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828 results for “species trait”
Data from: Linkage of plant trait space to successional age and species richness in boreal forest understory vegetation
Determining the changes in within- and between-species functional diversity in plant communities, and their contribution to overall species trait overlap, can enhance efforts at understanding mechanisms of species coexistence. However, little is known about how variation in species functional diversity influences variation in species trait overlap among contrasting environments. Here, we studied the understorey vegetation in a well-characterized 5000-year-old chronosequence involving 30 forested islands that differ greatly in size, soil fertility, and species diversity. Across this chronosequence we expected consistent changes in both within- and between-species functional diversity that would lead to decreasing overall species trait overlap with increasing successional age, species richness, understorey vegetation density and spatial heterogeneity of soil resources. For each island we measured specific leaf area (SLA) of each of ten individuals of each plant species present. Using a variance decomposition method, we partitioned the total community functional diversity of SLA on each island into within- and between-species functional diversity. Further, we estimated overall species trait overlap as the ratio of within-species functional diversity to total functional diversity. Using regression analyses we then explored relationships of within- and between-species functional diversity, and of overall species trait overlap, with several environmental variables across the 30 islands. Consistent with our hypotheses, overall species trait overlap decreased with successional age due to a statistically significant decrease in within-species functional diversity, and decreased with species richness due to a simultaneous decrease in within-species functional diversity and increase in between-species functional diversity. Against our predictions, overall species trait overlap increased in more competitive environments and did not change with increasing spatial heterogeneity of soil N or P. Synthesis: Our study suggests niche packing as a key mechanism for species coexistence in plant communities. Using SLA as an integrator of plant ecological strategy we show that community successional age and species richness are significantly linked to trait space distribution of plant individuals of boreal forest understorey vegetation and therefore to local species coexistence. Our results also suggest that the trait space of dominant and subordinate species may respond differently to local environmental variables.
Data from: Amphibian species' traits, evolutionary history, and environment predict Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection patterns, but not extinction risk
The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has emerged as a major agent of amphibian extinction, requiring conservation intervention for many susceptible species. Identifying susceptible species is challenging, but many aspects of species' biology are predicted to influence the evolution of host resistance, tolerance, or avoidance strategies towards disease. In turn, we may expect species exhibiting these distinct strategies to differ in their ability to survive epizootic disease outbreaks. Here we test for phylogenetic and trait-based patterns of Bd infection risk and infection intensity among 302 amphibian species by compiling a global dataset of Bd infection surveys across 95 sites. We then use best-fit models that associate traits, taxonomy, and environment with Bd infection risk and intensity to predict host disease mitigation strategies (tolerance, resistance, avoidance) for 122 Neotropical amphibian species that experienced epizootic Bd outbreaks, and noted species' persistence or extinction from these events. Aspects of amphibian species' life history, habitat use, and climatic niche were consistently linked to variation in Bd infection patterns across sites around the world. However, predicted Bd infection risk and intensity based on site environment and species traits did not reveal a consistent pattern between the predicted host disease mitigation strategy and extinction outcome. This suggests that either tolerant or resistant species may have no advantage in ameliorating disease during epizootic events, or that other factors drive the persistence of amphibian populations during chytridiomycosis outbreaks. These results suggest that using a trait-based approach may allow us to identify species with resistance or tolerance to endemic Bd infections, but that this approach may be insufficient to ultimately identify species at risk of extinction from epizootics.
