How does trait variance partitioning help us to understand plant community assembly? The example of pond communities in the Kerguelen Islands

• Published in: Journal of Vegetation Science
• Main Authors: Douce, Pauline, Renault, D, Simon, Laurent, Mermillod-Blondin, Florian, Vallier, Felix, Bittebière, Anne‐kristel
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés (LEHNA), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État (ENTPE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution Rennes (ECOBIO), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement - CNRS Ecologie et Environnement (INEE-CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), This study was funded by the French National Research Agency, ‘PONDS’ project (ANR-21-CE02-0003-01, JCJC call 2020–2021), the BiodivERsA ‘ASICS’ project (ANR-20-EBI5-0004, BiodivClim call 2019–2020), the Paul-Emile Victor French Polar Institute (IPEV 136 SUBANTECO project), and the long-term research network on biodiversity in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems (Zone Atelier InEE-CNRS Antarctique et Terres Australes)., ANR-21-CE02-0003,PONDS,Traits des plantes et fonctionnement de l'écosystème aquatique en contexte de changement climatique(2021), ANR-20-EBI5-0004,ASICS,ASsessing and mitigating the effects of climate change and biological Invasions on the spatial redistribution of biodiversity in Cold environmentS(2020)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Antarctic; Kerguelen; Kerguelen Islands; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04382947; https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13217

International audience Question:In the current context of biodiversity erosion, functional approaches to the examination of community assembly mechanisms and better prediction of plant species fates have emerged. The assessment of trait variation patterns should be a powerful means of identifying community assembly mechanisms. However, most studies of trait variations and their consequences for individual performance (i.e., vegetative biomass) are usually incomplete as they focused on single ecological scales or filters, with no consideration of relationships between traits. Such research has provided a fragmented view of plant community assembly. Location: We examined macrophyte communities living in ponds of the sub‐Antarctic Iles Kerguelen. Methods: We measured traits related to resource acquisition and conservation in all occurring species, and examined their variation across temporal (years), spatial (sites), and taxonomic (between and within species) scales and in response to multiple abiotic and biotic habitat variables. The consequences of these trait variations and the effects of their correlation for plant individual performance were also explored.Results:Trait distributions were fairly conserved among sites, whereas we observed a large amount of intraspecific trait variation enabling individuals to resist filters. Responses to biotic and/or abiotic variables were trait‐dependent, and simultaneous trait responses should enable individual plants to face several simultaneous constraints. Almost all traits had direct or indirect effects on individual performance, indicating the need to consider trait relationships.Conclusion:The partitioning of trait variance is a relevant approach to the identification of the scale at which the most decisive processes for plant community assembly operate without the interference of scale dependency issues, and should orient further research. In addition, several biotic and abiotic variables should be considered in future studies to better understand the effects of ...