Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C515063/1
Dynamics of tropical tree seedlings: density dependence and species coexistence.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor O Lewis, University of Oxford, Zoology
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor R Freckleton, University of Sheffield, School of Biosciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Oxford, Zoology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Conservation Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Population Ecology
- Abstract:
- At least 50% of the earths species of plants and animals are found in tropical rainforests. Ecologists are interested in understanding why these habitats are so diverse, and how so many apparently similar species can coexist. The high diversity of tropical plants is a particular mystery, because most plant species use very similar resources: just one or a few highly competitive species might be expected to dominate the forest, rather than the hundreds of species per hectare that are often observed. One possibility is that the plants' specialised enemies (for example fungal diseases or plant-eating insects) have a particularly severe impact where their host plants are abundant, causing density-dependant plant growth and modality. If this occurs, any particular species will be at a disadvantage when it is abundant and at an advantage when it is rare, preventing individual species from forming dense aggregations, and thus allowing many species to coexist. In order to test whether this occurs, we will be investigating the fate of 11,845 tree seedlings of 234 species that were identified, marked and measured ten years ago in the rainforest of Belize in Central America. We will be able to determine if the seedlings survived and grew best where they were rare, or a long distance from mature trees of the same species We will also investigate whether a process known as apparent competition is structuring tropical forests. Apparent competition can occur when two plant species do not compete for resources but share a common natural enemy (e.g. a herbivore or pathogen), leading to reduced survival of one or both plant species when they grow in close proximity. Information on the levels of attack by insects will allow us to investigate whether insect herbivores (rather than for example pathogenic fungi in the soil) are generating the patterns we observe. Half of the marked seedlings are in forest where timber was harvested as part of a reduced impact logging experiment in 1994. Reduced impact logging is careful, selective logging that attempts to minimise disturbance to the forest with the goal of providing a sustainable timber resource without harming biodiversity. Because we know the identity and location of the trees harvested during logging, we can see whether seedlings fared better when mature trees of the same species (or related species, which are likely to be attacked by similar natural enemies) were removed nearby, releasing them from attack by insect herbivores and pathogens. Finally, we will compare patterns of seedling mortality and growth in logged and unlogged plots. if they differ, there may be important long-term implications for the sustainability of harvesting timber from tropical rainforests.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C515063/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £30,250
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £5,884 | £14,708 | £2,892 | £6,765 |
If you need further help, please read the user guide.