Data from: Hydrology, shore morphology and species traits affect seed dispersal, germination and community assembly in shoreline plant communities
1.Seed dispersal and germination are two primary processes influencing plant community assembly. On freshwater shores, water levels regulate both processes. However, it is still unclear how water levels, shore morphology and species traits interactively affect seed dispersal and germination, and how these interactions determine plant community assembly. We hypothesize that a drawdown water regime enhances seed establishment compared to a year-round stable water level, that this increases species richness and diversity, and that this is modulated by species traits and shore morphology. 2.Germination of 20 wetland plant species with different dispersal capacities (floating capacity expressed as seed floatation half-time) and soil moisture preferences for germination (Ellenberg F) was tested on artificial shores in 24 outdoor ponds in 2 complementary experiments over 8 weeks. The "dispersal experiment" tested the effect of water regime on recruitment of hydrochorously dispersing seeds. The "seed bank experiment" tested the effect of water regime on germination from a sown seed bank, on steep and gradual shores. 3.In the dispersal experiment, the drawdown regime increased recruitment and species richness. Longer floating species colonised a larger shoreline section. Soil moisture preference for germination did not determine colonisation patterns. 4.In the seed bank experiment, the drawdown regime increased the number of seedlings on gradual sloping shores, but not on steep shores. The number of germinating seedlings corresponded to the area subjected to the drawdown regime in both shore types. Species richness was not affected by water regime or shore morphology, and species traits did not determine shoreline colonisation. Most seeds germinated in moist soil conditions for all species. 5.Synthesis. A spring drawdown instead of stable water regime stimulates establishment of hydrochorously dispersing seeds in temperate wetlands, leading to higher species richness and diversity. Germination from the seed bank is more affected by water regime and shore surface than by the tested species traits. Species traits, water levels and shore morphology together determine wetland plant community assembly, with dispersal as the main driver of seedling community diversity. Water level regulations and shore morphology can be used to influence plant communities in wetland restoration.
Data from: Variation in species light acquisition traits under fluctuating light regimes: implications for non‐equilibrium coexistence
Resource distribution heterogeneity offers niche opportunities for species with different functional traits to develop and potentially coexist. Available light (photosynthetically active radiation or PAR) for suspended algae (phytoplankton) may fluctuate greatly over time and space. Species-specific light acquisition traits capture important aspects of the ecophysiology of phytoplankton and characterize species growth at either limiting or saturating daily PAR supply. Efforts have been made to explain phytoplankton coexistence using species-specific light acquisition traits under constant light conditions, but not under fluctuating light regimes that should facilitate non-equilibrium coexistence. In the well-mixed, hypertrophic Lake TaiHu (China), we incubated the phytoplankton community in bottles placed either at fixed depths or moved vertically through the water column to mimic vertical mixing. Incubations at constant depths received only the diurnal changes in light, while the moving bottles received rapidly fluctuating light. Species-specific light acquisition traits of dominant cyanobacteria (Anabaena flos-aquae, Microcystis spp.) and diatom (Aulacoseira granulata, Cyclotella pseudostelligera) species were characterized from their growth-light relationships that could explain relative biomasses along the daily PAR gradient under both constant and fluctuating light. Our study demonstrates the importance of interspecific differences in affinities to limiting and saturating light for the coexistence of phytoplankton species in spatially heterogeneous light conditions. Furthermore, we observed strong intraspecific differences in light acquisition traits between incubation under constant and fluctuating light – leading to the reversal of light utilization strategies of species. This increased the niche space for acclimated species, precluding competitive exclusion. These observations could enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind the Paradox of the Plankton.
Data from: Using traits to assess nontransitivity of interactions among coral species
Simulations and experiments have shown that species coexistence can be maintained via nontransitive competition, of which a simple case is the rock-paper-scissors game. Reef-building corals exemplify high biodiversity competing for a few limiting resources via several mechanisms. Thus, corals represent fertile ground for exploring competition and nontransitivity. This article aimed to test hypotheses about the effects of species-level traits on competitive outcomes, specifically, that more upright growth, larger corallites, smaller ranges, and difference in commonness co-occur with competitive superiority. Further aims were to test whether closely related species show less predictable competitive outcomes and greater nontransitivity and to examine the level of nontransitivity among a large number of species. These goals were addressed by fitting a mixed-effects model to outcomes of 2,322 interspecific interactions. Among species-level traits, corallite width had the greatest impact on outcome, followed by geographical range size, growth form, and the typical commonness of conspecifics in assemblages. These fixed effects had smaller estimated impacts than a random effect associated with species pair, suggesting a primary role for idiosyncratic species-pair or other factors. Closely related species had more variable, less predictable interaction outcomes. Nearly a quarter of three-way species relations were nontransitive. The observed degree of competitive nontransitivity and extent of idiosyncratic species-pair effects together provide an empirical baseline for further investigations of mechanisms of species coexistence.
