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518 results for “community functions.”
Data from: Functional response of plant communities to clearcutting: management impacts differ between forest vegetation zones
1. Understanding of the ecological impacts of logging practices on biodiversity and associated ecosystem processes is essential for developing sustainable forest management approaches. We documented the impacts of clearcutting on the functional structure of tree and herbaceous communities in hemiboreal, cool-temperate, warm-temperate and subtropical forests in the Japanese archipelago and identified forest vegetation that is vulnerable to deterioration of important ecosystem functions. 2. We combined species data for leaf, stem, flower and fruit traits related to productivity, nutrient cycling and habitat quality for wildlife with phytosociological vegetation data from unmanaged and previously-clearcut forests, then calculated functional structure indices (community mean of trait values, functional richness and functional divergence) of plant communities. 3 .For tree species, functional structure indices of specific leaf area (SLA), leaf carbon and nitrogen concentrations, maximum height, wood density and flower size differed between unmanaged and clearcut forests, while for herb species, only maximum height differed between the two forest types. 4. Functional structure indices showed divergent patterns across forest vegetation zones. In hemiboreal, cool-temperate and warm-temperate forests, the community means of SLA and leaf nitrogen concentration were greater and that of leaf carbon concentration was smaller in clearcut than in unmanaged forests. Although clearcut forests had greater species richness than unmanaged forests, functional richness and/or functional divergence of maximum height were smaller in clearcut forests. In hemiboreal and cool-temperate forests, functional richness and functional divergence of SLA were also smaller in clearcut forests. In contrast, subtropical forests showed no differences in species richness and functional structures between unmanaged and clearcut forests. 5. Synthesis and applications. Functional redundancy of plant communities differs among traits and among forest vegetation zones. After intensive logging, hemiboreal, cool-temperate and warm-temperate forests were more vulnerable to the loss of ecosystem functions related to leaf and stem traits of tree species than were subtropical forests, which appeared relatively resilient. Locally adaptive management to maintain multiple ecosystem functions should be developed based on the degree of functional complementarity among plant species in forest communities.
Data from: Patterns and thresholds of grazing-induced changes in community structure and ecosystem functioning: species-level responses and the critical role of species traits
Overgrazing has resulted in widespread decline in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in grasslands worldwide in recent decades. However, few studies have examined the patterns and thresholds of grazing-induced changes in community structure and ecosystem functioning along a grazing gradient and based on species-level responses and plant functional traits. To identify the thresholds of grazing intensity at both species and community levels, we conducted a grazing manipulation experiment with seven levels of grazing intensity (0–9 sheep ha-1) and two topographies (flat versus slope) in a typical steppe. Four plant functional traits were measured, including specific leaf area (SLA), plant height, leaf nitrogen content (LNC) and stem: leaf ratio (SLR). The threshold of grazing intensity that significantly altered community composition was at 3.75 sheep ha-1 for the flat system and 3.0 sheep ha-1 for the slope system. For both flat and slope systems, the threshold grazing intensity for changes in primary productivity was at 3.0 sheep ha-1, beyond which the productivity decreased substantially. At species level, the abundances of common species, most of which are perennial grasses, declined at moderate grazing intensities (3.0–4.5 sheep ha-1). The abundances of most rare species, which are perennial forbs, declined at low grazing intensities (1.5–3.0 sheep ha-1). Specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content are good predictors of species-level responses to grazing. Low SLA and high LNC species are negatively affected by high grazing intensity, while high SLA and low LNC species are little affected by grazing. The negative effect of grazing intensity on species abundance was greater in the slope system than in the flat system. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that the structural and functioning thresholds of grazing intensity depend on plant traits and species composition, which is mediated by topographic location. These findings, integrating plant functional traits and threshold approaches, have important implications for determining sustainable grazing intensity in grassland management and biodiversity conservation in semi-arid regions.
Complete codes for "Linking functional traits and diversity-invasibility hypothesis in submerged macrophyte communities under eutrophication", by Li
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Invasive earthworms can change understory plant community traits and reduce plant functional diversity
<p>Datasets and R script</p>
Data and code for: "Foraging rates from metabarcoding: Predators have reduced functional responses in wild, diverse prey communities."
