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251 results for “ecological traits”
Do ecological specialization and functional traits explain the abundance–frequency relationship? Arable weeds as a case study
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Traits-climate range limits data and code (Van Nuland et al. 2019; Ecology and Evolution)
<p>Data and code associated with Van Nuland et al. manuscript “<em>Intraspecific trait variation across elevation predicts a widespread tree species’ climate niche and range limits</em>” in Ecology and Evolution.</p>
Ecological traits of the world's primates database
<p>Here we present a database on some important ecological traits of the world’s primates, including home range size, locomotion type, diel activity, trophic guild, body mass, habitat type, current conservation status, population trend, and geographic realm. We compiled this information through a review of 1216 studies published between 1941 and 2018, resulting in a comprehensive, easily accessible and user-friendly database.</p>
Data from: Incorporating alternative interaction modes, forbidden links and trait-based mechanisms increases the minimum trait dimensionality of ecological networks
<ol> <li>Individual-level traits mediate interaction outcomes and community structure. It is important, therefore, to identify the minimum number of traits that characterise ecological networks, i.e. their 'minimum dimensionality'. Existing methods for estimating minimum dimensionality often lack three features associated with increased trait numbers: alternative interaction modes (e.g. feeding strategies such as active vs. sit-and-wait feeding), trait-mediated 'forbidden links' and a mechanistic description of interactions. Omitting these features can underestimate the trait numbers involved, and therefore, minimum dimensionality. We develop a 'minimum mechanistic dimensionality' measure, accounting for these three features.</li> <li>The only input our method requires is the network of interaction outcomes. We assume how traits are mechanistically involved in alternative interaction modes. These unidentified traits are contrasted using pairwise performance inequalities between interacting species. For example, if a predator feeds upon a prey species via a typical predation mode, in each step of the predation sequence the predator's performance must be greater than the prey's. We construct a system of inequalities from all observed outcomes, which we attempt to solve with mixed integer linear programming. The number of traits required for a feasible system of inequalities provides our minimum dimensionality estimate.</li> <li>We applied our method to 658 published empirical ecological networks including primary consumption, predator–prey, parasitism, pollination, seed dispersal and animal dominance networks, to compare with minimum dimensionality estimates when the three focal features are missing. Minimum dimensionality was typically higher when including alternative interaction modes (54% of empirical networks), 'forbidden interactions' as trait-mediated interaction outcomes (92%), or a mechanistic perspective (81%), compared to estimates missing these features. Additionally, we tested minimum dimensionality estimates on simulated networks with known dimensionality. Our method typically estimated a higher minimum dimensionality, closer to the actual dimensionality, while avoiding the overestimation associated with a previous method.</li> <li>Our method can reduce the risk of omitting traits involved in different interaction modes, in failure outcomes, or mechanistically. More accurate estimates will allow us to parameterise models of theoretical networks with more realistic structure at the interaction outcome level. Thus, we hope our method can improve predictions of community structure and structure-dependent dynamics.</li> </ol>
Unique genetic signatures of local adaptation over space and time for diapause, an ecologically relevant complex trait, in Drosophila melanogaster
<p>Organisms living in seasonally variable environments utilize cues such as light and temperature to induce plastic responses, enabling them to exploit favorable seasons and avoid unfavorable ones. Local adapation can result in variation in seasonal responses, but the genetic basis and evolutionary history of this variation remains elusive. Many insects, including <i>Drosophila melanogaster,</i> are able to undergo an arrest of reproductive development (diapause) in response to unfavorable conditions. In <i>D. melanogaster</i>, the ability to diapause is more common in high latitude populations, where flies endure harsher winters, and in the spring, reflecting differential survivorship of overwintering populations. Using a novel hybrid swarm-based genome wide association study, we examined the genetic basis and evolutionary history of ovarian diapause. We exposed outbred females to different temperatures and day lengths, characterized ovarian development for over 2800 flies, and reconstructed their full phased genomes. We found that diapause scored at two different developmental cutoffs has modest heritability, and we identified hundreds of SNPs associated with each of the two phenotypes. Alleles associated with one of the diapause phenotypes tend to be more common at higher latitudes, but these alleles do not show predictable seasonal variation. The collective signal of many small-effect, clinally varying SNPs can plausibly explain latitudinal phenotypic variation seen in North America. SNPs associated with diapause do not exhibit signs of recent selective sweeps, but most are segregating at relatively high frequencies in Africa, suggesting that variation in diapause relies on ancestral polymorphisms. Finally, we utilized outdoor mesocosms to track diapause under natural conditions. We found that hybrid swarms reared outdoors evolved increased propensity for diapause in late fall, whereas indoor control populations experienced no such change. Our results indicate that diapause is a complex, quantitative trait with different evolutionary patterns across time and space.</p>
