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691 results for “plant traits”
Data from: Ecosystem nitrogen retention is regulated by plant community trait interactions with nutrient status in an alpine meadow
1.Biotic nitrogen (N) retention is an important ecosystem function in the context of ongoing land use intensification, N deposition and global warming. However, a paucity of experimental evidence limits understanding of how different plant community components influence N retention in terrestrial ecosystems. 2.In this investigation we conducted a 15N labelling experiment to test how plant community properties, including plant species richness/diversity, dominance and functional traits, influence plant N uptake and retention under different nutrient availabilities. A three-year experiment examined the effects of adding N (10 g N m−2 year−1) and phosphorus (P) (5 g P m−2 year−1) to an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. 3.Results show that 15N retention increased with the addition of N and P; the addition of P produced the largest increase of 15N retention in plant and soil N pools. Changes in soil nutrient conditions also facilitated different plant community controls on ecosystem N retention. Ecosystem 15N retention was influenced by species richness and root biomass in the control plots; whereas the N addition treatment showed an important effect of community-weighted means (CWM) of specific leaf area (SLA), and plots with additional P recorded lower CWM of root nitrogen content (root N) and larger CWM root:shoot ratios (R/S) as important determinants. 4.Synthesis. Ecosystem N retention was influenced by conservative and exploitative plant species and/or their traits under N deficient and abundant conditions, respectively, whereas species richness and community plant biomass were most influential under control conditions. The discovery of an interaction between plant community traits and nutrient biogeochemistry as a mechanism for ecosystem N retention offers a means to predict how vegetation in alpine meadow ecosystems will respond to expected global change.
Data from: Deconstruction of a plant-arthropod community reveals influential plant traits with nonlinear effects on arthropod assemblages
1. Studies of herbivores and secondary consumer communities rarely incorporate a comprehensive characterization of primary producer trait variation, thus limiting our understanding of how plants mediate community assembly of consumers. 2. We took advantage of recent technological developments for efficient generation of phytochemical, microbial, and genomic data to characterize individual alfalfa plants (Medicago sativa; Fabaceae) growing in an old-field, semi-naturalized state for 770 traits (including 753 chemical features). Using random forest modeling, we investigated the effect of variation in these traits on arthropod and fungal assemblages while accounting for plant genetic structure. 3. We found that traits indicative of plant vigor, including size, percentage of flowering stems, and leaf area, were positively associated with arthropod richness and abundance. Most phytochemicals were, by comparison, poor predictors, although phytochemical diversity and several individual phenolic compounds were important. Plants with a higher proportion of flowering stems were hotspots of inter-trophic interactions with higher species richness of secondary consumers. The effects of many traits on plant-associated assemblages were best modeled as nonlinear functions, often incorporating threshold effects. Foliar fungal richness was not well predicted by our models, suggesting we have much to learn regarding the role of plant traits on phyllosphere fungi at small spatial scales. 4. Our results support the need for characterization of multiple axes of plant phenotypes in studies of plant-arthropod-microbe communities, and demonstrate the value of modern analytical techniques for understanding the nonlinear ways in which plant traits mediate the structure of associated biotic communities.