<p>Data and code for "Foraging rates from metabarcoding: Predators have reduced functional responses in wild, diverse prey communities."</p>
Supplementary material 1 from: Gioria M, Carta A, Balogianni V, Fornara D, Pyšek P, Osborne BA (2023) Changes in the functional and phylogenetic diversity of above- and below-ground plant communities invaded by two alien herbs. NeoBiota 88: 75-101. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.88.109185
Species lists, list of traits, and results of Bayesian phylogenetic generalized linear mixed models of species richness and abundance data in the vegetation and the soil seed bank
Supplementary material 1 from: Souza AT, Dias E, Antunes C, Ilarri M (2023) Disruptions caused by invasive species and climate change on the functional diversity of a fish community. NeoBiota 88: 211-244. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.88.108283
Daily air temperature and precipitation data, extracted from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) POWER Project website
Post-drought community turnover and functional redundancy in a tropical forest understorey
<p>Drought events are increasingly frequent, threatening the biodiversity of tropical forests. The understorey comprises a large fraction of the total plant species richness of these systems with the presence of Individual plants of some highly diverse Angiosperm families are patchily organized in the understorey of these communities. Here we quantified the effects of a drought on abundance and functional structures and on the ecosystem functioning of these patches Rubiaceae assemblages along a topographic gradient. We show that swarms of species can maintain biological diversity and stability in ecosystem functioning under drought in the understorey of a tropical forest. (Published in Journal Vegetation Science; Funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo, FAPES).</p> <p>If you have any query, write to: karinnasantos0@gmail.com</p>
Data from: Intraspecific trait changes have large impacts on community functional composition but do not affect ecosystem function
<p>1. Plant functional traits can provide a mechanistic understanding of community responses to global change and of community effects on ecosystem functions. Nitrogen enrichment typically shifts trait composition by promoting the dominance of acquisitive plants (high specific leaf area [SLA] and low leaf dry matter content [LDMC]), translating into high biomass production. Changes in mean trait values can be due to shifts in species identity, relative abundances and/or intraspecific trait values. However, we do not know the relative importance of these shifts in determining trait responses to environmental changes, or trait effects on ecosystem functioning, such as biomass production. </p> <p><br> 2. We quantified the relative importance of species composition, abundance and intraspecific shifts in driving variation in SLA and LDMC, and how these shifts affected above- and belowground biomass. We measured traits in a grassland experiment manipulating nitrogen fertilisation, plant species richness, foliar fungal pathogen removal and sown functional composition (slow vs. fast species). We fitted structural equation models to test the importance of abundance and intraspecific shifts in determining 1) responses of functional composition to treatments and 2) effects on above and belowground biomass.</p> <p> <br> 3. We found that species intraspecific shifts were as important as abundance shifts in determining change in functional composition (community weighted mean trait values), and even had large effects compared to substantial initial variation in sown trait composition. Intraspecific trait shifts resulted in convergence towards intermediate SLA in diverse communities; although convergence was reduced by nitrogen addition and enhanced by pathogen removal. In contrast, large intraspecific shifts in LDMC were not influenced by the treatments. However, despite large responses, intraspecific trait shifts had no effect on above or belowground biomass. Only interspecific trait variation affected functioning: belowground biomass was reduced by SLA and increased by LDMC, while aboveground biomass was increased by SLA. </p> <p><br> 4. Our results add to a growing body of literature showing large species intraspecific trait variation and emphasise the importance of using field sampled data to determine community functional composition. However, they also show that intraspecific variation does not necessarily affect ecosystem functioning and therefore response-effect trait relationships may differ between vs. within species.</p>
Data from: No evidence of foliar disease impact on crop root functional strategies and soil microbial communities: What does this mean for organic coffee?
