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5,828 results for “Traits”
Disentangling the roles of plant functional diversity and plaint traits in regulating plant nitrogen accumulation and denitrification in freshwaters
<p>1. There is a growing recognition that functional measures of diversity, based on quantification of functionally important species traits, are useful for explaining variation in ecosystem processes. However, the mechanisms linking functional diversity to different processes remain poorly understood, hindering development of a predictive framework for ecosystem functioning based on species traits.</p> <p>2. The current understanding of how the functional traits of aquatic plants (macrophytes) affect nitrogen (N) cycling by regulating microbial communities and their activity in freshwater habitats is particularly limited. Denitrifying bacteria are typically associated with the roots of both aquatic and terrestrial plants and denitrification is the main cause of loss of N from ecosystems. Disentangling the interplay between plants and microbial denitrifiers is key to understanding variation in rates of denitrification from local to landscape scales.</p> <p>3. In a mesocosm experiment, we varied the species richness (monocultures or two- species mixtures) and composition of macrophytes. We quantified effects of both macrophyte functional diversity, quantified as functional trait dissimilarity, and functional trait composition, quantified as community weighted mean trait values, on N removal in wetlands. We used structural equation modelling to disentangle the direct and indirect influences of traits on N accumulation in plant biomass, denitrification activity and abundance of key bacterial denitrification genes (<i>nirS</i>and <i>nirK</i>).</p> <p>4. Both functional diversity and functional trait composition regulated N removal, explaining 70 – 94% variation in the underlying ecosystem processes. Increased macrophyte functional diversity increased plant N accumulation, and indirectly enhanced denitrification by increasing denitrification gene abundance. Among traits, greater plant relative growth rates, specific leaf area and aboveground biomass increased plant N accumulation. Denitrification activity increased with increasing belowground biomass but decreased with increasing root diameter.</p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>5. These findings improve our understanding of N removal in freshwater wetlands dominated by macrophytes, and have broad ecological implications for wetland management targeting enhanced ecosystem services. Our results highlight the potential for optimising denitrification and plant N accumulation in wetlands and thereby improving water purification by increasing macrophyte functional diversity and ensuring the presence of key traits in macrophyte assemblages.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Plant species with the trait of continuous flowering do not hold core roles in a Neotropical lowland plant-pollinating insect network
<p>Plant-animal interaction science repeatedly finds that plant species differ by orders of magnitude in the number of interactions they support. The identification of plant species that play key structural roles in plant-animal networks is a global conservation priority, however, in hyperdiverse systems such as tropical forests, empirical datasets are scarce. Plant species with longer reproductive seasons are posited to support more interactions compared to plant species with shorter reproductive seasons but this hypothesis has not been evaluated for plant species with the longest reproductive season possible at the individual plant level, the continuous flowering phenology. Resource predictability is also associated with promoting specialization, and therefore continuous flowering may instead favor specialist interactions. Here we use quantitative pollinating insect-plant networks constructed from countryside habitat of the Tropical Wet forest Life Zone and modularity analysis to test if species that share the trait of continuous flowering hold core roles in mutualistic networks. With a few exceptions, most<span> plant species sampled within our network were assigned to the role of peripheral. All but one network had significantly high modularity scores and each continuous flowering plant species was in a different module. Our work reveals that the continuous flowering plant species differed in some networks in their topological role, and that more evidence was found for the phenology to support specialized subsets of interactions. Our findings suggest that the conservation of Neotropical pollinating insect communities may require planting species from each module rather than identifying and conserving network hubs. </span></p>
Root anatomy helps to reconcile observed root trait syndromes in tropical tree species