Data from: Functional traits, not productivity, predict openness to seedling recruitment in alpine plant communities under climatic warming
Understanding the degree to which plant communities are open to seedling recruitment is key to predicting how they will be impacted by climate change. We experimentally assessed whether communities assembled under colder climates were inherently more open to recruitment than warmer-climate communities, after controlling for differences in the current climate under which the communities were growing. We then tested whether variation in openness to recruitment could be explained by community biomass or by the plant functional traits of the community. The study was conducted in a climate grid of twelve grassland sites across southern Norway, differing systematically in temperature and precipitation. Along a 2000 mm precipitation gradient, we transplanted turfs with intact plant communities from alpine and sub-alpine sites into 2℃ warmer sites, and measured natural seedling emergence in these transplanted turfs vs. locally replanted control turfs at the transplant destination sites. Mixed effect models were used to assess the effect of origin (cold vs warm climate), biomass, and functional trait composition of the communities on seedling emergence. We further assessed variation in these effects across different climatic contexts (the temperature and precipitation gradients). Communities originating from colder climates were consistently more open to recruitment, with on average 44% more seedlings emerging, than the locally replanted control communities. The higher rates of seedling emergence in colder-climate communities were attributable to systematic differences in plant functional traits, but not in biomass. The colder-climate communities were composed of species with smaller leaves and lower maximum plant heights; traits that may make these communities less effective at excluding new recruits. These trait-related responses were not significant in the warmest sites and did not very across the precipitation gradient. Our results suggest that alpine species lack the competitive effect traits required to make their communities resistant to invasion by novel competitors under climate change.
Plant biomass, not plant economics traits, determines responses of soil CO2 efflux to precipitation in the C4 grass Panicum virgatum
<p>1. Plant responses to major environmental drivers like precipitation can influence important aspects of carbon (C) cycling like soil CO<sub>2</sub> efflux (J<sub>CO2</sub>). These responses may be predicted by two independent classes of drivers: plant size—larger plants respire more and produce a larger quantity of labile C, and plant economics—plants possessing more acquisitive plant economics strategies (i.e., high metabolic rate and tissue nutrient content) produce higher-quality tissue that respires rapidly and decomposes quickly.</p> <p>2. At two sites in central Texas, USA with similar climates and differing soil characteristics, we examined the response of eight <i>Panicum virgatum</i> genotypes to three annual precipitation levels defined by the driest, average, and wettest years from each site's precipitation history. We evaluated the individual and joint influence of plant genotypes and precipitation on J<sub>CO2</sub> and traits related to plant economics and plant size. We then used confirmatory path analysis to evaluate whether effects of precipitation on J<sub>CO2</sub> were in part related to effects of precipitation on plant economics traits or size ('mediated' effects).</p> <p>3. These genotypes exhibited variation in plant economics traits and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), an aboveground measure of plant size. Increasing precipitation increased J<sub>CO2</sub> and ANPP more than plant economics traits. At both sites, ANPP was the single best predictor of J<sub>CO2</sub>. Moreover, the sites differed in the ways that plant size and plant economics traits combined with precipitation to influence J<sub>CO2</sub>. At the Austin site, the positive effect of precipitation on J<sub>CO2</sub> was mediated primarily by ANPP, offset by a smaller effect of leaf nitrogen content; no direct precipitation effect was detected. At the Temple site, increasing precipitation had positive direct and ANPP-mediated effects on J<sub>CO2</sub>. This suggests that greater water limitation at Austin may strengthen the links between plant size and J<sub>CO2</sub>.</p> <p>4. Synthesis Estimates of C cycling can be improved by accounting for mediation of precipitation effects on J<sub>CO2</sub> by plant economics traits and plant size in resource-limited environments.</p>
A large-scale assessment of plant dispersal mode and seed traits across human-modified Amazonian forests
1. Quantifying the impact of habitat disturbance on ecosystem function is critical for understanding and predicting the future of tropical forests. Many studies have examined post-disturbance changes in animal traits related to mutualistic interactions with plants, but the effect of disturbance on plant traits in diverse forests has received much less attention. 2. Focusing on two study regions in the eastern Brazilian Amazon, we used a trait-based approach to examine how seed dispersal functionality within tropical plant communities changes across a landscape-scale gradient of human modification, including both regenerating secondary forests and primary forests disturbed by burning and selective logging. 3. Surveys of 230 forest plots recorded 26,533 live stems from 846 tree species. Using herbarium material and literature, we compiled trait information for each tree species, focusing on dispersal mode and seed size. 4. Disturbance reduced tree diversity and increased the proportion of lower wood-density and smaller-seeded tree species in study plots. Unexpectedly, disturbance also increased the proportion of stems with seeds that are ingested by animals and reduced those dispersed by other mechanisms (e.g. wind). Older secondary forests had functionally similar plant communities to the most heavily disturbed primary forests. 5. <i>Synthesis</i>. Anthropogenic disturbance has major effects on the seed traits of tree communities, with implications for mutualistic interactions with animals. The higher importance of animal-mediated seed dispersal in disturbed and recovering forests highlights the importance of avoiding defaunation or promoting faunal recovery. The changes in mean seed width suggest larger vertebrates hold especially important functional roles in these human-modified forests. Monitoring fruit and seed traits can provide a valuable indicator of ecosystem condition, emphasising the importance of developing a comprehensive plant traits database for the Amazon and other biomes.
