Leaf size of woody dicots predicts ecosystem primary productivity

A key challenge in ecology is to understand the relationships between organismal traits and ecosystem processes. Here, with a novel dataset of leaf length and width for 10 480 woody dicots in China and 2374 in North America, we show that the variation in community mean leaf size is highly correlated with the variation in climate and ecosystem primary productivity, independent of plant life form. These relationships likely reflect how natural selection modifies leaf size across varying climates in conjunction with how climate influences canopy total leaf area. We find that the leaf size?primary productivity functions based on the Chinese dataset can predict productivity in North America and vice‐versa. In addition to advancing understanding of the relationship between a climate‐driven trait and ecosystem functioning, our findings suggest that leaf size can also be a promising tool in palaeoecology for scaling from fossil leaves to palaeo‐primary productivity of woody ecosystems.     

Fungal functional ecology: bringing a trait‐based approach to plant‐associated fungi

Fungi play many essential roles in ecosystems. They facilitate plant access to nutrients and water, serve as decay agents that cycle carbon and nutrients through the soil, water and atmosphere, and are major regulators of macro‐organismal populations. Although technological advances are improving the detection and identification of fungi, there still exist key gaps in our ecological knowledge of this kingdom, especially related to function . Trait‐based approaches have been instrumental in strengthening our understanding of plant functional ecology and, as such, provide excellent models for deepening our understanding of fungal functional ecology in ways that complement insights gained from traditional and ‐omics‐based techniques. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge of fungal functional ecology, taxonomy and systematics and introduce a novel database of fungal functional traits (Fun^Fun). Fun^Fun is built to interface with other databases to explore and predict how fungal functional diversity varies by taxonomy, guild, and other evolutionary or ecological grouping variables. To highlight how a quantitative trait‐based approach can provide new insights, we describe multiple targeted examples and end by suggesting next steps in the rapidly growing field of fungal functional ecology.     

A practical guide to measuring functional indicators and traits in biocrusts

Biocrusts are multifunctional communities that are increasingly being used to restore degraded or damaged ecosystems. Concurrently, restoration science is shifting away from the use of purely structural metrics, such as relative abundance, to more functional approaches. Although biocrust restoration technology is advancing, there is a lack of readily available information on how to monitor biocrust functioning and set appropriate restoration goals. We therefore compiled a selection of 22 functional indicators that can be used to monitor biocrust functions, such as CO₂ exchange as an indicator of productivity or soil aggregate stability as a proxy for erosion resistance. We describe the functional importance of each indicator and the available protocols with which it may be measured. The majority of indicators can be measured as a functional trait of species by using patches of biocrust or cultures that contain only one species. Practitioners wishing to track the multifunctionality of an entire biocrust community would be advised to choose one indicator from each broad functional group (erosion resistance, nutrient accumulation, productivity, energy balance, hydrology), whereas a targeted approach would be more appropriate for projects with a key function of interest. Because predisturbance data are rarely available for biocrust functions, restoration goals can be based on a closely analogous site, literature values, or an expert elicitation process. Finally, we advocate for the establishment of a global trait database for biocrusts, which would reduce the damage resulting from repeated sampling, and provide a wealth of future research opportunities.     

17个建兰品种光合特性分析

以17个建兰(Cymbidium ensifolium)品种为材料,采用改良的丙酮法提取叶绿素,再通过Arnon丙酮法公式计算光合色素含量,利用捷克FluorCam开放式叶绿素荧光仪测定不同品种的叶绿素荧光参数。结果表明,17个建兰品种的光合色素和叶绿素荧光参数具有不同程度的差异,其中‘铁骨素’(C. ensifolium ‘Tiegusu’)、‘逸红双娇’(C. ensifolium ‘Yihongshuangjiao’)和‘闽南黄蝶’(C. ensifolium ‘Minnanhuangdie’)的光合色素含量高于其他品种,表明这3个品种具有良好的光合效率,吸收光能的能力较强;‘铁骨素’最大荧光产量(Fm)、Kautsky诱导效应最大荧光(Fp)、PS Ⅱ原初光能转化效率(Fv/Fm)和非光化荧光淬灭系数(NPQ)均为最高。综上可知,‘铁骨素’的光合生理特性优于其他品种,可作为优良建兰品种进行种植推广。     

Intraspecific mating system evolution and its effect on complex male secondary sexual traits: Does male–male competition increase selection on size or shape?

Sexual selection is generally held responsible for the exceptional diversity in secondary sexual traits in animals. Mating system evolution is therefore expected to profoundly affect the covariation between secondary sexual traits and mating success. Whereas there is such evidence at the interspecific level, data within species remain scarce. We here investigate sexual selection acting on the exaggerated male fore femur and the male wing in the common and widespread dung flies Sepsis punctum and S. neocynipsea (Diptera: Sepsidae). Both species exhibit intraspecific differences in mating systems and variation in sexual size dimorphism (SSD) across continents that correlates with the extent of male–male competition. We predicted that populations subject to increased male–male competition will experience stronger directional selection on the sexually dimorphic male foreleg. Our results suggest that fore femur size, width and shape were indeed positively associated with mating success in populations with male‐biased SSD in both species, which was not evident in conspecific populations with female‐biased SSD. However, this was also the case for wing size and shape, a trait often assumed to be primarily under natural selection. After correcting for selection on overall body size by accounting for allometric scaling, we found little evidence for independent selection on any of these size or shape traits in legs or wings, irrespective of the mating system. Sexual dimorphism and (foreleg) trait exaggeration is therefore unlikely to be driven by direct precopulatory sexual selection, but more so by selection on overall size or possibly selection on allometric scaling.