Multidimensional trait morphology predicts ecology across ant lineages
<p>1. Understanding the link between ecology and morphology is a fundamental goal in biology. Ants are diverse terrestrial organisms, known to exhibit ecologically-driven morphological variation. While relationships between individual traits and ecologies have been identified, multidimensional interactions among traits and their cumulative predictive power remain unknown. Because selective pressures may generate convergent syndromes spanning multiple traits, we applied multivariate analyses across a wide sampling of taxa to assess ecomorphological variation in an integrative context.</p> <p>2. How well does morphology predict ecology? Moreover, are there quantitatively-supported ant ecomorphs? We investigated the links between trait morphology and ecology by assembling a morphometric dataset spanning over 160 species within 110 genera. Because ants occupy a wide range of ecologies, we compiled natural history data on nesting microhabitat, foraging stratum, and functional role into 35 defined niche combinations. This tripartite ecological classification and our morphological dataset were optimized under dimension reduction techniques including Principal Component Analysis, Principal Coordinate Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Random Forest supervised machine learning.</p> <p>3. Our results describe ant ecomorphospace as comprising regions of shared, generalized morphology as well as unique phenotypic space associated with specialized ecologies. Dimension reduction and model-based approaches predict ecology with 77-85% accuracy and Random Forest analysis consistently outperforms LDA. While accounting for shared ancestry, we found eye, antennal scape, and leg morphology to be most informative in differentiating among ecologies. We also note some heterogeneity between trait significance in each ecological aspect (nesting niche, foraging niche, functional role). To increase the utility of ecomorphological classification we simplified our 35 observed niche combinations into 10 ecomorph syndromes, which were also predicted by morphology. The predictive power of these machine learning methods underscores the strong role that ecology has in convergently shaping overall body plan morphology across ant lineages. We include a pipeline for predictive ecomorphological modeling using morphometric data, which may be expanded with additional specimen-based and natural history data.</p>
Palma et al 2021 Plant functional traits reflect different dimensions of species invasiveness. Ecology. DATASET
<p>Dataset used in publication <em>Palma et al 2021 Plant functional traits reflect different dimensions of species invasiveness. Ecology.</em> It includes:</p> <p>(1) records of Vegetative height and Specific leaf area for 82 exotic species measured in to Victoria, Australia. The location where the plant samples were collected is also described. See tab 'Trait_field_collection'.</p> <p>(2) traits and other variables collected from the literature, including Seed mass, Longevity, Reproduction type, Seed morphology, Dispersion vector, Likely introduction pathway, Management. See tab 'Traits_literature'.</p> <p> </p>
Data from: Quantifying the effects of ecological constraints on trait expression using novel trait-gradient analysis parameters
1. Complex processes related to biotic and abiotic forces can impose limitations to assembly and composition of plant communities. Quantifying the effects of these constraints on plant functional traits across environmental gradients, and among communities, remains challenging. We define ecological constraint (Ci) as the combined, limiting effect of biotic interactions and environmental filtering on trait expression (i.e., the mean value and range of functional traits). 2. Here we propose a set of novel parameters to quantify this constraint by extending the trait-gradient analysis (TGA) methodology. The key parameter is ecological constraint, which is dimensionless and can be measured at various scales, e.g., on population and community levels. It facilitates comparing the effects of ecological constraints on trait expressions across environmental gradients, as well as within and among communities. 3. We illustrate the implementation of the proposed parameters using the bark thickness of 14 woody species along an aridity gradient on granite outcrops in southwestern Australia. We found a positive correlation between increasing environmental stress and strength of ecological constraint on bark thickness expression. Also, plants from more stressful habitats (shrublands on shallow soils and in sun-exposed locations) displayed higher ecological constraint for bark thickness than plants in more benign habitats (woodlands on deep soils and in sheltered locations). 4. The relative ease of calculation and dimensionless nature of Ci allow it to be readily implemented at various scales and make it widely applicable. It therefore has the potential to advance the mechanistic understanding of the ecological processes shaping trait expression. Some future applications of the new parameters could be investigating the patterns of ecological constraints i) among communities from different regions, ii) on different traits across similar environmental gradients, and iii) for the same trait across different gradient-types.
