Coelho De Souza, F orcid.org/0000-0002-3919-4493, Dexter, KG, Phillips, OL orcid.org/0000-0002-8993-6168 et al. (73 more authors) (2016) Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283 (1844). 20161587. pp. 1-10. ISSN 0962-8452
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 amongst 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 >300 genera including all major angiosperm clades to test for evolutionary constraints on traits. We found significant phylogenetic signal 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 similar, pioneer and shade tolerant life history strategies within independent lineages, the existence of significant phylogenetic signal allows clearer predictions of the links between evolutionary diversity, ecosystem function and the response of tropical forests to global change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | tropical tree; trait; convergent evolution; divergent selection; phylogenetic signal |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > River Basin Processes & Management (Leeds) > SOG: water@leeds |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union 291585 (ERC 2011 ADG) NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NER/A/S/2003/00609 Leverhulme Trust RF/2/RFG/2004/0457 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/B503384/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/D005590/1 EU - European Union MEST-CT-2004-514350 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/D01025X/1 Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation N/A NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/F005806/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/I028122/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/I02982X/1 Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation N/A NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/N004655/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/K01644X/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/N012542/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 Nov 2016 15:39 |
Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2020 15:50 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1587 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1098/rspb.2016.1587 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:107288 |