Data from: Acceleration or deceleration of litter decomposition by herbivory depends on nutrient availability through intraspecific differences in induced plant resistance traits
1. Herbivores often induce changes in plant defensive chemistry or nutrient content that may respectively inhibit or promote microbial decomposition of senesced litter. Often the directional impact of herbivores on decomposition is considered to be a property of a species or ecosystem. While rarely explored, intraspecific plasticity in the induction of defensive strategies across environmental gradients may also result in divergent impacts of herbivores on decomposition (deceleration vs. acceleration). 2. Here, we examined how soil nutrient conditions determine after-life effects of herbivory, using nine goldenrod (Solidago altissima) genotypes grown across four levels of nutrient supply and with or without grasshopper herbivory. In this species, herbivory induces defensive traits in genotypes grown in high soil nutrient conditions but induces tolerance (compensatory growth) in low nutrient conditions. We combined senesced litter from each treatment with a common soil inoculum in experimental microcosms and measured soil respiration and litter mass loss over 100 days as estimates of decomposition. 3. Plant genotype, nutrient environment, and herbivory all had significant effects on decomposition. The legacy effect of herbivory overwhelmed the positive effects of high soil nutrient supply on decomposition. This significant herbivory nutrient environment interaction meant that herbivore-induced plants grown in high nutrient environments produced litter that was more resistant to microbial breakdown than litter from the same genotype not exposed to herbivory. But the opposite occurred at low nutrient levels where litter from herbivore-induced plants was most readily decomposed. Further we mechanistically tie nutrient and herbivory legacy treatments to decomposition rates through predictable changes in leaf trait expression. Lastly, we demonstrate a significant correlation among herbivore growth rates on the living tissue and decomposition efficiencies by the microbial community of the senesced tissue, suggesting that herbivores and microbes perceive the "quality" of the induced substrate similarly. 4. Synthesis: Herbivore-induced changes in leaf palatability and trait expression due to defense induction or compensatory growth can cascade through to either promote or inhibit the decomposability of leaf litter within a single species. These findings offer mechanistic understanding of how spatial heterogeneity in ecosystem process rates can be generated by spatial variation in herbivory and nutrient availability.
