10.5061/DRYAD.Q83BK3JDH
Mežaka, Anna
0000-0002-1900-8614
Philipp University of Marburg
Bader, Maaike Y.
Philipp University of Marburg
Salazar Allen, Noris
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Mendieta Leiva, Glenda
Philipp University of Marburg
Data from: Epiphyll specialization for leaf and forest successional stages
in a tropical lowland rainforest
Dryad
dataset
2019
bryophytes
Community dynamics
epiphylls
forest gaps
lichens
Specialists
species accumulation
European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie action Global Fellowship project - “Life on a
leaf: species interactions and community dynamics in epiphyll
communities” (Nr. 708585 - EPIDYN)
2019-10-23T00:00:00Z
2019-10-23T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12830
788992 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Questions The importance of tropical rainforest gap dynamics
in biodiversity maintenance is not fully understood, in particular for
taxa other than trees and lianas. We used epiphylls on rainforest leaves
to study the importance of leaf- and forest-scale succession in
determining biodiversity patterns by characterizing community change with
leaf age in gaps and closed-forest habitats. We asked: 1. Do epiphylls
show specialization for leaf and forest successional stages? 2. Can early
and late-successional epiphyllous species be recognized at these two
scales? 3. How do epiphyll presence, species richness, and cover change
with leaf and forest successional stages? Location Barro Colorado
Island, Panama. Methods Data were collected from 420 leaves, in three
age groups and at two heights on shrubs in gaps and closed forest. We
calculated turnover and nestedness components of dissimilarity to evaluate
the importance of species replacement or accumulation during leaf and
forest succession. Using generalized linear mixed models we determined
what factors explain epiphyll species occurrence, richness and cover.
Results Closed forest contained more liverwort and lichen specialist
species than gaps. Specialist species were identified for older
leaves only. Dissimilarity between leaves within age groups was dominated
by turnover within and between forest successional stages. Dissimilarity
between leaf age , at the site level, was dominated by nestedness, i.e.
species accumulation. Both in forest and
gaps, epiphyll presence and cover increased with leaf age for all taxa
except fungi, while species richness increased only for lichens.
Conclusion Early and late forest successional stages both contribute
to epiphyll species richness by harboring specialized species. Among
leaf successional stages, young leaves contain a mere subset of the
species found on older leaves. Epiphyll communities do not follow
classic succession, in the sense of changes being driven by species
replacement, but are characterized by species accumulation through time.