Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : Holothuria atra is the most common aspidochirotid holothurian on tropical Indo-Pacific reefs, Asexual reproduction by transverse fission, followed by regeneration, has been studied at Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) and compared with different populations of the Indo-Pacific zone, thus permitting a better identification of the most significant parameters and a better understanding of this reproductive strategy. At Reunion Island, the species is studied at two stations on the same fringing reef: 1) on the back-reef where the fission rate is high (20 % of the population), the individuals small (generally weighting less than 150 g) and the population density high (4/m(2)); and 2) on the reef front, where fission is extremely rare, the mean size of the individuals larger (up to 300 g) and the density low (0.01/m(2)), Different categories of individuals, fissioning (F), after fission, anterior and posterior parts (A and P), and regenerating (Ap and Pa) have been identified from external observations. Dissection has demonstrated the unequal allocation of organs during fission and the variability of the regenerative states, mostly in the anterior part. Concerning fission, the position of the split in an individual is in the anterior half (at 44 % of the total length). The monthly incidence of fission is higher from October to January and in June-July. Fission does not result in an increase in the density of the population. The monthly rates of regenerating individuals originating from anterior (3.7 %) and posterior (5.1 %) parts suggest that survival is higher in the latter instance. The occurrence of asexual reproduction in various populations of this species is discussed in relation to the ecology and the parameters of the populations considered. On the back-reef studied at Reunion Island, the population is subtidal and emersion cannot explain fission. Anthropogenic disturbances are possible triggers of this phenomenon.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1996 , Vol. 19 , N. 3-4 , P. 209-216

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00094/20479/18149.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00094/20479/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Questions: Several studies have described aggregated spatial patterns in tropical tree species. This study investigates aggregate dynamics of Vouacapoua americana (Aublet), a climax species whose spatial pattern is not simply related to light and soil conditions or to its short seed dispersal range. Location: Two rain forest sites: Nouragues and Paracou, in the Guiana Shield. Methods: We described the spatial pattern of tree locations and spatial autocorrelation of tree diameters, using statistics derived from Ripley's K. We particularly used methods to define analysis subplots according to local density or local mean diameter. We investigated relationships between spatial distributions of adults and saplings. Results: At both sites, populations of Vouacapoua demonstrated several nested levels of aggregation. Tree diameters were spatially autocorrelated, revealing the existence of clusters with similar diameters. In the largest aggregates, tree diameters declined from the centre to the edge. Regeneration was aggregated and occurred mainly at cluster edges and around rare isolated trees, and sapling densities and basal area of adults were negatively correlated. We show that long-distance dispersal events are rare. Conclusions: Environmental factors and seed dispersal only explain part of the observed spatial patterns. We provide two main hypotheses about Vouacapoua population dynamics. First, the lack of regeneration in aggregate centres results in the ageing of existing aggregates. We suggest that this lack of recruitment close to mature trees is due to a Janzen-Connell effect. However, aggregates can continue to grow along colonization fronts. Second, long-distance dispersal events allow the formation of new clusters and play a crucial role in the colonization process. We investigate aggregate dynamics of Vouacapoua americana (Aublet) whose spatial pattern is not simply related to environmental conditions or to its seed dispersal. Regeneration does not occur in centers of aggregate of adults. We suggest that rare long-distance dispersal events and density-dependence predation of seeds and seedlings play a crucial role in formation of new clusters and structuration of larger aggregates.
ISSN: 1100-9233

hal-01502642
https://hal-agroparistech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01502642
DOI : 10.1111/jvs.12080

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Gravitropism is a major process in vertical growth as it allows the positioning of plant in the gravity field and thus, for trees, it takes part in the light foraging strategies. Without any gravitropism, trees would adopt a weeping habit or fall on the ground due to the increasing with growth supported weight, especially at the advance regeneration stage (sapling stage) in the understorey, where tree are very slender and poorly stiff. Most of the gravitropic studies are made by physiologists in order to understand the process and thus are associated to complex laboratory methods (genetic engineering, anatomical studies, accurate 2D ou 3D measurements of form changes with time). In order to study the ecological relevance and the specific diversity of gravitropic performances in natural forests, we developed a framework that uses different kinds of datas. Synchronical analysis has been done i) at the population level in large sample of trees and ii) at the tree level from destructive measurement of the dissymmetry maturation strains known to be the main motor of the posture control reaction of trees. In both cases, biomechanical models allows to estimate some aspects of the dynamic gravitropic process. Diachronical analysis has been done in natural conditions on permanent plots, or in a more traditional way, by observing in greenhouse experiments the righting movements of plants artificially tilted. In the first case, the problem is the high variability of natural disturbances and the slowness of growth and movements in the dark understorey. The second choice allows a measurement of a capacity (i.e. the ability of the species to react in quite extreme conditions of verticality disturbance but good for growth light and nutrient conditions) that is more easy to analyse, but is maybe not so relevant for estimating the ecological strategy (some species could have developed a high efficience of gravitropic reaction in natural conditions by avoiding the mechanical disturbance or adapting the reaction to slow growth and changing environments in natural conditions). All approaches use the same basic biomechanical modelling, i) to analyse simultaneously the reaction and the disturbance (due to the weight increase) during growth, or ii) to combine different parameters (geometry, growth, weight, maturation strains) involved in shape changes and posture control. They give a classification of the species according to their gravitropic performances. Results on 15 species are discussed, with relation to shade-tolerance or avoidance.
6th Plant Biomechanics Conference
Cayenne, France

