Abstract
AbstractQuestionA better understanding of species distribution and establishment requires in‐depth information on their seed ecology. We hypothesised that seed traits of mudflat species may indicate a strong environmental adaptation in their highly specialised habitat. Furthermore, we asked the question, do seeds of mudflat species have a specific trait value to contribute high adaptability to small‐scale variation in their unpredictable habitat?LocationCentral Europe.MethodsSeeds of 30 typical mudflat species were used to measure 15 traits that govern seed dispersal (buoyancy and production), persistence (seed desiccation, mass and persistence in soil), and germination and establishment (germination response to different light, temperature and oxygen conditions). Cluster analysis and phylogenetic principal components analysis (pPCA) were conducted to define potential mudflat species functional groups as per their ecological optima.ResultsSeed production and seed mass displayed extremely high variation while seed buoyancy, desiccation and persistence in soil showed almost no variation. All study species produced buoyant, desiccation‐tolerant and long‐term persistent seeds. Germination and establishment traits also displayed similarity in their responses to different germination treatments as the majority (73%) of species has a moderate seed germination niche width. They germinated well under light/aerobic conditions irrespective to temperature fluctuations. The cluster analysis and pPCA separated species into three potential plant functional groups as ‘true’, ‘flood‐resistant’ and ‘facultative’, mudflat species.ConclusionModerate variation in the seed traits of mudflat plants suggests they employ different ecological strategies that seem highly predictive to the peculiarity of their specific micro‐habitats, which are largely controlled by the hydroperiod gradient. It implies that seed trait information, which further needs to be tested for their adaptability, can advance our understanding of how community composition at the micro‐habitat level depends on trait values of participating species.
Highlights
During the last two decades, there has been an increasing trend to use regeneration traits to investigate patterns and mechanisms of species distribution, abundance and community composition, due to their high environmental sensitivity (Bykova, Chuine, Morin, & Higgins, 2012; Jiménez-Alfaro, Silveira, Fidelis, Poschlod, & Commander, 2016; Poschlod et al, 2013; Poschlod, Tackenberg, & Bonn, 2005; Rosbakh, Pacini, Nepi, & Poschlod, 2018)
To measure seed production per ramet of the study species, we randomly marked 12 individuals located at one step away from each other and collected all seeds produced by an individual plant
The 15 seed ecological traits studied could be summarised by two principal components (PCs) with eigenvalues >2.7, which together accounted for 43% of the total variance
Summary
During the last two decades, there has been an increasing trend to use regeneration traits to investigate patterns and mechanisms of species distribution, abundance and community composition, due to their high environmental sensitivity (Bykova, Chuine, Morin, & Higgins, 2012; Jiménez-Alfaro, Silveira, Fidelis, Poschlod, & Commander, 2016; Poschlod et al, 2013; Poschlod, Tackenberg, & Bonn, 2005; Rosbakh, Pacini, Nepi, & Poschlod, 2018). According to Grubb's regeneration niche concept (Grubb, 1977), a plant species can neither remain part of an established community for a long time nor can it take part in a newly established community without optimising regenerative functional traits or trait values, closely matched to the environmental filter that governs the local community assembly process. It is a prevailing view among plant ecologists that environmental factors act like filters that remove plants from local species pools if they lack certain requisite traits (Grime, 1979; Keddy, 1992). A species in a mudflat community will not survive long-term if it does not have the ability to build a persistent seed bank (Poschlod & Rosbakh, 2018)
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