Data from: Traits including leaf dry matter content and leaf pH dominate over forest soil pH as drivers of litter decomposition among 60 species
1. Soil pH varies by several units among ecosystems. While soil pH is known to be a key driver of plant species composition, we still have a poor understanding of how it affects carbon cycling processes. For instance, soil pH, or its associated chemistry in terms of base cations and organic acids, may affect decomposition rates of dead matter directly, by controlling decomposer composition and activity, and indirectly, by controlling the traits of the plant species and thereby the afterlife effects of those traits on litter decomposition. Leaf and litter pH may play a role in this control. Based on the very limited empirical data available, we hypothesized that variation in species traits including leaf (litter) pH, within and between ecosystems contrasting in soil pH, would have stronger effects on leaf litter decomposition rates than variation in soil chemistry would. 2. We tested this hypothesis by carrying out a 'common garden' litterbed experiment in subtropical SW China, in which leaf litters of the 30 predominant plant species from mid-successional forest on acidic sandstone (soil pH around 4.0) and calcareous soil (pH around 7.5) respectively, were incubated and their decomposition rates measured over two harvests in fourteen months, both in soil plus litter matrix from their 'home' forest and in those from the "away" forest. 3. We found that leaf (litter) trait variation among species and plant functional types, headed by species' dry matter content but also including tissue pH, was the strongest driver of variation in leaf litter decomposition rates. Surprisingly however, while these effects of interspecific trait variation were very strong among species from the same site, there was no overall difference in litter decomposability between the species from the acidic versus calcareous site. Equally surprising was that this strong difference in pH of soil substrate plus litter matrix from an acidic sandstone site versus a calcareous karst site did not directly affect leaf litter decomposition rates across a given species set. 4. This first attempt to disentangle the multiple potential direct and indirect ways in which soil and leaf (litter) acidity might be related to litter decomposition rates, has important implications for our understanding of soil-plant feedbacks. Based on our forest-based study, we predict that soil-plant feedbacks via acidity are unlikely to be strong in ecosystems with wide-ranging species in terms of their leaf functional traits, including leaf pH.
Data from: Insights into the development and evolution of exaggerated traits using de novo transcriptomes of two species of horned scarab beetles
Scarab beetles exhibit an astonishing variety of rigid exo-skeletal outgrowths, known as "horns". These traits are often sexually dimorphic and vary dramatically across species in size, shape, location, and allometry with body size. In many species, the horn exhibits disproportionate growth resulting in an exaggerated allometric relationship with body size, as compared to other traits, such as wings, that grow proportionately with body size. Depending on the species, the smallest males either do not produce a horn at all, or they produce a disproportionately small horn for their body size. While the diversity of horn shapes and their behavioural ecology have been reasonably well studied, we know far less about the proximate mechanisms that regulate horn growth. Thus, using 454 pyrosequencing, we generated transcriptome profiles, during horn growth and development, in two different scarab beetle species: the Asian rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus, and the dung beetle, Onthophagus nigriventris. We obtained over half a million reads for each species that were assembled into over 6,000 and 16,000 contigs respectively. We combined these data with previously published studies to look for signatures of molecular evolution. We found a small subset of genes with horn-biased expression showing evidence for recent positive selection, as is expected with sexual selection on horn size. We also found evidence of relaxed selection present in genes that demonstrated biased expression between horned and horn-less morphs, consistent with the theory of developmental decoupling of phenotypically plastic traits.
Data from: Antagonistic pleiotropy in species with separate sexes, and the maintenance of genetic variation in life-history traits and fitness
Antagonistic pleiotropy (AP) – where alleles of a gene increase some components of fitness at a cost to others – can generate balancing selection, and contribute to the maintenance of genetic variation in fitness traits, such as survival, fecundity, fertility, and mate competition. Previous theory suggests that AP is unlikely to maintain variation unless antagonistic selection is strong, or AP alleles exhibit pronounced differences in genetic dominance between the affected traits. We show that conditions for balancing selection under AP expand under the likely scenario that the strength of selection on each fitness component differs between the sexes. Our model also predicts that the vast majority of balanced polymorphisms have sexually antagonistic effects on total fitness, despite the absence of sexual antagonism for individual fitness components. We conclude that AP polymorphisms are less difficult to maintain than predicted by prior theory, even under our conservative assumption that selection on components of fitness is universally sexually concordant. We discuss implications for the maintenance of genetic variation, and for inferences of sexual antagonism that are based on sex-specific phenotypic selection estimates – many of which are based on single fitness components.