Data from: Historical changes in northeastern US bee pollinators related to shared ecological traits
Pollinators such as bees are essential to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. However, despite concerns about a global pollinator crisis, long-term data on the status of bee species are limited. We present a long-term study of relative rates of change for an entire regional bee fauna in the northeastern United States, based on >30,000 museum records representing 438 species. Over a 140-y period, aggregate native species richness weakly decreased, but richness declines were significant only for the genus Bombus. Of 187 native species analyzed individually, only three declined steeply, all of these in the genus Bombus. However, there were large shifts in community composition, as indicated by 56% of species showing significant changes in relative abundance over time. Traits associated with a declining relative abundance include small dietary and phenological breadth and large body size. In addition, species with lower latitudinal range boundaries are increasing in relative abundance, a finding that may represent a response to climate change. We show that despite marked increases in human population density and large changes in anthropogenic land use, aggregate native species richness declines were modest outside of the genus Bombus. At the same time, we find that certain ecological traits are associated with declines in relative abundance. These results should help target conservation efforts focused on maintaining native bee abundance and diversity and therefore the important ecosystems services that they provide.
Data from: Linking life-history traits, ecology and niche breadth evolution in North American eriogonoids (Polygonaceae)
Macroevolutionary and microevolutionary studies provide complementary explanations of the processes shaping the evolution of niche breadth. Macroevolutionary approaches scrutinize factors such as the temporal and spatial environmental heterogeneities that drive differentiation among species. Microevolutionary studies, in contrast, focus on the processes that affect intraspecific variability. We combine these perspectives by using macroevolutionary models in a comparative study of intraspecific variability. We address potential differences in rates of evolution of niche breadth and position in annual and perennial plants of the Eriogonoideae subfamily of the Polygonaceae. We anticipated higher rates of evolution in annuals than in perennials owing to differences in generation time that are paralleled by rates of molecular evolution. Instead, we find that perennial eriogonoid species present greater environmental tolerance (wider climate niche) than annual species. Niche breadth of perennial species has evolved two to four times faster than in annuals, while niche optimum has diversified more rapidly among annual species than among perennials. Niche breadth and average elevation of species are correlated. Moreover, niche breadth increases more rapidly with mean species elevation in perennials than in annuals. Our results suggest that both environmental gradients and life history strategy influence rates and patterns of niche breadth evolution.
Data from: Trait-based functional dietary analysis provides a better insight into the foraging ecology of bats
1. The degree of trophic specialization determines the ability of predators to cope with changing foraging conditions, but in predators that prey on hundreds of species it is challenging to assess, especially when prey identity varies among predator individuals and across space and time. 2. Here, we test the hypothesis that a bat species foraging on flying insects like moths will show ample flexibility in trophic niche, and this irrespective of phylogenetic relationships among moths, so as to cope with a high diversity of prey types that vary across seasons. We predict that individual bats will show functional dietary differences consistent with energetic requirements and hunting skills. 3. We used DNA metabarcoding to determine the diet of 126 Mediterranean horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus euryale) from two different sites during three seasons. Simultaneously, we measured moth availability and characterized the traits of 290 moth taxa. Next, we explored the relationship between phylogeny and traits of all consumed and available moth taxa. Finally, we assessed the relationship between individual traits of bats and traits related to prey profitability, for which we used the RLQ and fourth-corner statistical techniques. 4. Seasonality was the main factor explaining the functional dietary variation in adult bats, with moths consumed irrespective of their phylogenetic relationships. While adults consumed moths with a broad range in wing loading, body mass and echolocation detection ability, juveniles consumed slower, smaller and lighter moths, which suggests that young individuals may undergo some fitness gain and/or psychomotor learning process during which they would acquire more effective foraging skills. 5. Our approach revealed a degree of functional flexibility in the trophic niche previously unknown for an insectivorous bat. R. euryale consumed a wide variety of moth taxa differing in profitability throughout seasons and between ontogenetic stages. We showed the validity of trait-based approaches to gain new insights in the trophic specialization of predators consuming hundreds of species of prey.
