Linking tree community structure to species traits and phylogenetic structure

• Grant number: 15/00682-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: April 29, 2015
• End date: April 28, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Inácio de Knegt López de Prado
• Grantee: Renato Augusto Ferreira de Lima
• Supervisor: Jerome Chave
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université Paul Sabatier - Toulouse III, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/08722-5 - The role of functional diversity in structuring tropical tree communities: a model-based approach, BP.PD

Abstract

Many studies have pointed out the importance of incorporating evolutionary information to understand ecological patterns. Yet little is known on the role of evolutionary processes in determining community composition and structure. In this proposal we will test the influence of environmental filtering on the structure of tree species phylogenies and trait composition. In addition, we will try to determine which traits are more important to shape tree community descriptors such as species relative abundances, sizes and spatial distribution. More specifically, we will assess if species abundances (counts of individuals and biomass), their diameter distribution (parameters of the Weibull distribution) and the strength conspecific aggregation are influenced by traits such as wood density, potential height, seed size, leaf area, among others traits. We will used data from four 10-ha forest plots in southeastern Brazil were all species with diameter at breast height > 4.8 cm were tagged, mapped and identified to species. All species found in these four plots had their DNA sequenced using rbcl and matK chloroplast markers to reconstruct the phylogenies. With these information we will assess if species co-occurring in the four sites are more related than expected under a null random model. We will also perform regression models able to account for phylogenetic distances among species to assess which traits are more related to species abundances, size and spatial distributions. We expect that the realization of this proposal will bring new insights of how to use species trait composition and phylogenies can predict local community patterns. (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)

FERREIRA DE LIMA, RENATO A.; DE OLIVEIRA, ALEXANDRE ADALARDO; DALLA COLLETTA, GABRIEL; FLORES, THIAGO BEVILACQUA; GAYOSO COELHO, RUBENS L.; DIAS, PEDRO; FREY, GABRIEL PONZONI; IRIBAR, AMAIA; RODRIGUES, RICARDO RIBEIRO; SOUZA, VINICIUS CASTRO; et al. Can plant DNA barcoding be implemented in species-rich tropical regions? A perspective from Sao Paulo State, Brazil. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 41, n. 3, p. 661-670, JUL-SEP 2018. (11/22923-8, 15/00682-0, 99/09635-0)