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opencc-by-4.0Jul 2019View details →

Formatted Public GWAS Summary Statistics for 16 Traits and LD pruned SNP sets

This data set includes 16 files with formatted GWAS summary statistic and a csv file gwas_info.csv. The csv provides the original download link and publication for each study. The data in this repository were created by downloading raw summary statistics for each study and processing them using Joe Marcus' GWAS pipeline (https://github.com/jhmarcus/gwass). The resulting data set have consistent allele orientation and column headers making them convenient for analysis. We use them in an MR analysis of pairs of GWAS traits described in Section 2.3 of  Morrison et al (2019) (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/682237v3) and here https://jean997.github.io/cause/gwas_pairs.html. New Sep 2022: I have added LD pruned SNP sets for each pair of traits.For each exposure/outcome pair, the set of snps in snps_<exposure>__<outcome>.txt were generated by LD pruning using LD estimated using LD Shrink (available https://zenodo.org/record/1464357/) at a threshold of r^2 < 0.1. LD pruning was performed using the ld_prune function in the cause R package (github.com/jean997/cause). These are the SNP sets used in the analysis in the paper

High-resolution 3D forest structure explains ecomorphological trait variation in assemblages of saproxylic beetles

Climate, topography, and the 3D structure of forests are major drivers affecting local species communities. However, little is known about how the specific functional traits of saproxylic (wood-living) beetles, involved in the recycling of wood, might be affected by those environmental characteristics. Here we combine ecological and morphological traits available for saproxylic beetles and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in Bayesian trait-based joint species distribution models to study how traits drive the distributions of more than 230 species in temperate forests of Europe. We found that elevation (as a proxy for temperature and precipitation) and the proportion of conifers played important roles in species occurrences while variables related to habitat heterogeneity and forest complexity were less relevant. Further, we showed that local communities were shaped by environmental variation primarily through their ecological traits whereas morphological traits were involved only marginally. As predicted, ecological traits influenced species' responses to forest structure, and to other environmental variation, with canopy niche, wood decay niche, and host preference as the most important ecological traits. Conversely, no links between morphological traits and environmental characteristics were observed. Both models, however, revealed strong phylogenetic signal in species' response to environmental characteristics. These findings imply that alterations of climate and tree species composition have the potential to alter saproxylic beetle communities in temperate forests. Additionally, ecological traits help explain species' responses to environmental characteristics and thus should prove useful in predicting their responses to future change. It remains challenging, however, to link simple morphological traits to species' complex ecological niches.

Intraspecific trait variation in a dryland tree species corresponds to regional climate gradients

Aim: Intraspecific trait variation is fundamental to understanding a species' adaptive capacity. Assessing phenotypic variation at different ecological scales is useful for evaluating species' vulnerability to changing environmental conditions. Here we quantify the ecological scale of variation of phenotypic functional traits for a widespread dryland tree species in the western United States, Pinus monophylla, and evaluate the strength of trait-environment relationships across spatial gradients and in response to interannual variability in weather conditions. Location: Western United States Taxon: Conifer tree (Pinaceae): Pinus monophylla Methods: Nine reproductive and foliar morphological traits were measured from 23 sampling locations in nine mountain ranges, stratified across broad-scale gradients of precipitation timing and quantity and local gradients of elevation. We partitioned trait variation within and among nested ecological scales (mountain range, site, tree, and tree growth year). We then used multivariate methods to quantify the association between environmental variables and ecological trade-offs associated with both reproductive and foliar traits. Results: Most variation was explained at the scale of individual trees (18–46%) and between growth years (20–30%), with smaller but variable contributions at the scale of sites (8–25%) and mountain ranges (0–15%). Trait values had low correlation with environmental variables (13%); however, 94% of the trait-environment covariance was explained by two major axes of variation: (1) the drought-stress gradient covarying with reproductive traits, and (2) precipitation patterns covarying with foliar morphology. Main conclusions: High levels of individual trait variation indicate within-population adaptive capacity. Consistent relationships among range-wide patterns of foliar and reproductive traits and broad-scale climate gradients provide indirect evidence of local adaptation and may inform seed sourcing for restoration or the potential for assisted migration efforts. Quantification of intraspecific trait variation across multiple ecological scales is important for understanding the potential climate change response of dryland tree species.

Traits of soil bacteria predict plant responses to soil moisture

Microbes can promote beneficial plant and animal responses to abiotic environments, but the ecological drivers of this benefit remain elusive. Here we investigated byproduct benefits, which occur when traits that increase the fitness of one species provide incidental benefits to another species with no direct cost to the provider species. In experimental mesocosms, microbial traits predicted plant responses to soil moisture such that bacteria with self-beneficial traits in drought increased plant early growth, size at reproduction, and chlorophyll concentration under drought, while bacteria with self-beneficial traits in well-watered environments increased these same plant traits in well-watered environments. Thus, microbial traits that promote microbial success in different soil moisture environments also promote plant success in these same environments. Our results show that the concept of byproduct benefits, originally conceived to explain the evolution of cooperation in pairwise mutualisms, also applies to interactions between plants and non-symbiotic soil microbes.

Seed traits of seed within spider monkey, howler monkey feces, and dung beetles' dung balls

These data files contain seed traits from three sources, 1) seed traits from "Seeds of Amazonian Plants", 2) Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Seed Information Database, and 3) seeds dissected from field collections of primate feces and dung balls from dung beetles. The dataset was used in the article published in Biotropica entitled "Seed size and pubescence facilitate secondary dispersal by dung beetles". The data mostly describes seed traits of morphospecies within the feces of brown-headed spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps) and mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Traits included in the data set are size, surface, length, width, shape, color, and dispersal by mammals.

Data from: Functional traits underlying performance variations in the overwintering of the cosmopolitan invasive plant water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) under climate warming and water drawdown

Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that temperature rise is still the general trend of the global climate in the 21st century. Invasive species may benefit from the increase in temperature, as climate can be viewed as a resource, and the increase in the available resources favors the invasibility of invasive species. This study aimed to assess the overwintering growth of the cosmopolitan invasive plant water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) at its northern boundary. Using E. crassipes as a model plant, a cross-year mesocosm experiment was conducted to determine 17 plant functional traits, including growth, morphological, root topological, photosynthetic and stoichiometric traits, under climate warming (ambient, temperature rises of 1.5°C and 3.0°C) and water drawdown or water withdrawal (water depths of 1 cm, 10 cm and 20 cm) treatments. The overwintering growth of E. crassipes was facilitated by climate warming and proper water drawdown, and climate warming played a leading role. A temperature rises of 3.0°C and a water depth of 10 cm were the most suitable conditions for the overwintering and rooting behavior of the plant. Controlling the temperature to within 1.5°C, an ambitious goal for China, still facilitated the overwintering of E. crassipes. With climate warming, the plant can overwinter successfully, which possibly assists it in producing and spreading new ramets in the vernal flood season. The new rooting behavior induced by ambient low temperature may be viewed as a unique growth adaptation strategy for a niche change, as it helps these plants invade empty niches left by dead free-floating plants on the water surface following winter freezes. With continued global warming, the distribution of the plant may expand northward, and eradication of the plant during the winter water drawdown period may be a more effective strategy.

Leaf traits predict water‐use eficiency in U.S. Pacific Northwest grasslands under rain exclusion treatment

Does drought stress in temperate grasslands alter the relationship between plant structure and function? Here we report data from an experiment focusing on growth form and species traits that affect the critical functions of water‐ and nutrient‐use efficiency in prairie and pasture plant communities. A total of 139 individuals of 12 species (11 genera and four families) were sampled in replicated plots maintained for three years across a 520-km latitudinal gradient in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Rain exclusion did not alter the interspecific relationship between foliar traits and stoichiometry or intrinsic water‐use efficiency (iWUE). Rain exclusion reduced iWUE in grasses, and effect was primarily species‐specific, although leaf morphology, life history strategy, and phylogenetic distance predicted iWUE for all 12 species when analyzed together. Variation in specific leaf area explained most of the variation in iWUE between different functional groups, with annual forbs and annual grasses at opposite ends of the resource‐use spectrum. Our findings are consistent with expected trait‐driven tradeoffs between productivity and resource‐use efficiency and provide insight into strategies for the sustainable use and conservation of temperate grasslands.

Ecological determinants of variation in phenotypic selection on quantitative immune defence traits

Immune defence is an important determinant of organismal fitness. While theoretical models based on trade-offs in resource allocation predict quantitative immune traits to be subject to stabilizing selection due to associated energetic costs and self-harm, empirical studies report mainly positive directional selection. This discrepancy may arise from multiple ecological factors that vary in nature and could influence selection. We examined if selection on immune activity varies depending on immune challenge/infection risk, between immune traits, and among populations in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. We assessed selection on the phenoloxidase-like and antibacterial activity of snail haemolymph while manipulating the level of immune challenge imposed by environmental microbes. We did this using snails from multiple populations and also quantified within-population family-level variation (i.e., evolutionary potential) in the snails' immune activity. We found that the strength of immune challenge and the examined immune trait determined selection on the snails' immune function. Thus, variation in infection risk can be an important factor in maintaining genetic variation in defence traits. Additionally, immune traits showed low among-population differentiation but high within-population genetic variation. This pattern could arise if natural snail populations are exposed to higher temporal than spatial variation in infection risk.

