Opposing mechanisms affect taxonomic convergence between tree assemblages during tropical forest succession
| Autor: | Natalia Norden, Susan G. Letcher, Anne Chao, Robin L. Chazdon, K. H. Ma, Vanessa K. Boukili |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Costa Rica
0106 biological sciences Tropical Climate Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Rare species Biodiversity Species diversity Ecological succession Forests Biology Generalist and specialist species 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Trees Species Specificity Biological dispersal Ecosystem Relative species abundance Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
| Zdroj: | Ecology Letters. 20:1448-1458 |
| ISSN: | 1461-0248 1461-023X |
| Popis: | Whether successional forests converge towards an equilibrium in species composition remains an elusive question, hampered by high idiosyncrasy in successional dynamics. Based on long-term tree monitoring in second-growth (SG) and old-growth (OG) forests in Costa Rica, we show that patterns of convergence between pairs of forest stands depend upon the relative abundance of species exhibiting distinct responses to the successional gradient. For instance, forest generalists contributed to convergence between SG and OG forests, whereas rare species and old-growth specialists were a source of divergence. Overall, opposing trends in taxonomic similarity among different subsets of species nullified each other, producing a net outcome of stasis over time. Our results offer an explanation for the limited convergence observed between pairwise communities and suggest that rare species and old-growth specialists may be prone to dispersal limitation, while the dynamics of generalists and second-growth specialists are more predictable, enhancing resilience in tropical secondary forests. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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