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Spatial patterns and drivers of native plant diversity in Hainan, China

The Hainan Island has the most extensive and well-preserved tropical forests in China. With rapid economic development of Hainan, biodiversity is increasingly at risk. Determining the spatial patterns of plant diversity in Hainan and explaining the drivers behind plant diversity are important considerations in assessing and maximizing the effectiveness of national parks, such as the newly designated Hainan Rainforest National Park. We assessed phylogenetic diversity patterns, and species richness using 106,252 georeferenced specimen records and a molecular phylogeny of 3,792 native plant species. Based on phylogenetic range-weighted turnover metrics, we divided the Hainan flora into four major floristic units. The Grade of Membership model was used to further verify the four units and to understand their boundaries and the internal structure of each floristic unit. Finally, the best combination model was used to explore the driving mechanisms underlying the division. Our results reveal that central Hainan is the most important hotspot for plant endemism and diversity, followed by the southern. Environmental energy is the main factor determining the spatial patterns of native plant diversity on the island, and accessibility has the greatest impact on native plant diversity among social factors. We explore patterns of spatial phylogenetics and biogeography to identify potential priorities for management and conservation drivers of plant diversity patterns across Hainan, to provide the basis for the effective protection of native plant diversity and the improvement of national parks of Hainan Island.

High tolerance to zinc but no evidence for local adaptation in the aquatic plant Lemna minor

Duckweeds are a widely distributed and economically important aquatic plant family that have high potential for phytoremediation of polluted water bodies. We collected four ecotypes of the common duckweed (Lemna minor) from the four corners of Switzerland and assessed how their home vs. away environments influenced their growth. Additionally, we investigated their response to a metal pollutant (Zn) in both their home and away environments. Zn is found in freshwater systems and can become harmful to plants at elevated concentrations. We hypothesized that growing in their home environment would help the plants buffer the negative effect of the metal pollutant. To test this, we measured Lemna growth in a common garden experiment in a glasshouse where the four ecotypes were grown in each of the water environments, as well as in three different concentrations of Zn. To investigate whether interactions between Lemna and their microbial community can enhance or reduce tolerance to heavy metal pollution, we sampled chlorophyll-a as a proxy for algal biomass. Finally, we measured total nitrogen and total organic carbon to describe the abiotic environment in more detail. The four Lemna ecotypes exhibited significantly different growth rates across the water treatments. This difference in fitness was matched with DNA sequencing revealing genetic differentiation between the four ecotypes. However, the effect of the water and zinc treatment on Lemna growth was the same for all ecotypes. We did not find evidence for local adaptation; instead, we observed strong plastic responses. Lemna growth rates were higher under higher Zn concentrations. This positive effect of Zn on Lemna growth could be in part due to reduced competition with algae. We conclude that L. minor ecotypes may exhibit large differences in growth rate, but that the species overall have a high Zn tolerance and strong plastic adaptive potential in novel environments.

Data from: Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant invasion success driven by nitrogen fluctuations

Both enemies and mutualists play crucial roles in shaping plant invasion processes. Recent studies have suggested that resource fluctuations could indirectly promote plant invasion through higher trophic levels, such as enemies. However, the influence of mutualists like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on plant invasion under nitrogen fluctuations remains untested. We conducted a pot-mesocosm experiment using a three-factorial experimental design to assess the individual and interactive effects of nitrogen availability, nitrogen fluctuation and AMF on invasive success of alien plants. We grew nine invasive alien species alongside five different native communities in pot-mesocosms. These were then subjected to varied nitrogen availabilities (low vs high), nitrogen fluctuations (constant vs pulsed), and AMF presence or absence within a sterile substrate. We found that pulsed nitrogen supply increased the dominance of invasive alien species in low-nitrogen availability, regardless of the presence or absence of AMF inoculation. However, in high-nitrogen availability, pulsed nitrogen supply only enhanced this dominance in pots without AMF-inoculation. This was tentatively evidenced by the three-way interaction among nitrogen-availability, nitrogen-fluctuation and AMF-inoculation treatments. Furthermore, the dominance promotion by nitrogen addition was greater than that by AMF inoculation. Synthesis and applications: Our findings present, for the first time, evidence that AMF may play a crucial role in mediating the promotion effects of nitrogen fluctuations on alien plant invasion. To better understand the invasion process of alien plants and evaluate their impact on native communities, future research should integrate abiotic and biotic drivers into a single framework. Furthermore, our findings underscore the importance of prioritizing habitats with higher nutrient availability and variability for protection against alien plant invasions.

