Abstract
Understanding how the traits of lineages are related to diversification is key for elucidating the origin of variation in species richness. Here, we test whether traits are related to species richness among lineages of trees from all major biogeographical settings of the lowland wet tropics. We explore whether variation in mortality rate, breeding system and maximum diameter are related to species richness, either directly or via associations with range size, among 463 genera that contain wet tropical forest trees. For Amazonian genera, we also explore whether traits are related to species richness via variation among genera in mean species-level range size. Lineages with higher mortality rates—faster life-history strategies—have larger ranges in all biogeographic settings and have higher mean species-level range sizes in Amazonia. These lineages also have smaller maximum diameters and, in the Americas, contain dioecious species. In turn, lineages with greater overall range size have higher species richness. Our results show that fast life-history strategies influence species richness in all biogeographic settings because lineages with these ecological strategies have greater range sizes. These links suggest that dispersal has been a key process in the evolution of the tropical forest flora.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 4695 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Feb 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2025.
Funding
TRB acknowledges funding from a Leverhulme Research Fellowship ('History or ecology? Untangling the drivers of diversification in the tropics'; RF-2015-653) which supported the conceptualisation, analysis and writing of this manuscript. This paper is a product of the RAINFOR, AfriTRON, T-FORCES, PPBio and CTFS Forest-Geo networks. These networks have been supported by multiple funders and grants, including the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant 291585 -' T-FORCES'), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (#1656 'RAINFOR' and #5349 'Monitoring Protected Areas in Peru to Increase Forest Resilience to Climate Change'), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (283080 -'GEOCARBON', 282664 -'AMAZALERT'), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC grants NE/D005590/1 -'TROBIT', NE/F005806/1 -'AMAZONICA', NE/I028122/1 -'Niche Evolution', NE/T012722/1 -'SECO', 'PPFOR' E/M0022021/1), the NERC/State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) consortium grants 'BIO-RED' (NE/N012542/1, 2012/51872-5) and 'ECOFOR' (NE/K016431/1, 2012/51509-8), the Royal Society, the Centre for International Forestry (CIFOR), Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN), CNPq, Brazil (305972/2020-0 and 441561/2016-0), FAPESP (2017/50239-0; 2016/50481-3), the Coordenacao Programa de Aperfeicoamento Pesquisa em Biodiversidade (PPBio), the Centro de Pessoal de Nivel Superior-Brasil (CAPES)-Finance Code 001 "Estudos Integrados da Biodiversidade Amazonica (CENBAM)" and the French Programme Investissement d'Avenir (CEBA, ref. ANR-10-LABX-25-01; TULIP, ref. ANR-10-LABX-0041). We also thank the National Council for Science and Technology Development of Brazil (CNPq) for support to the Cerrado/Amazonia Transition Long-Term Ecology Project (PELD/403725/2012-7), the PPBio Phytogeography of Amazonia/Cerrado Transition project (CNPq/PPBio/457602/2012-0) and a Productivity Grant. Funding for plots in the Udzungwa Mountains (Tanzania) was obtained from the Leverhulme Trust under the Valuing the Arc project. The BCI forest dynamics research project was founded by S.P. Hubbell and R.B. Foster and is now managed by R. Condit, S. Lao, and R. Perez under the Center for Tropical Forest Science and the Smithsonian Tropical Research in Panama. Numerous organizations have provided funding, principally the U.S. National Science Foundation, and hundreds of field workers have contributed. We acknowledge our use of the large-scale forest plot at Pasoh Forest Reserve which is an ongoing project of the Malaysian Government, directed by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia. Plot data were also included from the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network, a collaboration between Conservation International, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Smithsonian Institution and the Wildlife Conservation Society, and partly funded by these institutions, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and other