<p>Studying the organization of functional traits in plant leaves and stems has revealed notable patterns linking function and form; however, evidence of similarly robust organization in root tissues remains controversial. We posit that anatomical traits in roots can provide insight on the overall organization of the root system. We hypothesize that A) size variation in the tissue outside the stele relates in a non-linear fashion with functional traits associated with direct resource uptake, including a negative relationship with root architectural traits; and B) similar relationships detected in tropical areas also hold true in other biomes.</p> <p>We address our hypotheses using empirical data from 24 tropical tree species in French Guiana, including anatomical measurements in first order roots, and functional trait description for the entire fine root system. In addition, we compiled a global meta-analysis of root trait with 500+ forest species across tropical, subtropical and temperate forests.</p> <p>Our results supported the expected non-linear relationships between cortical size and morphological traits, and a negative linear trend with architectural traits. We confirmed a global negative relationship between SRL, diameter and tissue density, suggesting similar anatomical constraints in root systems across woody plants. However the importance of factors vary across biomes, possibly related to the unequal phylogenetic representation of families across latitudes.</p> <p>Our findings imply that the rhizocentric hypothesis can be a valuable approach to understand fine root trait syndromes and the evolution of absorptive roots in vascular plants.</p>
Data from: The relationship between pathogen life history traits and metapopulation dynamics
<p>Plant pathogen traits, such as transmission mode and overwintering strategy, may have important effects on dispersal and persistence, and drive disease dynamics. Still, we lack insights into how life-history traits influence spatiotemporal disease dynamics.</p> <p>We adopted a multifaceted approach, combining experimental assays, theory and field surveys, to investigate whether information about two pathogen life-history traits, infectivity and overwintering strategy, can predict pathogen metapopulation dynamics in natural systems. For this, we focused on four fungal pathogens (two rust fungi, one chytrid fungus and one smut fungus) on the forest herb <i>Anemone nemorosa.</i></p> <p>Pathogens infecting new plants mostly via spores (the chytrid and smut fungi) had higher patch occupancies and colonization rates than pathogens mainly causing systemic infections and overwintering in the rhizomes (the two rust fungi). While the rust fungi more often occupied well-connected plant patches, the chytrid and smut fungi were equally or more common in isolated patches. Host patch size was positively related to patch occupancy and colonization rates for all pathogens.</p> <p>Predicting disease dynamics is crucial to understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of host-pathogen interactions, and to prevent disease outbreaks. Our study shows that combining experiments, theory and field observations is a useful way to predict disease dynamics.</p>
A timeframe for mint evolution: Towards a better understanding of trait evolution and historical biogeography in Lamiaceae
<p>The mint family (Lamiaceae) is one of the largest and most economically important families of flowering plants. Despite focused study on relationships within subclades, higher-level relationships have been understudied. Moreover, the herbaceous habit of much of the family has resulted in a poor fossil record and has hampered estimates of divergence times. Using a new dataset of five plastid loci from 178 Lamiaceae representing all subfamilies and nearly all tribes, we clarify major infrafamilial relationships and present a robust set of divergence times. We use this phylogenetic hypothesis as a platform to test prior hypotheses regarding the historical biogeography and evolution of major traits within the family. We confirm the placement of subfamily Nepetoideae, show continued uncertainty in the placement of subfamilies Ajugoideae and Premnoideae, and highlight extreme discordance with recent results from nuclear data. Lamiaceae originated during the Late Cretaceous as a woody plant with a nutlet fruit and four stamens, probably in Southeast Asia. Most subfamilies diverged during the Eocene, perhaps facilitated by climatic cooling. Our results provide a valuable set of secondary dates for Lamiaceae and highlight the need for focused study of subfamilies Callicarpoideae and Viticoideae. Our results also provide several hypotheses regarding trait or range-dependent diversification.</p>
Genetic variation in leaf traits and gas exchange response to vapor pressure deficit in two contrasting conifer species
