Making sense of environmental sequencing data: Ecologically important functional traits of the protistan groups Cercozoa and Endomyxa (Rhizaria)

We have compiled a database of functional traits for two widespread and ecologically important groups of protists, Cercozoa and Endomyxa (Rhizaria). The functional traits of microorganisms are crucially important for interpreting results from environmental sequencing surveys. Linking morphological and ecological traits to environmental factors is common practice in studies involving micro‐ and macroorganisms, but is rarely applied to protists. Our database provides functional and ecologically significant traits linked to morphology, nutrition, locomotion and habitats. We discuss how the use of functional traits may help to unveil underlying ecosystem processes. This database is intended as a common reference for the molecular ecology community and will boost the understanding of ecosystem functions, especially those driven by biological interactions.     

天坑森林植物群落叶功能性状、物种多样性和功能多样性特征

以天坑内部-边缘-外部森林植物群落为研究对象,通过调查植物的群落结构、叶功能性状,探究天坑内外森林植物群落叶功能性状、物种多样性和功能多样性变化特征及其内在关联,为深入了解负地形森林生态系统的功能和恢复退化喀斯特地区的植被提供一定参考。研究结果如下：（1）比叶面积（SLA: 198.75 cm2/g)）、叶面积（LA: 42.70 cm2）、叶磷含量（LPC: 1.70 g/kg）和叶钾含量（LKC: 10.27 g/kg）在天坑内部最高,叶组织密度（LTD: 0.32 g/cm3）和叶干物质含量（LDMC: 0.41 g/g）在天坑外部最高,天坑内外森林均易受到磷限制,表明随天坑内部-边缘-外部生境变化,植物对环境的适应机制和生存策略发生了部分调整,物种的防御策略增强,生长投入策略减弱。（2）Shannon-Wiener指数（2.82）、Simpson指数（0.92）和Pielou’s均匀度指数（0.87）均以天坑外部最高,功能丰富度（1.05）、功能离散度（1.88）和Rao’s二次熵（4.52）以天坑内部最高,表明随天坑内部-边缘-外部生境的变化,植物功能性状的差异减少,物种分布及其功能性状分布总体上更为均匀、物种数量增多。（3）物种多样性指数之间、功能多样性指数之间存在较强的相关性,表明物种多样性指数之间、功能多样性指数之间存在不同的制约关系。（4）叶功能性状与物种多样性、功能多样性的相关性强,物种多样性和功能多样性之间相关性较弱,表明叶性状对生态学过程的变化较为敏感,叶功能性状与物种多样性之间存在较强的耦合关系。     

南四湖沉水植物物种多样性和功能多样性对水深梯度的响应

从物种多样性和功能多样性探讨沉水植物群落对水深的响应可深刻揭示水深对群落构建的影响机制。以南四湖不同水深沉水植物群落为研究对象,对比分析了群落的9个加权功能性状（株高、茎分支数、茎节数、茎直径、根长、根围直径、生物量分配比、比叶面积、植物体磷含量）、5个物种多样性指数（Berger-Parker生态优势度指数、Margalef丰富度指数、Simpson多样性指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Pielou均匀度指数）和5个功能多样性指数（功能丰富度FRic指数、功能均匀度FEve指数、功能离散度FDiv指数、功能分散度FDis指数和二次熵Rao指数）以及物种多样性和功能多样性关系对水深的响应规律。研究结果表明：（1）水深可显著改变群落株高、根长、根围直径、比叶面积、生物量分配比和植物体磷含量6个加权功能性状;群落茎分支数、茎节数和茎直径3个加权功能性状对水深变化无显著响应;（2）水深可显著影响群落物种多样性和功能多样性,中等水深处沉水植物群落具有较高的Margalef丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Berger-Parker生态优势度指数、Pielou均匀度指数以及功能丰富度FRic指数、功能均匀度FEve指数、功能离散度FDis指数、二次熵Rao指数;（3）水深可改变5个物种多样性指数与功能丰富度FRic指数、功能均匀度FEve指数、功能离散度FDiv指数3个功能多样性指数间的相关关系,但对5个物种多样性指数与功能离散度FDis指数、二次熵Rao指数2个功能多样性指数间的相关关系无显著影响。研究结论为：群落不同测度的物种多样性和功能多样性指数及其相关关系对水深变化的响应迥异,在探讨水深对沉水植物群落构建的影响机制时应从多个方面综合考量。     

Moving beyond the guild concept: developing a practical functional trait framework for terrestrial beetles

1. New logical and analytical frameworks for studying functional traits have led to major advances in plant and freshwater ecology at local and global scales. The ecological and taxonomic diversity of terrestrial adult beetles (Coleoptera) means that functional trait approaches should have considerable power to illuminate the function not only of these animals but also of the ecosystems in which they occur. 2. Even though the functional trait concept is not new in ecology, it is still plagued with inconsistencies in methodology and terminology. Plant‐based studies have shown that an integrated and relatively consistent functional trait approach facilitates comparisons between studies, and allows the full utility and predictive capacity of trait‐based approaches to be realised. 3. This review outlines a logical framework for adult beetle functional trait studies using uniform terminology and methodology similar to those used by plant ecologists. Beetle life‐history and ecomorphological trait studies are synthesised and it is shown that a combination of both is analogous to the functional trait approach. A general functional trait list for beetles and potential functional links is outlined, as are potential analysis approaches. A consistent functional trait approach, coupled with advances in molecular techniques, has the capability to provide deeper insights into beetle community assembly and how beetles impact ecosystems and will enable worldwide comparisons and predictions to be made.     

Microbial ecosystems are dominated by specialist taxa

Abundance and specificity are two key characteristics of species distribution and biodiversity. Theories of species assembly aim to reproduce the empirical joint patterns of specificity and abundance, with the goal to explain patterns of biodiversity across habitats. The specialist‐generalist paradigm predicts that specialists should have a local advantage over generalists and thus be more abundant. We developed a specificity index to analyse abundance–specificity relationships in microbial ecosystems. By analysing microbiota spanning 23 habitats from three very different data sets covering a wide range of sequencing depths and environmental conditions, we find that habitats are consistently dominated by specialist taxa, resulting in a strong, positive correlation between abundance and specificity. This finding is consistent over several levels of taxonomic aggregation and robust to errors in abundance measures. The relationship explains why shallow sequencing captures similar β‐diversity as deep sequencing, and can be sufficient to capture the habitat‐specific functions of microbial communities.     

高寒草甸不同坡向植物群落物种多样性与功能多样性的关系

植物群落物种多样性与功能多样性是生态学研究的热点问题之一,研究其对于保护生物多样性和维持生态系统功能具有重要意义。采用野外群落调查方法,探讨了物种多样性与功能多样性在坡向梯度上的变化格局及其关联性。结果显示：（1）从北坡到南坡,土壤含水量、有机碳呈递减趋势;坡度、照度、土温、pH呈递增趋势;土壤全氮、全磷在西坡明显低于其他各坡向;（2）物种多样性指数均由北坡向南坡依次递减;（3）一元性状功能多样性在各坡向间的差异显著（P<0.05）,除LDMC_FDrao外,其他功能性状均为北坡大于南坡;（4）多元性状功能丰富度与功能均匀度均由北坡向南坡呈递减的趋势,各坡向的功能均匀度差异性不显著。通过相关分析与通径分析发现,功能多样性指数的主要环境决定因子与限定因子均存在差异：功能丰富度、功能均匀度主要环境限定因子为pH,功能离散度主要环境限定因子为土温;功能离散度主要环境决定因子为土壤含水量;（5）物种多样性指数与功能丰富度呈正线性相关,与功能离散度呈负线性相关,而与功能均匀度不相关。     

Microbial diversity: the importance of exploration and conservation

Microbial diversity is fundamental to maintenance and conservation of global genetic resources. As extreme environments are explored, the richness of microbial diversity is increasingly evident. Measures must be taken to estimate, record, and conserve microbial diversity, not only to sustain human health but also to enrich the human condition globally through wise use and conservation of genetic resources of the microbial world. Received 24 April 1996/ Accepted in revised form 07 January 1997     

践踏干扰对碧塔海高寒草甸植被茎叶性状、物种多样性和功能多样性的影响

高寒草甸具有重要的生态服务功能,然而固有脆弱性使其极易遭受气候变化和人为干扰等多重因素的影响。作为滇西北旅游资源中重要的组分之一,高寒草甸吸引了大批游客前往开展徒步旅行活动,但伴随着的践踏干扰作用会不可避免地对高寒草甸生态系统带来负面影响。然而,目前关注践踏干扰对滇西北高寒草甸植被的影响,特别是植被功能性状和功能多样性如何发生变化方面的研究还十分欠缺。以云南省香格里拉市碧塔海自然保护区内的典型高寒草甸生态系统为研究对象,采用实验践踏的方式(一共5种不同强度的践踏处理)来模拟旅游活动对草甸植被的干扰作用,并以草甸植被的茎叶性状特征为切入点,重点探讨践踏干扰对茎叶性状的平均大小和变异程度的影响,以及物种丰富度(以物种形态分类为基础)和功能丰富度(以功能性状为基础)之间的关系。研究结果显示,随着践踏强度的增加,植株高度和叶片大小的平均值,而不是茎叶性状的变异程度,出现明显下降趋势。此外,物种丰富度和功能丰富度均随践踏强度的增强而减小,且两者之间呈现显著正相关关系。然而,较之轻度践踏实验组,重度践踏实验组中的功能均匀度和功能分离度水平均有所增加,表明践踏干扰可能会在短期内打破优势种对资源的绝对占有格局和减少物种间的生态位重叠程度。尽管高寒草甸对人类践踏活动有一定的承受能力,但气候变化和人为干扰等多重因素势必会改变和影响高寒草甸群落的结构和功能可持续性,这也对高寒草甸的保护与管理工作提出了更加紧迫的要求。     

A global meta‐analysis of the relative extent of intraspecific trait variation in plant communities

Recent studies have shown that accounting for intraspecific trait variation (ITV) may better address major questions in community ecology. However, a general picture of the relative extent of ITV compared to interspecific trait variation in plant communities is still missing. Here, we conducted a meta‐analysis of the relative extent of ITV within and among plant communities worldwide, using a data set encompassing 629 communities (plots) and 36 functional traits. Overall, ITV accounted for 25% of the total trait variation within communities and 32% of the total trait variation among communities on average. The relative extent of ITV tended to be greater for whole‐plant (e.g. plant height) vs. organ‐level traits and for leaf chemical (e.g. leaf N and P concentration) vs. leaf morphological (e.g. leaf area and thickness) traits. The relative amount of ITV decreased with increasing species richness and spatial extent, but did not vary with plant growth form or climate. These results highlight global patterns in the relative importance of ITV in plant communities, providing practical guidelines for when researchers should include ITV in trait‐based community and ecosystem studies.     

Response diversity determines the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change

A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem stability and the maintenance of optimal ecosystem functionality. Conservation measures are thus essential to safeguard the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides and human society needs. Current anthropogenic threats may lead to detrimental (and perhaps irreversible) ecosystem degradation, providing strong motivation to evaluate the response of ecological communities to various anthropogenic pressures. In particular, ecosystem functions that sustain key ecosystem services should be identified and prioritized for conservation action. Traditional diversity measures (e.g. ‘species richness’) may not adequately capture the aspects of biodiversity most relevant to ecosystem stability and functionality, but several new concepts may be more appropriate. These include ‘response diversity’, describing the variation of responses to environmental change among species of a particular community. Response diversity may also be a key determinant of ecosystem resilience in the face of anthropogenic pressures and environmental uncertainty. However, current understanding of response diversity is poor, and we see an urgent need to disentangle the conceptual strands that pervade studies of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Our review clarifies the links between response diversity and the maintenance of ecosystem functionality by focusing on the insurance hypothesis of biodiversity and the concept of functional redundancy. We provide a conceptual model to describe how loss of response diversity may cause ecosystem degradation through decreased ecosystem resilience. We explicitly explain how response diversity contributes to functional compensation and to spatio‐temporal complementarity among species, leading to long‐term maintenance of ecosystem multifunctionality. Recent quantitative studies suggest that traditional diversity measures may often be uncoupled from measures (such as response diversity) that may be more effective proxies for ecosystem stability and resilience. Certain conclusions and recommendations of earlier studies using these traditional measures as indicators of ecosystem resilience thus may be suspect. We believe that functional ecology perspectives incorporating the effects and responses of diversity are essential for development of management strategies to safeguard (and restore) optimal ecosystem functionality (especially multifunctionality). Our review highlights these issues and we envision our work generating debate around the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, and leading to improved conservation priorities and biodiversity management practices that maximize ecosystem resilience in the face of uncertain environmental change.     

