Why intraspecific trait variation matters in community ecology

Bolnick, Daniel I.; Amarasekare, Priyanga; Araújo, Márcio S.; Bürger, Reinhard; Levine, Jonathan M.; Novák, Márk; Rudolf, Volker H. W.; Schreiber, Sebastian J.; Urban, Mark C.; Vasseur, David A.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2011.01.009

Cited by 1,887 publications

(2,081 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…2010; Albert et al. 2011; Bolnick 2011). In further support, intraspecific variation did account for a significant part of the total trait variance as shown through variance partitioning (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining variation in the leaf mass per area of dominant species across two contrasting tropical gradients in light of community assembly

Neyret

Bentley

Oliveras

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding variation in key functional traits across gradients in high diversity systems and the ecology of community changes along gradients in these systems is crucial in light of conservation and climate change. We examined inter‐ and intraspecific variation in leaf mass per area (LMA) of sun and shade leaves along a 3330‐m elevation gradient in Peru, and in sun leaves across a forest–savanna vegetation gradient in Brazil. We also compared LMA variance ratios (T‐statistics metrics) to null models to explore internal (i.e., abiotic) and environmental filtering on community structure along the gradients. Community‐weighted LMA increased with decreasing forest cover in Brazil, likely due to increased light availability and water stress, and increased with elevation in Peru, consistent with the leaf economic spectrum strategy expected in colder, less productive environments. A very high species turnover was observed along both environmental gradients, and consequently, the first source of variation in LMA was species turnover. Variation in LMA at the genus or family levels was greater in Peru than in Brazil. Using dominant trees to examine possible filters on community assembly, we found that in Brazil, internal filtering was strongest in the forest, while environmental filtering was observed in the dry savanna. In Peru, internal filtering was observed along 80% of the gradient, perhaps due to variation in taxa or interspecific competition. Environmental filtering was observed at cloud zone edges and in lowlands, possibly due to water and nutrient availability, respectively. These results related to variation in LMA indicate that biodiversity in species rich tropical assemblages may be structured by differential niche‐based processes. In the future, specific mechanisms generating these patterns of variation in leaf functional traits across tropical environmental gradients should be explored.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining variation in the leaf mass per area of dominant species across two contrasting tropical gradients in light of community assembly

Neyret

Bentley

Oliveras

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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“…At much longer temporal scales, evolution is an active force within food webs, because trophic relationships are a product of phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary relationships between predators and prey [61,62]. The interplay between intraspecific (e.g., closely related taxa tend to share trophic relationships) and inter-specific (e.g., strong interactions between predators and prey, and plants and pollinators) interactions will have profound effects on food-web structure [63], and the balance of these can determine the occurrence and strength of niche partitioning effects on ecosystem functioning [9].…”

Section: Linking Individuals To Food Webs To Ecosystem Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food webs: reconciling the structure and function of biodiversity

Thompson

Brose

Dunne

et al. 2012

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

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The global biodiversity crisis concerns not only unprecedented loss of species within communities, but also related consequences for ecosystem function. Community ecology focuses on patterns of species richness and community composition, whereas ecosystem ecology focuses on fluxes of energy and materials. Food webs provide a quantitative framework to combine these approaches and unify the study of biodiversity and ecosystem function. We summarise the progression of foodweb ecology and the challenges in using the food-web approach. We identify five areas of research where these advances can continue, and be applied to global challenges. Finally, we describe what data are needed in the next generation of food-web studies to reconcile the structure and function of biodiversity.Reconciling the study of biodiversity and ecosystem function We are experiencing two interrelated global ecological crises. One is in biodiversity, with unprecedented rates of species loss across all major ecosystems, combined with greatly accelerated biotic exchange between landmasses [1]. Consequently, spatial and temporal patterns of species occurrence are being fundamentally altered by extinction and invasion. The second crisis concerns the regulation of ecological processes and the ecosystem services they provide. Processes such as primary production and nutrient cycling have been severely altered by human activities [1].Our understanding of biodiversity comes largely from a sound theoretical and empirical basis provided by community ecology, including core concepts such as niche segregation [2] and Island Biogeography [3,4]. Early studies of individual species' habitat preferences and physiological tolerances have been complemented by studies of interspecific interactions from field surveys and experiments. Applications such as conservation management depend largely on mapping of community patterns and studies of habitat occupancy and preferences. More recently, habitat models have been applied, and the advent of simple and cheap molecular markers has allowed quantification of important community assembly (see Glossary) processes such as dispersal [5]. In community ecology the unit of study is the individual, population, or species, consistent with other sub-disciplines such as behavioural and population biology. Review GlossaryAssembly: the set of processes by which a food web is rebuilt after disturbance or the creation of new habitat. Bioenergetics: the flow and transformation of energy in and between living organisms and between living organisms and their environment. Cascade model: a food-web model which assumes hierarchical feeding along a single niche axis, with each species allocated a probability of feeding on taxa below it in the hierarchy. Community web: a food web intended to include all species and trophic links that occur within a defined ecological community. 'Species' in this sense might involve various degrees of aggregation or division of biological species. Compartmentalisation: the property by which one subset of sp...

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“…Functional traits can be assessed at different levels of biological resolution, from functional groups (e.g., legumes) to species-level means (e.g., average N 2 -fixation rate), to, at the finest scale, intraspecific variation (e.g., individual N 2 -fixation rates). The appropriate scale of analysis depends on the importance of individual variability for the ecosystem process of interest [7,8].…”

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confidence: 99%