Data from: Insect pollinators show constancy for different flower traits between the most‐ and less‐preferred plants: a case study of the long‐proboscid tangle‐veined fly
<p>1. The coevolution of insect pollinators and their host plants is a typical example of natural selection; however, it remains unclear as to how insect pollinators avoid overdependence on one peculiar plant. As most insect pollinators exhibit a diet breadth when showing flower constancy, to determine the difference and similarity of most and less-preferred flowers by insect pollinators may be helpful to understand their trade-off between flower constancy and overdependence.</p> <p>2. We addressed this question in the long-proboscid tangle-veined fly (<i>Nemetrinus spp.</i>). Dietary investigation indicates that the flies show constancy for the morphological characteristic of the <i>Delphinium caeruleum</i>, which is the most preferred plant for this Nemestrinidae fly that has blue, long-tubed flowers.</p> <p>3. In a colour selection experiment, focal individuals showed obvious preference for white, which is the colour of less-preferred flowers by the fly in the natural environment. In a scent selection experiment, focal individuals showed obvious preference for <i>D. caeruleum </i>and <i>Dracocephalum heterophyllum</i>, but avoidance to <i>Dasiphora</i><i> fruticosa</i> and <i>Dasiphora davurica</i>. This indicates that long-proboscid tangle-veined flies can forage on other flowers, even the existing of constancy for <i>D. caeruleum</i>, as long as they do not hate the scent. It seems that long-proboscid tangle-veined flies can maximize foraging efficiency by showing constancy for the morphological characteristic of the most preferred plant and for the scent and colour of less-preferred plants.</p> <p>4. The tradeoff of long-proboscid tangle-veined fly in selection of nectar sources may be an adaptation to the risk of overdependence on one plant in evolution.</p>
Data from: Herbivores and plant defenses affect selection on plant reproductive traits more strongly than pollinators
Pollinators and herbivores can both affect the evolutionary diversification of plant reproductive traits. However, plant defenses frequently alter antagonistic and mutualistic interactions and therefore variation in plant defenses may alter patterns of herbivore- and pollinator-mediated selection on plant traits. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a common garden field experiment using 50 clonal genotypes of white clover (Trifolium repens) that varied in a Mendelian inherited chemical antiherbivore defense—the production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN). To evaluate whether plant defenses alter herbivore- and/or pollinator-mediated selection, we factorially crossed chemical defense (25 cyanogenic and 25 acyanogenic genotypes), herbivore damage (herbivore suppression) and pollination (hand-pollination). We found that herbivores weakened selection for increased inflorescence production, suggesting that large displays are costly in the presence of herbivores. In addition, herbivores weakened selection on flower size but only among acyanogenic plants, suggesting that plant defenses reduce the strength of herbivore-mediated selection. Pollinators did not independently affect selection on any trait, although pollinators weakened selection for later flowering among cyanogenic plants. Overall, cyanogenic plant defenses consistently increased the strength of positive directional selection on reproductive traits. Herbivores and pollinators both strengthened and weakened the strength of selection on reproductive traits, although herbivores imposed ~2.7× stronger selection than pollinators across all traits. Contrary to the view that pollinators are the most important agents of selection on reproductive traits, our data show that selection on reproductive traits is driven primarily by variation in herbivory and plant defenses in this system.
Data from: Diversification of trait combinations in coevolving plants and insect lineages
Closely related species often have similar traits and sometimes interact with the same species. A crucial problem in evolutionary ecology is therefore to understand how coevolving species diverge when they interact with a set of closely related species from another lineage rather than with a single species. We evaluated geographic differences in the floral morphology of all woodland star plant species (Lithophragma, Saxifragaceae) that are pollinated by Greya (Prodoxidae) moths. Flowers of each woodland star species differed depending on whether plants interact locally with one, two, or no pollinating moth species. Plants of one species grown in six different environments showed few differences in floral traits, suggesting that the geographic differences are not due significantly to trait plasticity. Greya moth populations also showed significant geographic divergence in morphology, depending on the local host and on whether the moth species co-occurred locally. Divergence in the plants and the moths involved shifts in combinations of partially correlated traits, rather than any one trait. The results indicate that the geographic mosaic of coevolution can be amplified as coevolving lineages diversify into separate species and come together in different combinations in different ecosystems.
