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Mirabel, A., Hérault, B., & Marcon, E. (2020). Diverging taxonomic and functional trajectories following disturbance in a Neotropical forest. Science of The Total Environment, 720, 137397.
Abstract: In the current global change context, it is urgent to anticipate the fate of tropical forests. This means understanding tree community response to disturbance and the underlying processes. In that respect, we aim here to clarify taxonomic and functional post-disturbance trajectories, and determine the scope of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH) that remains debated in tropical forests. We analyzed community trajectories following a disturbance gradient from 10 to 60% of above-ground biomass loss in a Neotropical forest over 30 years. We considered trajectories along time of community taxonomic and functional trajectories in terms of richness, evenness, composition, and redundancy. We based on the annual botanical inventories of 75 ha of a Neotropical forest and on large trait datasets comprising seven leaf, stem, and life-history traits. We identified a decoupling between taxonomic composition, differing among communities, and functional composition, similar among communities and convergent in the functional space. The taxonomic diversity followed humped-shaped trajectories along time after disturbance depending on the initial disturbance intensity, which validated the IDH (Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis). The functional diversity trajectories, however, were homogeneous among plots and dismissed the IDH. We explained this decoupling by the variations in community functional redundancy that mitigated the functional impact of disturbance. Although consistent, the recovery of community composition, diversity, and redundancy remained divergent from the initial state after 30 years. These results acknowledged the need of decades-long cycles without disturbance to ensure community complete recovery.
Keywords: Community ecology; Disturbance trajectories; Intermediate disturbance hypothesis; Mid-term resilience; Neotropical forests; Taxonomic and functional biodiversity
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Svensk, M., Coste, S., Gérard, B., Gril, E., Julien, F., Maillard, P., et al. (2020). Drought effects on resource partition and conservation among leaf ontogenetic stages in epiphytic tank bromeliads. Physiol. Plant., 170(4), 488–507.
Abstract: Studying the response to drought stress of keystone epiphytes such as tank bromeliads is essential to better understand their resistance capacity to future climate change. The objective was to test whether there is any variation in the carbon, water and nutrient status among different leaf ontogenetic stages in a bromeliad rosette subjected to a gradient of drought stress. We used a semi-controlled experiment consisting in a gradient of water shortage in Aechmea aquilega and Lutheria splendens. For each bromeliad and drought treatment, three leaves were collected based on their position in the rosette and several functional traits related to water and nutrient status, and carbon metabolism were measured. We found that water status traits (relative water content, leaf succulence, osmotic and midday water potentials) and carbon metabolism traits (carbon assimilation, maximum quantum yield of photosystem II, chlorophyll and starch contents) decreased with increasing drought stress, while leaf soluble sugars and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents remained unchanged. The different leaf ontogenetic stages showed only marginal variations when subjected to a gradient of drought. Resources were not reallocated between different leaf ontogenetic stages but we found a reallocation of soluble sugars from leaf starch reserves to the root system. Both species were capable of metabolic and physiological adjustments in response to drought. Overall, this study advances our understanding of the resistance of bromeliads faced with increasing drought stress and paves the way for in-depth reflection on their strategies to cope with water shortage. © 2020 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society
Keywords: chlorophyll; nitrogen; water; Bromeliaceae; drought; metabolism; photosynthesis; plant leaf; Bromeliaceae; Chlorophyll; Droughts; Nitrogen; Photosynthesis; Plant Leaves; Water
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Céréghino, R., Corbara, B., Leroy, C., & Carrias, J. - F. (2020). Ecological determinants of community structure across the trophic levels of freshwater food webs: a test using bromeliad phytotelmata. Hydrobiologia, 847(2), 391–402.
