Plant diversity increases with the strength of negative density dependence at the global scale

LaManna, Joseph A.; Mangan, Scott A.; Alonso, Alfonso; Bourg, Norman A.; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Chang, Li‐Wan; Chiang, Jyh‐Min; Chuyong, George B.; Clay, Keith; Condit, Richard; Cordell, Susan; Davies, Stuart J.; Furniss, Tucker J.; Giardina, Christian P.; Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N.; Gunatilleke, C. V. S.; He, Fangliang; Howe, Robert W.; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Hsieh, Chang‐Fu; Inman‐Narahari, Faith; Janík, David; Johnson, Daniel J.; Kenfack, David; Körte, Lisa; Král, Kamil; Larson, Andrew J.; Lutz, James A.; McMahon, Sean M.; McShea, William J.; Memiaghe, Hervé R.; Nathalang, Anuttara; Novotný, Vojtěch; Ong, Perry S.; Orwig, David A.; Ostertag, Rebecca; Parker, Geoffrey G.; Phillips, Richard P.; Sack, Lawren; Sun, I‐Fang; Tello, J. Sebastián; Thomas, Duncan W.; Turner, Benjamín L.; Díaz, Dilys M. Vela; Vrška, Tomáš; Weiblen, George D.; Wolf, Amy; Yap, Sandra L.; Myers, Jonathan A.

doi:10.1126/science.aam5678

Cited by 238 publications

(295 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…However, in contrast to recent studies reporting a latitudinal gradient in the strength of conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) in eastern forests in the United States and across 24 forest plots worldwide (Johnson et al 2012, LaManna et al 2017, we found little evidence that CNDD and phylogenetic negative density dependence (PNDD) were more prevalent in diverse tropical forests compared to less diverse subtropical and temperate forests. The lack of latitudinal gradients may be due to the limited number of plots and their locations in different biogeographic realms.…”

Section: Variation Among Forest Sitescontrasting

confidence: 54%

Forest tree neighborhoods are structured more by negative conspecific density dependence than by interactions among closely related species

et al. 2017

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Interactions among neighbors influence the structure of communities of sessile organisms. Closely related species tend to share habitat and resource requirements and to interact with the same mutualists and natural enemies so that the strength of interspecific interactions tends to decrease with evolutionary divergence time. Nevertheless, the degree to which such phylogenetically related ecological interactions structure plant communities remains unclear. Using data from five large mapped forest plots combined with a DNA barcode mega‐phylogeny, we employed an individual‐based approach to assess the collective effects of focal tree size on neighborhood phylogenetic relatedness. Abundance‐weighted average divergence time for all neighbors (ADT_all) and for heterospecific neighbors only (ADT_hetero) were calculated for each individual of canopy tree species. Within local neighborhoods, we found phylogenetic composition changed with focal tree size. Specifically, significant increases in ADT_all with focal tree size were evident at all sites. In contrast, there was no significant change in ADT_hetero with tree size in four of the five sites for both sapling‐sized and all neighbors, even at the smallest neighbourhood scale (0–5 m), suggesting a limited role for phylogeny‐dependent interactions. However, there were inverse relationships between focal tree size and the proportion of heterospecific neighbors belonging to closely related species at some sites, providing evidence for negative phylogenetic density dependence. Overall, our results indicate that negative interaction with conspecifics had a much greater impact on neighborhood assemblages than interactions among closely related species and could contribute to community structure and diversity maintenance in different forest communities.

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Section: Variation Among Forest Sitescontrasting

confidence: 54%

Forest tree neighborhoods are structured more by negative conspecific density dependence than by interactions among closely related species

et al. 2017

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“…Although supporting evidence is not unequivocal (Terborgh 2015, Ellwood et al 2016, Gainsbury and Meiri 2017, LaManna et al 2017), local dynamics in the tropics could exclude different consumers in different habitat patches, resulting in more specialized and less similar consumer communities across patches. Our results show that consumers segregated their dietary niches more in more constant environments (less consumer overlap) (Figure 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The geographical variation of network structure is scale dependent: understanding the biotic specialization of host–parasitoid networks

