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114 results for “plant facilitation”
Does land-use history facilitate non-native plant invasion? A field experiment with Celastrus orbiculatus in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest in the southern Appalachians from 2008 to 2009
Although historic land use is often implicated in non-native plant invasion of forests, little is known about how land-use legacies might actually facilitate invasion. The researchers conducted a 2-year field seeding experiment in western North Carolina, USA, to compare germination and first-year seedling survival of Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. in stands that had been cultivated and abandoned a century earlier and were dominated by tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), and in paired stands that had never been cultivated and were dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.). Experiments were conducted at five sites with paired tulip poplar and oak stands by varying litter mass (none, low, or high) and litter type (tulip poplar or oak).
Data and R code from: Pollination interactions reveal direct costs and indirect benefits of plant–plant facilitation for ecosystem engineers
Ecosystem engineers substantially modify the environment via their impact on abiotic conditions and the biota, resulting in facilitation of associated species that would not otherwise grow. Yet, reciprocal effects are poorly understood as studies of plant–plant interactions usually estimate only benefits for associated species while hardly considering how another trophic level may mediate direct and indirect effects for ecosystem engineers. We run a field experiment with ecosystem engineers blooming either alone or with associated plants to decompose net effects and to test the hypothesis that pollinator-mediated interactions provide benefits which balance costs of facilitation by ecosystem engineers. We found that net costs of facilitation are accompanied by pollinator-mediated benefits. Despite ecosystem engineers producing less flowers per plant, they were visited by more and more diverse pollinators per flower when blooming with associated plants than when blooming alone. However, fruit set was unaffected by the presence of associated plants and seed production per plant was higher when ecosystem engineers bloomed alone. Our findings suggest that besides experiencing direct costs, ecosystem engineers can also benefit from facilitating other species via increasing their own visibility to pollinators. This study illuminates how the outcome of direct plant–plant interactions might be mediated by indirect interactions including third players.
Climate change may alter the signal of plant facilitation in Mediterranean drylands
<p>Facilitation is an ecological interaction that has allowed plant lineages to survive past climate aridification. This same interaction can be expected to buffer the effects of current climate change, which is tending to become more arid in the Mediterranean basin. However, facilitation may wane when stress conditions are extreme. Here we argue that the erosion of the facilitation signal between <em>Quercus ilex</em> and its nurses detected by García-Fayos et al. (2020) along 50 years in the eastern Iberian Peninsula may have been due to the reversion of facilitation to competition imposed by an increasingly arid climate. To support this speculation, we reconstructed the climatic niche of <em>Q. ilex </em>and its nurses as well as the local climate change occurring in the populations studied. We found that the decreasing trend in precipitation is pushing <em>Q. ilex</em> out of its climatic optimum in the stressful (semi-arid) but not in the mild (sub-humid) habitats. These results suggest that facilitation will be unable to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially those related to aridification. However, other scenarios linking climatic change with herbivory and rural abandonment should be considered to fully understand the past, present and future of facilitation interactions. Reconstructing past interactions can serve as an early warning signal about the future of populations in the face of climate change.</p>
Data from: Pitcher geometry facilitates extrinsically powered 'springboard trapping' in carnivorous Nepenthes gracilis pitcher plants
<div> <p>Carnivorous pitcher plants capture insects in cup-shaped leaves that function as motionless pitfall traps. <em>Nepenthes gracilis</em>, evolved a unique 'springboard' trapping mechanism that exploits the impact energy of falling raindrops to actuate a fast pivoting motion of the canopy-like pitcher lid. We superimposed multiple computerized micro-tomography images of the same pitcher to reveal distinct deformation patterns in lid-trapping <em>N. gracilis</em> and closely related pitfall-trapping <em>N. rafflesiana</em>. We found prominent differences between downward and upward lid displacement in <em>N. gracilis </em>only. Downward displacement was characterised by bending in two distinct deformation zones while upward displacement was accomplished by evenly distributed straightening of the entire upper rear section of the pitcher. This suggests an anisotropic impact response, which may help to maximize initial jerk forces for prey capture, as well as the subsequent damping of the oscillation. Our results point to a key role of pitcher geometry for effective 'springboard' trapping in <em>N. gracilis</em>.</p> </div>
The relationship between plant diversity and facilitation during tropical dry forest restoration