Abstract: Understanding the relative importance of habitat and biotic drivers on community assembly across food web components is an important step towards predicting the consequences of environmental changes. Because documenting entire food webs is often impractical, this question has been only partially investigated. Here, we partitioned variation in species assemblages of the major components of tank bromeliad food webs (bacteria, algae, protozoans, detritivorous and predatory invertebrates) into habitat and biotic determinants and examined the influence of habitat variables and predator or prey abundance on all taxonomic assemblages. Ecological determinism of assemblage structure ranged from weak in bacteria (< 10% of the explained variance) to strong in predatory invertebrates (90%). Habitat features and canopy openness significantly influenced species assemblages; however, prey or predator density had far and away the most significant structuring effects. If biotic forces are at least as important as the abiotic forces while the importance of stochasticity declines towards upper trophic levels, then trophic levels could respond differently to natural or anthropogenic disturbance and to shifts in species distributions. The effects of such differential responses on food web reconfiguration, however, remain to be elucidated. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Keywords: Environmental filtering; Functional group; Neotropical; Niche; Trophic interactions; alga; assembly rule; bacterium; community structure; ecological modeling; environmental conditions; food web; freshwater ecosystem; functional group; Neotropic Ecozone; niche; protozoan; taxonomy; trophic interaction; trophic level; algae; Invertebrata; Protozoa
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Srivastava, D. S., Céréghino, R., Trzcinski, M. K., MacDonald, A. A. M., Marino, N. A. C., Mercado, D. A., et al. (2020). Ecological response to altered rainfall differs across the Neotropics. Ecology, 101(4), e02984.
Abstract: There is growing recognition that ecosystems may be more impacted by infrequent extreme climatic events than by changes in mean climatic conditions. This has led to calls for experiments that explore the sensitivity of ecosystems over broad ranges of climatic parameter space. However, because such response surface experiments have so far been limited in geographic and biological scope, it is not clear if differences between studies reflect geographic location or the ecosystem component considered. In this study, we manipulated rainfall entering tank bromeliads in seven sites across the Neotropics, and characterized the response of the aquatic ecosystem in terms of invertebrate functional composition, biological stocks (total invertebrate biomass, bacterial density) and ecosystem fluxes (decomposition, carbon, nitrogen). Of these response types, invertebrate functional composition was the most sensitive, even though, in some sites, the species pool had a high proportion of drought-tolerant families. Total invertebrate biomass was universally insensitive to rainfall change because of statistical averaging of divergent responses between functional groups. The response of invertebrate functional composition to rain differed between geographical locations because (1) the effect of rainfall on bromeliad hydrology differed between sites, and invertebrates directly experience hydrology not rainfall and (2) the taxonomic composition of some functional groups differed between sites, and families differed in their response to bromeliad hydrology. These findings suggest that it will be difficult to establish thresholds of “safe ecosystem functioning” when ecosystem components differ in their sensitivity to climatic variables, and such thresholds may not be broadly applicable over geographic space. In particular, ecological forecast horizons for climate change may be spatially restricted in systems where habitat properties mediate climatic impacts, and those, like the tropics, with high spatial turnover in species composition. © 2020 by the Ecological Society of America
Keywords: contingency; distributed experiment; freshwater; global change biology; macroinvertebrates; phytotelmata; precipitation; aquatic ecosystem; climate change; climate conditions; ecosystem response; extreme event; functional group; invertebrate; Neotropical Region; rainfall; species pool; Bacteria (microorganisms); Invertebrata; rain; animal; climate change; drought; ecosystem; invertebrate; Animals; Climate Change; Droughts; Ecosystem; Invertebrates; Rain
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Baudrimont, M., Arini, A., Guégan, C., Venel, Z., Gigault, J., Pedrono, B., et al. (2020). Ecotoxicity of polyethylene nanoplastics from the North Atlantic oceanic gyre on freshwater and marine organisms (microalgae and filter-feeding bivalves). Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 27(4), 3746–3755.