Figure 4 in Life-History traits of Hollandichthys multifasciatus (Eigenmann & Norris, 1900) (Characiformes: Characidae) in coastal Atlantic Forest blackwater streams from

Figure 4. Frequency distribution of oocytes diameter (mm) of mature females of Hollandichthys multifasciatus sampled at the different coastal blackwater streams in the Baixada Santista and Northern Coast Basins, São Paulo state. P2 (N = 4); P3 (N = 3); P4 (N = 10); P5 (N = 4); P6 (N = 4).

Figure 3 in Life-History traits of Hollandichthys multifasciatus (Eigenmann & Norris, 1900) (Characiformes: Characidae) in coastal Atlantic Forest blackwater streams from

Figure 3. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) plot of environmental variables measured at 10 blackwater streams in the Baixada Santista and Northern Coast Basins, São Paulo state. Environmental variables are indicated by vectors. DOC = Dissolved Organic Carbon; Temp = Temperature; C = Conductivity; DO = Dissolved Oxygen; HC = High Canopy; S = Sand; SC = Silt/Clay; LB = Leaf Banks; OV = Overhanging vegetation. For stream acronyms see Table 1.

Figure 1 in Life-History traits of Hollandichthys multifasciatus (Eigenmann & Norris, 1900) (Characiformes: Characidae) in coastal Atlantic Forest blackwater streams from

Figure 1. Study area, coastal region of the State of São Paulo. Sampled streams (JP1, JP2 – Itapanhaú); (P1-P6 – Guaratuba); Itaguaré (MP) and Una (BB1 – Una). Adapted from Esteves et al. (2019).

Figure 2 in Life-History traits of Hollandichthys multifasciatus (Eigenmann & Norris, 1900) (Characiformes: Characidae) in coastal Atlantic Forest blackwater streams from

Figure 2. View of one of the sampling sites (JP1, Itapanhaú sub-basin), showing block nets at the 100 m sampled stretch.

A specimen-level dataset of functional traits and DNA barcodes for Chinese bees

The full potential for using DNA barcodes for profiling functional trait diversity has yet to be determined in plants and animals, thus we outline a general framework for quantifying functional trait diversity of insect community DNA and propose and assess the accuracy of three methods for achieving this. We built a novel dataset of traits and DNA barcodes for wild bees in China. An informatics framework was developed for phylogeny-based integration of these data and prediction of traits for any subject barcodes, and compared to two Blast-based methods of trait assignment. Under the specimen-level dataset, rate and accuracy of trait assigned dropped with an increase in distance between the query and its nearest reference member, though phylogenetic assignment was found to perform best under several criteria. For a wider range of compiled traits, conservative life-history traits showing the highest rates of assignment, for example sociality was predicted with confidence at 53%, parasitism at 44%, and nest location at 33%. Bayesian phylogenetic assignment of traits showed particular advantage over distance-based methods in the much lower rate that it would return incorrect state predictions when the query lacked relatives in the reference data. Automated, taxon-independent trait assignment might be applied at scale to either barcodes or metabarcodes in any invertebrates. With the further generation of integrated barcode and trait data, the assignment accuracy of the method is likely to increase.

Effects of warming temperatures on germination responses and trade-offs between seed traits in an alpine plant

1. Climate warming may affect multiple aspects of plant life history, including important factors such as germination responses and the key trade-off between offspring size and number. As a case study to address these concepts, we used an alpine plant (waxy bluebell, Wahlenbergia ceracea; Campanulaceae) that shows plasticity to warming in seed traits and in which seed dormancy status regulates germination. We chose an alpine species because alpine environments are ecosystems particularly under threat by climate change. 2. We conducted germination assays under cool and warm temperatures using seeds produced by individuals that were grown under historical (cooler) and future (warmer) temperature scenarios. We assessed the presence of a seed size vs number trade-off, and then examined the effects of seed number and size on germination percentage, the fractions of dormant and viable seeds, and germination velocity. Further, we examined whether warming during parental growth and during germination affected these relationships. 3. We found evidence for a seed size vs number trade-off only under historical parental temperatures. Indeed, under future growth temperatures, parental plants produced fewer and smaller seeds and there was no evidence of a trade-off. However, the reductions in both seed traits under warming did not affect germination, despite correlations of seed size and number with germination traits. Warming increased germination, particularly of larger seeds, but overall it resulted in more than fourfold reductions in parental fitness. 4. Synthesis. Our study shows the importance of growth conditions when evaluating the seed size vs number trade-off. Stressful conditions, such as warmer temperatures, can restrain the ability of plants to reach optimal investment in reproduction, masking the trade-off. By analysing responses across the whole life cycle, we show here an overall detrimental effect of warming, highlighting the potential risk of climate change for W. ceracea, and, potentially, for alpine plant communities more widely.