<p>Restoration programs that promote the functioning of restored ecosystems are in urgent demand. Although several biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments have demonstrated the importance of functional complementarity enhancing plant community performance, no BEF study has yet experimentally manipulated facilitation testing its contribution to how the complementarity effect modulates community performance.</p> <p>We built a restoration experiment manipulating diversity and facilitation in a tropical semiarid forest. We planted 4704 seedlings of 16 native tree species to assemble 147 experimental communities with 45 different compositions comprising 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 species. Facilitation was included in the experimental design by creating a gradient of communities from low to high facilitation potential (based on prior research). We measured functional diversity and functional identity using species above and below-ground traits to investigate how they modulate the effects of species diversity and facilitation on leaf biomass production, and its additive partition biodiversity effects (NE, CE & SE).</p> <p>The joint influence of diversity and facilitation was tested separately for leaf biomass production and Net Biodiversity Effect using Linear Mixed Models (LMMs). We subsequently ran LMMs including functional diversity and functional identity. We hypothesised that facilitation would increase community productivity and functioning and that functional dispersion and functional identity related to above and below-ground traits would explain facilitation performance.</p> <p>Facilitation positively influenced leaf biomass production as predicted, but unexpectedly, neither of the functional traits were important for modulating the facilitation process. Positive values for Complementarity Effect (CE) showed that plants performed better in mixtures in comparison to monocultures. Selection Effect (SE) negative values, showed that species with below-average performance in monocultures, performed better in mixtures. Unexpectedly, CE did not increase as species diversity or facilitation increased. SE was influenced negatively by facilitation leading to a more equal distribution of biomass production between species in mixtures.</p> <p>Synthesis: Facilitation improves biomass production in restored communities and increases biomass equitability among plant species and thus ecosystem reliability. To improve restoration success, plant communities should be built using facilitating plants.</p>
Take me for a ride: herbivores can facilitate plant re-invasions
<p>Herbivores shape plant invasions through impacts on demography and dispersal, yet only demographic mechanisms are well understood. Although herbivores negatively impact demography by definition, they can affect dispersal either negatively (e.g. seed consumption), or positively (e.g. caching). Exploring the nuances of how herbivores influence spatial spread will improve forecasting of plant movement on the landscape. Here, we aim to understand how herbivores impact how fast plant populations spread through varying impacts on plant demography and dispersal. We strive to determine if, and under what conditions, we see net positive effects of herbivores, in order to find scenarios where herbivores can help promote spread. We draw on classic invasion theory to develop a stage-structured integrodifference equation model that incorporates herbivore impacts on plant demography and dispersal. We simulate seven herbivore `syndromes' (combinations of demographic and/or dispersal effects) drawn from the literature to understand how increasing herbivore pressure alters plant spreading speed. We find that herbivores with solely negative effects on plant demography or dispersal always slow plant spreading speed, and that the speed slows monotonically as herbivore pressure increases. However, we also find that plant spreading speed can be hump-shaped with respect to herbivore pressure: plants spread faster in the presence of herbivores (for low herbivore pressure) and then slower (for high herbivore pressure). This result is robust, occurring across all syndromes where herbivores have a positive effect on plant dispersal, and is a sign that the positive effects of herbivores on dispersal can outweigh their negative effects on demography. For all syndromes we find that sufficiently high herbivore pressure results in population collapse. Thus, our findings show that herbivores can speed up or slow down plant spread. These insights allow for greater understanding of how to slow invasions, facilitate native species recolonization, and shape range shifts with global change. </p>
Data from: Water regime and nitrogen enrichment facilitate the encroachment of woody plants at various developmental stages in freshwater marshes
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Suturing fragmented landscapes: Mosaic hybrid zones in plants may facilitate landscape restoration
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Data from: Pitcher geometry facilitates extrinsically powered ‘springboard trapping’ in carnivorous Nepenthes gracilis pitcher plants
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Leaf-shelters facilitate the colonization of arthropods and enhance microbial diversity on plants
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The relationship between plant diversity and facilitation during tropical dry forest restoration
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Take me for a ride: herbivores can facilitate plant re-invasions
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Data and R code from: Pollination interactions reveal direct costs and indirect benefits of plant–plant facilitation for ecosystem engineers
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Climate change may alter the signal of plant facilitation in Mediterranean drylands
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Data for: Warming increases negative interactions of a juvenile fescue and nearby plants in a tundra, moss facilitates mycorrhizae
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Data from: A meta-analysis of plant interaction networks reveals competitive hierarchies as well as facilitation and intransitivity
The extent to which competitive interactions and niche differentiation structure communities has been highly controversial. To quantify evidence for key features of plant community structure, I recharacterized published data from interaction experiments as networks of competitive and facilitative interactions. I measured the network structure of 31 woody and herbaceous communities, including the intensity, distribution, and diversity of interactions at the species-pair and community level to determine the generality of competition, winner-loser relationships, and unequal interaction allocation. I developed novel methodology using meta-analysis to incorporate interaction uncertainty into estimates of structural metrics among independent networks. Plant communities were competitive, but intraspecific interactions were sometimes more intense than interspecific interactions. On the whole, interactions were imbalanced and communities were transitive. However, facilitation, balanced interactions, and intransitivity were common in individual communities. Synthesizing network metrics using meta-analysis is an original approach with which to generalize community structure in a systematic way.