Data from: Keeping an eye on coloration: ecological correlates of the evolution of pitcher traits in the genus Nepenthes (Caryophyllales)
Nepenthes is a genus of carnivorous pitcher plants with high intra- and interspecific morphological diversity. Many species produce dimorphic pitchers, and the relative production rate of the two morphs varies interspecifically. Despite their likely ecological importance to the plants, little is known about the selective context under which various pitcher traits have evolved. This is especially true of color-related traits, which have not been examined in a phylogenetic context. Using field observations of one polymorphic species (N. gracilis) and phylogenetic comparative analysis of 85 species across the genus, we investigate correlations between color polymorphism and ecological factors including altitude, light environment, and herbivory. In N. gracilis, color does not correlate to amount of prey-capture, but red pitchers experience less herbivory. Throughout the genus, color polymorphism with redder lower pitchers appears to be evolutionarily favored. We found a lack of phylogenetic signal for most traits, either suggesting that most traits are labile or reflecting the uncertainty regarding the underlying tree topology. This work highlights ecological correlates of the vast phenotypic diversity of this group of tropical plants. We point to a need for future work examining herbivores of Nepenthes and experimental investigations on color polymorphism.
Data from: On the relative importance of CSR ecological strategies and integrative traits to explain species dominance at local scales
PLEASE NOTE, PART OF THESE DATA ARE ALSO REFERRED TO ANOTHER ARTICLE. PLEASE SEE http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.01119.x FOR MORE INFORMATION. 1. Identifying ecological strategies based on functional traits has been one of the main focuses of studies on plant community assembly. Recently, an important and timely tool, "StrateFy", has been proposed for detecting plant strategies across the globe according to the CSR scheme. The CSR scheme is undeniably efficient across scales, and distinct CSR strategies among species have been proposed to explain differing degrees of dominance among species. However, in a previous study we showed that dominance ranking of woody species in a resource-poor habitat (coastal sandy plain) was not explained by morphological traits commonly measured in functional approaches (such as those used to estimate CSR strategies), but by integrative traits (i.e. traits that are the result of different combinations of functional traits) more related to plant performance. 2. Here, we used CSR analysis and StrateFy on a dataset collected on a coastal sandy plain to test the hypothesis that the dominance ranking would be compatible with the CSR strategies; i.e., that dominant species would show a greater proportion of the stress-tolerance (S%) strategy than subordinate species. 3. Contrary to our hypothesis, all species exhibited an S/CS strategy, and the most-dominant species had neither similar values nor the highest S%. The inability of CSR analysis (as applied using StrateFy) to predict dominance ranking suggests that it can explain relative dominance when different strategies co-occur, but not in cases where dominant and subordinate plants share the same strategy. 4. We argue that the relative importance of CSR and integrative traits for describing dominance ranking may depend on how CSR strategies are filtered in each environment. In environments where only a narrow range of strategy classes are viable, integrative traits may be more important for explaining variation in degrees of dominance. Thus, the ability of a given species to achieve dominance may depend on integrative traits resulting from multiple trait arrays, not necessarily captured by the SLA, LDMC and LA measurements that are used to calculate the relative proportions of strategies in StrateFy.
Data from: Ecological factors and morphological traits are associated with repeated genomic differentiation between lake and stream stickleback
The repeated evolution of similar phenotypes in independent populations (i.e. parallel or convergent evolution) provides an opportunity to identify genetic and ecological factors that influence the process of adaptation. Threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are an excellent model for such studies, as they have repeatedly adapted to divergent habitats across the Northern hemisphere. Here, we use genomic, ecological and morphological data from 16 independent pairs of stickleback populations adapted to divergent lake and stream habitats. We combine a population genomic approach to identify regions of the genome that are likely under selection in these divergent habitats with an association mapping approach to identify regions of the genome that underlie variation in ecological factors and morphological traits. Over 37% of genomic windows are repeatedly differentiated across lake–stream pairs. Similarly, many genomic windows are associated with variation in abiotic factors, diet items and morphological phenotypes. Both the highly differentiated windows and candidate trait windows are non-randomly distributed across the genome and show some overlap. However, the overlap is not significant on a genome-wide scale. Together, our data suggest that adaptation to divergent food resources and predation regimes are drivers of differentiation in lake–stream stickleback, but that additional ecological factors are also important.