<p>1. Mechanistically predicting the evolutionary response of tree species to climate change requires an understanding of genetic variation in relevant traits. Here we compared the phenotypic and genetic variation in the Leaf Economics Spectrum (LES) traits and the response of gas exchange to vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in lodgepole pine (Pico) and white spruce (Pigl), an early and a late successional species dominating the boreal forests of western Canada. 2. We measured gas exchange, foliar nitrogen, and lamina mass to area ratio in 697 app. 30-year-old trees in two field progeny trials. We analyzed the response of gas exchange rates to VPD using a novel quantitative genetic model, the function-valued trait approach. 3. Pico showed greater phenotypic variation in the LES traits and greater genetic variation in photosynthetic rate than Pigl, but the species showed no significant difference in their phenotypic correlations between the LES traits. Pico showed a less sensitive stomatal response to VPD than Pigl and no significant genetic variation in stomatal sensitivity. In contrast, Pigl showed a positive correlation between the genetic values of stomatal sensitivity to VPD and stomatal conductance under low VPD. 4. Our study region is projected to see an increase in VPD with climate change; the less sensitive and genetically diverse stomatal response to VPD in Pico could make this species more vulnerable to climate change-induced droughts. </p>
Traits explain sorting of C4 grasses along a global precipitation gradient
<p>Species distributions are closely associated with moisture availability, but the underlying mechanisms remain unresolved. Drought relations are especially important for plants such as C<sub>4</sub> grasses that dominate seasonally dry ecosystems. Here, we test the hypothesis that C<sub>4</sub> grass species sampled across global precipitation gradients show variation in survival under drought that can be explained by their traits. Our experiment subjected 18 C<sub>4</sub> grass species to a lethal drought under controlled environmental conditions. The number of days until death was measured, along with root traits, senescence and aspects of hydraulic function. <span><span>We identified two strategies; Drought avoiding species that stayed green as the water potential declined, and drought tolerating species that senesced more quickly but could extend survival via drought tolerant meristems. </span></span><span><span>Plants that stay-green for longer occupied drier habitats and had the longest survival under drought, facilitated by narrow root diameter and isohydric stomatal behaviour. Plants that senesced quickly had thicker roots, an anisohydric strategy, and occupied wetter habitats.</span></span> Global distributions of C<sub>4</sub> grasses can be predicted by variation in rates of senescence, meristem survival, root traits and stomatal strategy, showing the value of these traits for understanding plant distributions in relation to climate.</p>
Metabolic rate and behavioral traits in Salmo trutta
<p>The behavior of organisms can be subject to human induced selection such as that arising from fishing. Angling is expected to induce mortality on fish with bold and explorative behavior, which are behaviors commonly linked to a high standard metabolic rate. We studied the transgenerational response of brown trout (<i>Salmo trutta</i>) to angling-induced selection by examining the behavior and metabolism of 1-year-old parr between parents that were or were not captured by experimental fly fishing. We performed the angling selection experiment on both a wild and a captive population, and compared the offspring for standard metabolic rate and behavior under predation risk in common garden conditions. Angling had population-specific effects on risk taking and exploration tendency, but no effects on standard metabolic rate. Our study adds to the evidence that angling can induce transgenerational responses on fish personality. However, understanding the mechanisms of divergent responses between the populations requires further study on the selectivity of angling in various conditions.</p>
In search of an honest butterfly: Sexually selected wing coloration and reproductive traits from wild populations of the Cabbage White Butterfly
Abstract <p></p><p>Sexual selection is central to many theories on mate selection and individual behavior. Relatively little is known, however, about the impacts that human-induced rapid environmental change are having on secondary sexually selected characteristics. Honest signals function as an indicator of mate quality when there are differences in nutrient acquisition and are thus potentially sensitive to anthropogenically altered nutrient inputs. We used the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), to investigate differences in color and testes size in a system that is often exposed to agricultural landscapes with nitrogen addition. We collected individuals from four sites in California and Nevada to investigate variation in key traits and the possibility that any relationship between wing color and a reproductive trait (testes size) could vary among locations in the focal butterfly. Coloration variables and testes size were positively albeit weakly associated across sites, consistent with the hypothesis that females could use nitrogen-based coloration in the cabbage white as an indicator for a male mating trait that has the potential to confer elevated mating success in progeny. However, variation in testes size and in the relationship between testes size and wing color suggest complexities that need exploration, including the possibility that the signal is not of equal value in all populations. Thus these results advance our understanding of complex relationships among environmental change and sexual selection in the wild.</p><p></p>
