Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands

Carolina Tovar; Lucia Hudson; Francisco Cuesta; Rosa Isela Meneses; Priscilla Muriel; Oriane Hidalgo; Luis Palazzesi; Carlos Suarez Ballesteros; Eleanor Hammond Hunt; Mauricio Diazgranados; D. J.Nicholas Hind; Felix Forest; Stephan Halloy; Nikolay Aguirre; William J. Baker; Stephan Beck; Julieta Carilla; Paúl Eguiguren; Elaine Françoso; Luis E. Gámez; Ricardo Jaramillo; Luis Daniel Llambí; Olivier Maurin; Inga Melcher; Gemma Muller; Shyamali Roy; Paul Viñas; Karina Yager; Juan Viruel

doi:10.1093/aob/mcad099

Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands

Carolina Tovar^*, Lucia Hudson, Francisco Cuesta, Rosa Isela Meneses, Priscilla Muriel, Oriane Hidalgo, Luis Palazzesi, Carlos Suarez Ballesteros, Eleanor Hammond Hunt, Mauricio Diazgranados, D. J.Nicholas Hind, Felix Forest, Stephan Halloy, Nikolay Aguirre, William J. Baker, Stephan Beck, Julieta Carilla, Paúl Eguiguren, Elaine Françoso, Luis E. GámezRicardo Jaramillo, Luis Daniel Llambí, Olivier Maurin, Inga Melcher, Gemma Muller, Shyamali Roy, Paul Viñas, Karina Yager, Juan Viruel^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and Aims: Understanding diaspore morphology and how much a species invests on dispersal appendages is key for improving our knowledge of dispersal in fragmented habitats. We investigate diaspore morphological traits in high-Andean Compositae and their main abiotic and biotic drivers and test whether they play a role in species distribution patterns across the naturally fragmented high-Andean grasslands. Methods: We collected diaspore trait data for 125 Compositae species across 47 tropical high-Andean summits, focusing on achene length and pappus-To-Achene length ratio, with the latter as a proxy of dispersal investment. We analysed the role of abiotic (temperature, elevation and latitude) and biotic factors (phylogenetic signal and differences between tribes) on diaspore traits and whether they are related to distribution patterns across the Andes, using phylogenomics, distribution modelling and community ecology analyses. Key Results: Seventy-five percent of the studied species show small achenes (length <3.3 mm) and 67% have high dispersal investment (pappus length at least two times the achene length). Dispersal investment increases with elevation, possibly to compensate for lower air density, and achene length increases towards the equator, where non-seasonal climate prevails. Diaspore traits show significant phylogenetic signal, and higher dispersal investment is observed in Gnaphalieae, Astereae and Senecioneae, which together represent 72% of our species. High-Andean-restricted species found across the tropical Andes have, on average, the pappus four times longer than the achene, a significantly higher dispersal investment than species present only in the northern Andes or only in the central Andes. Conclusions: Small achenes and high diaspore dispersal investment dominate among high-Andean Compositae, traits typical of mostly three tribes of African origin; but traits are also correlated with the environmental gradients within the high-Andean grasslands. Our results also suggest that diaspore dispersal investment is likely to shape species distribution patterns in naturally fragmented habitats.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	255-267
Number of pages	13
Journal	Annals of Botany
Volume	132
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad099
State	Published - 25 Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.

Funding

We thank Jorge Jacome for plot data collection in Colombia as part of the GLORIA-Andes network and Celeste Lottigier for her help in sorting out the material for DNA sequencing. We are also grateful for the support of the Adaptation at Altitude programme (SDC) to the GLORIA-Andes network. We thank the Ministerio de Ambiente y Agua de Ecuador for granting the research permit no. 038-2019-IC-FLO-DNB/MA and for the agreement ‘Diversidad Genética de la Flora Ecuatoriana’, MAE-DNB-CM-2018-0082, carried out in conjunction with PUCE, which allowed the molecular analyses of samples from QCA. F.C. acknowledges the Jocotoco Foundation and the Yanacocha Reserve for facilitating the establishment and monitoring of permanent plots as part of the Pichincha long-term ecological research site. This work was supported by a grant from CONDESAN through the EcoAndes project, funded by UNEP and the Global Environmental Fund (GEF; grant number gfl‐5060‐2711‐4C61); the Andean Forest Program funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC; grant number PA0042-C011-0031) and the Universidad de las Américas (Project number FGE.FCC.20.01) made to F.C.; the Adaptation at Altitude Program funded by SDC (grant number; Contract number 81062762 to LDL); Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo—ANID (BECAS DOCTORADO NACIONAL 21201693—MILENIO NCS2022_009; ANID—FONDECYT 1201527 and ANID—FONDAP 15110006 to R.I.M.); and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE, grant number QINV0097-IINV529010100 to P.M. and R.J.). Part of this work was also supported by grants from the Calleva Foundation to the Plant and Fungal Trees of Life (PAFTOL) project at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Funders	Funder number
CONDESAN
Fungal Trees of Life
PAFTOL
Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco
Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit	PA0042-C011-0031
Global Environment Fund	gfl‐5060‐2711‐4C61
Calleva Foundation
Universidad de Las Américas Chile	FGE.FCC.20.01, 81062762
United Nations Environment Programme
Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico	ANID—FONDAP 15110006, 1201527
Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador	QINV0097-IINV529010100
Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo	21201693

