Determination of factors that influence the spatial structure of trees in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest using the O-ring statistics

• Grant number: 12/02012-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): April 16, 2012
• Effective date (End): July 15, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Flavio Antonio Maës dos Santos
• Grantee: Valéria Forni Martins
• Supervisor: Thorsten Wiegand
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Helmholtz Association, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/00832-0 - Influence of density and location of seed sources, dispersal and post-dispersal processes in the spatial pattern of Atlantic Rainforest trees at the northern coast of São Paulo State, BP.PD

Abstract

Three groups of factors influence the spatial structure of tree species: (1) adult density and reproductive system, (2) seed dispersal and (3) post-dispersal processes. Some studies have investigated the influence of these factors on the spatial structure of tropical tree species. However, no study has evaluated the spatial structure at the community level of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, one of the world's hotspots for biodiversity conservation. The most advanced technique of spatial point pattern analysis is the O-ring statistics, which enables for the use of different null models for hypothesis testing. The goal of this study is to use this statistics and the suitable null models in order to determine how each factor that influences the spatial structure of populations affects the distribution of tree species in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. We will use data collected in 14 ha along the altitudinal gradient at the northern portion of the mountain range "Serra do Mar", state of São Paulo, Brazil. For each species, we have determined its adult density, as well as its reproductive system and seed dispersal syndrome using specialized literature and specimens deposited at herbariums. In order to determine the influence of post-dispersal processes on the spatial structure of the tree species, we will only use data collected in more detailed studies that evaluated the size and spatial structures of some species. Then, we will obtain the value of O under different null models and in distinct distance classes in order to determine the spatial structure of each species studied. This will allow for the evaluation of the effects of each factor that influence the spatial structure of populations. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARTINS, VALERIA FORNI; DOS SANTOS SEGER, GUILHERME DUBAL; WIEGAND, THORSTEN; MAES DOS SANTOS, FLAVIO ANTONIO. Phylogeny contributes more than site characteristics and traits to the spatial distribution pattern of tropical tree populations. OIKOS, v. 127, n. 9, p. 1368-1379, SEP 2018. (12/02012-3, 11/00832-0)