Data from: Life histories as mosaics: plastic and genetic components differ among traits that underpin life-history strategies
<p>Life-history phenotypes emerge from clusters of traits that are the product of genes and phenotypic plasticity. If the impact of the environment differs substantially between traits, then life histories might not evolve as a cohesive whole.</p> <p>We quantified the sensitivity of components of the life history to food availability, a key environmental difference in the habitat occupied by contrasting ecotypes, for 36 traits in fast-and slow-reproducing Trinidadian guppies. Our dataset included six putatively independent origins of the slow-reproducing, derived ecotype.</p> <p>Traits varied substantially in plastic and genetic control. Twelve traits were influenced only by food availability (body lengths, body weights), five only by genetic differentiation (inter-birth intervals, offspring sizes), ten by both (litter sizes, reproductive timing), and nine by neither (fat contents, reproductive allotment). Ecotype-by-food interactions were negligible. The response to low food was aligned with the genetic difference between high- and low-food environments, suggesting that plasticity was adaptive.</p> <p>The heterogeneity among traits in environmental sensitivity and genetic differentiation reveals that the components of the life history may not evolve in concert. Ecotypes may instead represent mosaics of trait groups that differ in their rate of evolution.</p>
Data for: Warmer temperatures limit the effects of antidepressant pollution on life history traits
<p>Pharmaceutical pollutants pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Yet, few studies have considered the interaction between pharmaceuticals and other chronic stressors contemporaneously, even though the environmental challenges confronting animals in the wild seldom, if ever, occur in isolation. Thermal stress is one such environmental challenge that may modify the threat of pharmaceutical pollutants. Accordingly, we investigated how fluoxetine (Prozac), a common psychotherapeutic and widespread pollutant, interacts with temperature to affect life-history traits in the water flea, <i>Daphnia magna</i>. We chronically exposed two genotypes of <i>Daphnia</i> to two ecological relevant concentrations of fluoxetine (30ng/L and 300ng/L) and a concentration representing levels used in acute toxicity tests (3000ng/L), and quantified the change in phenotypic trajectories at two temperatures (20°C and 25°C). Across multiple life-history traits, we found that fluoxetine exposure impacted the fecundity, body size and intrinsic growth rate of <i>Daphnia</i> in a non-monotonic manner at 20°C, and often in genotypic-specific ways. At 25°C, however, the life-history phenotypes of individuals converged under the widely varying levels of fluoxetine, irrespective of genotype. Our study underscores the importance of considering the complexity of interactions that can occur in the wild when assessing the effects of chemical pollutants on life-history traits.</p>
Seed traits matter—Endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker
<p>Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited.</p> <p>In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (<i>Lepus europaeus)</i> and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data.</p> <p>With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system.</p> <p>Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.</p>
Transgenerational plasticity of dispersal-related traits in a ciliate: genotype-dependency and fitness consequences
<p>The data presented here are those used in the paper : CAYUELA H., JACOB S., SCHTICKZELLE N., VERDONCK R., PHILIPPE H., LAPORTE M., HUET M., BERNATCHEZ L., LEGRAND D. Transgenerational plasticity of dispersal-related traits in a ciliate: genotype-dependency and fitness consequences. Oikos. DOI: 10.1111/oik.08846</p> <p>Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of one genotype to produce different phenotypes in different environments, plays a central role in species' response to environmental changes. Transgenerational plasticity (TGP) allows the transmission of this environmentally-induced phenotypic variation across generations, and can influence adaptation. To date, the genetic control of TGP, its long-term stability, and its potential costs remain largely unknown, mostly because empirical demonstrations of TGP across many generations in several genetic backgrounds are scarce. In the paper of Cayuela et al., we examined how genotype determines the TGP of phenotypic traits related to dispersal, a fundamental process in ecology and evolution. We used an experimental approach in <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i>, a ciliate model-species, to determine if and how phenotypic changes expressed following a dispersal treatment are inherited over multiple generations. The data include morphological and movement traits, dispersal rates, and cell growth data measured before and after dispersal trials. We considered different genotypes and different populations within each genotype.</p>