Genome-wide association study of aphid abundance highlights a locus affecting plant growth and flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana

<div> <div>Plant life-history traits, such as size and flowering, contribute to shaping variation in herbivore abundance. Although plant genes involved in physical and chemical traits have been well studied, less is known about the loci linking plant life-history traits and herbivore abundance. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of aphid abundance in a field population of Arabidopsis thaliana. This GWAS of aphid abundance detected a relatively rare but significant variant on the third chromosome of A. thaliana, which was also suggestively but non-significantly associated with the presence or absence of inflorescence. Out of candidate genes near this significant variant, a mutant of a ribosomal gene (AT3G13882) exhibited slower growth and later flowering than a wild type under laboratory conditions. A no-choice assay with the turnip aphid, Lipaphis erysimi, found that aphids were unable to successfully establish on the mutant. Our genome-wide association study of aphid abundance unexpectedly found a locus affecting plant growth and flowering.</div> </div>

Jumping to new hosts: the diversification of flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticini) in the context of their host plant associations

Flea beetles (Alticini) represent one of the most diverse groups within the family Chrysomelidae and are associated with more than 100 different plant families. Conspicuously, only 10 genera account for about a quarter of flea beetle diversity, whereas about 380 genera each comprise less than ten species, indicating different rates of diversification within the Alticini. Here, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of 608 species in 101 Alticini genera using mitogenomes and cytochrome oxidase I, and applied several frameworks of clade-specific diversification rate analyses. Increased diversification rates were consistently detected in the cosmopolitan genera Altica and Longitarsus, the Palearctic genus Phyllotreta, and in neotropical taxa of the subtribe Oedionychina. In addition, we tested whether the evolution of specialized interactions with plants of the order Brassicales influenced the diversification of Phyllotreta and Psylliodes flea beetles. Specialization on Brassicales was only associated with increased diversification rates in Phyllotreta but not in Psylliodes. Our results indicate that host associations per se do not explain different diversification rates and lay the groundwork for investigating the evolutionary drivers of rapid radiations in Alticini.

Data and reproducible code for Honor et al: Direct and indirect fitness effects of competition limit evolution of allelopathy in an invading plant

Upon introduction to new continents, invading species encounter novel communities of consumers, pathogens, and competitors. Both phenotypic plasticity and rapid evolution can facilitate adaptation across these heterogenous communities, facilitating further invasion. However, the rate and extent of adaptive evolution on contemporary timescales can be constrained by phenotypic plasticity and limits imposed by genetic co-variation for traits under selection. We measured phenotypic plasticity and quantified genetic co-variation for growth, competition, and fitness among 23 naturally inbred seed families of Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) collected across its invasive range in eastern North America. After growing a self-pollinated generation in a uniform common garden to reduce maternal effects, we reared second-generation plants in a two-year greenhouse and field experiment with naïve soil from an uninvaded habitat. We measured selection gradients and lifetime fitness when reared alone, with an intraspecific competitor, and under interspecific competition with naïve Acer saccharum (sugar maple) saplings. Total glucosinolate production was strongly correlated with the production of chlorophyll a (Chl a) (R2 = 0.45) such that first principal component (PC1) accounted for 84% of variation in these two traits. Furthermore, PC1 exhibited high plasticity across growing environments (p < 0.001) with limited broad-sense heritability (H2 = 2.91; p = 0.08). In contrast, investment in glucosinolate production relative to Chl a (PC2) was significantly heritable (H2 =16.91, p < 0.001) with minimal plasticity across treatments. Causal analysis revealed that plastic variation for higher Chl a + glucosinolate production (PC1) had an indirect positive effect on A. petiolata fitness via a direct, negative effect on A. saccharum performance. In contrast, heritable variation for higher glucosinolate investment (PC2) had a direct, positive effect on A. saccharum performance and an indirect negative effect on A. petiolata fitness. Applying causal inference, we find that evolution of allelopathy in A. petiolata has been constrained by (i) a lack of genetic variation, (ii) selection against glucosinolate investment under interspecific competition, and (iii) phenotypic plasticity. These factors limit adaptive evolution but maintain fitness during population growth as plants switch from interspecific to intraspecific competition during invasion.

