Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : We investigated performance trade-offs among seedlings of nine tropical tree species during a five-year field experiment. Seedlings were grown in eight microhabitat types composed of paired gap and shaded understory sites in each of four soil types. We defined performance trade-offs relevant to coexistence as significant pairwise rank reversals for species performance between contrasting situations, of which we characterize three types: microhabitat, fitness component, and ontogenetic. Only 2 of 36 species pairs exhibited microhabitat trade-offs or reversed rankings for survival or relative growth rate (RGR) among microhabitats, and only one species pair reversed performance ranks among soil types. We found stronger evidence for rank reversals between fitness components (survival and RGR), particularly in gap vs. understory environments, suggesting a general trade-off between shade tolerance (survival in shade) and gap establishment (RGR in gaps). Third, the most frequent rank reversals between species pairs occurred between early and later ontogenetic stages, especially between fitness components in contrasting microhabitats. Overall, 15 of 36 pairs of potentially competing species exhibited some type of seedling performance trade-off, two species pairs never outperformed one another, and for 19 species pairs one species was a consistent better performer. We suggest that ontogenetic trade-offs, in concert with microhabitat and fitness component trade-offs, may contribute to species coexistence of long-lived organisms such as tropical trees.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01031914
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01031914

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few 'hyperdominant' species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing and producing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carbon cycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits. We find that dominance of forest function is even more concentrated in a few species than is dominance of tree abundance, with only ≈1% of Amazon tree species responsible for 50% of carbon storage and productivity. Although those species that contribute most to biomass and productivity are often abundant, species maximum size is also influential, while the identity and ranking of dominant species varies by function and by region.
ISSN: 2041-1723

hal-01204225
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204225
DOI : 10.1038/ncomms7857
PRODINRA : 305614
PUBMED : 25919449

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Cross-species analyses of plant functional traits have shed light on factors contributing to differences in performance and distribution, but to date most studies have focused on either leaves or stems. We extend these tissue-specific analyses of functional strategy towards a whole-plant approach by integrating data on functional traits for 13 448 leaves and wood tissues from 4672 trees representing 668 species of Neotropical trees. Strong correlations amongst traits previously defined as the leaf economics spectrum reflect a tradeoff between investments in productive leaves with rapid turnover vs. costly physical leaf structure with a long revenue stream. A second axis of variation, the 'stem economics spectrum', defines a similar tradeoff at the stem level: dense wood vs. high wood water content and thick bark. Most importantly, these two axes are orthogonal, suggesting that tradeoffs operate independently at the leaf and at the stem levels. By simplifying the multivariate ecological strategies of tropical trees into positions along these two spectra, our results provide a basis to improve global vegetation models predicting responses of tropical forests to global change.
ISSN: 1461-023X

hal-00594040
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00594040

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : [b]Aim[/b][br/] Many tropical tree species have poorly delimited taxonomic boundaries and contain undescribed or cryptic species. We examined the genetic structure of a species complex in the tree genus Carapa in the Neotropics in order to evaluate age, geographic patterns of diversity and evolutionary relationships, and to quantify levels of introgression among currently recognized species.[br/] [br/] [b]Location[/b][br/] Lowland moist forests in the Guiana Shield, the Central and Western Amazon Basin, Chocó and Central America.[br/] [br/] [b]Methods[/b][br/] Genetic structure was analysed using seven nuclear simple sequence repeats (nuSSR), five chloroplast SSRs (cpSSR), and two chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) intergenic sequences (trnH-psbA and trnC-ycf6). Bayesian clustering analysis of the SSR data was used to infer population genetic structure and to assign 324 samples to their most likely genetic cluster. Bayesian coalescence analyses were performed on the two cpDNA markers to estimate evolutionary relationships and divergence times.[br/] [br/] [b]Results[/b][br/] Two genetic clusters (nu_guianensis and nu_surinamensis) were detected, which correspond to the Neotropical species C. guianensis (sensu latu) and C. surinamensis. Fourteen cpDNA haplotypes clustered into six haplogroups distributed between the two nuclear genetic clusters. Divergence between the haplogroups was initiated in the Miocene, with some haplotype structure evolving as recently as the Pleistocene. The absence of complete lineage sorting between the nuclear and chloroplast genomes and the presence of hybrid individuals suggest that interspecific reproductive barriers are incomplete. NuSSR diversity was highest in C. guianensis and, within C. guianensis, cpDNA diversity was highest in the Central and Western Amazon Basin. Regional genetic differentiation was strong but did not conform to an isolation-by-distance process or exhibit a phylogeographical signal.[br/] [br/] [b]Main conclusions[/b][br/] The biogeographical history of Neotropical Carapa appears to have been influenced by events that took place during the Neogene. Our results point to an Amazonian centre of origin and diversification of Neotropical Carapa, with subsequent migration to the Pacific coast of South America and Central America. Gene flow apparently occurs among species, and introgression events are supported by inconsistencies between chloroplast and nuclear lineage sorting. The absence of phylogeographical structure may be a result of the ineffectiveness of geographical barriers among populations and of reproductive isolation mechanisms among incipient and cryptic species in this species complex.
ISSN: 0305-0270