Keywords

Asteraceae
Compositae
alpine ecosystems
diaspore investment
diaspore morphological traits
tropical Andes

Access to Document

10.1093/aob/mcad099

Cite this

Tovar, C., Hudson, L., Cuesta, F., Meneses, R. I., Muriel, P., Hidalgo, O., Palazzesi, L., Suarez Ballesteros, C., Hammond Hunt, E., Diazgranados, M., Hind, D. J. N., Forest, F., Halloy, S., Aguirre, N., Baker, W. J., Beck, S., Carilla, J., Eguiguren, P., Françoso, E., ... Viruel, J. (2023). Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands. Annals of Botany, 132(2), 255-267. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad099

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title = "Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands",

abstract = "Background and Aims: Understanding diaspore morphology and how much a species invests on dispersal appendages is key for improving our knowledge of dispersal in fragmented habitats. We investigate diaspore morphological traits in high-Andean Compositae and their main abiotic and biotic drivers and test whether they play a role in species distribution patterns across the naturally fragmented high-Andean grasslands. Methods: We collected diaspore trait data for 125 Compositae species across 47 tropical high-Andean summits, focusing on achene length and pappus-To-Achene length ratio, with the latter as a proxy of dispersal investment. We analysed the role of abiotic (temperature, elevation and latitude) and biotic factors (phylogenetic signal and differences between tribes) on diaspore traits and whether they are related to distribution patterns across the Andes, using phylogenomics, distribution modelling and community ecology analyses. Key Results: Seventy-five percent of the studied species show small achenes (length <3.3 mm) and 67% have high dispersal investment (pappus length at least two times the achene length). Dispersal investment increases with elevation, possibly to compensate for lower air density, and achene length increases towards the equator, where non-seasonal climate prevails. Diaspore traits show significant phylogenetic signal, and higher dispersal investment is observed in Gnaphalieae, Astereae and Senecioneae, which together represent 72% of our species. High-Andean-restricted species found across the tropical Andes have, on average, the pappus four times longer than the achene, a significantly higher dispersal investment than species present only in the northern Andes or only in the central Andes. Conclusions: Small achenes and high diaspore dispersal investment dominate among high-Andean Compositae, traits typical of mostly three tribes of African origin; but traits are also correlated with the environmental gradients within the high-Andean grasslands. Our results also suggest that diaspore dispersal investment is likely to shape species distribution patterns in naturally fragmented habitats.",

keywords = "Asteraceae, Compositae, alpine ecosystems, diaspore investment, diaspore morphological traits, tropical Andes",

author = "Carolina Tovar and Lucia Hudson and Francisco Cuesta and Meneses, {Rosa Isela} and Priscilla Muriel and Oriane Hidalgo and Luis Palazzesi and {Suarez Ballesteros}, Carlos and {Hammond Hunt}, Eleanor and Mauricio Diazgranados and Hind, {D. J.Nicholas} and Felix Forest and Stephan Halloy and Nikolay Aguirre and Baker, {William J.} and Stephan Beck and Julieta Carilla and Pa{\'u}l Eguiguren and Elaine Fran{\c c}oso and G{\'a}mez, {Luis E.} and Ricardo Jaramillo and Llamb{\'i}, {Luis Daniel} and Olivier Maurin and Inga Melcher and Gemma Muller and Shyamali Roy and Paul Vi{\~n}as and Karina Yager and Juan Viruel",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.",

year = "2023",

month = jul,

day = "25",

doi = "10.1093/aob/mcad099",

language = "English",

volume = "132",

pages = "255--267",

journal = "Annals of Botany",

issn = "0305-7364",

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Tovar, C, Hudson, L, Cuesta, F, Meneses, RI, Muriel, P, Hidalgo, O, Palazzesi, L, Suarez Ballesteros, C, Hammond Hunt, E, Diazgranados, M, Hind, DJN, Forest, F, Halloy, S, Aguirre, N, Baker, WJ, Beck, S, Carilla, J, Eguiguren, P, Françoso, E, Gámez, LE, Jaramillo, R, Llambí, LD, Maurin, O, Melcher, I, Muller, G, Roy, S, Viñas, P, Yager, K & Viruel, J 2023, 'Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands', Annals of Botany, vol. 132, no. 2, pp. 255-267. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad099

TY - JOUR

T1 - Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae

T2 - The case of the Andean highlands

AU - Tovar, Carolina

AU - Hudson, Lucia

AU - Cuesta, Francisco

AU - Meneses, Rosa Isela

AU - Muriel, Priscilla

AU - Hidalgo, Oriane

AU - Palazzesi, Luis

AU - Suarez Ballesteros, Carlos

AU - Hammond Hunt, Eleanor

AU - Diazgranados, Mauricio

AU - Hind, D. J.Nicholas

AU - Forest, Felix

AU - Halloy, Stephan

AU - Aguirre, Nikolay

AU - Baker, William J.

