Habitat partitioning among neotropical pioneers: a consequence of differential susceptibility to browsing herbivores?

Dalling, James W.; Pearson, T.; Ballesteros, Jaime Marín; Sanchez, Evelyn; Burslem, David F. R. P.

doi:10.1007/s00442-009-1385-y

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…It is in the deep shade scenario, under which E. coccineum seedlings apparently are close to their physiological tolerance limit, where herbivory may play an important role in plant establishment. This result adds to the small body of evidence on the possible contribution of herbivory to explain the distribution of a plant species along the light gradient [4], [5], [7], [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Damage by herbivores may decrease plant performance and fitness [2], [3] and restrict plant distribution along the light gradient [4]–[7]. It has been shown for a number of plant species that plants sustain greater insect herbivory when growing in shaded habitats [8]–[14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This cannot be inferred solely from field patterns of herbivory in sun and shade. The first demonstration of herbivory as a key factor explaining the distribution of a plant species along the light gradient was published by Louda & Rodman in 1996 [4], and little empirical evidence on this issue has accumulated since then [5], [7], [53].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Herbivory on Temperate Rainforest Seedlings in Sun and Shade: Resistance, Tolerance and Habitat Distribution

Salgado‐Luarte

Gianoli

2010

PLoS ONE

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Differential herbivory and/or differential plant resistance or tolerance in sun and shade environments may influence plant distribution along the light gradient. Embothrium coccineum is one of the few light-demanding tree species in the temperate rainforest of southern South America, and seedlings are frequently attacked by insects and snails. Herbivory may contribute to the exclusion of E. coccineum from the shade if 1) herbivory pressure is greater in the shade, which in turn can result from shade plants being less resistant or from habitat preferences of herbivores, and/or 2) consequences of damage are more detrimental in the shade, i.e., shade plants are less tolerant. We tested this in a field study with naturally established seedlings in treefall gaps (sun) and forest understory (shade) in a temperate rainforest of southern Chile. Seedlings growing in the sun sustained nearly 40% more herbivore damage and displayed half of the specific leaf area than those growing in the shade. A palatability test showed that a generalist snail consumed ten times more leaf area when fed on shade leaves compared to sun leaves, i.e., plant resistance was greater in sun-grown seedlings. Herbivore abundance (total biomass) was two-fold greater in treefall gaps compared to the forest understory. Undamaged seedlings survived better and showed a slightly higher growth rate in the sun. Whereas simulated herbivory in the shade decreased seedling survival and growth by 34% and 19%, respectively, damaged and undamaged seedlings showed similar survival and growth in the sun. Leaf tissue lost to herbivores in the shade appears to be too expensive to replace under the limiting light conditions of forest understory. Following evaluations of herbivore abundance and plant resistance and tolerance in contrasting light environments, we have shown how herbivory on a light-demanding tree species may contribute to its exclusion from shade sites. Thus, in the shaded forest understory, where the seedlings of some tree species are close to their physiological tolerance limit, herbivory could play an important role in plant establishment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Herbivory on Temperate Rainforest Seedlings in Sun and Shade: Resistance, Tolerance and Habitat Distribution

Salgado‐Luarte

Gianoli

2010

PLoS ONE

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“…Herbivory pressure could be a factor contributing to the observed distribution of plants along the light gradient (Louda & Rodman 1996; Pearson et al. 2003; Dalling et al. 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbivory may modify functional responses to shade in seedlings of a light-demanding tree species