Data from: Contemporary ecological interactions improve models of past trait evolution
Despite the fact that natural selection underlies both traits and interactions, evolutionary models often neglect that ecological interactions may, and in many cases do, influence the evolution of traits. Here, we explore the interdependence of ecological interactions and functional traits in the pollination associations of hawkmoths and flowering plants. Specifically, we develop an adaptation of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model of trait evolution that allows us to study the influence of plant corolla depth and observed hawkmoth-plant interactions on the evolution of hawkmoth proboscis length. Across diverse modelling scenarios, we find that the inclusion of contemporary interactions can provide a better description of trait evolution than the null expectation. Moreover, we show that the pollination interactions provide more-likely models of hawkmoth trait evolution when interactions are considered at increasingly fine-scale groups of hawkmoths. Finally, we demonstrate how the results of best-fit modelling approaches can implicitly support the association between interactions and trait evolution that our method explicitly examines. In showing that contemporary interactions can provide insight into the historical evolution of hawkmoth proboscis length, we demonstrate the clear utility of incorporating additional ecological information to models designed to study past trait evolution.
Data from: Life history traits and functional processes generate multiple pathways to ecological stability
Stability contributes to the persistence of ecological communities, yet the interactions among different stabilizing forces are poorly understood. We assembled mesocosms with an algal resource and 1-8 different clones of the consumer Daphnia ambigua and tracked algal and Daphnia abundances through time. We then fitted coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to the consumer-resource time series. We show that variation in different components of stability (local stability and the magnitude of population fluctuations) across mesocosms arises through variation in life history traits and the functional processes represented by ODE model parameters. Local stability was enhanced by increased algal growth rate and Daphnia mortality and foraging rate. Population fluctuations were dampened by high Daphnia conversion efficiency and lower interaction strengths, low algal growth rate, high Daphnia death rate, and low Daphnia foraging. These results indicate that 1) stability in consumer-resource systems may arise through the net effect of multiple related stabilizing pathways, and 2) different aspects of stability can vary independently and may respond in opposite directions to the same forces.
Female preference and adverse developmental effects of glyphosate-based herbicides on ecologically relevant traits in Japanese quail
<p>Controversial glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are the most frequently used herbicides globally. An increasing number of studies have identified GBH residues in soil, water and even human food that may expose non-target organism including wildlife, livestock, and humans to health risks. After a heated debate, European Union allowed the use of GBHs to continue until 2022, after which their risks will be re-evaluated. Thus, decision makers urgently need scientific evidence on GBH residues and their possible effects on ecosystems. An important, yet neglected, aspect is to assess whether animals show preference or avoidance for GBH contaminated food, as it can influence the likelihood of adverse health effects in wildlife. Here, using Japanese quails (<i>Coturnix japonica</i>) as our model, we show that females preferred GBH-contaminated food compared to control food. In females, exposure to GBHs caused delayed plumage development, and GBH residues were present in eggs, muscles and liver. These results indicate that female preference is not adaptive, potentially exposing non-target animals to greater risk of adverse effects of GBHs in natural and agricultural environments. Our results on tissue residues suggest that further studies are needed to understand the risks of such residues in the food chain.</p>
Data from: The interplay between local ecology, divergent selection and genetic drift in population divergence of a sexually antagonistic female trait
Genetically polymorphic species offer the possibility to study maintenance of genetic variation and the potential role for genetic drift in population divergence. Indirect inference of the selection regimes operating on polymorphic traits can be achieved by comparing population divergence in neutral genetic markers with population divergence in trait frequencies. Such an approach could further be combined with ecological data to better understand agents of selection. Here, we infer the selective regimes acting on a polymorphic mating trait in an insect group; the dorsal structures (either rough or smooth) of female diving beetles. Our recent work suggests that the rough structures have a sexually antagonistic function in reducing male mating attempts. For two species (Dytiscus lapponicus and Graphoderus zonatus), we could not reject genetic drift as an explanation for population divergence in morph frequencies, while for the third (Hygrotus impressopunctatus) we found that divergent selection pulls morph frequencies apart across populations. Furthermore, population morph frequencies in H. impressopunctatus were significantly related to local bioclimatic factors, providing an additional line of evidence for local adaptation in this species. These data therefore suggest that local ecological factors and sexual conflict interact over larger spatial scales to shape population divergence in the polymorphism.