hal-00565956
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00565956

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : 1- We examined among- and within-species effects of seed mass for seedling establishment from seed to 5 years of age in a field experiment at Paracou, French Guiana. 2- Six seeds of each of eight species were weighed and planted into each of 120 plots (1 m2) throughout closed-canopy forest along 12 100-m transects in 1998. 3- We described the microhabitat of each planting site using principal components derived from measurements of light availability, soil moisture, carbon and nitrogen content, and soil phosphorus availability. Although both survival and relative growth rate (RGR) increased with increasing light availability, no other microhabitat variable significantly affected seedling performance. Nor did the magnitude of microhabitat effects on survival or RGR differ among species. 4- Larger-seeded species were more likely to survive from germination to 1 year as well as from 1 to 5 years of age. RGR for seedling height during the first year post-germination was not related to seed mass, but smaller-seeded species did grow slightly faster thereafter. Path analyses revealed that correlations between seed mass and performance were explained in part because larger seeds produced larger initial seedlings, which tended to survive better but grow more slowly. 5- We also analysed within-species effects of seed mass for the larger-seeded Eperua grandiflora and Vouacapoua americana (both Caesalpiniaceae). Larger seeds produced larger seedlings in both species, but larger seeds survived better only for Eperua. Larger seedlings grew more slowly in both species, but did not offset the early (Eperua) and later (Vouacapoua) positive direct effects of seed mass on RGR that may represent contrasting strategies for reserve deployment. 6- Our results demonstrate that seed size influences performance within and among species in part because of indirect effects of initial seedling size. However, we suggest that traits tightly correlated with seed mass at the species level, such as specific leaf area, leaf longevity and photosynthetic capacity, may also contribute to interspecific performance differences.
ISSN: 0022-0477

hal-01031089
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01031089
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01041.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Botanical Society of America
Résumé :  
To investigate the existence of coordinated sets of seedling traits adapted to contrasting establishment conditions, we examined evolutionary convergence in seedling traits for 299 French Guianan woody plant species and the stress response in a shadehouse of species representing seed size gradients within five major cotyledon morphology types. The French Guianan woody plant community has larger seeds than other tropical forest communities and the largest proportion of hypogeal cotyledon type (59.2%) reported for tropical forests. Yet the community includes many species with intermediate size seeds that produce seedlings with different cotyledonal morphologies. A split-plot factorial design with two light levels (0.8% and 16.1% PAR) and four damage treatments (control, seed damage, leaf damage, stem damage) was used in the shadehouse experiment. Although larger-seeded species had higher survival and slower growth, these patterns were better explained by cotyledon type than by seed mass. Even larger-seeded species with foliar cotyledons grew faster than species with reserve-type cotyledons, and survival after stem grazing was five times higher in seedlings with hypogeal cotyledons than with epigeal cotyledons. Thus, to predict seedling performance using seed size, seedling morphology must also be considered.
ISSN: 0002-9122

hal-01032177
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032177
DOI : 10.3732/ajb.94.6.901

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The main biological function of reaction wood is to act as “muscle” for trees, enabling them to control their posture and right stems when they are permanently disturbed from their set-point inclination by gravity or winds. The key property to achieve this function is the development of high mechanical stress during the formation of reaction wood cells, called “maturation strains”. Moreover, this function is basically performed through the asymmetric formation of wood (in quantity or quality) around the tree circumference. This asymmetry enables stems to bend upward or to compensate for the downward bending induced by gravity, as an asymmetric force associated to maturation strains creates a bending moment (i.e. one side of the stem “pulls” the other one). We will discuss the traits (cross sectional size and shape, wood features as G fibers or microfibril angle, eccentric growth even in usual or extreme cases as buttresses, total biomass growth and height of center of mass, stem lean and set-point angle) involved to understand how the posture control works. We will give simple formulas to estimate a “muscle efficiency” from biomechanical modeling. We will give practical methods to estimate all the involved traits, especially maturation strains from direct and indirect measurements, in peripheral functional wood or by retrospective dendrochronological analysis. Then, we will illustrate how tree stem tropisms and especially gravitropism, widely studied by physiologists, are key processes in natural ecosystems, through practical examples from tropical rainforest tree communities and regeneration of European mixed beech forests. Using the previous definition of postural control efficiency, we will show that the cross section size is rapidly a limiting factor, opposing the extreme strategies of flexible small stems, which bend easily but also right themselves quickly, to stiff big stems. Lastly, as wood in living trees ensures general storage, defence, vascular and skeletal functions, we will ask general questions about synergies and trade-offs between posture control and other functions.
Botany 2014 : new frontiers in botany
Boise, United States

hal-01627031
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01627031