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Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests

Niche differentiation is a prominent mechanism for explaining tree species coexistence in tropical rain forests. Theory predicts that species that are specialized on a set of environmental conditions should competitively exclude generalists in those conditions, and that environmental heterogeneity a...

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Main Authors: Julia Born, Andrea R. Pluess, David F.R.P. Burslem, Reuben Nilus, Colin R. Maycock, Jaboury Ghazoul
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2014
Subjects:
QH540-549.5 Ecology
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/1/Differing%20Life%20History%20Characteristics%20Support%20Coexistence%20of%20Tree%20Soil%20Generalist%20and%20Specialist%20Species%20in%20Tropical%20Rainforests_ABSTRACT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/3/Differing%20Life%20History%20Characteristics%20Support%20Coexistence%20of%20Tree%20Soil%20Generalist%20and%20Specialist%20Species%20in%20Tropical%20Rainforests.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/btp.12083
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/btp.12083
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spelling my.ums.eprints.291722021-12-22T09:17:37Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/ Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests Julia Born Andrea R. Pluess David F.R.P. Burslem Reuben Nilus Colin R. Maycock Jaboury Ghazoul QH540-549.5 Ecology Niche differentiation is a prominent mechanism for explaining tree species coexistence in tropical rain forests. Theory predicts that species that are specialized on a set of environmental conditions should competitively exclude generalists in those conditions, and that environmental heterogeneity allows the coexistence of many different species based on niche specialization. Yet, many tropical tree species of the family Dipterocarpaceae have broadly similar habitat preferences, with some occurring widely across several soil types. These soil generalists clearly persist despite the presence of other dipterocarp species that show clear soil specialization. We evaluate comparative seedling performance (growth and survival) of six Shorea species (Dipterocarpaceae) which differ in their adult tree habitat associations within the Sepilok Forest Reserve (Borneo, Malaysia). We tested the hypothesis that seedlings of species associated with a particular soil type perform better on that soil type than seedlings of soil generalist species, with generalists in turn performing better than specialists on a different soil type. We conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment including two soil types (alluvial and mudstone) and two light treatments (gap and understory). The soils differed in soil acidity, Al and P concentration. Observed species-specific differences in seedling responses to soil, light, and occasional flooding events could partially explain observed adult distribution, although not all species could be fully differentiated along these axes. Other trade-offs, such as investment in defense against herbivores and tolerance to soil waterlogging, may play additional roles in explaining coexistence of these species. John Wiley & Sons 2014 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/1/Differing%20Life%20History%20Characteristics%20Support%20Coexistence%20of%20Tree%20Soil%20Generalist%20and%20Specialist%20Species%20in%20Tropical%20Rainforests_ABSTRACT.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/3/Differing%20Life%20History%20Characteristics%20Support%20Coexistence%20of%20Tree%20Soil%20Generalist%20and%20Specialist%20Species%20in%20Tropical%20Rainforests.pdf Julia Born and Andrea R. Pluess and David F.R.P. Burslem and Reuben Nilus and Colin R. Maycock and Jaboury Ghazoul (2014) Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests. Biotropica, 46. pp. 58-68. ISSN 1744-7429 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/btp.12083 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/btp.12083
institution Universiti Malaysia Sabah
building UMS Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sabah
content_source UMS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://eprints.ums.edu.my/
language English
English
topic QH540-549.5 Ecology
spellingShingle QH540-549.5 Ecology
Julia Born
Andrea R. Pluess
David F.R.P. Burslem
Reuben Nilus
Colin R. Maycock
Jaboury Ghazoul
Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
description Niche differentiation is a prominent mechanism for explaining tree species coexistence in tropical rain forests. Theory predicts that species that are specialized on a set of environmental conditions should competitively exclude generalists in those conditions, and that environmental heterogeneity allows the coexistence of many different species based on niche specialization. Yet, many tropical tree species of the family Dipterocarpaceae have broadly similar habitat preferences, with some occurring widely across several soil types. These soil generalists clearly persist despite the presence of other dipterocarp species that show clear soil specialization. We evaluate comparative seedling performance (growth and survival) of six Shorea species (Dipterocarpaceae) which differ in their adult tree habitat associations within the Sepilok Forest Reserve (Borneo, Malaysia). We tested the hypothesis that seedlings of species associated with a particular soil type perform better on that soil type than seedlings of soil generalist species, with generalists in turn performing better than specialists on a different soil type. We conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment including two soil types (alluvial and mudstone) and two light treatments (gap and understory). The soils differed in soil acidity, Al and P concentration. Observed species-specific differences in seedling responses to soil, light, and occasional flooding events could partially explain observed adult distribution, although not all species could be fully differentiated along these axes. Other trade-offs, such as investment in defense against herbivores and tolerance to soil waterlogging, may play additional roles in explaining coexistence of these species.
format Article
author Julia Born
Andrea R. Pluess
David F.R.P. Burslem
Reuben Nilus
Colin R. Maycock
Jaboury Ghazoul
author_facet Julia Born
Andrea R. Pluess
David F.R.P. Burslem
Reuben Nilus
Colin R. Maycock
Jaboury Ghazoul
author_sort Julia Born
title Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
title_short Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
title_full Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
title_fullStr Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
title_full_unstemmed Differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
title_sort differing life history characteristics support coexistence of tree soil generalist and specialist species in tropical rainforests
publisher John Wiley & Sons
publishDate 2014
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/1/Differing%20Life%20History%20Characteristics%20Support%20Coexistence%20of%20Tree%20Soil%20Generalist%20and%20Specialist%20Species%20in%20Tropical%20Rainforests_ABSTRACT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/3/Differing%20Life%20History%20Characteristics%20Support%20Coexistence%20of%20Tree%20Soil%20Generalist%20and%20Specialist%20Species%20in%20Tropical%20Rainforests.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/29172/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/btp.12083
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/btp.12083
_version_ 1760230674845925376
score 13.211869

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