10.5061/DRYAD.7198505
Sierra, Adriel M.
National Institute of Amazonian Research
Toledo, José Julio
National Institute of Amazonian Research
Salazar Allen, Noris
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Zartman, Charles E.
National Institute of Amazonian Research
Data from: Reproductive traits as predictors of assembly chronosequence
patterns in epiphyllous bryophyte metacommunities
Dryad
dataset
2019
Determinants of plant community structure
liverworts
Lejeuneaceae
phyllosphere
bryophytes
2019-07-03T00:00:00Z
2019-07-03T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13058
100218 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
1) Understanding the mechanisms underlying species assembly is a central
focus of plant ecology and is crucial to revealing how plant communities
are structured. However, the temporal limitations of most terrestrial
plant communities preclude collection of species assembly data in a
tractable time-frame. 2) The aim of this study is to investigate the
importance of dispersal potential, as estimated by inter-specific
variation in sexual and asexual expression, as a predictor of patch
chronosequence assembly for epiphyllous (leaf-inhabiting) bryophytes.
Secondarily, we investigate whether spatio-temporal patterns in patch
turnover and compositional variation infer evidence of local
(within-patch) population processes. The frequency and distribution of 55
epiphyllous bryophytes across five leaf age classes were studied on an
understory shrub Piper grande (Piperaceae) in pre-montane Panamanian
tropical forest. Logistical models were used to test whether
inter-specific variation in dispersal-related life history traits predicts
assembly order. Beta diversity and ordination analyses were employed to
examine nestedness versus turnover, and probe for repeatable patterns in
patch chronosequence assembly, respectively. 3) Our results emphasize the
importance of dispersal potential on species assembly patterns as earlier
arrivals exhibit greater probabilities of sexual and specialized asexual
expression. High turnover coupled with temporal convergence in species
composition also point to evidence of within-patch biotic filtering. 4)
Synthesis: Epiphylls are locally diverse in humid tropical forests
worldwide; however, the mechanisms which maintain their high local
diversity are unknown. This study suggests that inter-specific variation
in dispersal capacity in combination with diffuse indirect effects are the
principal contributors to the high alpha-diversity of these ephemeral
metacommunities.
Sierra_etal_2018_Epiphyll_ChronosequenceCommunity dataset of epiphyll
assembly on the host plant Piper grande. The dataset include
presence/absence data, the representation index and sexual expression of
epiphyllous species.
National Park General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera (PNGDOTH)
Panama
Neotropics