Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology

Coelho de Souza, Fernanda, Dexter, Kyle G., Phillips, Oliver L., Brienen, Roel J.W., Chave, Jerome, Galbraith, David R., Lopez Gonzalez, Gabriela, Monteagudo Mendoza, Abel, Pennington, R. Toby, Poorter, Lourens, Alexiades, Miguel, Álvarez-Dávila, Esteban, Andrade, Ana, Aragão, Luis E.O.C., Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro, Arets, Eric J.M.M., Aymard C, Gerardo A., Baraloto, Christopher, Barroso, Jorcely G., Bonal, Damien, Boot, Rene G.A., Camargo, José L.C., Comiskey, James A., Valverde, Fernando Cornejo, de Camargo, Plínio B., Di Fiore, Anthony, Elias, Fernando, Erwin, Terry L., Feldpausch, Ted R., Ferreira, Leandro, Fyllas, Nikolaos M., Gloor, Emanuel, Herault, Bruno, Herrera, Rafael, Higuchi, Niro, Honorio Coronado, Eurídice N., Killeen, Timothy J., Laurance, William F., Laurance, Susan, Lloyd, Jon, Lovejoy, Thomas E., Malhi, Yadvinder, Maracahipes, Leandro, Marimon, Beatriz S., Marimon-Junior, Ben H., Mendoza, Casimiro, Morandi, Paulo, Neill, David A., Vargas, Percy Núñez, Oliveira, Edmar A., Lenza, Eddie, Palacios, Walter A., Peñuela-Mora, Maria C., Pipoly, John J., Pitman, Nigel C.A., Prieto, Adriana, Quesada, Carlos A., Ramirez-Angulo, Hirma, Rudas, Agustin, Ruokolainen, Kalle, Salomão, Rafael P., Silveira, Marcos, Stropp, Juliana, ter Steege, Hans, Thomas-Caesar, Raquel, van der Hout, Peter, van der Heijden, Geertje M.F., van der Meer, Peter J., Vasquez, Rodolfo V., Vieira, Simone A., Vilanova, Emilio, Vos, Vincent A., Wang, Ophelia, Young, Kenneth R., Zagt, Roderick J. and Baker, Timothy R. (2016) Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283 (1844). p. 20161587. ISSN 1471-2954

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Abstract

Lineages tend to retain ecological characteristics of their ancestors through time. However, for some traits, selection during evolutionary history may have also played a role in determining trait values. To address the relative importance of these processes requires large-scale quantification of traits and evolutionary relationships among species. The Amazonian tree flora comprises a high diversity of angiosperm lineages and species with widely differing life-history characteristics, providing an excellent system to investigate the combined influences of evolutionary heritage and selection in determining trait variation. We used trait data related to the major axes of life-history variation among tropical trees (e.g. growth and mortality rates) from 577 inventory plots in closed-canopy forest, mapped onto a phylogenetic hypothesis spanning more than 300 genera including all major angiosperm clades to test for evolutionary constraints on traits. We found significant phylogenetic signal (PS) for all traits, consistent with evolutionarily related genera having more similar characteristics than expected by chance. Although there is also evidence for repeated evolution of pioneer and shade tolerant life-history strategies within independent lineages, the existence of significant PS allows clearer predictions of the links between evolutionary diversity, ecosystem function and the response of tropical forests to global change.

Item Type: Article
RIS ID: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/833493
Keywords: Tropical tree, Trait, Convergent evolution, Divergent selection, Phylogenetic signal
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Geography
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1587
Depositing User: Eprints, Support
Date Deposited: 17 Jan 2017 09:08
Last Modified: 04 May 2020 18:25
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/39889

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