Journal ArticleDOI
Plant pathogens drive density‐dependent seedling mortality in a tropical tree
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TLDR
It is shown experimentally that pathogens from the Oomycota are associated with intense mortality in seedlings of a neotropical tree, Sebastiana longicuspis, suggesting that short-term observational studies may underestimate the intensity and form of pathogen-induced mortality.Abstract:
One explanation for the extraordinary diversity of tropical forest trees is that density-dependent mortality from herbivores or pathogens puts locally rare species at an advantage. Density-dependent mortality of seeds and small seedlings is particularly intense in tropical forests, but its causes remain uncertain. Here, we show experimentally that pathogens from the Oomycota are associated with intense mortality in seedlings of a neotropical tree, Sebastiana longicuspis. Seedlings in untreated plots experienced eight times higher mortality compared with seedlings in plots treated with fungicide. Mortality was strongly density dependent: in fungicide-treated plots survival was unaffected by density, but survival in unsprayed plots was over three times higher at low density. Density-dependent mortality observed in a simultaneous, non-manipulative study was highly transient, suggesting that short-term observational studies may underestimate the intensity and form of pathogen-induced mortality. If such effects are widespread, plant pathogens may play a key role in maintaining and structuring tropical diversity.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The unseen majority: Soil microbes as drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems
TL;DR: Overall, this review shows that soil microbes must be considered as important drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Negative plant–soil feedback predicts tree-species relative abundance in a tropical forest
Scott A. Mangan,Stefan A. Schnitzer,Stefan A. Schnitzer,Edward Allen Herre,Keenan M. L. Mack,Mariana C. Valencia,Evelyn I. Sanchez,James D. Bever +7 more
TL;DR: It is found that tree species that showed stronger negative feedback were less common as adults in the forest community, indicating that susceptibility to soil biota may determine species relative abundance in these tropical forests.
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Rooting theories of plant community ecology in microbial interactions
James D. Bever,Ian A. Dickie,Evelina Facelli,José M. Facelli,John N. Klironomos,Mari Moora,Matthias C. Rillig,William D. Stock,Mark Tibbett,Martin Zobel +9 more
TL;DR: This work expands and integrates qualitative conceptual models of plant niche and feedback to explore implications of microbial interactions for understanding plant community ecology and applies this model to understanding plant coexistence, monodominance and invasion ecology.
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Pathogens and insect herbivores drive rainforest plant diversity and composition
Robert Bagchi,Rachel E. Gallery,Sofia Gripenberg,Sarah J. Gurr,Lakshmi Narayan,Claire E. Addis,Robert P. Freckleton,Owen T. Lewis +7 more
TL;DR: This study shows experimentally that changes in plant diversity and species composition are caused by fungal pathogens and insect herbivores, and provides an overall test of the Janzen–Connell hypothesis.
Journal ArticleDOI
Testing predictions of the Janzen–Connell hypothesis: a meta‐analysis of experimental evidence for distance‐ and density‐dependent seed and seedling survival
Liza S. Comita,Liza S. Comita,Simon A. Queenborough,Stephen J. Murphy,Janelle L. Eck,Kaiyang Xu,Meghna Krishnadas,Noelle G. Beckman,Yan Zhu +8 more
TL;DR: This study provides support for the idea that distance- and density-dependent mortality occurs in plant communities world-wide and indicates that natural enemies are frequently the cause of such patterns, consistent with the Janzen–Connell hypothesis.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Herbivores and the Number of Tree Species in Tropical Forests
TL;DR: Any event that increases the efficiency of the predators at eating seeds and seedlings of a given tree species may lead to a reduction in population density of the adults of that species and/or to increased distance between new adults and their parents.
Journal ArticleDOI
Predation, apparent competition and the structure of prey communities.
TL;DR: In order to study the consequences of predator-mediated apparent competition in isolation from other complicating factors, a model community is analyzed in which there is no direct interspecific competition among the prey.
Journal ArticleDOI
Feedback with soil biota contributes to plant rarity and invasiveness in communities.
TL;DR: The results indicate that plants have different abilities to influence their abundance by changing the structure of their soil communities, and that this is an important regulator of plant community structure.
Journal ArticleDOI
Changes in plant community diversity and floristic composition on environmental and geographical gradients
TL;DR: The predictability of the fioristic compositions and diversities of tropical forest plant communities eems strong, albeit circumstantial, evidence that these communities are at ecological and perhaps evolutionary equilibrium, despite indications that certain aspects of their diversity are generated and maintained stochastically.
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