Data from: Seed dispersal by ungulates as an ecological filter: a trait-based meta-analysis
Plant communities are often dispersal-limited and zoochory can be an efficient mechanism for plants to colonize new patches of potentially suitable habitat. We predicted that seed dispersal by ungulates acts as an ecological filter – which differentially affects individuals according to their characteristics and shapes species assemblages – and that the filter varies according to the dispersal mechanism (endozoochory, fur-epizoochory and hoof-epizoochory). We conducted two-step individual participant data meta-analyses of 52 studies on plant dispersal by ungulates in fragmented landscapes, comparing eight plant traits and two habitat indicators between dispersed and non-dispersed plants. We found that ungulates dispersed at least 44% of the available plant species. Moreover, some plant traits and habitat indicators increased the likelihood for plant of being dispersed. Persistent or nitrophilous plant species from open habitats or bearing dry or elongated diaspores were more likely to be dispersed by ungulates, whatever the dispersal mechanism. In addition, endozoochory was more likely for diaspores bearing elongated appendages whereas epizoochory was more likely for diaspores released relatively high in vegetation. Hoof-epizoochory was more likely for light diaspores without hooked appendages. Fur-epizoochory was more likely for diaspores with appendages, particularly elongated or hooked ones. We thus observed a gradient of filtering effect among the three dispersal mechanisms. Endozoochory had an effect of rather weak intensity (impacting six plant characteristics with variations between ungulate-dispersed and non-dispersed plant species mostly below 25%), whereas hoof-epizoochory had a stronger effect (eight characteristics included five ones with above 75% variation), and fur-epizoochory an even stronger one (nine characteristics included six ones with above 75% variation). Our results demonstrate that seed dispersal by ungulates is an ecological filter whose intensity varies according to the dispersal mechanism considered. Ungulates can thus play a key role in plant community dynamics and have implications for plant spatial distribution patterns at multiple scales.
Data from: No evidence for larger leaf trait plasticity in ecological generalists compared to specialists
Aim: Phenotypic plasticity is hypothesized to contribute to a species' capacity to occupy broader ranges of conditions and to optimally exploit resource-rich environments. Although this is supported by case studies of individual species, we do not know whether larger plasticity in functional traits is generally associated with ecological characteristics of species such as their niche breadth or niche position. Here, we test whether there is such a relationship for plasticity in leaf functional traits. Location: Central Europe. Methods: We surveyed 110–132 grassland plant species for plasticity in five leaf traits [leaf thickness, leaf greenness, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and plant height] and for biomass changes in response to experimental fertilization, shading and waterlogging. Trait plasticity and changes in biomass were compared with species niche characteristics along three environmental axes (light, nutrient and soil moisture) derived from a vegetation-plot database. Results: Although response of several traits to experimental treatments correlated with niche position and breadth (change in leaf thickness, greenness and biomass in response to fertilization; change in LDMC due to shading; and change in plant height and biomass due to waterlogging), we did not find evidence that species with broader niches or species from resource-rich environments are more plastic. Ecological generalists even turned out to be less plastic in some traits, including leaf thickness after fertilization and waterlogging. Generalists also displayed smaller plastic response averaged across all five traits ('composite plasticity'), though the relationship was not statistically significant. This composite plasticity was positively related to absolute change in biomass in all experimental treatments. Main conclusions: Our results suggest that larger species-level plasticity in leaf traits is not necessarily associated with a capacity to occupy a broader range of environments or with growth in resource-rich habitats; rather, it may indicate species' sensitivity to environmental changes.
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