Species functional traits affect regional and local dominance across western Amazonian forests

Abstract Several studies have documented dominance by few species in Amazonian forests. Dominant species tend to be either locally abundant (local dominants) or regionally frequent (widespread dominants) but rarely both (oligarchs). Here, we explore relationships between dominance and functional traits. We ask whether: (i) dominance is associated with specific functional profiles and (ii) dominance patterns (local vs. widespread dominants) are associated with different functional traits. We combined census data from 503 forest inventory plots across four lowland forest habitats in western Amazonia with trait information for ~2600 tree species, encompassing data collected in the focal plots and data from published sources. We considered traits that relate to leaf, wood, seed and whole‐plant strategies: specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area (LA), N content per unit leaf mass (LN), wood density (WD), seed mass (SM) and maximum diameter at breast height (DBH max ). Our results reveal that dominant species display different trait combinations depending on the habitat type. Taller dominant species exhibit higher regional frequency, associated with higher dispersal ability and lower local abundance, likely due to negative density dependence. Greater SM contributes to higher regional frequency of dominant species via greater dispersal by birds and mammals and seedling survival. Finally, traits related to resource conservation strategies, such as lower SLA, LA, LN and greater WD, favour higher local densities across most habitats, while the opposite pattern was linked to higher regional frequency. Synthesis . Our findings reveal that (i) dominance is associated with different functional traits depending on the habitat type, and (ii) different functional trait values define distinct dominance patterns. Our study exemplifies the potential of trait‐based approaches to illuminate the ecological mechanisms that may underlie dominance in tropical forests. Finally, accounting for both local abundance and regional frequency when studying dominance is likely to improve our understanding and forecasting of how different species will respond to global change drivers in western Amazonia.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Ecology
Published
2025-12-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70214
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Species functional traits affect regional and local dominance across western Amazonian forests

Manuel J. Macía, Ted R. Feldpausch, Nancy C. Garwood, Yadvinder Singh Malhi et al.
Journal of Ecology
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
article

Species functional traits affect regional and local dominance across western Amazonian forests

Manuel J. Macía, Ted R. Feldpausch, Nancy C. Garwood, Yadvinder Singh Malhi, Jason Vleminckx, Abel Monteagudo‐Mendoza, Joey Talbot, Luis Cayuela, Maximilien Guèze, Julia G. de Aledo, Oliver Lawrence Phillips, Jacob B. Socolar, Peter Hietz, Cecilia Ballón Falcón, Jhon del Águila Pasquel, Varun Swamy, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, John Terborgh, Mathias Disney, Frederick C. Draper, Claire Fortunel, Kalle Ruokolainen, José Reyna Huaymacari, Julio M. Grandez Rios, Celina Ben Saadi, Rodolfo Vásquez, Barbara Vinceti, Paul V. A. Fine, Christopher Baraloto, Roosevelt García‐Villacorta, Elvis Valderrama Sandoval, Laura Matas‐Granados, S. Joseph Wright‬, Carlos A. Amasifuén Guerra, Pablo R. Stevenson, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Margaret R. Metz, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Katherine H. Roucoux, Roel Brienen, Timothy R. Baker, Ricardo Zarate Gomez, Jim Vega Arenas, Darcy Galiano Cabrera, Percy Núñez Vargas
article en

Abstract

Abstract Several studies have documented dominance by few species in Amazonian forests. Dominant species tend to be either locally abundant (local dominants) or regionally frequent (widespread dominants) but rarely both (oligarchs). Here, we explore relationships between dominance and functional traits. We ask whether: (i) dominance is associated with specific functional profiles and (ii) dominance patterns (local vs. widespread dominants) are associated with different functional traits. We combined census data from 503 forest inventory plots across four lowland forest habitats in western Amazonia with trait information for ~2600 tree species, encompassing data collected in the focal plots and data from published sources. We considered traits that relate to leaf, wood, seed and whole‐plant strategies: specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area (LA), N content per unit leaf mass (LN), wood density (WD), seed mass (SM) and maximum diameter at breast height (DBH max ). Our results reveal that dominant species display different trait combinations depending on the habitat type. Taller dominant species exhibit higher regional frequency, associated with higher dispersal ability and lower local abundance, likely due to negative density dependence. Greater SM contributes to higher regional frequency of dominant species via greater dispersal by birds and mammals and seedling survival. Finally, traits related to resource conservation strategies, such as lower SLA, LA, LN and greater WD, favour higher local densities across most habitats, while the opposite pattern was linked to higher regional frequency. Synthesis . Our findings reveal that (i) dominance is associated with different functional traits depending on the habitat type, and (ii) different functional trait values define distinct dominance patterns. Our study exemplifies the potential of trait‐based approaches to illuminate the ecological mechanisms that may underlie dominance in tropical forests. Finally, accounting for both local abundance and regional frequency when studying dominance is likely to improve our understanding and forecasting of how different species will respond to global change drivers in western Amazonia.

Journal of EcologyVol. 114(1)
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PA), UNESCO (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Leeds (GB), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Florida Museum of Natural History (US), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Stockholm Environment Institute (GB), Alliance Bioversity International - CIAT (IT), University of Liverpool (GB), University of Turku (FI), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Universidad de Los Andes (CO), University of St Andrews (GB), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (ES), Florida International University (US), Université de Montpellier (FR), Aarhus University (DK), University of Exeter (GB), Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (PE), National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (PE), National University Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza (PE), University of Florida (US), University of Oxford (GB), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Amazon National University of Madre de Dios (PE), Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (PE), Evolutionary Genomics (United States) (US), CONAPAC (PE), RPX (United States) (US), Institut Agro Montpelier (FR), San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research (US), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), University College London (GB), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), Lewis & Clark College (US), Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (PE), BOKU University (AT), University of California, Berkeley (US)
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Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
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