Salgado‐Luarte¹,

Gianoli²

2010

Functional Ecology

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Summary1. The ability to display functional responses to shading, i.e. phenotypic changes that enhance plant performance in low light, is fundamental for plant success in forest communities. Herbivory may constrain plant functional responses to shading and this could explain the often observed lower plant tolerance of herbivore damage in the shade. 2. We carried out a field trial and a greenhouse experiment to evaluate whether simulated herbivory (i) causes greater fitness losses in the shade, and (ii) modifies plant functional responses to shading. Changes in functional traits were measured at the biochemical, leaf, shoot and wholeplant levels, in seedlings of the light-demanding evergreen tree Aristotelia chilensis (Elaeocarpaceae), which is endemic to South American austral forests. 3. We hypothesized that plant responses to shade would be constrained by herbivory due to within-plant limitations in resource availability and ⁄ or antagonistic interactions between responses to shade and herbivory. We further expected that this limitation would result in a greater field mortality of damaged plants in forest understory as compared to open sites. 4. Simulated herbivory (50% defoliation) on field seedlings decreased 8-month plant survival in the shade (forest understory) but not in the sun (canopy gaps) in a temperate rainforest. Likewise, simulated herbivory in the greenhouse decreased plant growth rate and final biomass in the shade treatment but not in the sun treatment. 5. The phenotypic responses to shading of seven traits were constrained by simulated herbivory: chlorophyll, leaf shape, leaf blade angle, petiole angle, SLA (specific leaf area), internodes length and total leaf area. A path-analysis showed that most of these constrained responses were uncorrelated to each other. Some of these results might be explained by antagonistic interactions between molecules or pathways involved in plant responses to shading and herbivory. Four functional traits exhibited greater responses to shading in damaged plants: A max (Photosynthetic rate), foliar carbon, shoot : root ratio and LMR (leaf mass ratio); but most of them resulted from correlated changes in SLA. 6. The present study undertook a mechanistic approach to the often observed pattern of greater impact of herbivore damage on plant performance in low light environments. The central finding of this study is that the unraveling of herbivory-constrained plant functional responses to shading may explain the often observed greater fitness losses due to herbivory in the shade. It is also suggested that herbivory pressure is an underestimated factor in pioneer species distribution along the light gradient.

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“…Very often pairs (or more) of Cecropia species are distributed in the same area (Zalamea et al., 2012), but differ in their habitats (e.g. stream‐edges vs. landslides, gaps in old‐growth vs. secondary forests, or high‐ vs. low‐P soils; Dalling et al., 2009; Folgarait & Davidson, 1994; Zalamea et al., 2016). This habitat partitioning has been attributed to trade‐offs between growth and defence against herbivores (Folgarait & Davidson, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closely related tree species support distinct communities of seed‐associated fungi in a lowland tropical forest

et al. 2021

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Previous theoretical work has highlighted the potential for natural enemies to mediate the coexistence of species with similar life histories via density‐dependent effects on survivorship. For plant pathogens to play this role, they must differ in their ability to infect or induce disease in different host plant species. In tropical forests characterized by high diversity, these effects must extend to phylogenetically closely related species pairs. Mortality at the seed and seedling stage strongly influences the abundance and distribution of tropical tree species, but the host preferences and spatial distributions of fungi are rarely determined. We examined how host species identity, relatedness and seed viability influence the composition of fungal communities associated with seeds of four co‐occurring pioneer trees (Cecropia insignis, C. longipes, C. peltata and Jacaranda copaia). Seeds were buried in mesh bags in five common gardens in the understorey of a lowland tropical forest in Panama and retrieved at intervals from 1 to 30 months. A subset of the seeds in each bag was used to determine germination success. One half of each remaining seed was tested for viability; and the other half was used to culture and identify seed‐infecting fungi. Seeds were infected by fungi after burial. Although fungal communities differed in viable versus dead seeds, and across burial locations, community composition primarily varied as a function of plant species identity (30.7% of variation in community composition vs. 4.5% for viability and location together), even for congeneric Cecropia species. Phylogenetic reconstruction showed that relatedness of fungi mostly reflected differences between Jacaranda (Bignoniaceae) and Cecropia (Urticaceae). Although the proportion of germinable seeds decreased gradually over time for all species, intraspecific variation in survival was high at the same location (e.g. ranging from 0% to 100% for C. peltata) suggesting variable exposure or susceptibility to seed pathogens. Synthesis. Our study provides evidence under field conditions that congeneric tree species with similar life history traits differ markedly in seed‐associated fungal communities when exposed to the same soil‐borne fungi. This is a critical first step supporting pathogen‐mediated coexistence of closely related tree species.

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Habitat partitioning among neotropical pioneers: a consequence of differential susceptibility to browsing herbivores?

Cited by 6 publications

References 42 publications

Herbivory on Temperate Rainforest Seedlings in Sun and Shade: Resistance, Tolerance and Habitat Distribution

Herbivory on Temperate Rainforest Seedlings in Sun and Shade: Resistance, Tolerance and Habitat Distribution

Herbivory may modify functional responses to shade in seedlings of a light-demanding tree species

Closely related tree species support distinct communities of seed‐associated fungi in a lowland tropical forest

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