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Contrasting patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional variation along a Costa Rican altitudinal gradient in the plant family Melastomataceae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2018

Gaurav S. Kandlikar Open the ORCID record for Gaurav S. Kandlikar [Opens in a new window] ,
Marcel C. Vaz ,
Ricardo Kriebel ,
German Vargas ,
Fabián A. Michelangeli ,
Roberto Cordero ,
Frank Almeda ,
Gerardo Avalos ,
Ned Fetcher  and
Nathan J. B. Kraft
Gaurav S. Kandlikar*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
Marcel C. Vaz*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
Ricardo Kriebel
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
German Vargas
Affiliation:
College of Biological Sciences, National University of Costa Rica
Fabián A. Michelangeli
Affiliation:
Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, USA
Roberto Cordero
Affiliation:
College of Biological Sciences, National University of Costa Rica
Frank Almeda
Affiliation:
Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences, USA
Gerardo Avalos
Affiliation:
School of Biology, University of Costa Rica
Ned Fetcher
Affiliation:
Institute for Environmental Science and Sustainability, Wilkes University, USA
Nathan J. B. Kraft
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
*
*Corresponding authors. Emails: gkandlikar@ucla.edu; mcvaz@ucla.edu
*Corresponding authors. Emails: gkandlikar@ucla.edu; mcvaz@ucla.edu
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Abstract:

The functional composition of plant communities in montane regions has been studied for decades, and most recent analyses find that environmentally favourable landscapes at lower altitudes tend to be dominated by species with resource-acquisitive traits, while more resource-conservative taxa dominate higher-altitude communities. However, it is unclear the extent to which this pattern is driven by co-gradient variation within clades or changes in clade representation across the gradient. To test for co-gradient variation, species composition, phylogenetic structure and functional traits were quantified for 97 species within the plant family Melastomataceae at five locations across a 2500-m altitudinal gradient along Volcán Barva in Costa Rica. Average melastome leaf force to punch, specific leaf area and leaf size vary with altitude, while four other functional traits do not. Taxonomic dissimilarity between communities was correlated with altitudinal difference, while phylogenetic dissimilarity was correlated with altitudinal dissimilarity only when measured with a metric that emphasizes shallow turnover of the tips of the phylogeny. These results highlight how species turnover may be more pronounced than functional or phylogenetic variation along altitudinal gradients. In addition, these results highlight the conservation value of lowland tropical forests, which here harbour a disproportionate amount of phylogenetic and functional diversity.

Keywords

beta diversityfunctional traitsMiconiamontane forestSLAtropical forest
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 204 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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