<p><span>Global climate change is increasing pest and pathogen pressures on plant communities, deteriorating optimal plant functioning. In plant communities, root functional trait expression and microbial communities are important indicators of plant functioning belowground, and, when confronted with pathogens aboveground, can simultaneously reflect plant defence strategies. Yet, while research is continuing to emerge on the response of root functional traits and microbial processes to pathogens aboveground, little work has investigated these interactions in tree-crops, or the role organic amendments play in moderating these relationships. The main objective of this study is to disentangle the dynamic effects of pathogens and amendments on root functional traits (i.e., specific root length and area, root diameter, root length density, root nitrogen, and root carbon to nitrogen ratio) and root endophytic fungal communities. As a model, we use <em>Coffea arabica </em>(coffee) variety Caturra along a gradient of Coffee Leaf Rust – a foliar disease prominent in coffee systems – under contrasting but widespread amendment regimes in biodiverse agroforestry systems. We found that root trait expression varies along established conservation and collaboration gradients, where fungal endophyte community composition varies significantly as a function of root traits. Belowground resource acquisition strategies do not change with foliar disease incidence, suggesting they may be decoupled. Rather, amendment regimes </span>differentially shape root trait expression and microbial communities<span>, where coffee plants under organic amendments, regardless of foliar disease incidence, expressed greater acquisitive traits and enhanced collaboration with symbiotic fungi. </span>This is an important first step in disentangling the dynamic inter-relationships between plant traits, endophytes, and pathogens, generating new questions on the role of amendments in sustainable pathogen management in biodiverse agroecosystems.</p> <p> </p>
Ant body size mediates functional performance and species interactions in carrion decomposer communities
<p>Growing concern over rapid species declines and extinctions has led to considerable interest in the role of biodiversity for maintaining ecological processes. However, the loss of particular species has more pronounced effects on ecosystem services than others, highlighting the importance of key functional species traits and their relationships to ecosystem functioning. Human induced disturbances, such as species invasions, land use changes or abiotic changes, appear to disproportionally impact larger species rather than smaller ones. The loss of large-bodied species in the community diminishes key ecosystem services like seed dispersal, pest control, pollination and decomposition.</p> <p>Here we use carrion, a nutrient-rich ephemeral resource, to test the hypotheses that ants positively affect decomposition rates and that their role in the necrophilous community – as predator or decomposer – is mediated by body size. We further investigate the relative contribution of maggots vs. ants to biomass decomposition.</p> <p>Our results show that ants contributed positively to the decomposition process. Moreover, decomposition was shaped by an intricate interplay between competition and predation among the guild of decomposer insects. As predicted, larger ants show a double action in increasing decomposition rate and predating on maggots, while small ants are rather inefficient decomposers and did not act as predators on other decomposer species.</p> <p>Our study shows that differentiating key taxonomic groups in function of their body size is key to untangle the diversity and directions of the various roles they play within complex ecological processes.</p>
Data from: Ant community composition and functional traits in newly established grasslands within agricultural landscapes
<p>Ongoing intensification and fragmentation of European agricultural landscapes dramatically reduce biodiversity and associated functions. Enhancing perennial non-crop areas holds great potential to support ecosystem services such as ant mediated pest control.</p> <p>To study the potential of newly established grassland strips to enhance ant diversity and associated functions, we used hand collection data and predation experiments to investigate differences in (a) ant community composition (b) biocontrol related functional traits, and (c) natural pest control across habitats in cereal fields, old grasslands, and new grassland transects of three years age. </p> <p>Whilst all data regarding biocontrol related functional traits of ant species (b) are available within the publication and its supporting information files, we provide here our raw data of ant species activity and diversity surveys (a) and further the results of sticky card experiments as a proxy for biocontrol potential (c).</p>
Data from: Atmospheric N deposition alters co-occurrence, but not functional potential among saprotrophic bacterial communities
The use of co-occurrence patterns to investigate interactions between micro-organisms has provided novel insight into organismal interactions within microbial communities. However, anthropogenic impacts on microbial co-occurrence patterns and ecosystem function remain an important gap in our ecological knowledge. In a northern hardwood forest ecosystem located in Michigan, USA, 20 years of experimentally increased atmospheric N deposition has reduced forest floor decay and increased soil C storage. This ecosystem-level response occurred concomitantly with compositional changes in saprophytic fungi and bacteria. Here, we investigated the influence of experimental N deposition on biotic interactions among forest floor bacterial assemblages by employing phylogenetic and molecular ecological network analysis. When compared to the ambient treatment, the forest floor bacterial community under experimental N deposition was less rich, more phylogenetically dispersed and exhibited a more clustered co-occurrence network topology. Together, our observations reveal the presence of increased biotic interactions among saprotrophic bacterial assemblages under future rates of N deposition. Moreover, they support the hypothesis that nearly two decades of experimental N deposition can modify the organization of microbial communities and provide further insight into why anthropogenic N deposition has reduced decomposition, increased soil C storage and accelerated phenolic DOC production in our field experiment.