Widespread recombination suppression facilitates plant sex chromosome evolution
<p>Classical models suggest that recombination rates on sex chromosomes evolve in a stepwise manner to localize sexually antagonistic variants in the sex in which they are beneficial, thereby lowering rates of recombination between X and Y chromosomes. However, it is also possible that sex chromosome formation occurs in regions with pre-existing recombination suppression. To evaluate these possibilities, we constructed linkage maps and a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the dioecious plant <i>Rumex hastatulus</i>. This species has a polymorphic karyotype with a young neo-sex chromosome, resulting from a Robertsonian fusion between the X chromosome and an autosome, in part of its geographical range. We identified the shared and neo-sex chromosome using comparative genetic maps of the two cytotypes. We found that sex-linked regions of both the ancestral and the neo-sex chromosome are embedded in large regions of low recombination. Furthermore, our comparison of the recombination landscape of the neo-sex chromosome to its autosomal homologue indicates that low recombination rates preceded sex linkage. These patterns are not unique to the sex chromosomes; all chromosomes were characterized by massive regions of suppressed recombination spanning most of each chromosome. This represents an extreme case of the periphery-biased recombination seen in other systems with large chromosomes. Across all chromosomes, gene and repetitive sequence density correlated with recombination rate, with patterns of variation differing between repetitive element type. Our findings suggest that ancestrally low rates of recombination may facilitate the formation and subsequent evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes.</p>
Data from: Facilitated exploitation of pollination mutualisms: fitness consequences for plants
Mutualisms are only rarely one-to-one interactions: each species generally interacts with multiple mutualists. Exploitation is ubiquitous in mutualisms, and we would therefore expect that each mutualist interacts with multiple exploiters as well. Exploiter species may also interact with one another. For example, the action of one exploiter species might open the opportunity for exploitation by a second species. Exploitation is common in many plant–pollinator mutualisms: 'primary' nectar robbers feed through holes they make in flowers, which can be subsequently used by 'secondary' nectar robbers unable to create holes themselves. The overall effect of nectar robbing on plant fitness is often (although not always) negative. No study has separated the effects of interacting with primary vs. secondary robbers. Here, we examine the effects of primary vs. secondary nectar robbing on pollinator visitation rate and female fitness in Ipomopsis aggregata. Manipulating the type of nectar robbing that flowers experienced, we found that secondary nectar robbing inflicted fitness costs to plants beyond that inflicted by primary robbing alone. Secondary nectar robbing significantly reduced pollen receipt to flowers, as well as fruit and seed production. Although the causes are elusive, the effect may be attributed to changes in pollinator behaviour at these plants. Synthesis. Our findings provide evidence that interacting with multiple exploiters can lead to increased negative effects for mutualists, and highlight the importance of incorporating multiple exploiters into the conceptual framework of mutualism.
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>
Directed endozoochorous dispersal by scavengers facilitate sexual reproduction in otherwise clonal plants at cadaver sites
<ol> <li>The regeneration niche of many plant species involves spatially and temporally unpredictable disturbances, called recruitment windows of opportunity. However, even species with clear dispersal adaptations such as fleshy berries may not successfully reach such elusive regeneration microsites. Ericaceous, berry-producing species in the northern hemisphere demonstrate this dispersal limitation. They are said to display a reproductive paradox owing to their lack of regeneration in apparently suitable microsites despite considerable investment in producing large quantities of berries.</li> <li>Cadavers generate vegetation-denuded and nutrient-rich disturbances termed cadaver decomposition islands. Cadavers attract facultative scavengers with considerable capacity for endozoochorous seed dispersal. We hypothesize that cadaver decomposition islands facilitate recruitment in berry-producing ericaceous species due to endozoochorous dispersal directed towards favorable microsites with low competition.</li> <li>We examined seedling establishment within a permanent, semi-regular 10 × 10 m grid across an ungulate mass die-off on the Hardangervidda plateau in southeastern Norway. Competing models regarding the relative importance of factors governing recruitment were evaluated, specifically cadaver location (elevated seed rain) and microsite conditions (competition).</li> <li>We found that cadaver decomposition islands did facilitate seedling establishment, as cadaver density was the best predictor of seedling distribution. Other important factors governing seedling establishment such as percentage cover of soil and vascular plants alone were inadequate to explain seedling establishment.</li> <li> <i>Synthesis:</i> This study provides a novel understanding of sexual reproduction in species with cryptic generative reproduction. The directed nature of endozoochorous dispersal combined with long-distance dispersal abilities of medium to large vertebrate scavengers towards cadavers allows plants to exploit the advantageous but ephemeral resource provided by cadaver decomposition islands.</li> </ol>
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Allen Brain Atlas
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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.
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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.
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