Bilateral symmetry Radial symmetry Location of plots (TERN AusPlots) precisely measuring plant abundance http://www.ausplots.org/ 1. Flowering time (months) Source: AusTraits database, floras, published papers 2. Floral symmetry (radial/bilateral) Source: eFLOWER, floras, phylogenetic imputation AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER Figure 2. An illustration of our project plan, combining existing vegetation plot data from the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) with floral trait data. Floral traits… • Include features such as flower size, colour, symmetry, scent or nectar concentration (Figure 1). • Affect plant reproductive success [3]. • Play a key role in the interaction of flowering plants with pollinators and floral visitors [4,5]. • May be directly and indirectly shaped by abiotic factors such as rainfall and nutrient availability [2,6]. What is functional biogeography? Functional biogeography studies the distribution of traits, and analyses the patterns, causes and consequences of this distribution [1]. Floral traits have rarely been considered in studies of plant functional biogeography [2]. What drives variation in floral traits across Australia? Our project targets two floral traits fundamental to plant function: flowering time and floral symmetry (Figure 2). We are combining measurements of these traits with plot- based measures of plant species abundance across Australia to ask how abiotic factors associated with productivity may shape variation in floral traits, particularly: • Temperature (means and extremes) • Rainfall • Soil Predictions 1. Flowering time is positively associated with site productivity. Rainfall, temperature and soil nutrients may influence the timing of flowering in plant communities both directly, by shaping the resources available for a species to flower, and indirectly by influencing the timing of pollinator activity. 2. A functional relationship between flowering time and floral symmetry whereby bilaterally symmetric flowers, which typically experience more efficient pollen transfer, may open for a shorter duration on average than less specialised flowers. [email protected] @rubyecology References [1] Violle, C., Reich, P. B., Pacala, S. W., Enquist, B. J., & Kattge, J. (2014). The emergence and promise of functional biogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [2] E-Vojtkó, A., de Bello, F., Durka, W., Kühn, I., & Götzenberger, L. (2020). The neglected importance of floral traits in trait-based plant community assembly. Journal of Vegetation Science. [3] Lázaro, A., Gómez-Martínez, C., Alomar, D., González-Estévez, M. A., & Traveset, A. (2020). Linking species-level network metrics to flower traits and plant fitness. Journal of Ecology. [4] Fornoff, F., Klein, A.-M., Hartig, F., Benadi, G., Venjakob, C., Schaefer, H. M., & Ebeling, A. (2017). Functional flower traits and their diversity drive pollinator visitation. Oikos. [5] Rowe, L., Gibson, D., Bahlai, C. A., Gibbs, J., Landis, D. A., & Isaacs, R. (2020). Flower traits associated with the visitation patterns of bees. Oecologia. [6] Pellissier, L., Pottier, J., Vittoz, P., Dubuis, A., & Guisan, A. (2010). Spatial pattern of floral morphology: Possible insight into the effects of pollinators on plant distributions. Oikos. Thoughts? Suggestions? Contact us! This project is in its early stages, and this poster represents a simplified view of our planned approach. If you have any thoughts or feedback we would love to hear them – please get in touch! Figure 1. A range of flowers illustrating the wide variety of floral traits found across Australian plant species, including (left to right and top to bottom) Styphelia triflora (Ericaceae), Melaleuca nodosa (Myrtaceae), Brachyscome sp. (Asteraceae), Hibbertia spanantha (Dilleniaceae), Portulaca pilosa (Portulacaceae), Banksia ericifolia (Proteaceae), Dampiera stricta (Goodeniaceae), Dillwynia retorta (Fabaceae), Corybas fimbriatus (Orchidaceae), and Telopea speciosissima (Proteaceae). Functional biogeography of floral traits in Australian plant communities Ruby E. Stephens 1,2 , Rachael Gallagher 1 , Greg Guerin 3 , Hervé Sauquet 2 1 Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. 2 Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia. 3 Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network and The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. Acknowledgements Thanks to the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network, AusTraits contributors, and Daniel Falster (UNSW) for data wrangling support.
