A

Phylogenetic conservatism in the relationship between functional and demographic characteristics in Amazon tree taxa

Functional Ecology, vol. 39, pp. 181–198

Abstract

Abstract Leaf and wood functional traits of trees are related to growth, reproduction, and survival, but the degree of phylogenetic conservatism in these relationships is largely unknown. In this study, we describe the variability of strategies involving leaf, wood and demographic characteristics for tree genera distributed across the Amazon Region, and quantify phylogenetic signal for the characteristics and their relationships. Leaf and wood traits are aligned with demographic variables along two main axes of variation. The first axis represents the coordination of leaf traits describing resource uptake and use, wood density, seed mass, and survival. The second axis represents the coordination between size and growth. Both axes show strong phylogenetic signal, suggesting a constrained evolution influenced by ancestral values, yet the second axis also has an additional, substantial portion of its variation that is driven by functional correlations unrelated to phylogeny, suggesting simultaneously higher evolutionary lability and coordination. Synthesis. Our results suggest that life history strategies of tropical trees are generally phylogenetically conserved, but that tree lineages may have some capability of responding to environmental changes by modulating their growth and size. Overall, we provide the largest‐scale synopsis of functional characteristics of Amazonian trees, showing substantial nuance in the evolutionary patterns of individual characteristics and their relationships. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Authors 100

  1. Pablo Sanchez‐Martinez corresponding

    Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona · Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications · University of Edinburgh

    Affiliation as printed

    CREAF Barcelona Spain

    Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona Cerdanyola del Vallès Spain

    School of Geosciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK

    The University of Edinburgh (Old College South Bridge Edinburgh EH8 9YL - United Kingdom)

  2. University of Turin · University of Edinburgh

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Turin Turin Italy

    School of Geosciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK

  3. University of Liverpool

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Geography and Planning University of Liverpool Liverpool UK

    University of Liverpool (Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom - United Kingdom)

  4. Florida International University

    Affiliation as printed

    International Center for Tropical Botany (ICTB) Department of Biological Sciences Florida International University Miami Florida USA

    International Center for Tropical Botany (ICTB) Department of Biological Sciences Florida International University Miami Florida USA

  5. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  6. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  7. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  8. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  9. Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi · Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Botânica Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Belém Brazil

    Programa Professor Visitante Nacional Sênior na Amazônia—CAPES Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia Belém Brazil

  10. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Ecology, Monitoring and Sustainable Use of Wetlands (MAUA) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

    Wetland Department, Institute of Geography and Geoecology Karlsruhe Institute of Technology—KIT Rastatt Germany

  11. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

    Affiliation as printed

    Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal de Roraima, Embrapa Roraima Boa Vista Brazil

    Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal de Roraima, Embrapa Roraima Boa Vista Brazil

  12. Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Estado do Amapá

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Botânica Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Amapá—IEPA Macapá Brazil

  13. Field Museum of Natural History · Universidad de Las Américas

    Affiliation as printed

    Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud‐BIOMAS Universidad de las Américas Quito Ecuador

    Keller Science Action Center The Field Museum Chicago Illinois USA

  14. University of Leeds

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK

    University of Leeds (Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT - United Kingdom)

  15. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ecologia Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  16. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

    Affiliation as printed

    AMAP (botAnique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des végétations) Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD Montpellier France

  17. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  18. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

    Affiliation as printed

    AMAP (botAnique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des végétations) Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD Montpellier France

  19. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  20. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  21. Affiliation as printed

    Amcel Amapá Florestal e Celulose S.A. Santana Brazil

  22. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  23. Naturalis Biodiversity Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Naturalis Biodiversity Center Leiden The Netherlands

  24. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Ecology, Monitoring and Sustainable Use of Wetlands (MAUA) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  25. Instituto Sinchi

    Affiliation as printed

    Herbario Amazónico Colombiano Instituto SINCHI Bogotá Colombia

  26. Field Museum of Natural History

    Affiliation as printed

    Collections, Conservation and Research The Field Museum Chicago Illinois USA

  27. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Ecology, Monitoring and Sustainable Use of Wetlands (MAUA) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  28. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Ecology, Monitoring and Sustainable Use of Wetlands (MAUA) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  29. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP Campinas Brazil

  30. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais

    Affiliation as printed

    Divisao de Sensoriamento Remoto—DSR Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais—INPE São José dos Campos Brazil

  31. National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco

    Affiliation as printed

    Herbario Vargas Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco Cusco Peru

  32. University of Stirling

    Affiliation as printed

    Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK

  33. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Ecologia, Centro de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil

  34. Universidade Federal de Rondônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Biologia Universidade Federal de Rondônia Porto Velho Brazil

  35. Universidade Federal de Rondônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Pós‐ Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia PPG‐ Bionorte Universidade Federal de Rondônia Porto Velho Brazil

  36. Florida Museum of Natural History · University of Florida · James Cook University

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns Queensland Australia

    Department of Biology and Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA

  37. Universidade Federal de Rondônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Pós‐ Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia PPG‐ Bionorte Universidade Federal de Rondônia Porto Velho Brazil

  38. University of St Andrews · Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana

    Affiliation as printed

    Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP) Iquitos Peru

    School of Geography and Sustainable Development University of St Andrews St Andrews UK

  39. National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco · Jardín Botánico de Missouri

    Affiliation as printed

    Herbario Vargas Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco Cusco Peru

    Jardín Botánico de Missouri Oxapampa Peru

  40. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia · Bolivian Forest Research Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

    Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal Santa Cruz Bolivia

  41. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ecologia Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  42. University of Leeds · University of Exeter