Higher plant colonisation and lower resident diversity in grasslands more recently abandoned from agriculture

1. Rates of species colonisation and extirpation are increasing in plant communities worldwide. Colonisation could potentially help compensate for, or compound, resident diversity loss that results from global environmental change. 2. We use a multifactorial seed addition grassland experiment to examine relationships between plant colonisation, resident species diversity and key community assembly factors over three years. By manipulating colonist seed rate, imposing disturbance and examining abundance and diversity impacts of 14 formerly absent sown colonists in communities that varied in successional stage and time since agricultural abandonment, we were able to disentangle effects of global change factors (species introduction, novel disturbance and land use change) that are usually confounded. 3. Evidence suggested that cover abundance of sown colonists was most strongly influenced by successional stage of recipient communities, though number of growing seasons was also important for the group of seven colonists with resource conservative "slow" life history traits. Colonist type, seed rate and disturbance had weaker relationships with colonist cover. 4. Factors affecting sown colonist cover were highly conditional. A negative relationship between plot-level disturbance and colonist cover in early successional communities meant that, despite a positive relationship in late succession, colonisation was negatively related to disturbance overall, defying theoretical expectations. 5. Non-sown resident diversity was negatively related to colonist cover and positively related to successional stage. Resource acquisitive colonists with "fast" life history traits appeared to limit cover of "slow colonists" when the two groups were sown together, likely reflecting niche pre-emption. 6. Communities at earlier stages of succession had lower resident diversity and experienced higher levels of colonisation than communities at later stages of succession. Elevated colonisation and lower resident diversity both appeared to be symptoms of human-induced land use change. However, results suggested that resource competition from plant colonists may also limit resident diversity in grasslands abandoned from agriculture more recently. Synthesis: Our findings point to the importance of resource availability and competition on plant colonisation and colonist impacts on residents. Although colonisation is potentially a source of biodiversity in the short-term, our results suggest that plant colonists that reach high abundance may be a further threat to resident plant diversity in secondary grasslands recovering from a recent history of agriculture.

Fig. 5 in Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity

Fig. 5 Habitat differentiation by insect guilds (3D NMDS plot of Bray-Curtis distances for habitats with>2 sites)

Fig. 4 in Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity

Fig. 4 Voronoi treemap of insect guilds across four habitats. Mangroves are represented by four sites (PU=Pulau Ubin, SB=Sungei Buloh, SMO: Semakau old mangrove, SMN: Semakau restored mangrove). Phytophages and fungivores dominate the rain and swamp forests while predators

Fig. 2 in Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity

Fig. 2 Insect communities across tropical forest habitats are distinct based on Bray-Curtis distances illustrated on 3D NMDS plots. Results are stable even when rare species are removed (a) or the data are split into different taxonomic groups (b)

Fig. 1 Insect alpha-diversity across tropical forest habitats. a in Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity

Fig. 1 Insect alpha-diversity across tropical forest habitats. a Mangroves treated as one habitat; b Comparison of mangrove sites: Pulau Ubin (PU), Sungei Buloh (SB), Pulau Semakau old-growth (SMO), Pulau Semakau new-growth (SMN), other smaller mangrove fragments (see Additional File 1: Table S13); solid lines = rarefaction; dotted = extrapolations. The arrow on the x-axis indicates the point of rarefaction where species richness comparisons were made (see bar charts for absolute numbers with 95% confidence intervals)

Fig. 3 in Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity

Fig. 3 Only the diversity of phytophagous and fungivorous insects is correlated with plant diversity based on a linear regression model using rarefied insect species richness (*≤0.05, **≤0.01, ***≤0.001). Color coding of points as in Fig. 2

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2023View details →

Data and Code supplement to: Effects of intraspecific variation in a native species´ phenology on its coexistence with non-native plants

Data and code to generate the results of the paper published at Oikos "Effects of intraspecific variation in a native species´ phenology on its coexistence with non-native plants".  Both R files can be independently run, and datasets include the raw data to generate the interaction coefficients according Lasthenia phenology or simulations to investigate the effect of intraspecific trait variation of Lasthenia population abundances.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Data from: Environmental modulation of plant mycorrhizal traits in the global flora

Mycorrhizal symbioses are known to strongly influence plant performance, structure plant communities and shape ecosystem dynamics. Plant mycorrhizal traits, such as those characterizing mycorrhizal type (arbuscular (AM), ecto-, ericoid, or orchid mycorrhiza) and status (obligately (OM), facultatively (FM), or non-mycorrhizal) offer valuable insight into plant belowground functionality. Here, we compile available plant mycorrhizal trait information and global occurrence data (~100 million records) for 11,770 vascular plant species. Using a plant phylogenetic mega-tree and high-resolution climatic and edaphic data layers, we assess phylogenetic and environmental correlates of plant mycorrhizal traits. We find that plant mycorrhizal type is more phylogenetically conserved than plant mycorrhizal status, while environmental variables (both climatic and edaphic; notably soil texture) explain more variation in mycorrhizal status, especially FM. The previously underestimated role of environmental conditions has far-reaching implications for our understanding of ecosystem functioning under changing climatic and soil conditions.

