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Habitat heterogeneity promotes intraspecific trait variability of shrub species in Australian granite inselbergs

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Abstract

The role of intraspecific trait variability is increasingly recognized as a key factor shaping plant fitness and community assembly worldwide. Studying the direct effects of habitat heterogeneity on trait expression of individual plants of the same species is a useful tool to quantify intraspecific trait variability locally. We investigated how habitat heterogeneity on granite inselbergs affected intraspecific trait variability of 19 functional traits in three shrub species of the family Proteaceae in south western Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot. We used pairwise comparison (single trait) and multivariate analysis (multiple traits, functional space) to detect shifts in trait patterns. Consistent with our predictions, we found that individuals developing in putatively more stressful habitats (highly sun-irradiated, shallow-soil patches on the outcrops) were characterized by trait expressions indicative of more conservative resource-related strategies when compared with plants occurring in the surrounding woodlands that were experiencing more benign ecological conditions. These results were significant for two out of three species. Granite inselbergs promoted plant longevity, a signal that these granite inselbergs might offer refugial conditions defined as protection against fire.

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Acknowledgements

We thank William Parkinson who assisted during the field work and who was, besides being a good friend, also a very enjoyable field partner. Michael Perring is thanked for the interesting discussions on the topic. P.D.S. holds a doctoral fellowship of the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO). G.O. was supported by CIPRS (Curtin University), Endeavour Europe Award (Australian Government) and SIRF, UPAIS, Safety Net Top-Up and Ad-Hoc scholarships (The University of Western Australia). L.M. acknowledges the logistic support of the Targeted Senior Fellowship (Curtin University) and the Iluka Chair at The University of Western Australia.

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  1. P. De Smedt and G. Ottaviani contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, B-9090, Melle (Gontrode), Belgium

    P. De Smedt

  2. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA, Perth, 6009, Australia

    G. Ottaviani & L. Mucina

  3. Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-379 82, Třeboň, Czech Republic

    G. Ottaviani

  4. ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration, Department of Environment & Agriculture, School of Science, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Bentley WA, Perth, 6845, Australia

    G. Wardell-Johnson & L. Mucina

  5. Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology, Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    K. V. Sýkora

  6. Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    L. Mucina

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  1. P. De Smedt
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Correspondence to P. De Smedt.

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De Smedt, P., Ottaviani, G., Wardell-Johnson, G. et al. Habitat heterogeneity promotes intraspecific trait variability of shrub species in Australian granite inselbergs. Folia Geobot 53, 133–145 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-018-9311-x

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