Data from: Water the odds? Spring rainfall and emergence-related seed traits drive plant recruitment
<p>Recruitment of new individuals from seed is a critical component of plant community assembly and reassembly, especially in the context of ecosystem disturbance and recovery. While frameworks typically aim to predict how communities will be filtered on the basis of traits influencing established plant responses to the environment, assembly from seed is more complex: the responses of seeds (affected by dormancy and germination function) and establishing plants (affected by root and leaf function) can both influence outcomes within a single growing season. This creates a potential role for a more diverse set seed and seedling traits, and for environmental variability on shorter timescales (e.g., seasonal versus annual dynamics), than are typically considered. We followed thousands of individual seeds comprising eleven herbaceous grassland species through the first growing season, seeking to uncover critical environmental (precipitation amount and timing) and trait-based filters on seedling emergence and survival in assembling communities. We saw the biggest recruitment limitation when seeds failed to emerge, driven independently by a dry spring and interspecific variation in seed mass (positive effect) and seed dormancy (negative effect). Seedling survival rates were higher than emergence, with weaker predictive roles for traits like seedling root mass allocation (positive effect) and seed mass (positive under spring drought), and lesser impacts of summer rainfall on soil moisture and survival. Interestingly, most trait relationships were not conditional on rainfall, suggesting water-independent mechanisms of their respective advantages. Although recruitment is a complex process, our findings suggest that trait-based assembly frameworks can be a useful way to anticipate outcomes, particularly if dynamic early-stage conditions (e.g., spring rainfall) and attributes (e.g., seed dormancy) receive greater attention. Given the importance of recruitment for community turnover in the context of global change and land management efforts, this is an area ripe for continued expansion in trait-based and applied ecology.</p>
The effects of water-stress, temperature, and plant traits on the outbreak potential of a specialist and generalist spider mite species (Acari: Tetranychidae)
<p>The host-generalist two-spotted spider mite [<em>Tetranychus</em> <em>urticae</em> (Acari: Tetranychidae); TSM] and host-specialist Banks grass mite [<em>Oligonychus</em> <em>pratensis</em> (Acari: Tetranychidae); BGM] are common pests of corn (<em>Zea</em> <em>mays</em> L.) in the arid western United States. Climate warming and decreased precipitation may promote conditions favored by these spider mites. However, rapid evolution of spider mite resistance to commercially available acaricides is driving the need for alternative solutions for managing outbreaks. Planting of drought-tolerant corn hybrids has been proposed to be a dual-purpose strategy for mitigating water deficits for irrigation and reducing leaf conditions favorable for BGM outbreaks. However, understanding of the mechanisms responsible for reducing the BGM in the field is lacking, and determining whether outbreaks of the TSM can also be averted using drought-tolerant corn is a pressing concern. We conducted a two-year field study testing a drought-tolerant corn hybrid and an analogous drought-susceptible hybrid under water-stress with artificially-infested spider mite populations. Drought-tolerant corn had larger stem diameter, more massive cobs, and greater leaf water mass compared to the drought-susceptible corn under water stress. We also found that the BGM populations were reduced on drought-tolerant plants under water-stress, as expected, but we found an opposite trend in the TSM. Lastly, water-stressed leaves were warmer, transpired less, and had higher carbon concentration, which contributed to larger investment in eggs and growth in the BGM. We anticipate that further evaluation of irrigation and crop drought-tolerance in management of agriculture systems for multiple pest species will be increasingly impactful in arid regions.</p>
Tree seedling functional traits mediate plant-soil feedback survival responses across a gradient of light availability
<p>Though not often examined together, both plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) and functional traits have important influences on plant community dynamics and could interact. For example, seedling functional traits could impact seedling survivorship responses to soils cultured by conspecific versus heterospecific adults. Furthermore, levels of functional traits could vary with soil culturing source. In addition, these relationships might shift with light availability, which can affect trait values, microbe abundance, and whether mycorrhizal colonization is mutualistic or parasitic to seedlings.