Data from: Relationships between resprouting ability, species traits, and resource allocation patterns in woody species in a temperate forest
Many woody plants resprout to restore above-ground biomass after disturbances or to survive in stressful environments. Resprouting requires carbohydrate storage, but the general relationship between resource allocation patterns and resprouting ability remains unclear because it can be influenced by the disturbance regime to which species have adapted. We studied deciduous broadleaved trees that coexist in a Japanese cool-temperate forest to investigate the relationships among the biomass and total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) allocation patterns of saplings, resprouting ability and functional traits. The study species comprised 16 single-stemmed species that only resprout when above-ground biomass loss occurs and eight multi-stemmed species that resprout regardless of whether above-ground damage occurs or not. Single-stemmed species with better juvenile resprouting ability had larger roots, whereas multi-stemmed species with better juvenile resprouting ability did not necessarily depend on below-ground reserves. Species that retain their ability to resprout until a larger size had a higher root TNC content as saplings, suggesting that they can survive major disturbances such as fire and coppicing by resprouting supported by TNC stored in their roots. Species with shade-tolerant traits (i.e. low foliar nitrogen indicating low photosynthetic capacity, high wood density indicating high defensive investment) had small below-ground TNC reserves irrespective of resprouting types. On the other hand, multi-stemmed species with high wood density and high LMA (indicating high photosynthetic capacity) had small above-ground TNC reserves. Contrary to our hypothesis, a species' maximum size did not relate to the size of its below-ground reserves. By considering the differences in resprouting types, we suggest more complex control of resprouting than was formerly proposed. Variation in the resprouting ability of single-stemmed species was based on a trade-off between below-ground reserves for resprouting and shade-tolerant traits. However, multi-stemmed species can vigorously resprout irrespective of the size of its below-ground reserves. Their multi-stemmed architecture, well-defended wood, high photosynthetic capacity or large above-ground carbohydrate reserves seem to respectively contribute to their persistence. Such variation in the resprouting strategy based on a trade-off between shade tolerance and resource storage would promote species coexistence under a range of disturbance regimes and light environments.
Data from: Rapid diversification of sperm precedence traits and processes among three sibling Drosophila species
Postcopulatory sexual selection is credited with driving rapid evolutionary diversification of reproductive traits and the formation of reproductive isolating barriers between species. This judgment, however, has largely been inferred rather than demonstrated due to general lack of knowledge about processes and traits underlying variation in competitive fertilization success. Here, we resolved processes determining sperm fate in twice-mated females, using transgenic Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana populations with fluorescently-labeled sperm heads. Comparisons among these two species and D. melanogaster revealed a shared motif in the mechanisms of sperm precedence, with postcopulatory sexual selection potentially occurring during any of the three discrete stages: (1) insemination, (2) sperm storage, and (3) sperm use for fertilization, and involving four distinct phenomena: (1) sperm transfer, (2) sperm displacement, (3) sperm ejection, and (4) sperm selection for fertilizations. Yet, underlying the qualitative similarities were significant quantitative differences in nearly every relevant character and process. We evaluate these species differences in light of concurrent investigations of within-population variation in competitive fertilization success and postmating/prezygotic reproductive isolation in hybrid matings between species to forge an understanding of the relationship between microevolutionary processes and macroevolutionary patterns as pertains to postcopulatory sexual selection in this group.
FIGURE 21 in The ontogeny of morphological traits in three European species of Cosmochthonius Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae)
FIGURE 21. Cosmochthonius ugamaensis, gastronotum of tritonymph, scale bar 50 μm.
FIGURE 19 in The ontogeny of morphological traits in three European species of Cosmochthonius Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae)
FIGURE 19. Cosmochthonius ugamaensis, larva, dorsal aspect, legs partially drawn, scale bar 50 μm.
FIGURE 14 in The ontogeny of morphological traits in three European species of Cosmochthonius Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae)
FIGURE 14. Cosmochthonius foliatus, larva, dorsal aspect, legs partially drawn, scale bar 50 μm.
FIGURE 17 in The ontogeny of morphological traits in three European species of Cosmochthonius Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae)
FIGURE 17. Cosmochthonius ugamaensis, notogaster of adult, scale bar 50 μm.