Micro-personality traits and their implications for behavioural and movement ecology research
<ol> <li>Many animal personality traits have implicit movement‐based definitions, and can directly or indirectly influence ecological and evolutionary processes. It has therefore been proposed that animal movement studies could benefit from acknowledging and studying consistent inter-individual differences (personality), and, conversely, animal personality studies could adopt a more quantitative representation of movement patterns.</li> <li>Using high-resolution tracking data of three-spined stickleback fish (<i>Gasterosteus</i> <i>aculeatus</i>)<i>, </i>we examined the repeatability of four movement parameters commonly used in the analysis of discrete time-series movement data (time stationary, step-length, turning angle, burst frequency), and four behavioural parameters commonly used in animal personality studies (distance travelled, space use, time in free water, time near objects).</li> <li>Fish showed repeatable inter-individual differences in both movement and behavioural parameters when observed in a simple environment with two, three, or five shelters present. Moreover, individuals that spend less time stationary, take more direct paths and less commonly burst travel (movement parameters), were found to travel farther, explored more of the tank, and spent more time in open water (behavioural parameters).</li> <li>Our case-study indicates that the two approaches – quantifying movement and behavioural parameters – are broadly equivalent, and we suggest that movement parameters can be viewed as "micro-personality" traits that give rise to broad-scale consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour. This finding has implications for both personality and movement ecology research areas. For example, the study of movement parameters may <span>provide a robust way to analyse</span><span> individual </span><span>personalities in species that are difficult or impossible to study using standardised behavioural assays.</span> </li> </ol>
Phytogeographic origin determines Tropical Montane Cloud Forest hydraulic trait composition
<p>Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) have unique climatic conditions, which allow the coexistence of plant lineages with different phytogeographic origins from tropical versus temperate climates. Future climate projections suggest TMCFs will be subjected to increasing drought stress due to fog uplift and higher temperatures, possibly leading to tree mortality and local extinctions, and consequently changes in forest composition and functioning. Characterising community functional composition, trade-offs among traits and the drivers of community assembly is of utmost importance to improve our capacity to predict the response of montane plant communities to forecast climate change.</p> <p>Here, we aimed to test if species from different phytogeographic origins (i.e. tropical - evergreen x deciduous - and temperate) differ in drought vulnerability and how the co-existence of these groups change the hydraulic composition of TMCF`s. We used a framework based on measurements of key hydraulic traits (i.e. xylem embolism resistance, hydraulic safety margin, stomata control, turgor loss point, minimum water potential) of 16 dominant species (> 70% of the forest basal area) within a TMCF in the Atlantic Rain Forest Domain in southeast Brazil. We used community-weighted means to model whether removing each species group would change the community hydraulic functional composition.</p> <p>Temperate, tropical deciduous and tropical evergreen groups differ in their hydraulic functioning and these differences explain forest functional composition and taxa dominance. Temperate and tropical deciduous taxa were consistently more vulnerable hydraulically (i.e. lower safety margins and embolism resistance). The coexistence of different phytogeographic lineages is a key determinant of TMCF hydraulic composition. We also used models including phylogeny to evaluate the variation of hydraulic traits across Phytogeographic groups, and the results suggest some niche conservatism associated with plant hydraulic functioning.</p> <p>Our results provide evidence of the importance of species phytogeographic origin on TMCF functioning, and niche conservatism in the evolution of hydraulic traits. The higher drought vulnerability observed in temperate group might be a mechanistic explanation for the expansion of temperate taxa distribution to wetter places during past colder and drier climate. Thus, we suggest hydraulic functional traits may be useful to predict future dynamics of TMCFs under changing climatic conditions.</p>