Responses of a semiarid grassland to recurrent drought is linked to community functional composition
<p>Climate change-driven increases in the frequency of extreme droughts could negatively impact the functioning of grassland ecosystems. While several studies have documented the impact of individual droughts on grassland function, less is known about how grasslands will respond to recurrent drought. We conducted a repeated extreme drought experiment in a semiarid grassland that consisted of three stages: (1) initial drought, (2) recovery, and (3) subsequent drought. We measured aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), species richness, plant functional traits, and functional diversity. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we investigated the causal mechanisms of ANPP response to recurrent drought. The initial drought led to reduced ANPP, although this was driven by a differential reduction in the growth of grasses and forbs. Total ANPP completely recovered as the rapid recovery of grass productivity compensated for the slow recovery of forb productivity. The magnitude of ANPP responses to the subsequent drought was greater than the initial drought. The SEMs revealed that soil moisture influenced ANPP responses directly during the initial drought, and indirectly during the subsequent drought by altering community functional trait means and diversity during the subsequent drought. These differential mechanisms alter our fundamental understanding of ecosystem drought sensitivity, which is primarily based on single drought studies.</p>
Data related to article: Shrubs exhibit competitive interactions with herbaceous plants and shape community assemblage and functional composition in alpine western Himalaya
<p>To understand the interaction between dominant shrubs and herbacous communities in the alpine region of western Himalaya, a field study was conducted along the elevation gradient (3500-5000 masl). During the field survey, we have collected population data, plant functional trait data and soil physico-chemical data from shrub undercanopy and adjacent open habitats. Relative Interaction Index and L0g ratio were calculated using the population data. Further, plant functional traits data and soil physicochemical data were utilised to understand the functional comoposition and resource availability occuring in the contrasting habitats.</p>
Data from: Climate interacts with the functional trait structure of tree communities to influence forest productivity
<p>Tree functional diversity can increase forest productivity by enhancing species interactions and providing greater growth stability. However, very few studies have examined the influence of tree community trait structure on survivor growth, recruitment, and mortality simultaneously, which are the main drivers of forest population dynamics. Here we explore the interactions among functional diversity, productivity, and climate to investigate the role of the trait structure of communities on forest productivity and to determine under what circumstances functional diversity should be promoted to ensure forest adaptive capacity under future climate. Using random-forest modeling and a network of permanent sample plots covering a broad gradient of climatic conditions, we isolated the effects of functional diversity—described as the distribution of trait values in a community—and climate variables on net forest productivity (NFP), survivor growth, recruitment, and mortality. Based on our findings, community-level trait structure affects forest productivity in different ways. NFP was influenced by three traits from three different plant strategy dimensions, whereas survivor growth and recruitment were strongly correlated with leaf and resource acquisition traits, and tree mortality with a mix of traits reflecting various plant strategies. We also observed climate interactions with the functional trait structure of tree communities. For instance, we observed an interaction between drought tolerance and mean annual temperature: at low temperatures, NFP biomass accumulation increased with the value of the drought tolerance trait; however, at higher temperatures, the opposite pattern was observed. However, we found contrasting patterns of population response to climate variability, depending on their functional diversity. Greater functional diversity does not necessarily increase biomass accumulation under different climatic conditions.</p> <p><em>Synthesis</em>. As all components of forest productivity contribute to NFP, studies on forest productivity should not only consider survivor growth but also recruitment and mortality. Each component responds differently in terms of biomass changes to climatic variation, according to the trait structure of tree communities. This study provides a framework to identify the trait structure that should be targeted under different climate scenarios to anticipate change and help strengthen forest response capacity to climate change.</p>
Comparing patterns of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity in reef coral communities
<p>Datasets and R scripts</p>
Plant community composition and traits modulate the impacts of drought intensity on soil microbial community composition and function