FIGURE 4 in The ontogeny of morphological traits in three European species of Cosmochthonius Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae)
FIGURE 4. Cosmochthonius reticulatus, larva, dorsal aspect, legs partially drawn, scale bar 50 μm.
FIGURE 16 in The ontogeny of morphological traits in three European species of Cosmochthonius Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae)
FIGURE 16. Cosmochthonius foliatus, gastronotum of tritonymph, scale bar 50 μm.
Raw data associated to the paper "Analysis of species pair associations combined with functional traits reveals the effects of environmental filtering and biotic interactions in an unmanaged temperate forest"
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Data from: 'Species traits to guide moth conservation in anthropogenic regions: a multi-species approach using distribution trends in Flanders'
<p>These data are related to the investigation of species traits as a guidance for moth conservation in the highly anthropogenic European region of Flanders (northern part of Belgium) based on Multi-Species Change Indices (MSCIs).</p> <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <ol> <li>Insects appear to decline rapidly in recent decades. This so-called sixth mass extinction garnered significant media attention, raising public awareness.</li> <li>Macro-moths—a species-rich and ecologically diverse insect group—face severe declines, particularly in urbanised and intensively farmed areas.</li> <li>Flanders is a highly anthropogenic region, serving as a case study where the impact on macro-moths of stressors like intensive agriculture, industrialization and urbanization has been quantified through a recently compiled Red List. Here, for 717 macro-moth species, we calculated relative changes in distribution area between a reference period (1980-2012) and the subsequent period (2013-2022). By correlating these species-specific trends with ten key ecological and life-history traits, we calculated more general Multi-Species Change Indices (MSCIs).</li> <li>These MSCIs showed that species associated with wet biotopes and heathlands declined on average by 20-25%, while (sub)urban species increased by more than 60%. Species feeding on lichens or mosses increased by 31%, while grass-feeding species decreased by 20%. Both very small (+34%) and very large species (+15%) increased, whereas medium-sized species decreased by 5%. Monophagous (+17%), migrant (+88%), and colour-invariable species (+5%) increased, while colour-variable species decreased (-8%). Finally, Holarctic (-21%) and Palearctic species (-5%) decreased, while Mediterranean (+27%) and Western-Palearctic species (+9%) increased.</li> <li>Our trait-based approach identifies key threats and mitigation strategies for moths in anthropogenic regions, offering evidence-based insights for crafting efficient management recommendations and informed conservation policies to safeguard moth communities.</li> </ol>
Supplementary material 1 from: Pienaar EF, Sturgeon DJE (2024) Exotic pet owners' preferences for different ectothermic taxa are based on species traits and purchase prices in the United States. NeoBiota 91: 1-27. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.91.109403
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Xylem anatomy traits of Quercus species
<p>1. Climate is a major evolutionary force in driving adaptive differentiation and plasticity in plant function. Xylem anatomy and hydraulic architecture are critical to water use, growth, and responses of trees to drought and thus important in delimiting their ecological niches. How wood properties have been shaped through evolution by their climatic origins and the importance of plasticity for species persistence remain open questions critical to understanding plant responses to changing climate.</p> <p>2. We measured 11 wood anatomical traits for 18 Quercus (oak) species in arboreta that span contrasting climates (California-US, southwestern France, and central England). We investigated coordinate evolution of xylem anatomical properties with climatic niche and intraspecific variation in relation to growth environment.</p> <p>3. Species originating from climates with drier summers had traits associated with higher resistance to drought– higher density of vasicentric tracheids (VT), lower vessel hydraulic diameter (Dmh), and lower hydraulic conductivity. Species that evolved in climates with drier, hotter summers or colder winters had higher numbers of VT than those from mesic climates, supporting hypotheses that VT are critical for water-transport during drought. We found limited intraspecific variation in xylem traits associated with growth environment– only four traits (pit fraction, VT, vessel density, and Dmh)– differed among gardens.</p> <p>4. Xylem traits showed high lability across the phylogeny, consistent with evidence for parallel sympatric adaptive radiation and global diversification of the oaks. Our results provide evidence for the physiological mechanisms that underlie adaptation to changing environments and responses to climate change.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
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