Aims Understanding the relative importance of historical and environ-mental processes in the structure and composition of communities is one of the longest quests in ecological research.Increasingly,researchers are re...Aims Understanding the relative importance of historical and environ-mental processes in the structure and composition of communities is one of the longest quests in ecological research.Increasingly,researchers are relying on the functional and phylogeneticβ-diversity of natural communities to provide concise explanations on the mechanistic basis of community assembly and the drivers of trait variation among species.The present study investigated how plant functional and phylogeneticβ-diversity change along key environmental and spatial gradients in the Western Swiss Alps.Methods Using the quadratic diversity measure based on six functional traits-specific leaf area,leaf dry matter content,plant height,leaf carbon content,leaf nitrogen content and leaf carbon to nitrogen content alongside a species-resolved phylogenetic tree-we relate variations in climate,spatial geographic,land use and soil gradients to plant functional and phylogenetic turnover in mountain commu-nities of the Western Swiss Alps.Important Findings Our study highlights two main points.First,climate and land-use factors play an important role in mountain plant community turnover.Second,the overlap between plant functional and phy-logenetic turnover along these gradients correlates with the low phylogenetic signal in traits,suggesting that in mountain land-scapes,trait lability is likely an important factor in driving plant community assembly.Overall,we demonstrate the importance of climate and land-use factors in plant functional and phyloge-netic community turnover and provide valuable complementary insights into understanding patterns ofβ-diversity along several ecological gradients.展开更多
We studied the influence of surveyed area size on density estimates by means of camera-trapping in a low-density felid population(1-2 individuals/100 km^(2)).We applied non-spatial capture-recapture(CR)and spatial CR(...We studied the influence of surveyed area size on density estimates by means of camera-trapping in a low-density felid population(1-2 individuals/100 km^(2)).We applied non-spatial capture-recapture(CR)and spatial CR(SCR)models for Eurasian lynx during winter 2005/2006 in the northwestern Swiss Alps by sampling an area divided into 5 nested plots ranging from 65 to 760 km^(2).CR model density estimates(95%CI)for models M_(0)and M_(h)decreased from 2.61(1.55-3.68)and 3.6(1.62-5.57)independent lynx/100 km^(2),respectively,in the smallest to 1.20(1.04-1.35)and 1.26(0.89-1.63)independent lynx/100 km^(2),respectively,in the largest area surveyed.SCR model density estimates also decreased with increasing sampling area but not significantly.High individual range overlaps in relatively small areas(the edge effect)is the most plausible reason for this positive bias in the CR models.Our results confirm that SCR models are much more robust to changes in trap array size than CR models,thus avoiding overestimation of density in smaller areas.However,when a study is concerned with monitoring population changes,large spatial efforts(area surveyed≥760 km^(2))are required to obtain reliable and precise density estimates with these population densities and recapture rates.展开更多
Aims Effects of climate change,especially changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns,are particularly pronounced in alpine regions.In response,plants may exhibit phenotypic plasticity in key functional traits ...Aims Effects of climate change,especially changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns,are particularly pronounced in alpine regions.In response,plants may exhibit phenotypic plasticity in key functional traits allowing short-term adjustment to novel conditions.However,little is known about the degree of pheno-typic plasticity of high elevation species relative to mid elevation congeners.Methods We transplanted 14 herbaceous perennial species from high eleva-tion into two common gardens(1050 and 2000 m.a.s.l.)in the Swiss Alps,and we examined plastic responses in key functional traits to changes in temperature and soil water availability.This design was replicated with 14 congeneric species from mid elevation to assess if the degree of phenotypic plasticity differs between mid and high elevation species.Survival was assessed across two growing seasons,while aboveground biomass and specific leaf area(SLA)were measured after the first growing season,and biomass alloca-tion to belowground and reproductive structures after the second.Moreover,a phenotypic plasticity index was calculated for the func-tional traits to compare the degree of plasticity between mid and high elevation species.Important Findings Aboveground biomass was higher in mid elevation species relative to high elevation congeners in all treatments,yet decreased for both with elevation and drought.Similarly,SLA decreased with elevation and drought.Root mass fraction(RMF)was generally higher in high ele-vation species,and decreased with drought at the lower site.Drought increased the allocation to reproductive structures,especially when plants were grown at their elevation of origin.Interestingly,no differ-ence was found in the degree of phenotypic plasticity averaged across mid and high elevation species for any of the studied functional traits.These results indicate that phenotypic plasticity in the focal traits did not depend on the elevation of origin of the species.Plasticity was not related to environmental heterogeneity,nor constrained by selective pressures at high elevation.However,both species groups showed a remarkable capacity for short-term acclimation to a prospective cli-mate through rapid adjustments in key functional traits.展开更多
基金Fellowship grant from the Faculty of Biology and Medicine University of Lausanne,Switzerland.
