|
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY THE
URIARTE LAB Department of Ecology, Evolution &
Environmental Biology |
|
A neighborhood approach to the
biogeography of Puerto Rican trees Collaborators
Bob
Muscarella, Aarhus University, Denmark The
geographic distributions of tree species reflects both physical (e.g.,
geology, climate) and local processes (e.g., competition, herbivory). These
factors do not act independently. For example, the strength of competition
among trees may be stronger in low fertility soils. However, only a few
studies have examined the simultaneous effects of physical factors and local
processes on tree growth and survival. Such synthesis is central to
predicting tree species responses to environmental change. This is a critical
issue in tropical forests because these ecosystems are experiencing rapid
environmental change and play a key role in regulating global climate. We
are developing a novel spatially-explicit neighborhood approach to
disentangle local effects of environmental heterogeneity and biotic
interactions on tree growth and survival across Puerto Rico while accounting
for individual trait variation. The island has high tree diversity, marked
environmental and climate gradients, and an extensive amount of existing
data, making this an ideal site for this research. To do so, we will couple
(a) tree trait measurements across species ranges traits, including traits
related to water use strategies, (b) trait-based neighborhood models of tree
growth and survival derived from data collected in 24 mapped plots, and (c)
generalized joint attribute models that characterize species distributions
with respect to regional environmental gradients using herbaria collections. Fig. 1. Distribution of
study sites in Puerto Rico
Funding:
NSF DEB Population and community ecology. |
|
|
