A trait‐based approach to determining principles of plant biogeography

Vasconcelos, Thaís

doi:10.1002/ajb2.16127

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(89 reference statements)

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“…Our results reinforced the well‐known pattern of geographic biases in scientific efforts (Clarke et al, 2017 ; Culumber et al, 2019 ; Nuñez et al, 2021 ; Vasconcelos, 2023 ; Zuk, 2016 ). Previous studies on functional traits with specific taxa (Luiza‐Andrade et al, 2017 ) or themes (Hevia et al, 2017 ) already reported the predominance of studies conducted in Europe and North America.…”

Section: Trends Gaps and Biases In The Study Of Animal Functional Traitssupporting

confidence: 88%

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Bringing light onto the Raunkiæran shortfall: A comprehensive review of traits used in functional animal ecology

Gonçalves‐Souza

Chaves

Boldorini

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Trait‐based approaches elucidate the mechanisms underlying biodiversity response to, or effects on, the environment. Nevertheless, the Raunkiæran shortfall—the dearth of knowledge on species traits and their functionality—presents a challenge in the application of these approaches. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the trends and gaps in trait‐based animal ecology in terms of taxonomic resolution, trait selection, ecosystem type, and geographical region. In addition, we suggest a set of crucial steps to guide trait selection and aid future research to conduct within and cross‐taxon comparisons. We identified 1655 articles using virtually all animal groups published from 1999 to 2020. Studies were concentrated in vertebrates, terrestrial habitats, the Palearctic realm, and mostly investigated trophic and habitat dimensions. Additionally, they focused on response traits (79.4%) and largely ignored intraspecific variation (94.6%). Almost 36% of the data sets did not provide the rationale behind the selection of morphological traits. The main limitations of trait‐based animal ecology were the use of trait averages and a rare inclusion of intraspecific variability. Nearly one‐fifth of the studies based only on response traits conclude that trait diversity impacts ecosystem processes or services without justifying the connection between them or measuring them. We propose a guide for standardizing trait collection that includes the following: (i) determining the type of trait and the mechanism linking the trait to the environment, ecosystem, or the correlation between the environment, trait, and ecosystem, (ii) using a “periodic table of niches” to select the appropriate niche dimension to support a mechanistic trait selection, and (iii) selecting the relevant traits for each retained niche dimension. By addressing these gaps, trait‐based animal ecology can become more predictive. This implies that future research will likely focus on collaborating to understand how environmental changes impact animals and their capacity to provide ecosystem services and goods.

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Section: Trends Gaps and Biases In The Study Of Animal Functional Traitssupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Ecology has strong biases toward specific taxonomic groups (plants, birds) and geographical regions (temperate), which goes beyond studies with functional traits (Clarke et al, 2017 ; Culumber et al, 2019 ; Vasconcelos, 2023 ; Zuk, 2016 ). For example, almost half of the studies use vertebrates as model organisms.…”

Section: Conclusion and Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing light onto the Raunkiæran shortfall: A comprehensive review of traits used in functional animal ecology

Gonçalves‐Souza

Chaves

Boldorini

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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“…For example, in comparative biology, studies examining large phylogenies usually have little power to determine specific mechanisms underpinning evolutionary patterns (Donoghue & Edwards, 2019), while small‐scale studies of specific clades, for various reasons, are often limited in their ability to explain broad evolutionary patterns (Beaulieu & O'Meara, 2018, 2019). The multi‐clade approach we used for this work, which allowed us to examine broad patterns as well as clade‐specific patterns, aims to combine the advantages of both large‐ and small‐scale studies (Vasconcelos, 2023). Due to their advantages, multi‐clade studies have recently become popular in comparative biology (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary responses of life‐history strategies to climatic variability in flowering plants

et al. 2023

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Summary The evolution of annual or perennial strategies in flowering plants likely depends on a broad array of temperature and precipitation variables. Previous documented climate life‐history correlations in explicit phylogenetic frameworks have been limited to certain clades and geographic regions. To gain insights which generalize to multiple lineages we employ a multi‐clade approach analyzing 32 groups of angiosperms across eight climatic variables. We utilize a recently developed method that accounts for the joint evolution of continuous and discrete traits to evaluate two hypotheses: annuals tend to evolve in highly seasonal regions prone to extreme heat and drought; and annuals tend to have faster rates of climatic niche evolution than perennials. We find that temperature, particularly highest temperature of the warmest month, is the most consistent climatic factor influencing the evolution of annual strategy in flowering plants. Unexpectedly, we do not find significant differences in rates of climatic niche evolution between perennial and annual lineages. We propose that annuals are consistently favored in areas prone to extreme heat due to their ability to escape heat stress as seeds, but they tend to be outcompeted by perennials in regions where extreme heat is uncommon or nonexistent.

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“…Contrasting diversification rates of lineages with distinct climbing mechanisms can contribute to the challenging, yet fundamental, question in evolutionary biology: why have some groups diversified more than others (Magallón & Sanderson, 2001; Wiens & Donoghue, 2004; Onstein, 2019)? Studies of this kind have been hampered by the lack of basic data on traits, phylogenetic relationships, and geographical distribution from the areas where climbing plants have diversified the most, that is, the tropics (Gentry, 1991; Grace et al ., 2021; Vasconcelos, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing mechanisms and the diversification of neotropical climbing plants across time and space

Sperotto,

Roque,

Acevedo‐Rodríguez

et al. 2023

New Phytologist

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Summary Climbers germinate on the ground but need external support to sustain their stems, which are maintained attached to supports through modified organs, that is, climbing mechanisms. Specialized climbing mechanisms have been linked to higher diversification rates. Also, different mechanisms may have different support diameter restrictions, which might influence climbers' spatial distribution. We test these assumptions by linking climbing mechanisms to the spatiotemporal diversification of neotropical climbers. A dataset of climbing mechanisms is presented for 9071 species. WCVP was used to standardize species names, map geographical distributions, and estimate diversification rates of lineages with different mechanisms. Twiners appear concentrated in the Dry Diagonal of South America and climbers with adhesive roots in the Chocó region and Central America. However, climbing mechanisms do not significantly influence the distribution of neotropical climbers. Also, we found no strong support for correlations between specialized climbing mechanisms and higher diversification rates. Climbing mechanisms do not strongly impact the spatiotemporal diversification of neotropical climbers on a macroevolutionary scale. We argue that the climbing habit is a synnovation, meaning the spatiotemporal diversification it promotes is due to the sum effect of all the habit's traits rather than isolated traits, such as climbing mechanisms.

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A trait‐based approach to determining principles of plant biogeography

Cited by 15 publications

References 92 publications

Bringing light onto the Raunkiæran shortfall: A comprehensive review of traits used in functional animal ecology

Bringing light onto the Raunkiæran shortfall: A comprehensive review of traits used in functional animal ecology

The evolutionary responses of life‐history strategies to climatic variability in flowering plants

Climbing mechanisms and the diversification of neotropical climbing plants across time and space

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