Inferring implications of climate change in south Florida hardwood hammocks through analysis of metacommunity structure

Ross, Michael S.; Sah, Jay P.; Ruiz, Pablo L.; Spitzig, Adam A.; Subedi, Suresh C.

doi:10.1111/ddi.12442

Cited by 9 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Contrary to our first prediction, we did not find that subtropical northern Bahamas and Florida supported a depauperate (nested) subset of Caribbean SDTF diversity. This is in contrast to nested patterns found over smaller spatial extents in response to habitat fragmentation (Ross, Sah, Ruiz, Spitzig, & Subedi, ). While the Bahamian archipelago is geologically young and does not support high levels of seed plant endemism (Acevedo‐Rodríguez & Strong, ), we found that SDTF composition in this northern subregion is distinct within the Caribbean Basin (Franklin et al., ), consistent with the climatic differences found there (Figure ; Fig.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

Geographical ecology of dry forest tree communities in the West Indies

Franklin

Andrade

Daniels

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) of the Caribbean Islands (primarily West Indies) is floristically distinct from Neotropical SDTF in Central and South America. We evaluate whether tree species composition was associated with climatic gradients or geographical distance. Turnover (dissimilarity) in species composition of different islands or among more distant sites would suggest communities structured by speciation and dispersal limitations. A nested pattern would be consistent with a steep resource gradient. Correlation of species composition with climatic variation would suggest communities structured by broad‐scale environmental filtering. Location The West Indies (The Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia), Providencia (Colombia), south Florida (USA) and Florida Keys (USA). Taxon Seed plants—woody taxa (primarily trees). Methods We compiled 572 plots from 23 surveys conducted between 1969 and 2016. Hierarchical clustering of species in plots, and indicator species analysis for the resulting groups of sites, identified geographical patterns of turnover in species composition. Nonparametric analysis of variance, applied to principal components of bioclimatic variables, determined the degree of covariation in climate with location. Nestedness versus turnover in species composition was evaluated using beta diversity partitioning. Generalized dissimilarity modelling partitioned the effect of climate versus geographical distance on species composition. Results Despite a set of commonly occurring species, SDTF tree community composition was distinct among islands and was characterized by spatial turnover on climatic gradients that covaried with geographical gradients. Greater Antillean islands were characterized by endemic indicator species. Northern subtropical areas supported distinct, rather than nested, SDTF communities in spite of low levels of endemism. Main conclusions The SDTF species composition was correlated with climatic variation. SDTF on large Greater Antillean islands (Hispaniola, Jamaica and Cuba) was characterized by endemic species, consistent with their geological history and the biogeography of plant lineages. These results suggest that both environmental filtering and speciation shape Caribbean SDTF tree communities.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

Geographical ecology of dry forest tree communities in the West Indies

Franklin

Andrade

Daniels

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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“…In high‐resource sites such as in marsh hammocks, where moisture and nutrients are more abundant, trees exhibit traits that allow them to grow rapidly in height (high SLA and low wood specific gravity), supporting earlier observations describing early successional species (Ross et al. , Subedi et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Moreover, a wide distribution of few species (e.g., Bursera simaruba , Sideroxylon salicifolia, Eugenia foetida , E. axillaris ) across the whole region provides evidence of a nested metacommunity pattern (Ross et al. ), coupled with high intraspecific trait variation in these species (Appendix : Fig. S3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for trait‐based community assembly patterns in hardwood hammock forests

et al. 2019

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The hardwood forests of south Florida, commonly referred to as hammocks, persist as well‐drained patches of broadleaf forest, embedded in a matrix of brackish water swamp, freshwater marsh, or pineland. Little is known about the patterns of community assembly of these subtropical forest communities in the landscape mosaic of south Florida. We used a functional trait approach to understand the composition of these communities and their responses to environmental variation across four areas of south Florida: the pine rocklands and freshwater marshes in Everglades National Park, and the lower and upper Florida Keys, where the hammocks are surrounded by halophytic swamp communities. These sites represent an environmental gradient from less‐productive, more xeric sites in the lower Florida Keys, to more‐productive, wetter sites in the Everglades marshes. We examined the patterns of trait variation at three levels (individual, population, and community) to examine the underlying processes driving assembly in these hammock communities. To understand processes governing community composition in each site, we used methods that partition variance in six traits (maximum tree height, specific leaf area, wood specific gravity, leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus, and leaf stable carbon isotope ratios) into internal and external filtering components. Community‐weighted mean trait values for three traits (specific leaf area, height, and leaf phosphorus) increased significantly from dry, less‐productive coastal sites in the Florida Keys to the moist, more‐productive areas on the mainland, while wood specific gravity and leaf δ13C showed the opposite pattern. For one or more traits per site, standardized effect sizes differed significantly from null expectation. Processes such as competition for resources (e.g., water, nutrients, light) and species sorting across microhabitats (i.e., within site) operate to increase local functional trait variation within communities and among species across sites. External filtering on individuals for height and leaf phosphorus differed significantly from null expectations across sites, while external filtering on species was only observed for specific leaf area, maximum tree height, and leaf phosphorus. These results are consistent with strong environmental filtering across the region, among local communities differing in freshwater accessibility or that occupy different positions along strong edaphic gradients. Our results confirm the importance of intraspecific variation among species and reflect a high degree of trait plasticity across the environmental gradient.

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“…, Ross et al. ). In their seed dispersal activities, birds and animals move easily across the whole forest exploiting most or all available habitat (Humphrey , Strong and Bancroft ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait‐based community assembly pattern along a forest succession gradient in a seasonally dry tropical forest

et al. 2019

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We aimed to determine the important functional dimensions that may drive forest succession and community assembly patterns in dry tropical forests. We investigated whether there were patterns in specific functional strategies during succession in the dry tropical forests of the Florida Keys, whose unique physical setting includes nutrient‐stressed, salt‐stressed, and water‐limited environments. The study, which focused on ten traits, determined the leading trait dimensions by which species differentiate from one another in the study area. The general patterns of trait covariation at individual sites and among species were analyzed using principal component analysis. Trait niche overlap indices were calculated for all species sampled across all plots. Evidence for/against likely community assembly processes was tested using the coefficient of heterogeneity to determine whether variation within and among five key traits was clustered, random, or evenly distributed across young, old, or all measured forest stands. A combination of plant architecture, wood density, and three leaf traits (specific leaf area, leaf phosphorus, and leaf nitrogen) comprised a key set of functional traits that are important for understanding the community assembly process in dry tropical forest. Older forest stands were dominated by species with low specific area, low leaf nitrogen content, dense wood, and deeper and narrower canopies. Trees of old forests had leaves with lighter carbon isotope composition, suggesting that such individuals were making more efficient use of scarce water. Tests of trait distributions showed significant clustering across forests of all ages. When individual trait distributions in old stands were tested, they displayed either randomly or evenly distributed traits across trait niche space, indicating that resource partitioning was predominant in shaping community composition. Physical traits of trees in young communities are associated with resource acquisitive strategies, while old communities are dominated by species with traits that enhance survival in environments defined by competition or chronic resource scarcity.

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Inferring implications of climate change in south Florida hardwood hammocks through analysis of metacommunity structure

Cited by 9 publications

References 51 publications

Geographical ecology of dry forest tree communities in the West Indies

Geographical ecology of dry forest tree communities in the West Indies

Evidence for trait‐based community assembly patterns in hardwood hammock forests

Trait‐based community assembly pattern along a forest succession gradient in a seasonally dry tropical forest

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