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Bilateral symmetryRadial symmetry
Location of plots (TERN AusPlots) precisely measuring plant abundance http://www.ausplots.org/
1. Flowering time (months)Source: AusTraits database, floras, published papers
2. Floral symmetry (radial/bilateral)Source: eFLOWER, floras, phylogenetic imputation
AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER
Figure 2. An illustration of our project plan, combining existing vegetation plot data from the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) with floral trait data.
Floral traits…• Include features such as flower size, colour, symmetry,
scent or nectar concentration (Figure 1).• Affect plant reproductive success [3].• Play a key role in the interaction of flowering plants with
pollinators and floral visitors [4,5].• May be directly and indirectly shaped by abiotic factors
such as rainfall and nutrient availability [2,6].
What is functional biogeography?Functional biogeography studies the distribution of traits, and analyses the patterns, causes and consequences of this distribution [1].
Floral traits have rarely been considered in studies of plant functional biogeography [2].
What drives variation in floral traits across Australia?
Our project targets two floral traits fundamental to plant function: flowering time and floral symmetry (Figure 2).
We are combining measurements of these traits with plot-based measures of plant species abundance across Australia to ask how abiotic factors associated with productivity may shape variation in floral traits, particularly:
• Temperature (means and extremes)• Rainfall• Soil
Predictions
1. Flowering time is positively associated with site productivity. Rainfall, temperature and soil nutrients may influence the timing of flowering in plant communities both directly, by shaping the resources available for a species to flower, and indirectly by influencing the timing of pollinator activity.
2. A functional relationship between flowering time and floral symmetry whereby bilaterally symmetric flowers, which typically experience more efficient pollen transfer, may open for a shorter duration on average than less specialised flowers.
[email protected]@rubyecology
References[1] Violle, C., Reich, P. B., Pacala, S. W., Enquist, B. J., & Kattge, J. (2014). The emergence and promise of functional biogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.[2] E-Vojtkó, A., de Bello, F., Durka, W., Kühn, I., & Götzenberger, L. (2020). The neglected importance of floral traits in trait-based plant community assembly. Journal of Vegetation Science.[3] Lázaro, A., Gómez-Martínez, C., Alomar, D., González-Estévez, M. A., & Traveset, A. (2020). Linking species-level network metrics to flower traits and plant fitness. Journal of Ecology.[4] Fornoff, F., Klein, A.-M., Hartig, F., Benadi, G., Venjakob, C., Schaefer, H. M., & Ebeling, A. (2017). Functional flower traits and their diversity drive pollinator visitation. Oikos.[5] Rowe, L., Gibson, D., Bahlai, C. A., Gibbs, J., Landis, D. A., & Isaacs, R. (2020). Flower traits associated with the visitation patterns of bees. Oecologia.[6] Pellissier, L., Pottier, J., Vittoz, P., Dubuis, A., & Guisan, A. (2010). Spatial pattern of floral morphology: Possible insight into the effects of pollinators on plant distributions. Oikos.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Contact us!
This project is in its early stages, and this poster represents a simplified view of our planned approach. If you have any thoughts or feedback we would love to hear them – please get in touch!
Figure 1. A range of flowers illustrating the wide variety of floral traits found across Australian plant species, including (left to right and top to bottom) Styphelia triflora (Ericaceae), Melaleuca nodosa(Myrtaceae), Brachyscome sp. (Asteraceae), Hibbertia spanantha (Dilleniaceae), Portulaca pilosa (Portulacaceae), Banksia ericifolia (Proteaceae), Dampiera stricta (Goodeniaceae), Dillwynia retorta(Fabaceae), Corybas fimbriatus (Orchidaceae), and Telopea speciosissima (Proteaceae).
Functional biogeography of floral traits in Australian plant communities
Ruby E. Stephens1,2, Rachael Gallagher1, Greg Guerin3, Hervé Sauquet21 Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. 2 Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia. 3 Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network and The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
AcknowledgementsThanks to the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network, AusTraits contributors, and Daniel Falster (UNSW) for data wrangling support.
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