Competition among eucalyptus trees depends on genetic variation and resource supply

Genetic variation and environmental heterogeneity fundamentally shape the interactions between plants of the same species. According to the resource partitioning hypothesis, competition between neighbors intensifies as their similarity increases. Such competition may change in response to increasing supplies of limiting resources. We tested the resource partitioning hypothesis in stands of genetically identical (clone-origin) and genetically diverse (seed-origin) Eucalyptus trees with different water and nutrient supplies, using individual-based tree growth models. We found that genetic variation greatly reduced competitive interactions between neighboring trees, supporting the resource partitioning hypothesis. The importance of genetic variation for Eucalyptus growth patterns depended strongly on local stand structure and focal tree size. This suggests that spatial and temporal variation in the strength of species interactions leads to reversals in the growth rank of seed-origin and clone-origin trees. This study is one of the first to experimentally test the resource partitioning hypothesis for intergenotypic vs. intragenotypic interactions in trees. We provide evidence that variation at the level of genes, and not just species, is functionally important for driving individual and community-level processes in forested ecosystems.     

Epibenthic macrofaunal community response after a mega-earthquake and tsunami in a shallow bay off central-south Chile

On February 27, 2010, the world’s sixth strongest earthquake on record (8.8 M _w) and tsunami hit central Chile. We assess the response of the epibenthic macrofaunal community following this event in Coliumo Bay, one of the areas most affected by this mega-perturbation. The indicators of aggregate and compositional variability show that 3 years after this event, the community appears to have undergone the following dynamics: (1) At an inter-annual timescale, the community (both in density and biomass) shifted through different structures with apparent directionality; (2) Oceanographic and biological seasonality had a strong cyclical influence on the inter-annual community response; (3) There was spatial homogenization of the community over time (i.e., recovery of diversity), probably promoted by the ecological functionality of scavenger species (i.e., crab Cancer coronatus and snail Nassarius spp.) and by the proportional increase in non-dominant species; (4) Bathymetry and bottom dissolved oxygen also played significant roles in the spatial structure of this community; (5) Three years after the perturbation, total density and total community biomass were still considerably below those described under unperturbed conditions, mainly associated with the decrease in density and biomass of dominant species. Therefore, in spite of this apparent community compositional recovery, the aggregate variability currently remains below the levels reported prior to the effect of the mega-earthquake and tsunami. These results provide evidence that supports both the Cross-Scale Resilience Hypothesis and the Response Diversity Hypothesis.     

三峡库区支流梅溪河附石藻类群落变化及其与环境因子的关系

为了解不同水文期三峡库区支流附石藻类与环境因子的关系,分别于丰水期（2016年8月）、枯水期（2016年11月）及平水期（2017年3月）这3个时期,对三峡库区支流梅溪河非回水区和回水区的26个采样点附石藻类进行采样并对其相关环境因子进行分析.结果表明,3个水情期,共鉴定出附石藻类5门47属106种（含变种）.其中,丰水期采集到73种,隶属5门38属,枯水期67种,隶属4门36属,平水期63种,隶属4门33属.丰水期、枯水期和平水期优势种分别为19种、17种和18种,丰水期的主要优势种属为曲壳藻属、束丝藻属和席藻属,枯水期为异极藻属、曲壳藻属和舟形藻属,而平水期为异极藻属、曲壳藻属和色球藻属.3个时期共有的优势种为扁圆卵形藻（Cocconeis placentula）、曲壳藻（Achnanthes sp.）、近棒形异极藻（Gomphonema subclavatum）、小型异极藻（G.parvulum）、小型舟形藻（Navicula parva）和缢缩异极藻（G.constrictum）.冗余（RDA）分析表明,回水区的附石藻类优势种相对丰度与电导率（Spc）、溶氧（DO）、pH、总磷（TP）和总氮（TN）的变化相关,而在非回水区,附石藻类优势种相对丰度主要与电导率（Spc）、pH、总磷（TP）、水温（WT）和流速（v）的变化有关.3个时期,影响附石藻类环境因子具有差异,然而,3个时期小型异极藻、缢缩异极藻和曲壳藻等优势种的相对丰度均与总磷呈负相关,与pH呈正相关.这些结果表明三峡库区不同水文期及水环境变化对附石藻类群落组成具有重要影响,导致群落结构发生变化.