AU - Beck, Stephan

AU - Carilla, Julieta

AU - Eguiguren, Paúl

AU - Françoso, Elaine

AU - Gámez, Luis E.

AU - Jaramillo, Ricardo

AU - Llambí, Luis Daniel

AU - Maurin, Olivier

AU - Melcher, Inga

AU - Muller, Gemma

AU - Roy, Shyamali

AU - Viñas, Paul

AU - Yager, Karina

AU - Viruel, Juan

PY - 2023/7/25

Y1 - 2023/7/25

N2 - Background and Aims: Understanding diaspore morphology and how much a species invests on dispersal appendages is key for improving our knowledge of dispersal in fragmented habitats. We investigate diaspore morphological traits in high-Andean Compositae and their main abiotic and biotic drivers and test whether they play a role in species distribution patterns across the naturally fragmented high-Andean grasslands. Methods: We collected diaspore trait data for 125 Compositae species across 47 tropical high-Andean summits, focusing on achene length and pappus-To-Achene length ratio, with the latter as a proxy of dispersal investment. We analysed the role of abiotic (temperature, elevation and latitude) and biotic factors (phylogenetic signal and differences between tribes) on diaspore traits and whether they are related to distribution patterns across the Andes, using phylogenomics, distribution modelling and community ecology analyses. Key Results: Seventy-five percent of the studied species show small achenes (length <3.3 mm) and 67% have high dispersal investment (pappus length at least two times the achene length). Dispersal investment increases with elevation, possibly to compensate for lower air density, and achene length increases towards the equator, where non-seasonal climate prevails. Diaspore traits show significant phylogenetic signal, and higher dispersal investment is observed in Gnaphalieae, Astereae and Senecioneae, which together represent 72% of our species. High-Andean-restricted species found across the tropical Andes have, on average, the pappus four times longer than the achene, a significantly higher dispersal investment than species present only in the northern Andes or only in the central Andes. Conclusions: Small achenes and high diaspore dispersal investment dominate among high-Andean Compositae, traits typical of mostly three tribes of African origin; but traits are also correlated with the environmental gradients within the high-Andean grasslands. Our results also suggest that diaspore dispersal investment is likely to shape species distribution patterns in naturally fragmented habitats.

AB - Background and Aims: Understanding diaspore morphology and how much a species invests on dispersal appendages is key for improving our knowledge of dispersal in fragmented habitats. We investigate diaspore morphological traits in high-Andean Compositae and their main abiotic and biotic drivers and test whether they play a role in species distribution patterns across the naturally fragmented high-Andean grasslands. Methods: We collected diaspore trait data for 125 Compositae species across 47 tropical high-Andean summits, focusing on achene length and pappus-To-Achene length ratio, with the latter as a proxy of dispersal investment. We analysed the role of abiotic (temperature, elevation and latitude) and biotic factors (phylogenetic signal and differences between tribes) on diaspore traits and whether they are related to distribution patterns across the Andes, using phylogenomics, distribution modelling and community ecology analyses. Key Results: Seventy-five percent of the studied species show small achenes (length <3.3 mm) and 67% have high dispersal investment (pappus length at least two times the achene length). Dispersal investment increases with elevation, possibly to compensate for lower air density, and achene length increases towards the equator, where non-seasonal climate prevails. Diaspore traits show significant phylogenetic signal, and higher dispersal investment is observed in Gnaphalieae, Astereae and Senecioneae, which together represent 72% of our species. High-Andean-restricted species found across the tropical Andes have, on average, the pappus four times longer than the achene, a significantly higher dispersal investment than species present only in the northern Andes or only in the central Andes. Conclusions: Small achenes and high diaspore dispersal investment dominate among high-Andean Compositae, traits typical of mostly three tribes of African origin; but traits are also correlated with the environmental gradients within the high-Andean grasslands. Our results also suggest that diaspore dispersal investment is likely to shape species distribution patterns in naturally fragmented habitats.

KW - Asteraceae

KW - Compositae

KW - alpine ecosystems

KW - diaspore investment

KW - diaspore morphological traits

KW - tropical Andes

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U2 - 10.1093/aob/mcad099

DO - 10.1093/aob/mcad099

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85175550232

SN - 0305-7364

VL - 132

SP - 255

EP - 267

JO - Annals of Botany

JF - Annals of Botany

IS - 2

ER -

Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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