Phylogenetic conservatism in the relationship between functional and demographic characteristics in Amazon tree taxa

Abstract Leaf and wood functional traits of trees are related to growth, reproduction, and survival, but the degree of phylogenetic conservatism in these relationships is largely unknown. In this study, we describe the variability of strategies involving leaf, wood and demographic characteristics for tree genera distributed across the Amazon Region, and quantify phylogenetic signal for the characteristics and their relationships. Leaf and wood traits are aligned with demographic variables along two main axes of variation. The first axis represents the coordination of leaf traits describing resource uptake and use, wood density, seed mass, and survival. The second axis represents the coordination between size and growth. Both axes show strong phylogenetic signal, suggesting a constrained evolution influenced by ancestral values, yet the second axis also has an additional, substantial portion of its variation that is driven by functional correlations unrelated to phylogeny, suggesting simultaneously higher evolutionary lability and coordination. Synthesis . Our results suggest that life history strategies of tropical trees are generally phylogenetically conserved, but that tree lineages may have some capability of responding to environmental changes by modulating their growth and size. Overall, we provide the largest‐scale synopsis of functional characteristics of Amazonian trees, showing substantial nuance in the evolutionary patterns of individual characteristics and their relationships. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Publication Details

Journal
Functional Ecology
Published
2024-11-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14700
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.84

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article

Phylogenetic conservatism in the relationship between functional and demographic characteristics in Amazon tree taxa

Kenneth J. Feeley, Miles R. Silman, Yennie K. Bredin, David Neill et al.
7 citations
Functional Ecology
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
4.84
article

Phylogenetic conservatism in the relationship between functional and demographic characteristics in Amazon tree taxa