F I G U R E 2 in Small and in-country herbaria are vital for accurate plant threat assessments: A case study from Peru

F I G U R E 2 The effect of including data from Peruvian herbaria upon estimated International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat assessments. The percentage of species assessed as DD (Data Deficient, grey), LC (Least Concern, green), VU (Vulnerable, yellow), EN (Endangered, orange), and CR (Critically Endangered, red) based upon data from: Top, international herbaria, and bottom, Peruvian and international herbaria.

F I G U R E 3 in Small and in-country herbaria are vital for accurate plant threat assessments: A case study from Peru

F I G U R E 3 The effect of including data from different small and large herbaria upon estimated International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat assessments. The percentage of species assessed as DD (Data Deficient, grey), LC (Least Concern, green), VU (Vulnerable, yellow), EN (Endangered, orange), and CR (Critically Endangered, red) based upon data from: top, large herbaria only (>1,000,000 sheets); middle, large and medium herbaria (>500,000 sheets); and bottom, large, medium, and small herbaria (all herbaria).

F I G U R E 1 in Small and in-country herbaria are vital for accurate plant threat assessments: A case study from Peru

F I G U R E 1 The proportion of specimens of Peruvian Begonia and Solanum held in Peruvian institutions (blue) versus international institutions (orange) in (a) the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF); (b) the Begonia Resource Centre and Solanaceae Source (see text for doi references for all datasets).

F I G U R E 4 in Small and in-country herbaria are vital for accurate plant threat assessments: A case study from Peru

F I G U R E 4 The effect of including data from herbaria in size order upon estimated International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat assessments. (a) Percentage of species assessed as DD (Data Deficient, grey), LC (Least Concern, green), VU (Vulnerable, yellow), EN (Endangered, orange), and CR (Critically Endangered, red); (b) the size (number of accessions) of herbaria added (orange) and number of specimen records included (blue); (c) the mean range of species considered threatened when all data are considered. Dashed, vertical lines indicate the limits of large (>1,000,000 sheets) and medium (>500,000 sheets) herbaria. Grey shading indicates Peruvian herbaria. Selected herbaria are indicated in C. Herbarium abbreviations in panels B and C follow Thiers (2001).

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

Data from: The sequential direct and indirect effects of mountain uplift, climatic niche and floral trait evolution on diversification dynamics in an Andean plant clade

Why and how organismal lineages radiate is commonly studied through either assessing abiotic factors (biogeography, geomorphological processes, climate) or biotic factors (traits, interactions). Despite increasing awareness that both abiotic and biotic processes may have important joint effects on diversification dynamics, few attempts have been made to quantify the relative importance and timing of these factors, and their potentially interlinked direct and indirect effects, on lineage diversification. We here combine assessments of historical biogeography, geomorphology, climatic niche, vegetative and floral trait evolution to test whether these factors jointly, or in isolation, explain diversification dynamics of a Neotropical plant clade (Merianieae, Melastomataceae). After estimating ancestral areas and disparification over time in climate and trait space, we employ Phylogenetic Path Analyses as a synthesis tool to test eleven hypotheses on the individual direct and indirect effects of these factors on diversification rates. We find strongest support for interlinked effects of colonization of the uplifting Andes during the mid-Miocene and rapid abiotic climatic niche evolution in explaining a burst in diversification rate in Merianieae. Within Andean habitats, later disparification in floral trait space allowed for the exploitation of wider pollination niches (i.e., shifts from bee to vertebrate pollinators), but did not affect diversification rates. Our approach of including both vegetative and floral trait evolution, rare in assessments of plant diversification in general, highlights important pre-adaptations to mountain colonization, specifically woody habit and larger flowers. Overall, and in concert with the idea that ecological opportunity is a key element of evolutionary radiations, our results suggest that a combination of rapid niche evolution and pre-adapted traits were critical for the exploitation of newly available niche space in the Andes in the mid-Miocene. Further, our results emphasize the importance of incorporating both abiotic and biotic factors into the same analytical framework if we aim to quantify the relative and interlinked effects of these processes on diversification.