Biology subjects

Gastauer, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Gastauer, M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Community assembly as a basis for tropical forest restoration in a global change scenario

Native tropical forests hold high levels of diversity, challenging forest restoration of large areas in a global change scenario. For a site-specific restoration is required the understanding of the main influences ruling the assemblages. We aimed to answer three questions. 1) how do environmental variables influence taxonomic, phylogenetic diversities, and the phylogenetic structure in the of Rio Doce Basin (TFRD)? 2) How do environmental variables, phylogenetic structure and the main types of seed dispersal relate to each other? 3) Which information of the TFRD assemblages can be used for ecological restoration and conservation? We used 78 sites with their checklists to calculate taxonomic, and phylogenetic diversities, phylogenetic structures, and dispersal proportions. Then, we related the diversities of the sites to their bioclimatic variables and built GLM models. Species richness was influenced negatively by water excess duration, by water deficit duration, and positively by maximum temperature, and temperature seasonality. Water regime drives diversity and phylogenetic community structure in the TFRD more than other variables. Annual precipitation and maximum temperature presented the clearer influences on diversity and phylogenetic structure. Zoochory was positively, and anemochory, autochory were negatively related to sesMPD. By choosing the lineages with high fitness for each site, the functioning and the stability of ecosystems should increase. The addition of species with anemochory and autochory increases functional and phylogenetic diversity in areas with extreme water excess or water deficit, important in a global change scenario. A high proportion of zoochory allows the communities to function conserving dispersers, biodiversity, and services. Implications for practiceO_LIThe use of objective methods based on community assembly rules enhances the choice of species, and of phylogenetic lineages better fitted to the bioclimatic profiles of the areas to be restored, improving the functioning and stability of the restored forests. C_LIO_LIThe water purification service should be improved through forest restoration as much as possible because ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation are co-benefits of restored forests. C_LIO_LIThe inclusion of species with anemochory, and autochory in forest restoration practices should become usual, as they increase functional, and phylogenetic diversities, and as a consequence, the ecosystem stability. C_LIO_LIA large proportion of species with zoochory in restored forests co-benefits taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and ecosystem stability. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Roads As Conduits Of Taxonomic, Functional And Phylogenetic Degradation In Caatinga Vegetation

Road networks cause disturbances that can alter the biodiversity and the functioning of the Caatinga ecosystems. We tested the hypotheses that (i) Caatinga vegetation near roads is less taxonomically, functionally and phylogenetically diverse, (ii) phylogenetically and functionally more clustered than vegetation further from roads, (iii) plant traits associated with herbivory deterrence are conserved within the phylogenetic lineages, and (iv) Caatinga vegetation near roads selects for disturbance-related traits. We sampled herbaceous and woody component of vegetation in four plots near roads and four plots further from roads to test these hypothesis. Sampled species were classified according to their resprouting capacity, nitrogen fixation, succulence/spines, urticancy/toxicity, lifeform, endozoochory, maximum height and maximum diameter, before we calculated the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of plant communities. Species richness, taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversities were lower in plots close to the roads, confirming roads as sources of disturbances. The phylogenetic structure of the Caatinga vegetation near roads was clustered, indicating environmental filtering by herbivory as the main pervasive disturbance in Caatinga ecosystems, since traits related to herbivory deterrence were conserved within phylogenetic lineages and were filtered in near roads. Thus, roads should be considered degradation conduits causing taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional impoverishment of Caatinga vegetation.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Combining genotype, phenotype, and environmental data to delineate site-adjusted provenance strategies for ecological restoration

Despite the importance of climate-adjusted provenancing to mitigate the effects of environmental change, climatic considerations alone are insufficient when restoring highly degraded sites. Here we propose a comprehensive landscape genomic approach to assist the restoration of moderately disturbed and highly degraded sites. To illustrate it we employ genomic datasets comprising thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms from two plant species suitable for the restoration of iron-rich Amazonian Savannas. We first use a subset of neutral loci to assess genetic structure and determine the genetic neighborhood size. We then identify genotype-phenotype-environment associations, map adaptive genetic variation, and predict adaptive genotypes for restoration sites. Whereas local provenances were found optimal to restore a moderately disturbed site, a mixture of genotypes seemed the most promising strategy to recover a highly degraded mining site. We discuss how our results can help define site-adjusted provenancing strategies, and argue that our methods can be more broadly applied to assist other restoration initiatives.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Habitat loss does not always entail negative genetic consequences

Although habitat loss has large, consistently negative effects on biodiversity, its genetic consequences are not yet fully understood. In this paper, we assess the genetic consequences of extreme habitat loss driven by mining in two endemic plants from Amazonian Savannas. Our analyses are the first to overcome major methodological limitations like the confounding effect of habitat fragmentation, historical processes underpinning genetic differentiation, time-lags between the onset of disturbances and genetic outcomes, and the need for large numbers of samples, genetic markers and replicated landscapes to ensure sufficient statistical power. We found that both species are remarkably resilient, as genetic diversity and gene flow patterns were unaffected by habitat loss. Our study unambiguously demonstrates that it is not possible to generalize about the genetic consequences of habitat loss, and imply that future conservation efforts need to consider species-specific genetic information.

ecology↗