Kenneth J. Feeley, Miles R. Silman, Yennie K. Bredin, David Neill, Luciana de Oliveira Pereira, Ademir Roberto Ruschel, Marcelo Fragomeni Simon, Walter A. Palacios, Olaf Bánki, Jochen Schöngart, Mariana Victória Irume, Adeilza Felipe Sampaio, Torbjørn Haugaasen, Milena Holmgren, Layon Oreste Demarchi, Italo Mesones, Ted R. Feldpausch, Joseph E. Hawes, Flávia Machado Durgante, William Frederick Laurance, Elvis H. Valderrama Sandoval, Charles E. Zartman, Susan G. W. Laurance, María Teresa Fernández Piedade, Germaine Alexander Parada, Alexandre A. Oliveira, Pablo Sanchez‐Martinez, Jos Barlow, Guido Pardo Molina, Bente Klitgaard, Aline Lopes, José Natalino Macedo Silva, Yrma Andreina Carrero Márquez, Neidiane Farias Costa Reis, Luisa Fernanda Casas, Marcos Ríos Paredes, Flávia R. C. Costa, Yadvinder Singh Malhi, Katia Regina Casula, André Braga Junqueira, William Milliken, Jean‐François Molino, Sasha Cárdenas, Marcos Silveira, José Renan da Silva Guimarães, Domingos de Jesus Rodrigues, Patricio von Hildebrand, José Júlio de Toledo, R. Toby Pennington, Karina García‐Cabrera, F. R. Barbosa, Luiz de Souza Coêlho, Dário Dantas do Amaral, James A. Comiskey, Carolina V. Castilho, Marcelo Trindade Nascimento, Bruno Garcia Luize, Vincent Antoine Vos, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Corine Vriesendorp, Gonzalo Rivas‐Torres, Luis Torres Montenegro, Gabriel Damasco, Carolina Levis, Luiz Carlos de Matos Bonates, Roderick Zagt, Juan David Cardenas Revilla, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Oliver Lawrence Phillips, William E. Magnusson, Rogério Gribel, William Farfán-Ríos, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Íres Paula de Andrade Miranda, Maihyra Marina Pombo, José Ferreira Ramos, Susamar Pansini, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Carlos A. Peres, Lionel Hernández, Isau Huamantupa‐Chuquimaco, Alberto Vicentini, Ángela Cano, María Natalia Umaña, Hilda Paulette Dávila Doza, Rainiellen de Sá Carpanedo, Alfonso Alonso, Eduardo Martins Venticinque, Michelle Kalamandeen, Daniela Pauletto, Miguel N. Alexiades, John Terborgh, Frederick C. Draper, Rafael P. Salomão, Adriano Costa Quaresma, Timothy J. Killeen, José Luís Camargo, Rafael L. Assis, Marcelo Petratti Pansonato, Cláudia Baider, Linder Felipe Mozombite Pinto, Florian Wittmann, Emanuelle de Sousa Farias, Henrique Eduardo Mendonça Nascimento, Marcelo Brilhante de Medeiros, Lourens Poorter, Ricardo Zárate Gómez, David Galbraith, Jérôme Chave, Maria Pires Martins, Veridiana Vizoni Scudeller, Nállarett Dávila, Rodolfo Vásquez, Iêda Leão do Amaral, Masha T. van der Sande, Izaias Brasil da Silva, Renato Richard Hilário, Julien Engel, Francisco Dallmeier, Bernardo M. Flores, Paul V. A. Fine, Christopher Baraloto, Juliana Stropp, Wegliane Campelo Silva, A C., Daniel Sabatier, Roosevelt García‐Villacorta, Francisca Dionízia de Almeida Matos, Thaiane R. Sousa, Fernanda Antunes Carvalho, Terry W. Henkel, Diego F. Correa, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Kyle Graham Dexter, Daniel P. P. de Aguiar, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Emilio Vilanova, Maria Julia Ferreira, Bruno Barçante Ladvocat Cintra, Boris Eduardo Villa Zegarra, Joice Ferreira, Ana Andrade, Anthony Di Fiore, José Rafael Lozada, Henrik Balslev, Fernanda Coelho de Souza, Pablo R. Stevenson, Diógenes de Andrade Lima Filho, Hans ter Steege, Nicolás Castaño Arboleda, Guilherme Lobo, Marcelo de Jesus Veiga Carim, Érika Berenguer, Evlyn Márcia Moraes de Leão Novo, Bianca Weiss Albuquerque, Ângelo Gilberto Manzatto, Juliana Schietti, Tinde van Andel, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Janaína da Costa de Noronha, Marcelino Carneiro Guedes, Vitor H. F. Gomes, Maira Rocha, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Geertje van der Heijden, Eglée L. Zent, Janaina Barbosa Pedrosa Costa, William Balée, Gerardo A. Aymard C., Riley P. Fortier, José Leonardo Lima Magalhães, John Ethan Householder, J. Sebastián Tello, Roel Brienen, Thiago Sanna Freire Silva, José Luís Marcelo Peña, Juan Ernesto Guevara, Hugo F. Mogollón, César I. A. Vela, Leandro Valle Ferreira, Carlos Cerón, Juan Carlos Montero, George Pepe Gallardo Gonzales, Bruce Hoffman, María Cristina Peñuela Mora, Edelcílio Marques Barbosa, Timothy R. Baker, Therany Gonzales, Reynaldo Linares‐Palomino, Juan Fernando Phillips, Armando Torres‐Lezama, Bonifacio Mostacedo, Adriana Prieto, Agustín Rudas, Hirma Ramírez‐Angulo, Cid Ferreira, John J. Pipoly, Stanford Zent, Raquel Thomas, Luzmila Arroyo, Hernán Castellanos, Dairon Cárdenas López, Émile Fonty, Yuri Oliveira Feitosa, Casimiro Mendoza, Alejandro Araujo‐Murakami, Percy Núñez Vargas, Freddy Ramírez Arévalo, Juan Carlos Licona, Daniel Villarroel, Lorena Maniguaje Rincón, Doug Daly, Maria Aparecida Lopes, Helder Lima de Queiroz
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Abstract Leaf and wood functional traits of trees are related to growth, reproduction, and survival, but the degree of phylogenetic conservatism in these relationships is largely unknown. In this study, we describe the variability of strategies involving leaf, wood and demographic characteristics for tree genera distributed across the Amazon Region, and quantify phylogenetic signal for the characteristics and their relationships. Leaf and wood traits are aligned with demographic variables along two main axes of variation. The first axis represents the coordination of leaf traits describing resource uptake and use, wood density, seed mass, and survival. The second axis represents the coordination between size and growth. Both axes show strong phylogenetic signal, suggesting a constrained evolution influenced by ancestral values, yet the second axis also has an additional, substantial portion of its variation that is driven by functional correlations unrelated to phylogeny, suggesting simultaneously higher evolutionary lability and coordination. Synthesis . Our results suggest that life history strategies of tropical trees are generally phylogenetically conserved, but that tree lineages may have some capability of responding to environmental changes by modulating their growth and size. Overall, we provide the largest‐scale synopsis of functional characteristics of Amazonian trees, showing substantial nuance in the evolutionary patterns of individual characteristics and their relationships. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Functional EcologyVol. 39(1)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE), Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University (BO), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR), University of East Anglia (GB), Tulane University (US), University of Stirling (GB), Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (BO), Universidade Federal de Rondônia (BR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL), National Park Service (US), University of Leeds (GB), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Amazon (United States) (US), Florida Museum of Natural History (US), Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (BR), Universidade Federal do Acre (BR), Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (BR), Wildlife Conservation Society (US), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), National University of Cajamarca (PE), Central University of Ecuador (EC), University of Nottingham (GB), University of Miami (US), University of Liverpool (GB), University of Turku (FI), Universidad de Los Andes (CO), The University of Queensland (AU), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (GB), University of St Andrews (GB), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (BR), Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (VE), Utrecht University (NL), Florida International University (US), Université de Montpellier (FR), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (BR), Universidad de Los Andes (VE), Aarhus University (DK), University of Kent (GB), University of Missouri–St. Louis (US), University of Exeter (GB), University of Cambridge (GB), University of Michigan (US), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB), Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (US), University of French Guiana (GF), Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (US), Field Museum of Natural History (US), New York Botanical Garden (US), Missouri Botanical Garden (US), Instituto Sinchi (CO), Leverhulme Trust (GB), Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (BR), Centro Universitário Cesumar (BR), State University of Norte Fluminense (BR), Edinburgh College (GB), Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (PE), Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (BR), National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (PE), Universidad Mayor de San Simón (BO), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (BR), University of Florida (US), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR), Universidad Nacional de Colombia (CO), Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development (GY), University of Oxford (GB), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR), Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado (BO), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Amazon National University of Madre de Dios (PE), Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana (VE), Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (PE), Universidad de Las Américas (EC), Fundación para la Educación y el Desarrollo Social (CO), Instituto del Mar del Peru (PE), Tierra (BO), Universidad Estatal Amazónica (EC), Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security (MU), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (ES), Fundación PROINPA (BO), UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations (FR), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (FR), Bolivian Forest Research Institute (BO), Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (ES), Universidad Técnica del Norte (EC), Forest Research (GB), Universidade Federal do Amapá (BR), Universidad Autónoma del Beni (BO), Instituto Maria e Joao Aleixo (BR), Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas (BR), Universidade Federal de Roraima (BR), Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá (BR), Universidad Nacional del Oriente (BO), Vale Technological Institute (BR), Universidad Regional Amazónica IKIAM (EC), Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute (MU), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Universidad Nacional de Jaén, Wake Forest University (US), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), University of Turin (IT), Universidade Federal do Pará (BR), Universidade Federal do Amazonas (BR), Florida Atlantic University (US), Lancaster University (GB), Universidad San Francisco de Quito (EC), University of Birmingham (GB), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (BR), James Cook University (AU), The University of Texas at Austin (US), University of Gothenburg (SE), Wageningen University & Research (NL), University of California, Berkeley (US), University of Cumbria (GB), University of Edinburgh (GB), California State Polytechnic University (US)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Sight Research UK, Natural Environment Research Council, Research Committee, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
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Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
4.84
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