Interspecific Functional Convergence and Divergence and Intraspecific Negative Density Dependence Underlie the Seed-to-Seedling Transition in Tropical Trees

Umaña, María Natalia; Forero‐Montaña, Jimena; Muscarella, Robert; Nytch, Christopher J.; Thompson, Jill; Uriarte, María; Zimmerman, Jess K.; Swenson, Nathan G.

doi:10.1086/684174

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…We included leaf nitrogen content (LNC, %), leaf phosphorus content (LPC, %) and leaf carbon content (LCC, %), leaf area (LA, cm 2 ), specific leaf area (SLA, cm 2 /g), maximum height for the species (H max , meters), seed mass (SM, grams), and wood density (WD, g/cm 3 ). These traits have been reported previously (Swenson & Umana, 2015;Swenson et al, 2012;Umaña et al, 2016) and are known to be closely related to resource acquisition and competitive ability (Wright et al, 2010). With the exception of LCC, WD, and SM, trait values were log transformed before standardisation to approximate normality.…”

Section: Functional Trait Data and Allometric Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree crown overlap improves predictions of the functional neighbourhood effects on tree survival and growth

et al. 2018

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Investigations of forest community structure and dynamics have been facilitated by the use of neighbourhood models that examine the interactions between a focal tree and its neighbours using a fixed radius. However, different studies have chosen different radii without clear reasons, hampering the understanding of mechanisms structuring tree communities. Using functional trait and tree demography data from the Luquillo subtropical forest in Puerto Rico, we compared fixed‐neighbourhood models with a canopy overlap model, in which tree crown overlap is used as an indicator of neighbourhood crowding. Analyses that combine functional trait and demographic data provide a mechanistic understanding of observed patterns of community structure and dynamics as they provide insights into the linkages between phenotypes and the environment. Overall, canopy overlap models had better support when compared to neighbourhood models using a fixed radius, suggesting that the fixed radius approach does not capture the full extent of competitive interactions among trees. Moreover, the effects of functional neighbourhood on tree survival and growth differ depending on the type of approach used and lead to different conclusions with respect to the drivers of tree community dynamics. Synthesis. In summary, our findings highlight the utility of neighbourhood models based on tree crown overlap, and suggest that applying this same approach to different plots and forests will facilitate comparisons across systems and improve our understanding of the mechanisms that drive the structure and dynamics of tree communities.

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Section: Functional Trait Data and Allometric Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree crown overlap improves predictions of the functional neighbourhood effects on tree survival and growth

et al. 2018

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“…This led ecologists to believe that CNDD is nearly ubiquitous among tropical plant species (Silvertown & Charlesworth 2001;Terborgh 2012), causing the paper to be cited more than 900 times and paving the way to a long series of similar studies (e.g. Hille Ris Lambers et al 2002;Bagchi et al 2014;Umana et al 2016;Krishnadas et al 2018).…”

Section: Box 2 the Estimation Of Cnddmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bias in the detection of negative density dependence in plant communities

et al. 2019

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Regression dilution is a statistical inference bias that causes underestimation of the strength of dependency between two variables when the predictors are error‐prone proxies (EPPs). EPPs are widely used in plant community studies focused on negative density‐dependence (NDD) to quantify competitive interactions. Because of the nature of the bias, conspecific NDD is often overestimated in recruitment analyses, and in some cases, can be erroneously detected when absent. In contrast, for survival analyses, EPPs typically cause NDD to be underestimated, but underestimation is more severe for abundant species and for heterospecific effects, thereby generating spurious negative relationships between the strength of NDD and the abundances of con‐ and heterospecifics. This can explain why many studies observed rare species to suffer more severely from conspecific NDD, and heterospecific effects to be disproportionally smaller than conspecific effects. In general, such species‐dependent bias is often related to traits associated with likely mechanisms of NDD, which creates false patterns and complicates the ecological interpretation of the analyses. Classic examples taken from literature and simulations demonstrate that this bias has been pervasive, which calls into question the emerging paradigm that intraspecific competition has been demonstrated by direct field measurements to be generally stronger than interspecific competition.

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“…Specifically, functional traits have been used by community ecologists to elucidate and decipher patterns of species richness, abundance, and demography over space and time (e.g., Kitajima 1994;Mulkey et al 1996;Swenson and Enquist 2007;Kraft et al 2008;Poorter et al 2008;Swenson and Enquist 2009;Wright et al 2010;Katabuchi et al 2012;Paine et al 2012;Baraloto et al 2012;Umaña et al 2016Umaña et al , 2017. For example, Swenson and Enquist (2007) published one of the first analyses of community-wide diversity of a functional trait, wood density, in co-occurring tropical tree species demonstrating that assemblages are more diverse in this trait than expected given their high species richness.…”

Section: Community Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional perspectives on tropical tree demography and forest dynamics

Worthy

Swenson

2019

Ecol Process

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Disentangling the processes that drive population, community and whole forest structure and dynamics is a challenge. It becomes a grand challenge in the tropics where there are a large number of species, small population sizes, less research infrastructure, and a relatively smaller number of researchers compared to the temperate zone. Tackling this grand challenge, we argue, requires detailed knowledge of the functioning of individuals and species. To this end, researchers frequently employ plant functional traits to study tree populations and communities. Here, we review this approach by first providing a basic background regarding the major trait axes generally of interest. We then discuss how these axes may be or have been applied from ecosystem to community and population studies. In doing so, we highlight where the functional trait research program has failed in tropical tree ecology and where it can be improved or strengthened. Finally, we provide a perspective regarding how functional trait and emerging 'omics approaches can be integrated to address large questions facing the field. Our intention throughout is to provide an entryway into this literature for an early career researcher rather than a comprehensive review of all possible studies that have taken place in tropical forests.

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Interspecific Functional Convergence and Divergence and Intraspecific Negative Density Dependence Underlie the Seed-to-Seedling Transition in Tropical Trees

Cited by 34 publications

References 56 publications

Tree crown overlap improves predictions of the functional neighbourhood effects on tree survival and growth

Tree crown overlap improves predictions of the functional neighbourhood effects on tree survival and growth

Bias in the detection of negative density dependence in plant communities

Functional perspectives on tropical tree demography and forest dynamics

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