<p>Terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly threatened by extreme drought events. Soil microbial communities are central to terrestrial ecosystem function via their role in regulating biogeochemical cycling. Consequently, the impact of increasingly intense drought events on soil microbial communities will have knock-on effects for how ecosystems cope with climate change. In an outdoor grassland mesocosm experiment, we determined how increasing drought intensity affects bacterial and fungal community composition, and functioning, during and after drought. We also tested whether plant community resource acquisition strategy (fast- versus slow-strategy plant communities), plant community composition, and plant functional traits mediate soil microbial responses to increasing drought intensity. We found that increasing drought intensity markedly shifted bacterial and fungal community composition, and these effects persisted until the end of the experiment (two months after re-wetting). Bacterial and fungal communities that experienced severe droughts did not return to baseline composition, while those that experienced a mild drought did. Microbial community functioning (potential extracellular enzyme activity) was reduced at peak drought and shortly after re-wetting. While drought intensity effects on bacterial or fungal communities were insensitive to plant community resource acquisition strategy, functional group abundance (aboveground biomass of grass or forb plant species) composition (grass:forb ratio) and leaf traits (leaf dry matter content and leaf nitrogen concentration) explained significant variation in bacterial and fungal community composition during and after drought. Notably, plant community leaf dry matter content and soil nitrogen were the key factors mediating the effect of increasing drought intensity on microbial indicator taxa (ASVs). We conclude that increasing drought intensity affects grassland soil microbial communities during and after drought, and this impact is influenced by plant community composition and functional traits.</p>
Data from: Functional traits and environmental conditions predict community isotopic niches and energy pathways across spatial scales
1. Despite ongoing research in food web ecology and functional biogeography, the links between food-web structure, functional traits and environmental conditions across spatial scales remain poorly understood. Trophic niches, defined as the amount of energy and elemental space occupied by species and food webs, may help bridge this divide. 2. Here, we ask how the functional traits of species, the environmental conditions of habitats and the spatial scale of analysis jointly determine the characteristics of trophic niches. We used isotopic niches as a proxy of trophic niches, and conducted analyses at spatial scales ranging from local food webs and metacommunities to geographically distant sites. 3. We sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates from 104 tank bromeliads distributed across five sites from Central to South America, and compiled the macroinvertebrates' functional traits and stable isotope values (δ15N and δ13C). We assessed how isotopic niches within each bromeliad were influenced by the functional trait composition of their associated invertebrates and environmental conditions (i.e., habitat size, canopy cover, and detrital concentration). We then evaluated whether the diet of dominant predators and, consequently, energy pathways within food webs, reflected functional and environmental changes among bromeliads across sites. Finally, we determined the extent to which the isotopic niches of macroinvertebrates within each bromeliad contributed to the metacommunity isotopic niches within each site, and compared these metacommunity-level niches over biogeographic scales. 4. At the bromeliad level, isotopic niches increased with the functional richness of species in the food web and the detrital concentration in the bromeliad. The diet of top predators tracked shifts in prey biomass along gradients of canopy cover and detrital concentration. Bromeliads that grew under heterogeneous canopy cover displayed less trophic redundancy and therefore combined to form larger metacommunity isotopic niches. Finally, the size of metacommunity niches depended on within-site heterogeneity in canopy cover. 5. Our results suggest that the trophic niches occupied by food webs can predictably scale from local food webs to metacommunities to biogeographic regions. This scaling process is determined by both the functional traits of species and heterogeneity in environmental conditions.
Data from: Microenvironment and functional-trait context dependence predict alpine plant community dynamics
Predicting the structure and dynamics of communities is difficult. Approaches linking functional traits to niche boundaries, species co‐occurrence and demography are promising, but have so far had limited success. We hypothesized that predictability in community ecology could be improved by incorporating more accurate measures of fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity and the context‐dependent function of traits. We tested these hypotheses using long term whole‐community demography data from an alpine plant community in Colorado. Species distributions along microenvironmental gradients covaried with traits important for below‐ground processes. Positive associations between species distributions across life stages could not be explained by abiotic microenvironment alone, consistent with facilitative processes. Rates of growth, survival, fecundity and recruitment were predicted by the direct and interactive effects of trait, microenvironment, macroenvironment and neighbourhood axes. Synthesis. Context‐dependent interactions between multiple traits and microenvironmental axes are needed to predict fine‐scale community structure and dynamics.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.