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251 results for “ecological traits”

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zenodo36/100

Species phylogeny, ecology and root traits as predictors of root exudate composition

In this study, a total of 65 neophytes (alien species introduced after 1500 A.D.), belonging to 51 genera and 25 families, occurring in the Czech Republic, were used. The species set represented plant families only from eudicots with Asteraceae, Brassicaceae Amaranthaceae, Polygonaceae and Fabaceae as the major families having 4 or more species. We measured different root morphological and biochemical traits (including exudate profiles) of these plant species grown in a controlled system.

opencc-by-4.0May 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Ecological and life-history traits predict temporal trends in biomass of boreal moths

Dramatic insect declines, and their consequences for ecosystems globally, have received considerable attention recently. Yet, it is still poorly known if ecological and life-history traits can explain declines and whether insect decline occurs also at high latitudes. Insects' diversity and abundance are dramatically lower at high latitudes compared to the tropics, and insects might benefit from climate warming in high-latitude environments. We adopted a trait- and biomass-based approach to estimate temporal change between 1993 and 2019 in Finnish macro-moth communities by using data from 85 long-running light traps. We analysed spatio-temporal variation in biomass of moth functional groups with Joint Dynamic Species Distribution Models while accounting for environmental variables. We did not detect any declining trends in total moth biomass of moth functional groups, and most groups were stable over time. Moreover, biomass increased for species using coniferous trees, lichens, or mushrooms as hosts, multivoltine species, as well as monophagous and oligophagous species feeding on trees. We found that length and temperature of the growing season, winter climatic conditions, and habitat structure all partially explained variation in moth biomass. Although boreal moth communities are rapidly changing due to species turnover, in terms of total biomass they seem to contradict the trend of dramatic insect declines observed globally. This may lessen the immediate possibility of negative bottom-up trophic cascades in boreal food webs.

opencc-zeroMay 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Eutrophication decreases ecological resilience by reducing species diversity and altering functional traits of submerged macrophytes

Positive feedback is key to producing alternative stable states and largely determines ecological resilience in response to external perturbations. Understanding the positive feedback mechanisms in macrophyte-dominated lakes is crucial for resilience-based management and restoration. Based on the field investigation of submerged macrophyte communities in 35 lakes in China, we found that morphological complexity (MC) and morphological plasticity (MP) are correlated with the stoichiometric homeostasis of phosphorus (HP) and are related to ecosystem structure, functioning, and stability. We also found that the positive feedback strength of lakes dominated by macrophytes is biomass- and diversity-dependent. Eutrophication can decrease the community biomass by decreasing community MC, MP, and HP and the species diversity through low-light availability, ultimately decreasing the positive feedback strength and resilience of clear-water states. We argue that functional traits and species diversity should be considered to build more resilient ecosystems in future changing environment scenarios.

opencc-zeroJul 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Tackling local ecological homogeneity: Finding intraspecific trait variability in local populations of Mediterranean plants

Local homogeneity, in ecology, is the often undisclosed assumption that variability within populations is negligible or mostly distributed evenly. In large areas, this can lead to the aggregation of different populations without regard for their unique needs and characteristics, such as drought sensitivity and functional traits distributions. Here we discuss whether this assumption can be justified, and we hypothesize that discerning the source of variation between plasticity and adaptation could be a feasible approach to formulate an informed decision. We test this hypothesis on plants, resorting to a common garden experiment to determine the source of variation of several plant functional traits at a local scale (~60 Km) of three wild species: Quercus ilex, Pistacia lentiscus and Cistus salviifolius. Individuals of each species were sourced from three key sites chosen along a local aridity gradient. Our approach led to the rejection of the local homogeneity assumption for Q. ilex and C. salviifolius at this scale due to the adaptive divergence observed among neighbouring populations. This case study provides evidence that addressing local homogeneity can highlight diverging populations in a relatively simple way. We conclude that gathering empirical evidence on intraspecific variability is a feasible approach that can provide researchers with solid bases to decide whether to adopt the local homogeneity assumption or not.

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Genomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal polygenic architecture for ecologically-important functional traits in aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.)

Intraspecific genetic variation in foundation species such as aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) shapes their impact on forest structure and function. Identifying genes underlying ecologically important traits is key to understanding that impact. Previous studies, using single-locus genome-wide association (GWA) analyses to identify candidate genes, have identified fewer genes than anticipated for highly heritable quantitative traits. Mounting evidence suggests that polygenic control of quantitative traits is largely responsible for this "missing heritability" phenomenon. Our research characterized the genetic architecture of 30 ecologically important traits using a common garden of aspen through genomic and transcriptomic analyses. A multilocus association model revealed that most traits displayed a highly polygenic architecture, with most variation explained by loci with small effects (likely below the detection levels of single-locus GWA methods). Consistent with a polygenic architecture, our single-locus GWA analyses found only 38 significant SNPs in 22 genes across 15 traits. Next, we used differential expression analysis on a subset of aspen genets with divergent concentrations of salicinoid phenolic glycosides (key defense traits). This complementary method to traditional GWA discovered 1,243 differentially expressed genes for a polygenic trait. Soft clustering analysis revealed three gene clusters (241 candidate genes) involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis and regulation. Our work reveals that ecologically important traits governing higher-order community- and ecosystem-level attributes of a foundation forest tree species have complex underlying genetic structures and will require methods beyond traditional GWA analyses to unravel.

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

dryad36/100