Abstract: Each year, 5 to 10 million tons of plastic waste is dumped in the oceans via freshwaters and accumulated in huge oceanic gyres. Under the effect of several abiotic factors, macro plastic wastes (or plastic wastes with macro sizes) are fractionated into microplastics (MP) and finally reach the nanometric size (nanoplastic NP). To reveal potential toxic impacts of these NPs, two microalgae, Scenedemus subspicatus (freshwater green algae), and Thalassiosira weissiflogii (marine diatom) were exposed for up to 48 h at 1, 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000 μg/L to reference polyethylene NPs (PER) or NPs made from polyethylene collected in the North Atlantic gyre (PEN, 7th continent expedition in 2015). Freshwater filter-feeding bivalves, Corbicula fluminea, were exposed to 1000 μg/L of PER and PEN for 48 h to study a possible modification of their filtration or digestion capacity. The results show that PER and PEN do not influence the cell growth of T. weissiflogii, but the PEN exposure causes growth inhibition of S. subspicatus for all exposure concentrations tested. This growth inhibition is enhanced for a higher concentration of PER or PEN (10,000 μg/L) in S. subspicatus. The marine diatom T. weissiflogii appears to be less impacted by plastic pollution than the green algae S. subspicatus for the exposure time. Exposure to NPs does not lead to any alteration of bivalve filtration; however, fecal and pseudo-fecal production increased after PEN exposure, suggesting the implementation of rejection mechanisms for inedible particles. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Keywords: Cordicula fluminea; Ecotoxicity; Nanoplastics; Polyethylene; Scenedesmus subspicatus; Thalassiosira weissiflogii; bivalve; concentration (composition); ecotoxicology; filter feeder; gyre; microalga; nanoparticle; plastic waste; pollution exposure; polymer; Atlantic Ocean; Atlantic Ocean (North); Bivalvia; Chlorophyta; Corbicula fluminea; Desmodesmus subspicatus; Nitzschia alba; Thalassiosira
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Urbina, I., Grau, O., Sardans, J., Ninot, J. M., & Peñuelas, J. (2020). Encroachment of shrubs into subalpine grasslands in the Pyrenees changes the plant-soil stoichiometry spectrum. Plant Soil, 448(1-2), 37–53.
Abstract: Aims: Shrub encroachment has been reported over a large proportion of the subalpine grasslands across Europe and is expected to have an important impact on the biogeochemical cycle of these ecosystems. We investigated the stoichiometric changes in the plant-soil system along the succession (e.g. increase in encroachment from unencroached grassland to mature shrubland) at two contrasting sites in the Pyrenees. Methods: We analyzed the chemical composition (C, N,15N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Fe) in the soil and in the aboveground plant compartments (leaves, leaf-litter and stems) of the main herbaceous species and shrubs at three contrasting stages of the succession: unencroached grassland, young shrubland and mature shrubland. Results: The plant-soil stoichiometry spectrum differed between the successional stages. Shrub encroachment generally increased the concentration of C and Ca and the C:N ratio and often reduced to concentrations of N, P and K in the leaves and leaf-litter, while several soil nutrient concentrations (N, P, K Ca and Mg) decreased. The stocks of C, N, P, Ca, and Mg in the total aboveground biomass increased with encroachment. Conclusions: Shrub encroachment favored the dominance of long-lived species with low concentrations of N and P in the plant-soil compartments, high C:nutrient ratios in the aboveground biomass and increase the uptake of N through ericoid or ectomycorrhizal fungi. We highlight the role of shrubs in the sequestration of C and nutrients through the allocation to the aboveground biomass. The changes in plant-soil elemental composition and stocks suggest a slowdown of the biogeochemical cycles in the subalpine mountain areas where shrub encroachment occurred. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Keywords: Nutrient stocks; Plant strategy; Plant-soil stoichiometry; Shrub encroachment; Subalpine grassland succession; aboveground biomass; biogeochemical cycle; carbon sequestration; ectomycorrhiza; fungus; grass; nitrogen; nutrient uptake; shrub; soil-vegetation interaction; stoichiometry; subalpine environment; succession; Europe; Pyrenees; Fungi
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Donald, J., Maxfield, P., Leroy, C., & Ellwood, M. D. F. (2020). Epiphytic suspended soils from Borneo and Amazonia differ in their microbial community composition. Acta Oecol., 106.
Abstract: Microbial organisms support the high species diversity associated with tropical forests, and likely drive functional processes, but microorganisms found in rainforest canopies are not well understood. We quantified the microbial diversity of suspended soils from two classical epiphytic model systems (bromeliads & bird's nest ferns) across two localities: the Nouragues Reserve in French Guiana and Danum Valley in Malaysian Borneo. Non-epiphytic suspended soils were also collected as controls at the Nouragues Reserve. Effects of epiphyte type and sample location on microbial community composition were determined using Phospholipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) analysis. Total microbial biomass remained constant across the suspended soil types, but PLFA peaks denoting the relative abundance of different microbes varied between bromeliads, bird's nest ferns and non-epiphytic control soils. Suspended soils associated with bird's nest ferns from Borneo contained a microbial community significantly different in composition from those of congeneric bird's nest ferns from Amazonia, due to shifts in the relative abundance of fungi and bacteria. Our findings reveal that epiphytes create convergent niches for microorganisms in tropical canopies, while highlighting the sensitive nature of suspended soil microbial communities. © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS
Keywords: Asplenium; Bacteria; Borneo; Bromeliaceae; Canopy; French Guiana; Fungi; Plfa; Rainforest; bacterium; community composition; epiphyte; fungus; microbial community; niche; relative abundance; soil microorganism; species diversity; tropical forest; Amazonia; Borneo; Danum Valley; East Malaysia; French Guiana; Malaysia; Nouragues; Sabah; Asplenium; Asplenium nidus; Aves; Bacteria (microorganisms); Bromeliaceae; Fungi
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Romero, G. Q., Marino, N. A. C., MacDonald, A. A. M., Céréghino, R., Trzcinski, M. K., Mercado, D. A., et al. (2020). Extreme rainfall events alter the trophic structure in bromeliad tanks across the Neotropics. Nat. Commun., 11(3215).
