Tree species occurring in Amazonian wetland forests consistently show broader range sizes and niche breadths than trees in upland forests

Author(s)

Luize, Bruno Garcia ; Palma-Silva, Clarisse ; Siqueira, Tadeu ; Silva, Thiago Sanna Freire

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION; v. 14, n. 4, p. 12-pg., 2024-04-01.

Abstract

Generally, species with broad niches also show large range sizes. We investigated the relationship between hydrological niche breadth and geographic range size for Amazonian tree species seeking to understand the role of habitat specialization to Amazonian wetlands and upland forests on the current distribution of tree species. We obtained 571,092 valid occurrence points from GBIF and SpeciesLink to estimate the range size and the niche breadth of 76% of all known Amazonian tree species (5150 tree species). Hydrological niche breadth was measured on different unidimensional axes defined by (1) total annual precipitation; (2) precipitation seasonality; (3) actual evapotranspiration; and (4) water table depth. Geographic range sizes were estimated using alpha-hull adjustments. General linear models were used to relate niche breadth to range size while contrasting tree species occurring and not occurring in wetlands. The hydrological niche breadth of Amazonian tree species varied mostly along the water table depth axis. The average range size for an Amazonian tree species was 751,000 km2 (median of 154,000 km2 and standard deviation of 1,550,000 km2). Niche breadth-range size relationships for Amazonian tree species were positive for all models, and the explanatory power of the models improved when including whether a species occurred in wetlands or in terrestrial uplands. Wetland species had steeper positive slopes for the niche breadth-range size relationship, and consistently larger range sizes for a given niche breadth. Amazonian tree species varied strongly in hydrological niche breadth and range size, but most species had narrow niche breadths and range sizes. Our results suggest that the South American riverscape may have been acting as a corridor for species dispersal in the Neotropical lowlands. The general ecological pattern for a positive range size-niche breadth association holds for Amazonian tree species. Furthermore, those wetland-adapted tree species have broader niche breadth and large range sizes compared with tree species only occurring in upland forests.image (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/10639-5 - Center for Research on Biodiversity Dynamics and Climate Change
• Grantee: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC
• FAPESP's process: 19/24823-2 - Ecological genomics of local adaptation in inundation gradient of Amazonian floodplain forests
• Grantee: Clarisse Palma da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 20/03379-4 - Patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity and the process structuring tree species communities in Amazonian forests
• Grantee: Bruno Garcia Luize
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/22233-8 - Ecological assembly in Amazonian centered lineages reveal the role of wetlands in the origin and maintenance of Amazon tree diversity
• Grantee: Bruno Garcia Luize
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 21/11670-3 - Leveraging evolutionary history to advance knowledge about the compositional patterns of Amazonian Flora
• Grantee: Bruno Garcia Luize
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach
• Grantee: Lúcia Garcez Lohmann
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/24554-0 - The role of floodplains in the origin and maintenance of tree species diversity in the Amazon
• Grantee: Bruno Garcia Luize
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate