Fire-tolerance mechanisms of common woody plant species in a semiarid savanna in south-western Zimbabwe

The frequency of fire has increased in savannas yet few studies have assessed how plants persist when subjected to long‐term disturbance by fire. We investigated the contributions of bark thickness and resprouting to the persistence of woody plants in two fire trials that were started in 1948 and 1949. The number of resprouts per individual, bark thickness, basal diameter and height of woody plants were measured in unburnt plots and those burnt annually, triennially and quinquennially during the late dry season. Changes in tree density, number of resprouts and individuals in different height classes between 1963 and 2002 were assessed. Bark thickness varied among species and also increased with increases in basal diameter. Generally, plants with thick bark survived fire more than those with thin bark. Resprouting was the major fire survival strategy for most species. The number of resprouts produced per plant ranged from 4 ± 3 (Acacia rehmanniana) to 14 ± 9 (Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia). Fire reduced species richness in plots burnt annually and triennially by 47% and 6% respectively. Species richness increased in unburnt plots (5%) and those burnt quinquennially (16%). Most woody species survived fire through a combination of traits.     

The effect of consumption of woody debris on marine cage-reared salmon

Consumtion of woody debris was common in salmon farmed near a British Columbian pulp mill. This study of a proposed technology designed to reduce the passage of debris into rearing cages noted: Consumption of woody debris occurred in 32 % of fish in modified cages and in 21 % of fish in the regular cage. Wood chips and bark were the dominant components of the woody debris consumed. The proportion of chips to bark in fish from both the modified and regular cages was the same. The tree species composition of the consumed wood chips reflected the chip composition utilised at the pulp mill. Debris-consuming fish from modified cages, however, had a greater average mass and larger number of items in their stomachs than did fist from the regular cages. Significant histopathologic changes were noted in the stomachs of affected fish, and fish in the modified cages suffered a higher mortality rate.     

Epiphytic vegetation on Acer macrophyllum: a multivariate study of species-habitat relationships

Multivariate methods were used to examine epiphytic species composition on the lower trunk of Acer macrophyllum at five sites in south-coastal British Columbia, Canada. Differences in species composition and abundance between sites were attributed mainly to variation in relative humidity and light conditions. Bark chemistry differences accounted for only a small portion of the observed variation in epiphytic composition between sites. Within sites, compositional variation was examined over 0.5–5 m from ground level on the upper, vertical, and lower trunk surfaces of leaning trees. Compositional variation of the epiphytic vegetation with height and inclination tended to be more strongly developed at drier sites. Furthermore, at all sites compositional variation tended to be greater on upper (wetter) than on lower (drier) surfaces. Particular epiphytic species tended to occur in similar locations on the trunk surface at different sites, suggesting that some microhabitat specialization has occurred. Observed distributional shifts of epiphytic species appeared to be greatest among sites differing widely in prevailing microenvironmental conditions.Nomenclature follows Hitchcock & Cronquist (1973) Flora of the Pacific Northwest for vascular plants, Schofield (1976) Bryophytes of British Columbia for mosses, Stotler & Crandall-Stotler (1977) A checklist of the liverworts and hornworts of North America for hepatics, and Hale & Culberson (1970) A fourth Checklist of the lichens of the continental United States and Canada for lichens.Support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, through an operating grant to G.E.B. and a scholarship to N.C.K., is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Dr. H. Kimmins for providing facilities and technical expertise for the analysis of bark nutrients.     

Evaluating factors that predict the structure of a commensalistic epiphyte–phorophyte network

A central issue in ecology is the understanding of the establishment of biotic interactions. We studied the factors that affect the assembly of the commensalistic interactions between vascular epiphytes and their host plants. We used an analytical approach that considers all individuals and species of epiphytic bromeliads and woody hosts and non-hosts at study plots. We built models of interaction probabilities among species to assess if host traits and abundance and spatial overlap of species predict the quantitative epiphyte–host network. Species abundance, species spatial overlap and host size largely predicted pairwise interactions and several network metrics. Wood density and bark texture of hosts also contributed to explain network structure. Epiphytes were more common on large hosts, on abundant woody species, with denser wood and/or rougher bark. The network had a low level of specialization, although several interactions were more frequent than expected by the models. We did not detect a phylogenetic signal on the network structure. The effect of host size on the establishment of epiphytes indicates that mature forests are necessary to preserve diverse bromeliad communities.     

Complementary DNA cloning of poplar bark storage protein and control of its expression by photoperiod

Bark storage proteins accumulate in the bark of many woody plants during autumn and winter. In poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh), the accumulation of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein is controlled by photoperiod. We have isolated a full-length cDNA encoding for the poplar 32-kilodalton bark storage protein and determined its nucleotide sequence. The derived amino acid sequence shows that poplar bark storage protein is rich in serine, leucine, phenylalanine, and lysine. Poplar bark storage protein is similar to the poplar wound-induced cDNA clone 4 and clone 16 (TJ Parsons, HD Bradshaw, MP Gordon [1989] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86: 7895-7899). DNA gel blot analysis suggests that poplar bark storage protein is encoded by a multigene family of about five genes. Poplar plants grown in long days contained low levels of mRNA for the bark storage protein. Exposure to short days resulted in an increase in bark storage protein mRNA within 7 days. After 21 days of short day exposure, high levels of mRNA were detected. The accumulation of bark storage protein mRNA in response to short days was also observed in plants exposed to natural shortening daylengths. Our results indicate that the accumulation of poplar bark storage protein mRNA is controlled by photoperiod. This finding will provide a useful system for investigating photoperiodism in woody plants.     

Phylogeny of a Macaronesian radiation: host-plant use and possible cryptic speciation in Liparthrum bark beetles

The Macaronesian islands are well known for their unique endemic floras of woody plants. Many of these unusual plant groups provide important novel resources for bark and wood boring beetles which breed in dead or moribund parts of their host plants. The bark beetle genus Liparthrum exploits a wide range of unusual host plants and has its highest proportion of species living on the Macaronesian Islands. We used DNA sequences of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I gene and the nuclear Elongation Factor 1 alpha gene, and morphological characters, to estimate the phylogenetic relationships among species endemic to these archipelagos, and to trace the evolution of host-plant use. All parsimony and Bayesian analyses of the combined data, and maximum likelihood analyses of the molecular data, showed that species associated with Euphorbia are monophyletic. We also found genetic and subtle morphological evidence for three cases of cryptic speciation in one polyphyletic species associated with different Euphorbia plants, showing that high levels of host specialisation can occur also in insects breeding in older and very dry, dead plant tissues.     

Why does the unimodal species richness–productivity relationship not apply to woody species: a lack of clonality or a legacy of tropical evolutionary history?

Aim  To study how differences in species richness patterns of woody and herbaceous plants may be influenced by ecological and evolutionary factors. Unimodal species richness–productivity relationships (SRPRs) have been of interest to ecologists since they were first described three decades ago for British herbaceous vegetation by J. P. Grime. The decrease in richness at high productivity may be due to competitive exclusion of subordinate species, or diverse factors related to evolution and dispersal. Unimodal SRPRs are most often reported for plants, but there are exceptions. For example, unimodal SRPRs are common in the temperate zone but not in the tropics. Similarly, woody species and forest communities in the Northern Hemisphere do not tend to show unimodal SRPRs.
Location  Global.
Methods  We used data from the literature to test whether a unimodal SRPR applies to woody species and forest communities on a global scale. We explored whether the shape of SRPRs may be related to the lack of clonality in woody species (which may prevent their being competitively superior), or the legacy of evolutionary history (most temperate woody species originate from tropical lineages, and due to niche conservatism they may still demonstrate 'tropical patterns'). We used case studies that reported the names of the dominant or most abundant species for productive sites.
Results  Woody species were indeed less clonal than herbaceous species. Both clonality and the temperate evolutionary background of dominating species were associated with unimodality in SRPRs, with woodiness modifying the clonality effect.
Main conclusions  The unimodal SRPR has been common in the ecological literature because most such studies originate from temperate herbaceous communities with many clonal species. Consequently, both evolutionary and ecological factors may influence species richness patterns.     

Intercontinental genetic structure in the amphi‐Pacific peatmoss Sphagnum miyabeanum (Bryophyta: Sphagnaceae)

Unlike seed plants where global biogeographical patterns typically involve interspecific phylogenetic history, spore‐producing bryophyte species often have intercontinental distributions that are best understood from a population genetic perspective. We sought to understand how reproductive processes, especially dispersal, have contributed to the intercontinental ‘Pacific Rim’ distribution of Sphagnum miyabeanum. In total, 295 gametophyte plants from western North America (California, Oregon, British Columbia, Alaska), Russia, Japan, and China were genotyped at 12 microsatellite loci. Nucleotide sequences were obtained for seven anonymous nuclear loci plus two plastid regions from 21 plants of S. miyabeanum and two outgroup species. We detected weak but significant genetic differentiation among plants from China, Japan, Alaska, British Columbia, and the western USA. Alaskan plants are genetically most similar to Asian plants, and British Columbian plants are most similar to those in the western USA. There is detectable migration between regions, with especially high levels between Alaska and Asia (China and Japan). Migration appears to be recent and/or ongoing, and more or less equivalent in both directions. There is weak (but significant) isolation‐by‐distance within geographical regions, and the slope of the regression of genetic on geographical distance differs for Asian versus North American plants. A distinctive Vancouver Island morphotype is very weakly differentiated, and does not appear to be reproductively isolated from plants of the normal morphotype. The intercontinental geographical range of S. miyabeanum reflects recent and probably ongoing migration, facilitated by the production of tiny spores capable of effective long distance dispersal. The results of the present study are consistent with Pleistocene survival of S. miyabeanum in unglaciated Beringia, although we cannot eliminate the possibility that the species recolonized Alaska from Asia more recently. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 111 , 17–37.     

Ethnobotany of coniferous trees in Thompson and Lillooet interior salish of British Columbia

All 17 species of conifers (and one taxad) occurring within the traditional territories of the Thompson and Lillooet Interior Salish of British Columbia are known to these peoples and named by them at a restricted level. Of moderate to high cultural significance, most were used many ways in traditional life. Uses included: food—seeds, inner bark, sugar, pitch (for chewing), and boughs (for making beverages); technology—wood for construction and fuel, bark for construction, fibrous materials for weaving, resins for glue and caulking, and, of prime significance, boughs as scents and cleansing agents; and medicine-primarily as tonics, and as remedies for respiratory ailments, stomach and digestive disorders, eye problems, and dermatological complaints. The use of the boughs as scents and agents for cleanliness also made conifers very important in religious and spiritual rituals. Some were also featured in mythology. Thompson and Lillooet peoples continue to use conifers, but to a more limited extent than in the past.     

The identification of eight woody genera of the Caprifoliaceae by selected features of their root anatomy

The root anatomy of eight woody genera of the Caprifoliaceae cultivated in the British Isles was investigated. Special emphasis was placed on the characters that can most easily be used to identify roots from this family. These were found to be:(i) in the bark, the arrangement of phloem fibres or stone cells (if present) and (ii) in the xylem, the type (scalariform or simple) and shape of vessel perforation plates, type and arrangement of cells in rays and the presence or absence of spiral thickening (especially on fibre tracheids). Vessel characters were found to be inconstant in samples of some species grown in different environmental conditions.     

Phylogeographic insights into an irruptive pest outbreak

Irruptive forest insect pests cause considerable ecological and economic damage, and their outbreaks have been increasing in frequency and severity. We use a phylogeographic approach to understand the location and progression of an outbreak by the MPB (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins), an irruptive bark beetle that has caused unprecedented damage to lodgepole pine forests in western North America and is poised to expand its range across the boreal forest. We sampled MPB populations across British Columbia and Alberta and used phylogeographic methods to describe lineage diversification, characterize population structure, investigate expansion dynamics, and identify source populations of the outbreak. Using 1181 bp of mitochondrial DNA sequence from 267 individuals, we found high haplotype diversity, low nucleotide diversity, and limited lineage diversification. The overall pattern was consistent with isolation by distance at a continental scale, and with reduced diversity and population structure in the northerly, outbreak regions. Post-Pleistocene expansion was detected, however more recent expansion signals were not detected, potentially due to the size and rapid rate of range expansion. Based on the limited genetic structure, there were likely multiple source populations in southern British Columbia, although the magnitude of the demographic expansion and rate of spread have obscured the signature of these source populations. Our data highlight the need for caution in interpreting phylogeographic results for species with similar demographics.     

Food-plant families of British insects and mites: the influence of life form and plant family

The dissimilarities between 107 British plant families with respect to the insect and mite species which feed on them were analysed using a principal co-ordinates analysis. The relationships between the plant families were strongly influenced by the plant life forms. Major groups were woody plants (trees and shrubs), aquatic plants and herbs. A wet to dry gradient was distinguished, as were evergreen plants, and early successional plant families with weeds and annuals. Taxonomically, plant families of the same order were closer together if they were predominantly of the same life form. Fagales and several orders of monocotyledons formed particularly clear groups. The three 'nearest neighbours' of each plant family based on the dissimilarities measures were listed. These provide some interesting, but conjectural, data on evolutionary aspects of plant families. This was illustrated briefly by the Cornaceae and Euphorbiaceae. The underlying progressive evolution of plants from woody species and wetter areas to herbs and annual plants of dry and cold places may be reflected by insect and mite food plant family associations.     

PCR fishing for red endophytes in British Columbia Kallymeniaceae (Gigartinales,Florideophyceae) uncovers the species‐rich Kallymenicola gen. nov. (Palmariales,Nemaliophycidae)

Unexpected contaminants uncovered during routine COI‐5P DNA barcoding of British Columbia Kallymeniaceae indicated the presence of a novel lineage allied to the family Meiodiscaceae, Palmariales. Available rbcL data for species of this family were used to design specific primers to screen for the presence of the meiodiscacean species in 534 kallymeniacean specimens primarily from British Columbia, Canada. Ultimately, 43 positive PCR products representing six diverse genetic groups from nine host species were uncovered; three are described here in the new genus Kallymenicola gen. nov., viz., K. invisiblis sp. nov., K penetrans sp. nov., and K superficialis sp. nov. Although genetic groups loosely displayed evidence of host specificity and cospeciation, examples of host switching with interesting biogeographical patterns were also documented.     