Abstract: Changes in global and regional precipitation regimes are among the most pervasive components of climate change. Intensification of rainfall cycles, ranging from frequent downpours to severe droughts, could cause widespread, but largely unknown, alterations to trophic structure and ecosystem function. We conducted multi-site coordinated experiments to show how variation in the quantity and evenness of rainfall modulates trophic structure in 210 natural freshwater microcosms (tank bromeliads) across Central and South America (18°N to 29°S). The biomass of smaller organisms (detritivores) was higher under more stable hydrological conditions. Conversely, the biomass of predators was highest when rainfall was uneven, resulting in top-heavy biomass pyramids. These results illustrate how extremes of precipitation, resulting in localized droughts or flooding, can erode the base of freshwater food webs, with negative implications for the stability of trophic dynamics. © 2020, The Author(s).
Keywords: fresh water; rain; fresh water; agricultural intensification; angiosperm; biomass; climate change; ecosystem function; extreme event; food web; freshwater ecosystem; Neotropic Ecozone; precipitation intensity; rainfall; trophic structure; Article; biomass; Central America; controlled study; detritivore; drought; flooding; food web; hydrology; microcosm; Neotropics; nonhuman; precipitation; predator; South America; trophic level; animal; biodiversity; Bromelia; climate change; ecosystem; flooding; food chain; Central America; South America; Animals; Biodiversity; Biomass; Bromelia; Climate Change; Droughts; Ecosystem; Floods; Food Chain; Fresh Water; Hydrology; South America
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Mahoui, S., Moulay, M. S., & Omrane, A. (2020). Finite element approach to linear parabolic pointwise control problems of incomplete data. International Journal of Systems Science, 51(14), 2597–2609.
Abstract: In this paper we give a priori error estimates for finite element approximations of linear parabolicproblems with pointwise control and incomplete data. We discretise the optimal control problemby using piecewise linear and continuous finite elements for the space discretisation of the state,and we use the backward Euler scheme for time discretisation. We prove a priori error estimates forthe state, the adjoint-state as well as for the low-regret pointwise optimal control.
Keywords: Optimal control problem ; low-regret control ; pointwise control ; finite element method ; a priori error estimates
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Thomas, H. J. D., Bjorkman, A. D., Myers-Smith, I. H., Elmendorf, S. C., Kattge, J., Diaz, S., et al. (2020). Global plant trait relationships extend to the climatic extremes of the tundra biome. Nat. Commun., 11(1351).
Abstract: The majority of variation in six traits critical to the growth, survival and reproduction of plant species is thought to be organised along just two dimensions, corresponding to strategies of plant size and resource acquisition. However, it is unknown whether global plant trait relationships extend to climatic extremes, and if these interspecific relationships are confounded by trait variation within species. We test whether trait relationships extend to the cold extremes of life on Earth using the largest database of tundra plant traits yet compiled. We show that tundra plants demonstrate remarkably similar resource economic traits, but not size traits, compared to global distributions, and exhibit the same two dimensions of trait variation. Three quarters of trait variation occurs among species, mirroring global estimates of interspecific trait variation. Plant trait relationships are thus generalizable to the edge of global trait-space, informing prediction of plant community change in a warming world. © 2020, Crown.
Keywords: biome; climate change; extreme event; global change; growth; interspecific interaction; plant community; tundra; article; plant community; prediction; tundra; warming; classification; climate; ecosystem; genetics; plant; plant development; Climate; Ecosystem; Plant Development; Plants; Tundra
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