</p> <p>To determine the extent to which functional traits mediate PSFs via seedling survival, we conducted a field experiment. We planted seedlings of four temperate tree species across a gradient of light availability and into soil cores collected beneath conspecific (sterilized and live) and heterospecific adults. We monitored seedling survival twice per week over one growing season, and we randomly selected subsets of seedlings to measure mycorrhizal colonization and phenolics, lignin, and NSC levels at three weeks.</p> <p>Though evidence for PSFs was limited, <em>Acer saccharum</em> seedlings exhibited positive PSFs (i.e., higher survival in conspecific than heterospecific soils). In addition, soil microbes had a negative effect on <em>A. saccharum</em> and <em>Prunus serotina</em> seedling survival, with reduced survival in live versus sterilized conspecific soil. In general, we found higher trait values (measured amounts of a given trait) in conspecific than heterospecific soils and higher light availability. Additionally, <em>A. saccharum</em> survival increased with higher levels of phenolics, which were higher in conspecific soils and high light.<em> Quercus alba</em> survival decreased with higher AMF colonization.</p> <p>We demonstrate that functional trait values in seedlings as young as three weeks vary in response to soil source and light availability. Moreover, seedling survivorship was associated with trait values for two species, despite both drought and heavy rainfall during the growing season that may have obscured survivorship-trait relationships. These results suggest that seedling traits could have an important role in mediating the effects of local soil source and light levels on seedling survivorship and thus plant traits could have an important role in PSFs.</p>
Raw data and Matlab code for: Convergence in carnivorous pitcher plants reveals a mechanism for composite trait evolution
<p>Composite traits involve multiple components that, only when combined, gain a new synergistic function. Thus, how they evolve remains a puzzle. We combined field experiments, microscopy, chemical analyses and laser Doppler vibrometry with comparative phylogenetic analyses to show that two carnivorous <em>Nepenthes</em> pitcher plant species convergently evolved identical adaptations in three distinct traits to acquire a new, composite trapping mechanism. Comparative analyses suggest that this new trait arose convergently via 'spontaneous coincidence' of the required trait combination, rather than directional selection in the component traits. Our results indicate a plausible mechanism for composite trait evolution and highlight the importance of stochastic phenotypic variation as a facilitator of evolutionary novelty.</p>
Native herbivore browsing alters plant physical and chemical traits in a eucalypt forest understory
<p>Macropods exhibit selective herbivory on plant traits within and between species and hence can alter plant trait variation. In this study we asked, what are the effects of macropod herbivory on intraspecific variation in plant traits of forest understorey species? We tested the effects of herbivory by macropods on eight plant traits, in nine understorey species using a herbivore exclusion experiment. Generalised linear mixed models were used to test for differences between herbivory treatments in trait means as well as variation within species and at the community level. Macropod herbivory resulted in differences in either the mean trait value or trait variance within a species for seven of the eight tested plant traits. Macropod exclusion resulted in larger dimensions of size for most species, as well as changes in specific leaf area, moisture content, and carbon content of leaves. Further, community-weighted means of specific leaf area, moisture content, and leaf nitrogen were lower in the presence of macropods. Plant trait variance was altered for three of the seven community weighted traits. This study demonstrates a mechanism through which macropods can drive changes in the traits of understorey plant species. Plant traits have been linked to various larger scale ecological processes including ecosystem flammability, nutrient cycling, response to global change and habitat suitability for other organisms. Therefore, herbivore-induced changes in plant trait variation and community composition could have important flow on effects for other environmental processes and hence should be considered in management decisions regarding fire-prone ecosystems.</p>
Nitrogen redistribution and seasonal trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention
<ol> <li><span>Low available soil nitrogen (N) limits plant productivity in alpine regions, and alpine plants thus resorb and reallocate N from senescing tissues to conserve this limited N during the nongrowing season. However, the destination and extent of N redistribution during plant senescence among above- and below-ground organs, let alone other processes of translocation outside of plants and into the soil components, remain poorly understood. </span></li> <li><span>Utilizing the <sup>15</sup>N stable isotope as a tracer, we quantified N redistribution among above- and below-ground plant organs and different soil components during senescence in an alpine meadow ecosystem, and explored the relationship between <sup>15</sup>N among plant-soil N pools with seasonal fluctuations of plant functional traits.</span></li> <li><span>We found a substantial depletion of <sup>15</sup>N in fine roots (-40% ± 2.8%) and aboveground tissues (-51% ± 5.1%), and an enhanced <sup>15</sup>N storage primarily in coarse roots (+79% ± 27%) and soil organic matter (+37% ± 10%) during plant senescence. In parallel, we observed a temporal variation in plant functional traits, representing a shift from more acquisitive to more conservative strategies as the growing season ends, such as higher coarse root N and coarse root to fine root ratio. The seasonal trait variations were highly correlated with the <sup>15</sup>N retention in coarse roots and soil organic matter. Particularly, <sup>15</sup>N retention in particulate and mineral-associated organic matter increased by 30% ± 12% and 24% ± 9%, respectively, suggesting a potential pathway through which fine root and microbial mortality contribute to <sup>15</sup>N redistribution into soil N pools during senescence.</span></li> <li> <span><em>Synthesis</em>. </span><span>N redistribution and seasonal plant trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention in the alpine system. This study suggests a coupled aboveground-belowground N conserving strategy that may optimize the temporal coupling between plant N demand and ecosystem N supply in N-limited alpine ecosystems. </span> </li> </ol>
FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database
<p><span>FLAMITS database</span> contains 19,972 records of 40 flammability variables (classified according to the measured component of flammability). For each record, relevant details of the flammability experiment are included, such as the burning device, the ignition source, and the burned plant part. In addition, FLAMITS compiles taxonomic and functional data of the studied species and information on the study site (locality, geographic coordinates, biome, biogeographic realm, and fire activity). We compiled data from 295 studies located in 39 countries and distributed across 12 biomes worldwide over the last 62.5 years (1961 to 15th May 2023). The dataset has 1790 plant taxa from 186 families, 833 genera, and 1790 species.</p>
Fifteen physiological traits related to osmoregulation and reactive oxygen species metabolism in two life form aquatic plants under a natural water salinity gradient on the Tibetan Plateau and Northwest China
<p><span>Aquatic plants, as the primary producers, determine the community structure and ecological function of freshwater ecosystems. However, salinization threatens inland freshwater wetlands and thus the survival of aquatic plants. Exploring the plant physiological responses to increasing water salinity could enhance our understandings of plant adaptive strategies under future climate change regimes in wetlands. We measured 15 physiological traits of 49 aquatic plant species along a large environmental gradient in alpine and arid regions of western China, to explore the physiological adaptions and compare the similarities and differences in adaptive strategies between the two life forms to natural water salinity. We found that both water salinity and low temperature were key factors affecting aquatic plants in alpine and arid regions. Aquatic plants adapt to saline habitats by accumulating proline and sulfur (S) concentrations, and to cold habitats by increasing ascorbate peroxidase activity. Plant trait network analysis showed that the hub trait in emergent plants was S, but in submerged plants was proline, suggesting that emergent plants balanced osmoregulation and reactive oxygen metabolism via S-containing compounds, while submerged plants prioritizing the regulation of osmotic balance via proline.</span></p>
Data and code from: Similar trait-based successional assembly in native and introduced plants despite species pool differences
<p>What drives the composition of invaded communities and the local abundance of introduced species are key questions in ecology. Community-assembly theory provides a useful framework for addressing these questions. Specifically, the environmental filtering model of community assembly predicts that a species' presence and abundance in a community depends on the interaction between its functional traits and the local environmental filters. However, for introduced species, larger-scale dispersal and introduction-related filters may restrict their regional trait pool. Here we tested this framework using long-term data from 50+ years of old-field vegetation succession. We asked whether native and introduced plant assemblages followed the same trait-based assembly rules. We also asked whether local functional dissimilarities between the two can be explained by regional species pool differences, a possibility that has rarely been addressed. We found strong similarities in the assembly processes of native and introduced plants. Average height and seed mass of both groups increased over time, consistent with previous studies of old-field