Correlation between fine root traits and pathogen richness depends on plant mycorrhizal types

Root uptake strategies are associated with the strength of negative plant–soil feedback induced (PSF) induced by soil pathogens. Given the intensified effect of pathogen richness in fine roots on the strength of negative PSF through the synergistic effects of multiple pathogens, researchers have proposed a trade-off between nutrient acquisition and pathogen defence in roots. However, empirical evidence is lacking. In addition, because the interaction between pathogens and fine roots depends on the mycorrhizal types of tree species, both fine root traits and mycorrhizal types should be incorporated to reveal covariation in pathogen richness and the strength of negative PSF. In this study, we selected 50 arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) tree species and 7 ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree species in a subtropical forest to investigate the relationships between fine root traits and pathogen richness in fine roots and determined whether their relationships depended on plant mycorrhizal types. Our results showed that pathogen richness was negatively correlated with fine root diameter but was positively correlated with specific root length for the AM-associated species, while for the ECM-associated species, the pathogen richness was only found to have a significant negative relationship with the relative abundance of ECM fungi. These findings highlight the difference between AM- and ECM-associated species in pathogen defence and bridge the gap between root traits and pathogen richness, which is significant for improving our understanding of the potential factors mediating the strength of PSF and thus maintaining tree species diversity.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Reciprocal bark exchange helps to disentangle tree species dependent bark and wood trait effects on invertebrate diversity

1. Previous studies showed that bark cover at early-decay stage had profound control on the invertebrate assemblages of bark and wood, with possible consequence for the decomposition process. However, previous experimental designs could not disentangle how bark versus wood traits affect the invertebrate assemblage process in bark and/or wood separately because wood traits of different tree species may vary independently from bark traits. Furthermore, we do not know whether such tree species specific bark trait effects are still influential at mid-decay stage. 2. To unravel whether and how bark and wood traits influence invertebrate communities in tree logs at mid-decay stage, we introduce reciprocal bark transplantation within pairs of different tree species as a new method. We applied this method to two pairs of phylogenetically contrasting species of gymnosperms (pair I: Araucaria araucana and Cryptomeria japonica, pair II: Picea abies and Thuja plicata) and another gymnosperm (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) set as disturbance control to test for potential bark manipulation artefacts on invertebrate community composition. 3. Our bark exchange experiment revealed that both bark and wood host abundant and divergent subsets of invertebrates on mid-decay logs of different tree species. We further documented that the invertebrate community composition was predominantly shaped by the traits of host tissue per se, while also being significantly but less strongly affected by the traits of the other tissue, i.e. the adjacent bark or wood. Our results indicated that bark trait effects faded with time and how long bark trait effects persist greatly depends on bark thickness. 4. Synthesis. Our study suggests that maintaining deadwood heterogeneity related to variation between tree species, and to bark versus wood, is important for nursing a large biodiversity of invertebrates. Combined with bark removal methodology, our bark exchange method can be further extended to more decay stages and more forest biomes to track bark trait effects and bark induced priority effects on deadwood decomposition, and its associated invertebrate and microbial communities.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2022View details →

Genome-wide association and multi-trait analyses characterize the common genetic architecture of heart failure

Genome-wide association study summary statistics.

Widespread variation in functional trait-vital rate relationships in tropical tree seedlings across a precipitation and soil phosphorus gradient

A fundamental assumption of functional ecology is that functional traits are related to interspecific variation in performance. However, the relationship between functional traits and performance is often weak or uncertain, especially for plants. A potential explanation for this inconsistency is that the relationship between functional traits and vital rates (e.g., growth and mortality) is dependent on local environmental conditions, which would lead to variation in trait-rate relationships across environmental gradients. In this study, we examined trait-rate relationships for six functional traits (seed mass, wood density, maximum height, leaf mass per area, leaf area, and leaf dry matter content) using long-term data on seedling growth and survival of woody plant species from eight forest sites spanning a pronounced precipitation and soil phosphorus gradient in central Panama. For all traits considered except for leaf mass per area-mortality, leaf mass per area-growth, and leaf area-mortality relationships, we found widespread variation in the strength of trait-rate relationships across sites. For some traits, trait-rate relationships showed no overall trend but displayed wide site-to-site variation. In a small subset of cases, variation in trait-rate relationships was explained by soil phosphorus availability. Our results demonstrate that environmental gradients have the potential to influence how functional traits are related to growth and mortality rates, though much variation remains to be explained. Accounting for site-to-site variation may help resolve a fundamental issue in trait-based ecology – that traits are often weakly related to performance – and improve the utility of functional traits for explaining key ecological and evolutionary processes.

Data from: ETIB-T: An aquilibrium theory of island biogeography for plant traits

This dataset holds information on community mean seed mass, plant height and leaf area of 156 species and their occurrences on 15 islands ranging in size from 164 m2 - 19 km2. The islands are located in Western Australia off Perth. Further, the dataset provides information on island coordinates, size, isolation and elevation. The islands were sampled four times within four decades. The data can be used to investigate spatial and temporal turnover dynamics on islands.