Journal
ECOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 18, Issue 12, Pages 1329-1337Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/ele.12527
Keywords
Functional traits; relative growth rate; species relative abundance; tropical forest
Categories
Funding
- NSF USA-CHINA Dimensions of Biodiversity grant [DEB-1046113, DEB-1241136]
- National Key Basic Research Program of China [2014CB954104]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31370445]
- West Light Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Applied Fundamental Research Foundation of Yunnan Province [2014GA003]
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1643052] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1354741] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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One of the few rules in ecology is that communities are composed of many rare and few common species. Trait-based investigations of abundance distributions have generally focused on species-mean trait values with mixed success. Here, using large tropical tree seedling datasets in China and Puerto Rico, we take an alternative approach that considers the magnitude of intraspecific variation in traits and growth as it relates to species abundance. We find that common species are less variable in their traits and growth. Common species also occupy core positions within community trait space indicating that they are finely tuned for the available conditions. Rare species are functionally peripheral and are likely transients struggling for success in the given environment. The work highlights the importance of considering intraspecific variation in trait-based ecology and demonstrates asymmetry in the magnitude of intraspecific variation among species is critical for understanding of how traits are related to abundance.
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