The functional ecology of bat pollination in the African sausage tree Kigelia africana (Bignoniaceae)

Biotropica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-486
Author(s):  
Ethan Newman ◽  
Keeveshnee Govender ◽  
Sandy Niekerk ◽  
Steven D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Bat Pollination

CHANGES IN TAXONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY NORTH OF A BIOGEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY DURING THE PLIOCENE TO MODERN, WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Christie ◽  
◽  
Mark E. Patzkowsky ◽  
Gregory P. Dietl ◽  
Patricia H. Kelley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Functional Ecology

scholarly journals Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1692
Author(s):  
Santiago Cabrera ◽  
Marie Anne Eurie Forio ◽  
Koen Lock ◽  
Marte Vandenbroucke ◽  
Tania Oña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Tropical Rainforest ◽  
Working Party ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Functional Feeding Groups ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Sampling Campaign ◽  
Ecuadorian Amazon ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems

Adequate environmental management in tropical aquatic ecosystems is imperative. Given the lack of knowledge about functional diversity and bioassessment programs, management is missing the needed evidence on pollution and its effect on biodiversity and functional ecology. Therefore, we investigated the composition and distribution of the macroinvertebrate community along two rivers. Specifically, 15 locations were sampled in the Coca and Aguarico Rivers (Ecuadorian Amazon) and the macroinvertebrates were used to indicate water quality (WQ), expressed as the Biological Monitoring Working Party Colombia (BMWP-Col) classes. Results indicate that elevation, pH, temperature, width, and water depth played an important role in the taxa and functional feeding groups (FFG) composition. The results show that diversity of taxa and FFG were generally scarce but were more abundant in good quality sites. Collector-gathers (CG) were, in general, dominant and were particularly abundant at low WQ and downstream sites. Scrapers (SC) were the second most abundant group, dominating mostly at good WQ and upstream sites. Predators (PR) were homogeneously distributed among the sites, without clear dominance, and their abundance was slightly higher in sites with medium-low WQ and downstream sites. Lastly, both shredders (SH) and collector-filterers (CF) were almost absent and were more abundant in good quality sites. The findings of this research can be used as baseline information in the studied region since a dam was constructed two years after the sampling campaign, which has been operating since. Furthermore, the results can be used to fill the knowledge gaps related to the bioassessments of other similar systems, particularly for a tropical rainforest.

Bark in Woody Plants: Understanding the Diversity of a Multifunctional Structure

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julieta A Rosell
Keyword(s):  
Woody Plants ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Soluble Sugars ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Bark Thickness ◽  
Outer Bark ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Plant Ecological

Abstract Most biological structures carry out multiple functions. Focusing on only one function to make adaptive inferences overlooks that manifold selection pressures and tradeoffs shape the characteristics of a multifunctional structure. Focusing on single functions can only lead to a partial picture of the causes underlying diversity and the evolutionary origin of the structure in question. I illustrate this discussion using bark as a study case. Bark comprises all the tissues surrounding the xylem in woody plants. Broadly, bark includes an inner and mostly living region and an outer, dead one. Of all plant structures, bark has the most complex anatomical structure and ontogenetic origin involving two (and often three) different meristems. Traditionally, the wide diversity in bark traits, mainly bark thickness, has been interpreted as the result of the selective pressures imposed by fire regime. However, recent research has shown that explanations based on fire regime cannot account for salient patterns of bark variation globally including the very strong inner bark thickness–stem diameter scaling, which is likely due to metabolic needs, and the very high intracommunity variation in total, inner, and outer bark thickness, and in inner:outer proportions. Moreover, explanations based on fire disregard that in addition to fire protection, bark carries out several other crucial functions for plants including translocation of photosynthates; storage of starch, soluble sugars, water, and other compounds; protection from herbivores, pathogens, and high temperatures; wound closure, as well as mechanical support, photosynthesis, and likely being involved in xylem embolism repair. All these functions are crucial for plant performance and are involved in synergistic (e.g., storage of water and insulation) and trade-off relationships (e.g., protection from fire vs photosynthetic activity). Focusing on only one of these functions, protection from fire has provided an incomplete picture of the selective forces shaping bark diversity and has severely hindered our incipient understanding of the functional ecology of this crucial region of woody stems. Applying a multifunctional perspective to the study of bark will allow us to address why we observe such high intracommunity variation in bark traits, why some bark trait combinations are ontogenetically impossible or penalized by selection, how bark is coordinated functionally with other plant parts, and as a result, to understand how bark contributes to the vast diversity of plant ecological strategies across the globe.

The functional ecology of present-day arable weed floras and its applicability for the identification of past crop husbandry

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glynis Jones ◽  
Michael Charles ◽  
Amy Bogaard ◽  
John G. Hodgson ◽  
Carol Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Arable Weed ◽  
Crop Husbandry

Using hydro-geomorphological typologies in functional ecology: Preliminary results in contrasted hydrosystems

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 539-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Schmitt ◽  
Michel Lafont ◽  
Michèle Trèmolières ◽  
Céline Jezequel ◽  
Anne Vivier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Preliminary Results

scholarly journals Phylogeny and Systematics of Crescentieae (Bignoniaceae), a Neotropical Clade of Cauliflorous and Bat-Pollinated Trees

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-228
Author(s):  
Audrey C. Ragsac ◽  
Susan O. Grose ◽  
Richard G. Olmstead
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Insect Pollination ◽  
Nuclear Markers ◽  
Sister Relationship ◽  
Biogeographic Patterns ◽  
Bat Pollination ◽  
Center Of Diversity ◽  
Northern South America ◽  
Understory Trees

Abstract—The tribe Crescentieae includes Amphitecna (21 species), Crescentia (six species), and Parmentiera (10 species), three genera of understory trees with a center of diversity in Central America and a small number of species in the Antilles and northern South America. Species in Crescentieae are united by their fleshy, indehiscent fruit and cauliflorous, bat-pollinated flowers. To lay a foundation for examining morphological, ecological, and biogeographic patterns within the tribe, we inferred the phylogeny for Crescentieae using both chloroplast (ndhF, trnL-F) and nuclear markers (PepC, ITS). The most recent circumscription of Crescentieae, containing Amphitecna, Crescentia, and Parmentiera is supported by our phylogenetic results. Likewise, the sister relationship between Crescentieae and the Antillean-endemic Spirotecoma is also corroborated by our findings. This relationship implies the evolution of fleshy and indehiscent fruits from dry and dehiscent ones, as well as the evolution of bat pollination from insect pollination. Fruits and seeds from species in Crescentieae are consumed by humans, ungulates, birds, and fish.

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