2019

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Research on the structure of ecological networks suggests that a number of universal patterns exist. Historically, biotic specialization has been thought to increase towards the Equator. Yet, recent studies have challenged this view showing non-conclusive results. Most studies analysing the geographical variation in biotic specialization focus, however, only on the local scale. Little is known about how the geographical variation of network structure depends on the spatial scale of observation (i.e., from local to regional spatial scales). This should be remedied, as network structure changes as the spatial scale of observation changes, and the magnitude and shape of these changes can elucidate the mechanisms behind the geographical variation in biotic specialization. Here we analyse four facets of biotic specialization in host-parasitoid networks along gradients of climatic constancy, classifying the networks according to their spatial extension (local or regional). Namely, we analyse network connectance, consumer diet overlap, consumer diet breadth, and resource vulnerability at both local and regional scales along the gradients of both current climatic constancy and historical climatic change. While at the regional scale none of the climatic variables are associated to biotic specialization, at the local scale, network connectance, consumer diet overlap, and resource vulnerability decrease with current climatic constancy, whereas consumer generalism increases (i.e., broader diet breadths in tropical areas). Similar patterns are observed along the gradient of historical climatic change. We provide an explanation based on different beta-diversity for consumers and resources across the geographical gradients. Our results show that the geographical gradient of biotic specialization is not universal. It depends on both the facet of biotic specialization and the spatial scale of observation.

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“…In the long run, these ecological processes result in the selection of numerous adaptive plant traits (Reich et al, 2003), allowing species to thrive in complex and highly diverse systems, such as Amazonian forests. The high diversity of tropical ecosystems is in part maintained by natural disturbances and local biotic interactions, sometimes promoted by herbivores and pathogens that reduce the abundance of the most effective competitors, creating space for other species (Connell, 1978;LaManna et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests

et al. 2018

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For millennia, Amazonian peoples have managed forest resources, modifying the natural environment in subtle and persistent ways. Legacies of past human occupation are striking near archaeological sites, yet we still lack a clear picture of how human management practices resulted in the domestication of Amazonian forests. The general view is that domesticated forests are recognizable by the presence of forest patches dominated by one or a few useful species favored by long-term human activities. Here, we used three complementary approaches to understand the long-term domestication of Amazonian forests. First, we compiled information from the literature about how indigenous and traditional Amazonian peoples manage forest resources to promote useful plant species that are mainly used as food resources. Then, we developed an interdisciplinary conceptual model of how interactions between these management practices across space and time may form domesticated forests. Finally, we collected field data from 30 contemporary villages located on and near archaeological sites, along four major Amazonian rivers, to compare with the management practices synthesized in our conceptual model. We identified eight distinct categories of management practices that contribute to form forest patches of useful plants: (1) removal of non-useful plants, (2) protection of useful plants, (3) attraction of non-human animal dispersers, (4) transportation of useful plants, (5) selection of phenotypes, (6) fire management, (7) planting of useful plants, and (8) soil improvement. Our conceptual model, when ethnographically projected into the past, reveals how the interaction of these multiple management practices interferes with natural ecological processes, resulting in the domestication of Amazonian forest patches dominated by useful species. Our model suggests that management practices became more frequent as human population increased during the Holocene. In the field, we found that useful perennial plants occur in multi-species patches around archaeological sites, and that the dominant species are still Levis et al. Amazonian Forest Domestication managed by local people, suggesting long-term persistence of ancient cultural practices. The management practices we identified have transformed plant species abundance and floristic composition through the creation of diverse forest patches rich in edible perennial plants that enhanced food production and food security in Amazonia.

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Plant diversity increases with the strength of negative density dependence at the global scale

Cited by 238 publications

References 56 publications

Forest tree neighborhoods are structured more by negative conspecific density dependence than by interactions among closely related species

Forest tree neighborhoods are structured more by negative conspecific density dependence than by interactions among closely related species

The geographical variation of network structure is scale dependent: understanding the biotic specialization of host–parasitoid networks

How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests

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