donors. We acknowledge individual financial support from long-term research development project No. RVO 67985939 of the Czech Academy of Sciences (RH), NERC Independent Research Fellowship NE/S01537X/1 (TJ), a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, ERC Advanced Grant and a Phillip Leverhulme Prize (SLL), a UK an ERC Advanced Grant, a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, and a Royal Society Global Challenges Award ('FORAMA', ICA/R1/180100) (OLP), Grant ANID FONDECYT/Iniciacion 11200967 and Grant ANID PIA/BASAL FB210006 (RS), and grant INTER-TRANSFER LTT19018 from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (MS). Data from RAINFOR, AfriTRON and T-FORCES are stored and curated by ForestPlots.net, a cyber-infrastructure initiative developed at the University of Leeds that unites permanent plot records and their contributing scientists from the world's tropical forests. The development, management and implementation of ForestPlots.net has been funded by grants to OLP (principally from NERC NE/B503384/1, NE/N012542/1 BIO-RED, ERC AdG 291585 T-FORCES', and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation #1656, 'RAINFOR'), EG ('GEOCARBON', and NE/F005806/1 'AMAZONICA'), TRB (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation #5349, 'Monitoring Protected Areas in Peru to Increase Forest Resilience to Climate Change', NERC NE/I028122/1 'Niche Evolution'; Institutional Links project 414694929 under the UK/Peru Newton-Paulet Fund partnership funded by the UK Department for Business and Energy and Industrial Strategy and CONCYTEC and delivered by the British Council; NERC Impact Accelerator award), SLL (Royal Society University Research Fellowship; NERC New Investigators Award; Phillip Leverhulme Prize; NERC Large Grant NE/R016860/1, 'CongoPeat') and DG (NERC NE/N004655/1, 'TREMOR'). We thank E. Manson, D. Coenen, and C. Pertusi for help mining genetic sequences from GenBank, J. Lloyd for plot data and G. Hidalgo Pizango for assisting in assembling the information about genus-level traits. We acknowledge the pioneering work of T. Lovejoy to establish long-term forest monitoring of as part of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments project; this study is contribution number XXX to the Technical Series (TS) of the BDFFP (INPA -STRI).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Leverhulme Research Fellowship | RF-2015-653 |
| European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant) | 291585 |
| Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation | 1656, 5349 |
| David and Lucile Packard Foundation | |
| European Union | 283080, 282664 |
| Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) | NE/D005590/1, NE/F005806/1, NE/I028122/1, NE/T012722/1, E/M0022021/1 |
| NERC/State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) | NE/N012542/1, 2012/51872-5, NE/K016431/1, 2012/51509-8 |
| Royal Society | |
| CNPq, Brazil | 305972/2020-0, 441561/2016-0 |
| FAPESP | 2017/50239-0, 2016/50481-3 |
| Coordenacao Programa de Aperfeicoamento Pesquisa em Biodiversidade (PPBio) | |
| French Programme Investissement d'Avenir (CEBA) | ANR-10-LABX-25-01, ANR-10-LABX-0041 |
| National Council for Science and Technology Development of Brazil (CNPq) | PELD/403725/2012-7 |
| PPBio Phytogeography of Amazonia/Cerrado Transition Project | CNPq/PPBio/457602/2012-0 |
| Leverhulme Trust under the Valuing the Arc project | |
| U.S. National Science Foundation | |
| Czech Academy of Sciences | RVO 67985939 |
| NERC independent research fellowship | NE/S01537X/1 |
| Royal Society University Research Fellowship | |
| ERC Advanced Grant | |
| Phillip Leverhulme Prize | |
| UK an ERC Advanced Grant | |
| Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award | |
| Royal Society Global Challenges Award ('FORAMA') | ICA/R1/180100 |
| Grant ANID FONDECYT/Iniciacion | 11200967 |
| Grant ANID PIA/BASAL | FB210006 |
| grant INTER-TRANSFER from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic | LTT19018 |
| NERC | NE/F005806/1, NE/I028122/1, NE/N012542/1, NE/B503384/1, NE/R016860/1, NE/N004655/1 |
| ERC AdG | 291585 |
| UK Department for Business and Energy | 414694929 |
| Industrial Strategy and CONCYTEC | |
| British Council | |
| Centro de Pessoal de Nivel Superior-Brasil (CAPES) | 001 |
| Centre for International Forestry (CIFOR) | |
| Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN) |
Keywords
- Biodiversity
- Biogeography
- Diversification
- Evolution
- Trees
- Tropical forest