Crossing the Divide: An Exploration of Functional Traits in Ferns that Grow Across Terrestrial, Epipetric, and Epiphytic Habitats
Crossing the Divide: An Exploration of Functional Traits in Ferns that Grow Across Terrestrial, Epipetric, and Epiphytic Habitats
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DOI：
10.1640/0002-8444-111.4.308
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发表时间：
2021-11
影响因子：
0.8
通讯作者：
J. Watts;J. E. Watkins
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Watts;J. E. Watkins
抽象的。植物具有显著的可塑性和改变其功能生物学以划分生态位的能力。然而，功能性状探索存在局限性，特别是在复杂和压力大的栖息地中。高度特化的特征可能控制物种在栖息地内和栖息地之间探索的能力。这可能是真的附生植物，其独特的性状阵列可能会限制他们的能力，建立在附生和陆地栖息地。在蕨类植物的情况下，很少有报道的物种可以有规律地在这些栖息地生长。然而，这项研究报告和探索的物种，表现出巨大的生态灵活性，在广泛的栖息地和生长形式的增长。具体来说，我们研究的物种，生长为1）terrestrially生根和附生的个人，2）巢和非巢形成的附生植物;和巢形成terrestrially生根的个人，和3）物种生长为陆生，附生，和epipetric个人。我们使用自然丰度叶片稳定同位素比（SIR）的N15和C13，和%N，探讨种内变化的矿物营养和水的关系之间和小生境内。我们的研究结果揭示了1）一些物种在附生/陆生分界线上生长的未报道的能力，2）一些物种探索这些栖息地的惊人能力，功能特征几乎没有变化; 3）巢在巢形成附生植物中的潜在新功能。最后，我们的工作强调了需要考虑种内性状变异更仔细地研究蕨类植物发生在广泛的栖息地。
Abstract. Plants are characterized by their marked plasticity and ability to alter their functional biology to partition ecological niches. However, there are limits to functional trait exploration especially in complex and stressful habitats. Highly specialized traits may control a species ability to explore within and across habitats. Such may be especially true of epiphytes, whose array of unique traits may constrain their ability to cross establish in epiphytic and terrestrial habitats. In the case of ferns, there are few reported examples of species that can grow across these habitats with regularity. However, this study reports and explores species that exhibit great ecological flexibility growing across a wide range of habitats and growth forms. Specifically, we examine species that grow as 1) terrestrially rooted and epiphytic individuals, 2) nest and non-nest-forming epiphytes; and nest-forming terrestrially rooted individuals, and 3) species that grow as terrestrial, epiphytic, and epipetric individuals. We use natural abundance foliar stable isotope ratios (SIR) of N15 and C13, and %N, to explore intraspecific variation in mineral nutrition and water relations across and within niches. Our results reveal the 1) unreported ability of some species to grow across the epiphytic/terrestrial divide, 2) surprising ability of some species to explore these habitats with little to no shift in functional traits; 3) a potentially new function for the nest in nest-forming epiphytes. Finally, our work highlights the need to consider intraspecific trait variation more carefully when studying ferns that occur across a wide range of habitats.