succession. Moreover, the two showed similar trait-abundance relationships. While there were also some differences, particularly in their trait-incidence relationships, these differences appeared to be minor.Further, we identified species pool constraints on introduced species, and found that the exotic species pool was biased towards early successional traits. Lastly, we found that highly invasive exotic species were also likely to deviate from the expected trait-abundance relationship, suggesting a link between the two. These results suggest that introduced species generally follow the same assembly rules as native species. They also indicate that species pool differences can result in local functional composition differences, even when the two groups follow the same assembly rules. Moreover, there may be a link between species invasiveness and deviation from assembly rules, which, if further confirmed, provides a potential method of identifying strong invaders.</p>
Data on soil variables (with plot IDs) and grassland species traits used for the analysis of grassland vegetation data by Pillar, V.D. (2024) Trait divergence in plant community assembly is generated by environmental factor interactions. Journal of Vegetation Science, 35, e13259. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13259
<p>File <a href="../api/records/10983049/draft/files/Plot_IDs_990ua.txt/content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Plot_IDs_990ua.txt</a> contains the IDs of the 1-m2 plots used for the analysis of grassland vegetation data by Pillar, V.D. (2024) Trait divergence in plant community assembly is generated by environmental factor interactions. The plot data are stored in the sPlot database (PPBio South Brazilian Grassland Database).</p> <p>File <a href="../api/records/10983049/draft/files/E_990ua_21SoilVar.txt/content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">E_990ua_21SoilVar.txt</a> contains data on soil variables evaluated in the 250 m transects, but here expanded to the 990 1-m2 plots (each transect was sampled using 10 1-m2 pots).</p> <p>File <a href="../api/records/10983049/draft/files/B_769spp_4t.txt/content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">B_769spp_4t.txt</a> is the species trait database collected in the framework of several research projects in the Quantitative Ecology Lab (EcoQua) and Grassland Vegetation Studies Lab (LevCamp) of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Data gaps were filled by compiled from the TRY database and data imputation.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
Morphological trait matching in plant–Hymenoptera and plant–Diptera mutualisms across an elevational gradient
<p>Morphological trait-matching and species abundance are thought to be the main factors affecting the frequency and strength of mutualistic interactions. However, the relative importance of trait-matching and species abundance in shaping species interactions across environmental gradients remains poorly understood, especially for plant–insect mutualisms involving generalist species.</p> <p>Here, we characterised variation in species and trait composition and the relative importance of trait-matching and species abundance in shaping plant–Hymenoptera and plant–Diptera mutualisms in four meadows across an elevational gradient (2,725–3,910 m) in Yulong Snow Mountain, Southwest China. We also evaluated the effects of morphological traits of flower visitors and plant composition on their foraging specialisation (d' and normalised degree).</p> <p>There was a high degree of dissimilarity in the composition of Hymenoptera and Diptera visitors and their visited plants between communities. This variation was mainly driven by the spatial replacement of species. Both for plant–Hymenoptera and plant–Diptera networks, trait-matching between nectar tube depth and proboscis length was a stronger predictor of the interactions between temporally co-occurring plants and flower visitors than species abundance. Fourth-corner analyses revealed statistically significant trait-matching between nectar tube depth and proboscis length in plant–Hymenoptera networks at all sites, suggesting that Hymenoptera consistently foraged on plant species with nectar tube depths matching their proboscis lengths. By contrast, significant trait-matching in plant–Diptera networks was only observed at the two lower elevation sites. The species-level specialisation d' of flower visitors increased significantly as the proboscis length and the difference in nectar tube depth between the plant community and the plants visited by flower visitors increased.</p> <p>Our results highlight that the importance of trait-matching in shaping pairwise interactions and niche partitioning depends on the specific features (e.g. species composition and trait availability) of the plant-pollinator system. For specialised plant-Hymenoptera systems, trait-matching is an important determinant of species interactions, whereas for generalist plant-Diptera systems, trait-matching is relatively unimportant.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.