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Do plant families with contrasting functional traits show similar patterns of endemism? A case study with Central African Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae

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Abstract

The influence of functional traits on floristic patterns remains poorly understood in tropical rain forests. This contribution explores whether patterns of endemism of plant species are influenced by their life form and mode of dispersal. We used a comprehensive dataset of 3650 georeferenced plant specimens collected in Cameroon belonging to 115 taxa of Orchidaceae and 207 Rubiaceae endemic to Atlantic Central Africa. Species diversity of each family was compared using raw species richness (SR) and an index of species diversity (S k ) using subsampling procedure to correct for sampling bias. Measures were compared at three scales (square grids of one half-degree and one-degree per side and ecoregions) and according to elevation and continentality gradients. Species similarity between grid cells was measured using the sample-size corrected NNESS index. For both families, SR and S k decreased along the continentality gradient. In forest habitats below 1500 m altitude, both Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae show similar endemism patterns, but they differ in intensity. At higher altitudes, S k is higher for orchids due to the presence of endemic terrestrial taxa in grasslands, where the endemic Rubiaceae flora is rather poor. Substantial endemism observed at the ecoregion level and turnover analysis supported the role of the Sanaga River as a phytogeographical boundary. Similar endemism patterns were observed in lowland forests for Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae, even though Orchidaceae are assumed to have better long distance dispersal capabilities. The dispersal ability of Orchidaceae could be limited by the need of specific mycorhizal fungi for seed germination or host specificity for epiphytic orchids.

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Acknowledgements

We express our sincere gratitude to Professor Jean Lejoly from the Université Libre de Bruxelles for his support in its laboratory, and to Dr Porter P. Lowry II, Dr Ingrid Parmentier and Dr Pierre Couteron for their helpful comments. Fieldwork was supported by the ECOFAC Program (EC-DG8), DIVEAC (CUD-ULB), the Fonds Leopold III, CARPE, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS) and “Sud Expert Plantes, projet#375” project under French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Visits of V. Droissart in Wageningen, Paris and Kew Herbaria were funded by the European Commission’s Research Infrastructure action via the SYNTHESYS Project (applications FR-TAF-2418 & NL-TAF-1611) and by the F.R.S.-FNRS. The Keepers of the aforementioned herbaria are gratefully acknowledged. T. Stévart’s participation was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (1051547, TS as PI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité Mixte de Recherche AMAP—Botanique et Bioinformatique de l’Architecture des Plantes, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Boulevard de la Lironde, TA A-51/PS2, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Vincent Droissart

  2. Herbarium et Bibliothèque de Botanique africaine, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Vincent Droissart & Tariq Stévart

  3. Laboratoire de Botanique systématique et d’Ecologie, Département des Sciences Biologiques, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université de Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Bonaventure Sonké, Murielle Simo, Hermann Taedoumg & Charlemagne K. Nguembou

  4. Service Evolution Biologique et Ecologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Bonaventure Sonké & Olivier J. Hardy

  5. Missouri Botanical Garden, Africa and Madagascar Department, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Vincent Droissart, Bonaventure Sonké & Tariq Stévart

  6. National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Domein van Bouchout, Meise, Belgium

    Tariq Stévart

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  1. Vincent Droissart
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  2. Bonaventure Sonké
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  3. Olivier J. Hardy
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  4. Murielle Simo
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  6. Charlemagne K. Nguembou
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Correspondence to Vincent Droissart.

Appendix

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Table 5 List of Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae taxa used in this study with their specimen count, life form and mode of dispersal
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Droissart, V., Sonké, B., Hardy, O.J. et al. Do plant families with contrasting functional traits show similar patterns of endemism? A case study with Central African Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae. Biodivers Conserv 20, 1507–1531 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0042-z

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