show that great advances over the last 20 years have been made in our understanding of the pivotal role of fire as a driver of many ecological processes and a powerful selective agent/evolutionary trigger among biota. We document 21 sets of observations originally interpreted in the context of the two traditional dimensions, prevailing environment and biotic interactions, but can also be shown to have a strong, if not dominant, historical link to fire. We note that fire-related research is able to address 55 of the 100 questions considered ‘fundamental’ in ecology and that many have already received some attention in fireprone ecosystems. We show how theories/ models that had their origins in fireprone systems can be applied to other disturbance-prone systems and thus have wide application in ecology and evolutionary biology. Fire and other disturbances should be included as variables in research about possible critical environmental and biotic constraints controlling ecosystem function in general. Adding this third dimension to research endeavours greatly enriches our understanding of how nature works at the global scale in an era where ecosystems are changing rapidly and novel species-environmental interactions are emerging.

scholarly journals Post-Covid-19 Pandemic Awareness on The Use of Micro- and Nano Plastic and Efforts into Their Degradation - A Mini Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-232
Author(s):  
Ekwan Wiranto ◽  
◽  
Amira Rozdhl ◽  
Nafizatun Hanafi ◽  
Rabiatul Redzuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circulatory System ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Debris Particles ◽  
Characteristic Effect ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Global Threat

Micro- and nanoplastic pollution possess a global threat and cause a future problem and needs greater attention. Its pollution is also exacerbated recently by the use of abundance of plastic polymers in efforts to prevent and handle COVID-19 pandemic at the global scale. This review covered the major concerns about the characteristic, effect and bioremediation of micro- and nanoplastics of post COVID-19. Based on size, microplastic is described as debris particles smaller than 5 mm whereas, nanoplastic is referred to any particles smaller than 100 nm. Micro- and nanoplastic are easily ingested by many aquatic organisms at different trophic levels. This ingestion caused negative health impacts to all living organisms. Microplastic direct effect on living organism for example mechanical injury, false satiation, declined growth, promoted immune response, energy loss, disrupted enzyme activity and production, decreased fecundity, production of oxidative stress, and mortality. Nanoplastic could enter the circulatory system and caused negative effects on the cellular and molecular levels. Bioremediation of microplastic by magnoliophyta, bacteria, fungus and algae on several polymer forms was previously reported, however, not many on nanoplastic biodegradation. Therefore, current review will focus on the characteristics, effect and bioremediation effort of micro- and nanoplastic.

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