hal-01032395
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032395
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02678.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : National audience
7èmes Journées Scientifiques du CNFRA
Paris, France

hal-01111171
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01111171

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
1. Despite considerable interest in the application of plant functional traits to questions of community assembly and ecosystem structure and function, there is no consensus on the appropriateness of sampling designs to obtain plot-level estimates in diverse plant communities. 2. We measured 10 plant functional traits describing leaf and stem morphology and ecophysiology for all trees in nine 1-ha plots in terra firme lowland tropical rain forests of French Guiana (N = 4709). 3.We calculated, by simulation, the mean and variance in trait values for each plot and each trait expected under seven sampling methods and a range of sampling intensities. Simulated sampling methods included a variety of spatial designs, as well as the application of existing data base values to all individuals of a given species. 4. For each trait in each plot, we defined a performance index for each sampling design as the proportion of resampling events that resulted in observed means within 5% of the true plot mean, and observed variance within 20%of the true plot variance. 5. The relative performance of sampling designs was consistent for estimations of means and variances. Data base use had consistently poor performance for most traits across all plots, whereas sampling one individual per species per plot resulted in relatively high performance. We found few differences among different spatial sampling strategies; however, for a given strategy, increased intensity of sampling resulted in markedly improved accuracy in estimates of trait mean and variance. 6. We also calculated the financial cost of each sampling design based on data from our 'every individual per plot' strategy and estimated the sampling and botanical effort required. The relative performance of designs was strongly positively correlated with relative financial cost, suggesting that sampling investment returns are relatively constant. 7. Our results suggest that trait sampling for many objectives in species-rich plant communities may require the considerable effort of sampling at least one individual of each species in each plot, and that investment in complete sampling, though great, may be worthwhile for at least some traits.
ISSN: 0269-8463

hal-00594009
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00594009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : [b]Aim[/b][br/] [br/] The phylogeographical history of Neotropical species can be difficult to reconstruct because of superimposed Neogene and Quaternary histories, and because of taxonomic uncertainty. We analysed range-wide genetic diversity in a widespread pioneer tree species, Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D. Don, to characterize phylogeographical structure, date the evolutionary relationships among lineages, and evaluate the role of dispersal and vicariance in establishing the present geographical range.[br/] [br/] [br/] [b]Location[/b][br/] [br/] Guiana Shield; central, southern and western Amazon Basin; Chocó region; Central America.[br/] [br/] [br/] [b]Methods[/b][br/] [br/] We analysed nine nuclear simple sequence repeat loci (nuSSR), eight chloroplast SSRs (cpSSR), and two cpDNA intergenic sequences in 341 adult trees. Genetic differentiation at nuSSRs was inferred using Bayesian clustering. Dating of chloroplast lineage divergence was obtained using a range of published mutation rates and Bayesian coalescence analyses. Population divergence dating was performed using an isolation-with-migration model for eight loci (one cp sequence and seven nuSSRs).[br/] [br/] [br/] [b]Results[/b][br/] [br/] Nuclear SSR variation identified three geographically overlapping clusters (nu-1, nu-2, nu-3). Twelve cpDNA haplotypes were clustered into two haplogroups (cp-1, cp-2) with the central Amazon harbouring the highest diversity. Molecular dating analysis suggests that cpDNA haplotype diversification started around the end of the Pliocene (2.61 Ma on average), whereas population divergence was more recent and occurred during the mid-Quaternary (point estimates between 357 and 436 ka).[br/] [br/] [br/] [b]Main conclusions[/b][br/] [br/] The genetic variation of J. copaia in the Neotropics was shaped mainly by Pleistocene events. Chloroplast diversity did not display the expected cis/trans Andean disjunction, indicating recent dispersal. Nuclear variation revealed that separate regions share a recent history, with a centre of diversity in the central Amazon Basin. The geographical pattern of diversity is congruent with the distribution of the two subspecies, J. copaia copaia and J. copaia spectabilis, and evidence of nuSSR admixture between the two taxa supports their classification as subspecies.
ISSN: 0305-0270

hal-01032410
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032410
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02797.x