    Affiliation as printed

    Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK

    School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK

  43. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Ecology, Monitoring and Sustainable Use of Wetlands (MAUA) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

    Wetland Department, Institute of Geography and Geoecology Karlsruhe Institute of Technology—KIT Rastatt Germany

  44. Instituto Sinchi

    Affiliation as printed

    Herbario Amazónico Colombiano Instituto SINCHI Bogotá Colombia

  45. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  46. Affiliation as printed

    Agteca‐Amazonica Santa Cruz Bolivia

  47. Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso

    Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso Nova Xavantina Brazil

  48. Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso

    Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso Nova Xavantina Brazil

  49. Jardín Botánico de Missouri

    Affiliation as printed

    Jardín Botánico de Missouri Oxapampa Peru

  50. Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University

    Affiliation as printed

    Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno Santa Cruz Bolivia

  51. Vale Technological Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Instituto Tecnológico Vale Belém Brazil

  52. Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Botânica Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Belém Brazil

  53. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Florida International University · Université de Montpellier · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

    Affiliation as printed

    AMAP (botAnique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des végétations) Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD Montpellier France

    International Center for Tropical Botany (ICTB) Department of Biological Sciences Florida International University Miami Florida USA

  54. Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana

    Affiliation as printed

    Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Guayana Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana Puerto Ordaz Venezuela

  55. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

    Affiliation as printed

    Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia Parque Estação Biológica Brasilia Brazil

  56. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

    Affiliation as printed

    Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia Parque Estação Biológica Brasilia Brazil

  57. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos Florestais Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  58. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos Florestais Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  59. James Cook University

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns Queensland Australia

  60. James Cook University

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns Queensland Australia

  61. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  62. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  63. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  64. Affiliation as printed

    Laboratório de Ecologia de Doenças Transmissíveis da Amazônia (EDTA) Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane Manaus Brazil

  65. Universidade Federal do Pará

    Affiliation as printed

    Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal do Pará Belém Brazil

  66. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation · Universidade Federal do Pará

    Affiliation as printed

    Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária Embrapa Amazônia Oriental Belém Brazil

    Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Universidade Federal do Pará Belém Brazil

  67. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Biodiversidade Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  68. Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá

    Affiliation as printed

    Diretoria Técnico‐Científica Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá Tefé Brazil

  69. Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Ciencias del Agro y el Mar Herbario Universitario (PORT) Guanare Venezuela

  70. University of Leeds

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK

  71. Universidad de Los Andes

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratorio de Ecología de Bosques Tropicales y Primatología Universidad de los Andes Bogotá Colombia

  72. Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University · Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado

    Affiliation as printed

    Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno Santa Cruz Bolivia

  73. University of Birmingham

    Affiliation as printed

    Birmingham Institute for Forest Research University of Birmingham Birmingham UK

  74. University of Leeds

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK

  75. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia (Botânica) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  76. Affiliation as printed

    Endangered Species Coalition Silver Spring Maryland USA

  77. University of East Anglia

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK

  78. Wake Forest University

    Affiliation as printed

    Biology Department and Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability Wake Forest University Winston Salem North Carolina USA

  79. Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Botânica Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Belém Brazil

  80. Universidad de Los Andes

    Affiliation as printed

    Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Instituto de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Forestal Universidad de los Andes Mérida Venezuela

  81. National Park Service · Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Conservation and Sustainability Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Washington District of Columbia USA

    Inventory and Monitoring Program National Park Service Fredericksburg Virginia USA

  82. Universidade Federal do Amapá

    Affiliation as printed

    Universidade Federal do Amapá, Ciências Ambientais Macapá Brazil

  83. University of Gothenburg

    Affiliation as printed

    Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden

  84. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP Campinas Brazil

  85. Affiliation as printed

    Centro para la Restauración y Bioeconomía Sostenible—CREBIOS Lima Peru

    Peruvian Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (PCBC) Iquitos Peru

  86. Centro Universitário Cesumar

    Affiliation as printed

    Postgraduate Program in Clean Technologies UniCesumar and Cesumar Institute of Science, Technology, and Innovation (ICETI), UniCesumar Maringá Brazil

  87. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ecologia Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

  88. Affiliation as printed

    Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program Madre de Dios Peru

  89. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Conservation and Sustainability Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Washington District of Columbia USA

  90. Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University · Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado

    Affiliation as printed

    Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno Santa Cruz Bolivia

  91. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Conservation and Sustainability Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Washington District of Columbia USA

  92. University of Turku · Universidade Federal do Pará

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Biology University of Turku Turku Finland

    Environmental Science Program, Geosciences Department Universidade Federal do Pará Belém Brazil

  93. Universidad Estatal Amazónica

    Affiliation as printed

    Universidad Estatal Amazónica Puyo Ecuador

  94. Universidad Regional Amazónica IKIAM

    Affiliation as printed

    Universidad Regional Amazónica IKIAM Tena Ecuador

  95. Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso

    Affiliation as printed

    ICNHS Federal University of Mato Grosso Sinop Brazil

  96. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

    Procuradoria‐Geral de Justiça Ministério Público do Estado do Amazonas Manaus Brazil

  97. Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso

    Affiliation as printed

    ICNHS Federal University of Mato Grosso Sinop Brazil

  98. Norwegian University of Life Sciences

    Affiliation as printed

    Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) Aas Norway

  99. Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso

    Affiliation as printed

    ICNHS Federal University of Mato Grosso Sinop Brazil

  100. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais · Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

    Affiliation as printed

    Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ecologia Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia—INPA Manaus Brazil

    Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Brazil

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References 57