Are seed germination and ecological breadth associated? Testing the regeneration niche hypothesis with bromeliads in a heterogeneous neotropical montane vegetation

Marques, Antônio Luiz; Atman, A. P. F.; Silveira, Fernando A. O.; Lemos-Filho, José Pires de

doi:10.1007/s11258-014-0320-4

Cited by 65 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The observed relative wide thermal niches confirm and extend the results of Marques et al . (), who studied a much smaller set of bromeliad species. Similar to our study, they characterized the thermal niche breadth only for seed germination, which is just one stage of the plant life cycle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Garcia‐Huidobro, Monteith & Squire ; Scott, Jones & Williams ; Marques et al . ) because of its simplicity and the fact that it considers both the final germination success and the time taken to reach final germination.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Klekailo ; Montes‐Recinas, Márquez‐Guzmán & Orozco‐Segovia ; Correa & Zotz ; Marques et al . ), whereas no empirical study is available with many species at a larger geographical scale. Therefore, generalized predictions regarding the consequences of rising temperatures are currently not possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Are 3 °C too much?’: thermal niche breadth in Bromeliaceae and global warming

2016

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Summary By the end of this century, temperature is predicted to increase by about 6 °C at higher latitudes and about 3 °C in the tropics. Although values predicted for tropical latitudes are lower, rising temperatures in the tropics are likely to have more severe consequences for tropical species that are generally assumed to have narrower climatic niches due to a higher degree of climatic stability and higher niche specialization. Even though temperature affects all ontogenetic stages, the regeneration niche of a species is fundamental for overall niche breadth and hence represents a potential major bottleneck for its distribution. We conducted germination experiments along a range of temperatures with 41 epiphytic bromeliad species to determine thermal germination traits (thermal niche breadth, lower and upper thermal limit, thermal optimum). Based on these traits, we asked whether the thermal germination niche breadth of these species is wide enough to cope with the predicted increase in temperature. Furthermore, we conducted phylogenetic comparative analyses to detect possible niche conservatism of these traits in Bromeliaceae. For 93% of all tested bromeliad species, the predicted mean annual temperature range does not exceed the thermal niche breadth. Moreover, for 85% of all tested species, the current mean annual temperature across the distribution range is well below our estimates of their thermal optima. Furthermore, we found evidence for phylogenetic niche conservatism in most assessed traits. Synthesis. Our report represents an important first step to understand and predict present and future responses of epiphytic bromeliads to global warming. At least with regard to seed germination, epiphytic bromeliads should not be negatively affected by the predicted temperature rise of 3 °C. To the contrary, future temperatures are closer to the thermal optima of most species, potentially leading to an increase in performance. However, since niche conservatism in Bromeliaceae may limit their adaptability to novel climatic conditions, a negative effect of increasing temperatures cannot be completely rejected when considering ontogenetic niche shifts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Are 3 °C too much?’: thermal niche breadth in Bromeliaceae and global warming

2016

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“…; Marques et al. ). It seems that investigating traits without a clear physiological response, such as seed size or dispersal mode, can only tell part of the story on community assembly and dynamics.…”

Section: The Potential Contribution Of Seed Germination Traits To Plamentioning

confidence: 98%

Seed germination traits can contribute better to plant community ecology

Jíménez-Alfaro

Silveira

Fidelis

et al. 2016

J Vegetation Science

218

197

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Analyses of functional traits have become fundamental tools for understanding patterns and processes in plant community ecology. In this context, regenerative seed traits play an important, yet overlooked, role because they largely determine the ability of plants to disperse and re-establish. A survey of recent publications in community ecology suggests that seed germination traits in particular are neglected at the expense of other relevant but overused traits based only on seed morphology. As a response to this bias, we discuss the functional significance of seed germination traits in comparison with morphological and biophysical seed traits, and advocate their use in vegetation science. We also demonstrate how research in community assembly, climate change and restoration ecology can benefit from the inclusion of germination traits, encompassing functions that cannot be explained solely by adult plant traits. Seed germination experiments conducted in the laboratory or field to quantify these traits provide ecologically meaningful and relatively easy-to-obtain information about the functional properties of plant communities. We argue that bridging the gap between seed physiologists and community ecologists will improve the prediction of plant assemblages, and propose further perspectives for including seed traits into the research agenda of functional community ecologists.

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“…What we currently know about the role of regeneration niches in species co‐occurrence comes from flowering plants, usually at a relatively small geographical breadth. For example, seed germination requirements differ among species of neotropical gesneriads and bromeliads with broad or narrow geographical ranges (Marques, Atma, Silveira, & de Lemos‐Filho, ; Ranieri, Pezzini, Garcia, Chautems, & França, ). Similarly, the endemic South American Ipomoea rubriflora and the co‐occurring but cosmopolitan I. purpurea differ in their seed production per plant and probability of establishment (Astegiano, Funes, & Galetto, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of spore size in the global pattern of co‐occurrence among Selaginella species

Margaroni

Petersen

Gleadow

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Separation of regeneration niches may promote coexistence among closely related plant species, but there is little evidence that regeneration traits affect species ranges at broad geographical scales. We address patterns of co‐occurrence within the genus Selaginella, an ancient lineage of free‐sporing, heterosporous, vascular plants. Specifically, we ask whether differences between species in spore size are associated with the extent of overlap in their geographical ranges, a measure of opportunity for ecological interaction. Taxon Selaginella (Selaginellaceae: Lycopodiales). Methods We used quantile regression to examine the relationship of spore size ratios (pairwise ratios for megaspores and microspores of co‐occurring species) to the area of range overlap and to latitude for a worldwide sample of 112 Selaginella species. Phylogenetically informed tests of statistical significance were used for each percentile relationship examined in the quantile regressions. Results Large pairwise disparities in megaspore sizes were significantly associated with large range overlap. Disparities also tended to be larger at low latitudes. Microspore size differences, in contrast, were unrelated to shared range area or latitude. Main conclusion Megaspore size appears to affect coexistence at a broad regional scale among Selaginella species, in at least some cases. The pattern is consistent with some degree of competitive structuring of size‐related aspects of dispersal and establishment of propagules among some co‐occurring species. Habitat complexity, such as open microsites within otherwise closed and shaded vegetation, seems likely to promote reproductive niche separation and may account for the latitudinal structure in Selaginella spore sizes.

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Are seed germination and ecological breadth associated? Testing the regeneration niche hypothesis with bromeliads in a heterogeneous neotropical montane vegetation

Cited by 65 publications

References 36 publications

‘Are 3 °C too much?’: thermal niche breadth in Bromeliaceae and global warming

‘Are 3 °C too much?’: thermal niche breadth in Bromeliaceae and global warming

Seed germination traits can contribute better to plant community ecology

The role of spore size in the global pattern of co‐occurrence among Selaginella species

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