Relationships between taxonomic and functional components of diversity: implications for conservation of tropical freshwater fishes

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城市建成区自生草本植物群落的物种多样性与功能多样性——以深圳市为例

城市自生草本植物的物种多样性和功能多样性直接影响城市生态系统的功能和稳定性,但目前相关研究依然很缺乏。以深圳市为例,基于建成区600个1hm²样地的现场调查数据,分析自生草本植物的群落结构、物种多样性、群落功能特征及功能多样性。结果显示:①调查共记录自生草本植物61科178属273种,其中多年生草本占54.6%,乡土植物占65.6%。②占明显优势的功能特征有中小型叶(91.85%)、草质叶(42.59%)、纸质叶(32.96%)、叶片无毛或近无毛(56.67%)、中等密度绒毛(40.37%)、叶面较粗糙(52.59%)、花期4-6个月(50.78%)、果期4-6个月(49.22%)、干果(86.03%)。③群落类型间功能丰富度FDp、功能离散度Rao二次熵差异极显著(P ＜ 0.01)、功能均匀度FEve差异显著(P ＜ 0.05)。④公园绿地的物种多样性指数明显高于其他三类绿地;不同绿地类型间的功能丰富度和功能离散度在滞尘、降噪、降温增湿及生物多样性保护方面都有极显著差异(P ＜ 0.01),功能均匀度只在滞尘及生物多样性保护方面差异极显著(P ＜ 0.01)。⑤各功能多样性指数均与Margalef指数、Simpson指数及Shannon-Wiener指数呈极显著正相关关系(P ＜ 0.01)。研究结论和方法为维护城市生态系统稳定性、建设生态宜居城市、促进城市可持续发展提供理论依据。     

亚热带次生常绿阔叶林植物功能性状及多样性对人工抚育的响应

亚热带次生常绿阔叶林普遍存在生长滞缓、固碳功能和经济价值低下等问题,迫切需要通过人工抚育提高其生态系统功能。对植物功能性状及其多样性的深入研究,能够找寻植物共存与群落稳定发展的内在机制,为提升森林生态系统功能的实践提供基础。为了探究人工抚育对亚热带次生常绿阔叶林质量提升的影响,以杭州午潮山国家森林公园内的次生常绿阔叶林为研究对象,实施了不同强度的抚育措施,通过群落植被复查,分析群落植物功能性状以及功能多样性对不同强度人工抚育的响应。结果发现:抚育2年后,群落最大潜在树高与叶片氮、磷、钾含量显著上升,而叶片干物质含量和叶片叶绿素含量均有显著下降,比叶面积有下降趋势,两种强度的抚育之间差异不显著;叶片干物质含量、叶绿素含量与叶片氮含量间的相关性由不显著变为了显著负相关,而叶片干物质含量与叶片叶绿素含量,叶片磷、钾含量与叶片氮含量,叶片磷含量与叶片钾含量间的相关性由不显著变为显著正相关;在20%强度抚育下,功能丰富度指数均值从对照的0.52显著下降为0.16,功能均匀度指数与功能分离度指数的均值则分别上升到0.61和0.67,显著高于对照组的0.51和0.56;在10%强度抚育下,功能丰富度有所下降,功能均匀度与功能分离度均有所上升,但差异不显著。研究表明,人工抚育在一定程度上改变了群落水平的植物功能性状与功能多样性,提高了群落植物利用资源的能力和效率;而适度的抚育强度更能解放资源空间,对群落产生的影响更加明显。该结果为亚热带次生常绿阔叶林的经营与管理提供依据与参考。