文摘Aims Understanding the relative importance of historical and environ-mental processes in the structure and composition of communities is one of the longest quests in ecological research.Increasingly,researchers are relying on the functional and phylogeneticβ-diversity of natural communities to provide concise explanations on the mechanistic basis of community assembly and the drivers of trait variation among species.The present study investigated how plant functional and phylogeneticβ-diversity change along key environmental and spatial gradients in the Western Swiss Alps.Methods Using the quadratic diversity measure based on six functional traits-specific leaf area,leaf dry matter content,plant height,leaf carbon content,leaf nitrogen content and leaf carbon to nitrogen content alongside a species-resolved phylogenetic tree-we relate variations in climate,spatial geographic,land use and soil gradients to plant functional and phylogenetic turnover in mountain commu-nities of the Western Swiss Alps.Important Findings Our study highlights two main points.First,climate and land-use factors play an important role in mountain plant community turnover.Second,the overlap between plant functional and phy-logenetic turnover along these gradients correlates with the low phylogenetic signal in traits,suggesting that in mountain land-scapes,trait lability is likely an important factor in driving plant community assembly.Overall,we demonstrate the importance of climate and land-use factors in plant functional and phyloge-netic community turnover and provide valuable complementary insights into understanding patterns ofβ-diversity along several ecological gradients.
基金supported by the Federal Office for the Environment.
文摘We studied the influence of surveyed area size on density estimates by means of camera-trapping in a low-density felid population(1-2 individuals/100 km^(2)).We applied non-spatial capture-recapture(CR)and spatial CR(SCR)models for Eurasian lynx during winter 2005/2006 in the northwestern Swiss Alps by sampling an area divided into 5 nested plots ranging from 65 to 760 km^(2).CR model density estimates(95%CI)for models M_(0)and M_(h)decreased from 2.61(1.55-3.68)and 3.6(1.62-5.57)independent lynx/100 km^(2),respectively,in the smallest to 1.20(1.04-1.35)and 1.26(0.89-1.63)independent lynx/100 km^(2),respectively,in the largest area surveyed.SCR model density estimates also decreased with increasing sampling area but not significantly.High individual range overlaps in relatively small areas(the edge effect)is the most plausible reason for this positive bias in the CR models.Our results confirm that SCR models are much more robust to changes in trap array size than CR models,thus avoiding overestimation of density in smaller areas.However,when a study is concerned with monitoring population changes,large spatial efforts(area surveyed≥760 km^(2))are required to obtain reliable and precise density estimates with these population densities and recapture rates.
基金This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation(3100A-135611)to J.Stöcklin.
文摘Aims Effects of climate change,especially changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns,are particularly pronounced in alpine regions.In response,plants may exhibit phenotypic plasticity in key functional traits allowing short-term adjustment to novel conditions.However,little is known about the degree of pheno-typic plasticity of high elevation species relative to mid elevation congeners.Methods We transplanted 14 herbaceous perennial species from high eleva-tion into two common gardens(1050 and 2000 m.a.s.l.)in the Swiss Alps,and we examined plastic responses in key functional traits to changes in temperature and soil water availability.This design was replicated with 14 congeneric species from mid elevation to assess if the degree of phenotypic plasticity differs between mid and high elevation species.Survival was assessed across two growing seasons,while aboveground biomass and specific leaf area(SLA)were measured after the first growing season,and biomass alloca-tion to belowground and reproductive structures after the second.Moreover,a phenotypic plasticity index was calculated for the func-tional traits to compare the degree of plasticity between mid and high elevation species.Important Findings Aboveground biomass was higher in mid elevation species relative to high elevation congeners in all treatments,yet decreased for both with elevation and drought.Similarly,SLA decreased with elevation and drought.Root mass fraction(RMF)was generally higher in high ele-vation species,and decreased with drought at the lower site.Drought increased the allocation to reproductive structures,especially when plants were grown at their elevation of origin.Interestingly,no differ-ence was found in the degree of phenotypic plasticity averaged across mid and high elevation species for any of the studied functional traits.These results indicate that phenotypic plasticity in the focal traits did not depend on the elevation of origin of the species.Plasticity was not related to environmental heterogeneity,nor constrained by selective pressures at high elevation.However,both species groups showed a remarkable capacity for short-term acclimation to a prospective cli-mate through rapid adjustments in key functional traits.
