Dataset Information

Higher clonal integration in the facultative epiphytic fern Selliguea griffithiana growing in the forest canopy compared with the forest understorey.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND AND AIMS:The advantage of clonal integration (resource sharing between connected ramets of clonal plants) varies and a higher degree of integration is expected in more stressful and/or more heterogeneous habitats. Clonal facultative epiphytes occur in both forest canopies (epiphytic habitats) and forest understories (terrestrial habitats). Because environmental conditions, especially water and nutrients, are more stressful and heterogeneous in the canopy than in the understorey, this study hypothesizes that clonal integration is more important for facultative epiphytes in epiphytic habitats than in terrestrial habitats. METHODS:In a field experiment, an examination was made of the effects of rhizome connection (connected vs. disconnected, i.e. with vs. without clonal integration) on survival and growth of single ramets, both young and old, of the facultative epiphytic rhizomatous fern Selliguea griffithiana (Polypodiaceae) in both epiphytic and terrestrial habitats. In another field experiment, the effects of rhizome connection on performance of ramets were tested in small (10?×?10 cm(2)) and large (20?×?20 cm(2)) plots in both epiphytic and terrestrial habitats. KEY RESULTS:Rhizome disconnection significantly decreased survival and growth of S. griffithiana in both experiments. The effects of rhizome disconnection on survival of single ramets and on ramet number and growth in plots were greater in epiphytic habitats than in terrestrial habitats. CONCLUSIONS:Clonal integration contributes greatly to performance of facultative epiphytic ferns, and the effects were more important in forest canopies than in forest understories. The results therefore support the hypothesis that natural selection favours genotypes with a higher degree of integration in more stressful and heterogeneous environments.

SUBMITTER: Lu HZ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4479749 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Higher clonal integration in the facultative epiphytic fern Selliguea griffithiana growing in the forest canopy compared with the forest understorey.

Lu Hua-Zheng HZ Liu Wen-Yao WY Yu Fei-Hai FH Song Liang L Xu Xing-Liang XL Wu Chuan-Sheng CS Zheng Yu-Long YL Li Yang-Ping YP Gong He-De HD Chen Ke K Li Su S Chen Xi X Qi Jin-Hua JH Lu Shu-Gang SG

Annals of botany 20150606 1

<h4>Background and aims</h4>The advantage of clonal integration (resource sharing between connected ramets of clonal plants) varies and a higher degree of integration is expected in more stressful and/or more heterogeneous habitats. Clonal facultative epiphytes occur in both forest canopies (epiphytic habitats) and forest understories (terrestrial habitats). Because environmental conditions, especially water and nutrients, are more stressful and heterogeneous in the canopy than in the understore ...[more]

PMID: 26050068

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Project description:Background and aimsThe role of deer (family Cervidae) in ecosystem functioning has traditionally been neglected by forest ecologists due to the animal's scarcity in most parts of the northern hemisphere. However, the dramatic rebound in deer populations throughout the 20th century has brought deer browsing to the forefront of forest ecological questioning. Today there is ample evidence that deer affect tree regeneration, understorey plant and animal diversity, and even litter decomposition. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of deer on forest ecosystems remain unclear. Among others, the relative role of abiotic factors versus biotic interactions (e.g. herbivory) in shaping plant assemblages remains largely unknown.MethodsWe used a large-scale experiment with exclosures distributed along abiotic gradients to understand the role of black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitchensis) on the forest understorey on the Haida Gwaii archipelago (western Canada), a unique context where most of the key ecological effects of deer presence have already been intensively studied.Key resultsOur results demonstrate that 20 years of deer exclusion resulted in a clear increase in vascular plant richness, diversity and cover, and caused a decline in bryophyte cover. Exclusion also unveiled abiotic (i.e. soil water availability and fertility) filtering of plant assemblages that would otherwise have been masked by the impact of abundant deer populations. However, deer exclusion did not lead to an increase in beta diversity, probably because some remnant species had a competitive advantage to regrow after decades of over browsing.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that long-term herbivory by deer can be a dominant factor structuring understorey plant communities that overwhelms abiotic factors. However, while exclosures prove useful to assess the overall effects of large herbivores, the results from our studies at broader scales on the Haida Gwaii archipelago suggest that exclosure experiments should be used cautiously when inferring the mechanisms at work.

Project description:Closely related species with overlapping geographic ranges encounter a significant challenge: they share many ecological traits and preferences but must partition resources to coexist. In Ontario, potentially eleven species of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) live together and require vertebrate carrion for reproduction. Their reliance on an ephemeral and uncommon resource that is unpredictable in space and time is thought to create intense intra- and interspecific competition. Evidence suggests that burying beetle species reduce competition by partitioning carrion for breeding across different habitats, temperatures, and seasons. Here, we test predictions of an alternative axis for partitioning carrion: vertical partitioning between the ground and forest canopy. We conducted a survey of carrion beetles from May to July 2016 at the Queen's University Biological Station across 50 randomly generated points using baited lethal traps at zero and six metres. Ground traps yielded more species and individuals compared to those in the canopy, and the number of individuals and species caught increased through the season in both trap types. Ground and canopy traps were accurately distinguished by the presence or absence of three species: ground traps contained more Nicrophorus orbicollis and Necrophila americana, while canopy traps contained more Nicrophorus pustulatus. We trapped 253 N. pustulatus in the canopy, but only 60 on the ground. N. pustulatus is thought to be rare across its geographic range, but our results suggest it is uniquely common in canopy habitats, demonstrating a vertical partitioning of habitat and resources. Our results are consistent with N. pustulatus having diverged into canopy habitats as a strategy to coexist with closely related sympatric species when competing for similar resources. We still, however, do not know the traits that allow N. pustulatus to flourish in the canopy, exactly how N. pustulatus uses canopy resources for breeding, or the factors that restrict the expansion of other burying beetles into this habitat.

Dataset Information

Higher clonal integration in the facultative epiphytic fern Selliguea griffithiana growing in the forest canopy compared with the forest understorey.

Publications

Higher clonal integration in the facultative epiphytic fern Selliguea griffithiana growing in the forest canopy compared with the forest understorey.

Similar Datasets

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