Mechanisms of dietary resource partitioning in large-herbivore assemblages: a plant-trait-based approach
<p>Sympatric large mammalian herbivore species differ in diet composition, both by eating different parts of the same plant and by eating different plant species. Various theories proposed to explain these differences are not mutually exclusive, but are difficult to reconcile and confront with data. Moreover, whereas several of these ideas were originally developed with reference to within-plant partitioning (i.e., consumption of different tissues), they may analogously apply to partitioning of plant species; this possibility has received little attention.</p> <p>Plant functional traits provide a novel window into herbivore diets and a means of testing multiple hypotheses in a unified framework. We used DNA metabarcoding to characterize the diets of 14 sympatric large-herbivore species in an African savanna and analyzed diet composition in light of 27 functional traits that we measured locally for 204 plant species.</p> <p>Plant traits associated with the deep phylogenetic split between grasses and eudicots formed the primary axis of resource partitioning, affirming the generality and importance of the grazer-browser spectrum. A secondary axis comprised plant traits relevant to herbivore body size. Plant taxa in the diets of large-bodied species were lower on average in digestible energy and protein, taller on average (especially among grazers), and tended to be higher in tensile strength, zinc, stem-specific density, and potassium (and lower in sodium, stem dry matter content, and copper). These results are consistent with longstanding hypotheses linking body size with forage quality and plant height, yet they also suggest the existence of undiscovered links between herbivore body size and a set of rarely considered food-plant traits. We also tested the novel hypothesis that the leaf economic spectrum (LES), a major focus in plant ecology, is an axis of resource partitioning in large-herbivore assemblages; we found that the LES was a minor axis of individual variation within a few species, but had little effect on interspecific dietary differentiation.</p> <p>Synthesis. These results identify key plant traits that underpin the partitioning of food-plant species in large-herbivore communities and suggest that accounting for multiple plant traits (and tradeoffs among them) will enable a deeper understanding of herbivore-plant interaction networks.</p>
Root traits, root diameter distribution and soil parameters at the community level along a mediterranean successional gradient
<p>The data correspond to average root traits at the community level, and parameters describing the root diameter distribution at the community level. Soil parameters are also indicated. All measurements were conducted along a successional gradient on roadsides in the Mediterranean region (Montpellier, France, 43°6′N, 3°8′E). These data were used in the article entitled "Dissecting fine root diameter distribution at the community level captures root morpological diversity" from Erktan, A., Roumet, C., Munoz, F (in press) in Oikos (2022).</p>
Tree_seedling_survival_growth_leaf_traits_in_disturbed_conditions
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>1.<span> </span></span><span>Restoration of tropical montane cloud forest landscapes is urgently required. Assisting the regeneration of endangered and shade tolerant tree species is essential for both the recovery of this vulnerable group and of ecological processes. However, there is limited species-specific information regarding tree performance under different disturbance conditions with which to implement effective interventions. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>2.<span> </span></span><span>We assessed the performance of shade tolerant tree seedlings in restoration plantings under different disturbance settings and determined whether leaf mass area (LMA) and leaf dry mass content (LDMC) – functional traits typically associated with resource capture or stress tolerance – could serve as predictors of survival and growth among species. Since conservative leaf morphological traits can maximize survival, we expected species with higher LMA and LDMC to present higher survival. For a set of eight native cloud forest species, a total of 2202 seedlings were planted in four pastures, five secondary forests and three forests subjected to traditional selective logging, in tropical montane cloud forest landscapes in Eastern Mexico.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>3.