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Plant invasion and speciation along elevational gradients on the oceanic island La Palma, Canary Islands.

ABSTRACT: Ecosystems that provide environmental opportunities but are poor in species and functional richness generally support speciation as well as invasion processes. These processes are expected not to be equally effective along elevational gradients due to specific ecological, spatial, and anthropogenic filters, thus controlling the dispersal and establishment of species. Here, we investigate speciation and invasion processes along elevational gradients. We assess the vascular plant species richness as well as the number and percentage of endemic species and non-native species systematically along three elevational gradients covering large parts of the climatic range of La Palma, Canary Islands. Species richness was negatively correlated with elevation, while the percentage of Canary endemic species showed a positive relationship. However, the percentage of Canary-Madeira endemics did not show a relationship with elevation. Non-native species richness (indicating invasion) peaked at 500 m elevation and showed a consistent decline until about 1,200 m elevation. Above that limit, no non-native species were present in the studied elevational gradients. Ecological, anthropogenic, and spatial filters control richness, diversification, and invasion with elevation. With increase in elevation, richness decreases due to species-area relationships. Ecological limitations of native ruderal species related to anthropogenic pressure are in line with the absence of non-native species from high elevations indicating directional ecological filtering. Increase in ecological isolation with elevation drives diversification and thus increased percentages of Canary endemics. The best preserved eastern transect, including mature laurel forests, is an exception. The high percentage of Canary-Madeira endemics indicates the cloud forest's environmental uniqueness-and thus ecological isolation-beyond the Macaronesian islands.

SUBMITTER: Steinbauer MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5243188 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Plant invasion and speciation along elevational gradients on the oceanic island La Palma, Canary Islands.

Steinbauer Manuel J MJ Irl Severin D H SD González-Mancebo Juana María JM Breiner Frank T FT Hernández-Hernández Raquel R Hopfenmüller Sebastian S Kidane Yohannes Y Jentsch Anke A Beierkuhnlein Carl C

Ecology and evolution 20161227 2

Ecosystems that provide environmental opportunities but are poor in species and functional richness generally support speciation as well as invasion processes. These processes are expected not to be equally effective along elevational gradients due to specific ecological, spatial, and anthropogenic filters, thus controlling the dispersal and establishment of species. Here, we investigate speciation and invasion processes along elevational gradients. We assess the vascular plant species richness ...[more]

PMID: 28116071

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Project description:Two Streptomyces strains, labeled as MZ03-37T and MZ03-48, were isolated from two different samples, a mucolite-type speleothem and a microbial mat on the walls of a lava tube from La Palma Island (Canary Islands). Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated sequences of six housekeeping genes indicated that both strains belonged to the same species. The closest relatives for both strains were Streptomyces palmae CMU-AB204T (98.71%), Streptomyces catenulae NRRL B-2342T (98.35%), and Streptomyces ramulosus NRRL B-2714T (98.35%). Multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA), based on five house-keeping gene alleles (i.e., atpD, gyrB, recA, rpoB, and trpB), indicated that both isolated strains were closely related to S. catenulae NRRL B-2342T. Whole-genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) scores of both strains were in the threshold value for species delineation with the closest species. Both strains presented a G+C content of 72.1 mol%. MZ03-37T was light brown in substrate and white in aerial mycelium, whereas MZ03-48 developed a black aerial and substrate mycelium. No pigment diffusion was observed in both strains. They grew at 10°C-37°C (optimum 28°C-32°C) and in the presence of up to 15% (w/v) NaCl. MZ03-37T grew at pH 5-10 (optimal 6-9), whereas MZ03-48 grew at pH 4-11 (optimal 5-10). LL-Diaminopimelic acid was the main diamino acid identified. The predominant fatty acids in both strains were iso-C16:0, anteiso-C15:0, C16:0, and iso-C14:0. The major isoprenoid quinones were MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8), and the main polar lipids were aminolipid, phospholipid, and phosphoglycolipid. In silico analyses for functional annotation predicted the presence of gene clusters involved in resistome mechanisms and in the synthesis of described antimicrobials such as linocin-M18 and curamycin, as well as different genes likely involved in mechanisms for active compound synthesis, both already described and not discovered so far. On the basis of their phylogenetic relatedness and their phenotypic and genotypic features, the strains MZ03-37T and MZ03-48 represented a novel species within the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces benahoarensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MZ03-37T (= CECT 9805 = DSMZ 8002); and MZ03-48 (= CECT 9806 = DSMZ 8011) is a reference strain.

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Dataset Information

Plant invasion and speciation along elevational gradients on the oceanic island La Palma, Canary Islands.

Publications

Plant invasion and speciation along elevational gradients on the oceanic island La Palma, Canary Islands.

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