Characterization of dinucleotide microsatellite loci in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), and their use in other North American vespertilionid bats

We describe the development of six microsatellite loci for big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus. Microsatellite markers were isolated from a small insert genomic library, and tested on a population of 44 animals from the Pend d’Oreille Valley, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. These six loci were highly variable, with 12–23 alleles per locus, and observed and expected heterozygosities of greater than 79.5%. The six primer sets, and three others that were not variable in E. fuscus, were tested on 11 other species in the families Vespertilionidae and Antrozoidae. All the tested loci amplified highly variable products in at least several other species.     

Gitksan medicinal plants-cultural choice and efficacy

Background

The use of plants for healing by any cultural group is integrally related to local concepts of the nature of disease, the nature of plants, and the world view of the culture. The physical and chemical properties of the plants themselves also bear on their selection by people for medicines, as does the array of plants available for people to choose from. I examine use of medicinal plants from a "biobehavioral" perspective to illuminate cultural selection of plants used for medicine by the Gitksan of northwestern British Columbia, Canada.

Methods

Consultant consensus, "intercultural consensus", independent use of the same plants by other cultural groups, and phytochemistry and bioassay results from the literature, were employed in analysis of probable empirical efficacy of plant uses.

Results

70% of 37 Gitksan medicinal plants were used similarly by other cultures where direct diffusion is not known to have occurred; eleven plants, including the eight most frequently mentioned medicinal plants, also show active phytochemicals or bioassays indicating probable physiologically based therapeutic effects.

Conclusion

Analysis of intercultural consensus revealed that the majority of cultures in the British Columbia region within the plant ranges use the same plants, or closely related species, in similar ways. The rigor of this analysis is effected by the lack of consistent data on all taxa of interest for all cultures within the region.     

Photoperiod control of poplar bark storage protein accumulation

Bark storage proteins (BSPs) accumulate in the inner bark parenchyma of many woody plants during autumn and winter. We investigated the effect of a short-day (SD) photoperiod on the accumulation of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein of poplar (Populus deltoides Bart. ex Marsh.) under controlled environmental and natural growing conditions. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and protein gel blot analysis revealed that 10 days of SD exposure (8 hours of light) resulted in a 20% increase in the relative abundance of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein of poplar. After 17 days of SD exposure, the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein accounted for nearly one-half of the soluble bark proteins. In natural field conditions, accumulation of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein was observed to start by August 18 (daylength 14.1 hours). Immunoprecipitation of in vitro translation products with anti-BSP serum revealed that the SD protein accumulation was correlated with changes in the pool of translatable mRNA. A survey of poplar clones from different geographic origins revealed the presence of the 32-kilodalton BSP in the dormant bark of all the clones tested. These results demonstrate that a SD photoperiod induces, whether directly or indirectly, rapid changes in woody plant gene expression, leading to the accumulation of BSP.     

A multi-scale test for dispersal filters in an island plant community

Constraints on plant distributions resulting from seed limitation (i.e. dispersal filters) were evaluated on two scales of ecological organization on islands off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. First, island plant communities were separated into groups based on fruit morphology, and patterns in species diversity were compared between fruit‐type groups. Second, abundance patterns in several common fleshy‐fruited, woody angiosperm species were compared to species‐specific patterns in seed dispersal by birds. Results from community‐level analyses showed evidence for dispersal filters. Dry‐fruited species were rare on islands, despite being common on the mainland. Island plant communities were instead dominated by fleshy‐fruited species. Patterns in seed dispersal were consistent with differences in diversity, as birds dispersed thousands of fleshy‐fruited seeds out to islands, while dry fruited species showed no evidence of mainland‐island dispersal. Results from population‐level analyses showed no evidence for dispersal filters. Population sizes of common fleshy‐fruited species were unrelated to island isolation, as were rates of seed dispersal. Therefore, island isolation distances were not large enough to impose constraints on species’ distributions resulting from seed limitation. Rates of seed dispersal were also unrelated to island area. However, several species increased in abundance with island area, indicating post‐dispersal processes also help to shape species distributions. Overall results suggest that seed dispersal processes play an important role in determining the diversity and distribution of plants on islands. At the community‐level, dry‐fruited species were seed limited and island communities were instead dominated by fleshy‐fruited species. At the population‐level, common fleshy‐fruited species were not seed limited and showed few differences in distribution among islands. Therefore, although evidence for dispersal filters was observed, their effects on plant distributions were scale‐dependent.