<span> </span></span><span>Seedling survival was high after three years: 62% in pastures, 80% in secondary forests and 88% in logged forests. Growth rates were lowest in pastures, followed by secondary forests and highest in logged forests. LMA was a strong predictor of seedling survival in all of the environments; tree species with higher LMA presented greater survival. LDMC was related to seedling survival in the three environments, although to a lesser extent than LMA. In the pastures, higher LMA and LDMC were linked to lower growth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_heading=h.30j0zll"></a><span>4.<span> </span></span><span>Synthesis and applications. This study support the potential of shade tolerant tree species in restoration efforts to assist the recovery of this important functional group and to accelerate succession across altered environments. Our results support the notion that conservative leaf functional traits are linked to a higher probability of survival, not only in the shaded understorey, but also under high solar radiation in transformed habitats. Leaf Mass Area (LMA) in particular is a reliable predictor of seedling survival for shade tolerant species. Species selection based on LMA could thus improve restoration initiative outcomes: tree species with high LMA present higher survival probability and can be introduced into pastures, secondary forests and selectively logged forests.</span></p>
Environment regimes play an important role in structuring trait- and taxonomy-based temporal beta diversity of riverine diatoms
<p>This dataset is from the manuscript '<span>Environment regimes play an important role </span><span>in structuring trait-and taxonomy-based temporal beta diversity of riverine </span><span>diatoms</span>' whereby daily riverine diatom data, flow, nutrients and metal ions data were used to examine <span>i) the relative roles of turnover and nestedness components to trait- and taxonomy-based temporal beta diversity of riverine diatoms; ii) whether trait-based temporal beta diversity provides complementary information to taxonomy-based temporal beta diversity; iii) the relative roles of hydrology (e.g., discharge, </span><span>antecedent precipitation index</span><span>), metal ions (e.g., </span><span>Mg2+, Si2+), and nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, orthophosphate) to the both facets of temporal beta diversity and their components (i.e., total beta diversity, turnover, and nestedness); and iv) whether inclusion of environment regimes increase their explained variations. Therefore, t</span>his dataset contains three different data: 1) daily species composition (date*species); 2) species trait (species * traits); 3) environmental variables (date*environmental variables). </p>
Disentangling biotic and abiotic drivers of intraspecific trait variation in woody plant seedlings at forest edges
<p>In fragmented forests, edge effects can drive intraspecific variation in seedling performance that influences forest regeneration and plant composition. However, few studies have attempted to disentangle the relative biotic and abiotic drivers of intraspecific variation in seedling performance. In this study, we carried out a seedling transplant experiment with a factorial experimental design on three land-bridge islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China, using four common native woody plant species. At different distances from the forest edge (2, 8, 32, 128 m), we transplanted four seedlings of each species into each of three cages: full-cage, for herbivore-exclusion; half-cage, that allowed herbivore access but controlled for caging artefacts; and no-cage control. In the 576 cages, we recorded branch architecture, leaf traits and seedling survival for each seedling before and after the experimental treatment. Overall, after one full growing season, edge-induced abiotic drivers and varied herbivory pressure led to intraspecific variation in seedling performance, including trade-offs in seedling architecture and resource-use strategies. However, responses varied across species with different life-history strategies and depended on the driver in question, such that the abiotic and biotic effects were additive across species, rather than interactive. Edge-induced abiotic variation modified seedling architecture of a shade-tolerant species, leading to more vertical rather than lateral growth at edges. Meanwhile, increased herbivory pressure resulted in a shift toward lower dry matter investment in leaves of a light-demanding species. Our results suggest that edge effects can drive rapid directional shifts in the performance and intraspecific traits of some woody plants from early ontogenetic stages, but most species in this study showed negligible phenotypic responses to edge effects. Moreover, species-specific responses suggest the importance of interspecific differences modulating the degree of trait plasticity, implying the need to incorporate individual-level responses when understanding the impact of forest fragmentation on plant communities.</p>
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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.