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Phenotypic differentiation within a foundation grass species correlates with species richness in a subalpine community

  • Community ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Few studies have examined consequences of ecotypic differentiation within alpine foundation species for community diversity and their feedbacks for the foundation species’ fitness. Additionally, no study has quantified ecotypic differences in competitive effects in the field and in controlled conditions to disentangle genetic from plasticity effects in foundation/subordinate species interactions. We focused on a subalpine community of the French Pyrenees including two phenotypes of a cushion-forming species, Festuca gautieri: tight cushions in dry convex outcrops, and loose cushions (exhibiting high subordinate species richness) in wet concave slopes. We assessed, with field and shadehouse experiments, the genetic vs. plasticity basis of differences in: (1) cushion traits and (2) competitive effects on subordinates, and (3) quantified community feedbacks on foundation species’ fitness. We found that trait differences across habitats had both genetic and plasticity bases, with stronger contribution of the latter. Field results showed higher competition within loose than tight phenotypes. In contrast, shadehouse results showed higher competitive ability for tight phenotypes. However, as changes in interactions across habitats were due to environmental effects without changes in cushion effects, we argue that heritable and plastic changes in competitive effects maintain high subordinate species diversity through decreasing competition. We showed high reproduction cost for loose cushions when hosting subordinates highlighting the occurrence of community feedbacks. These results suggest that phenotypic differentiation within foundation species may cascade on subordinate species diversity through heritable and plastic changes in the foundation species’ competitive effects, and that community feedbacks may affect foundation species’ fitness.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) (09-STRA-09 O2LA) and the University of Bordeaux. P. A. H. was financially supported by a Ph.D. fellowship of the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Researches (CNRS-L). Y. L. B. P. was supported by the ANR (09-STRA-09 O2LA) and the project Postdoc USB (no. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0006) realized through the EU Education for Competitiveness Operational Program. This project was funded by the European Social Fund and the Czech State Budget. We acknowledge the Experimental Unit of INRA-Pierroton (Cestas, France) for hosting the shadehouse at the Site de recherche Forêt-Bois Bordeaux-Aquitaine, and Mr Pierre Casabonne, mayor of Arette, for giving us permission to carry out experiments on Arette’s community lands. We are grateful to Guillaume Caro, Ghassen Chaieb, Clément Lalait, Audrey Lefrançois, Etienne Mansa, Claire Meziere, Florène-Diane Richard, Coralie Rieu, Maximilien Larter and Quentin Sanz for their help in the field and/or the shadehouse. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions. Maximilien Larter revised the English. The experiments comply with the current laws of France, in which the experiments were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR INRA 1202 BIOGECO, University of Bordeaux, Avenue des Facultés, 33405, Talence, France

    Patrick Al Hayek & Blaise Touzard

  2. UMR CNRS 5805 EPOC, University of Bordeaux, Avenue des Facultés, 33405, Talence, France

    Patrick Al Hayek, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet & Richard Michalet

  3. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

    Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet

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  1. Patrick Al Hayek
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  2. Blaise Touzard
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  4. Richard Michalet
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Correspondence to Patrick Al Hayek.

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Communicated by Daniel Laughlin.

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Al Hayek, P., Touzard, B., Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Y. et al. Phenotypic differentiation within a foundation grass species correlates with species richness in a subalpine community. Oecologia 176, 533–544 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-3034-3

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