Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Habitat niche partitioning by 16 species of Myristicaceae in Amazonian Ecuador

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The distribution and spatial pattern of plants in tropical forests have important implications for how species interact with each other and their environments. In this article we use a large-scale permanent census plot to address if the coexistence of 16 co-occurring species of Myristicaceae is aided by topographic and light gradient niche partitioning. We used a second order spatial pattern analysis based on Ripley’s K function to describe species’ distributions and associations among species, and a torus translation procedure to test for associations with three topographically defined habitats. A majority of species displayed spatial aggregation and over half had one or more significant habitat associations. Four species were associated with the ridge habitat, four species with slope habitat, and two with valley habitat. Seven other species showed no habitat association. Within each habitat group, species exhibited a variety of distributions in relation to light availability. However, habitat associations were largely unexplained by differential rates of mortality, growth or recruitment over a 5-year interval. We conclude that although in principle partitioning of the topographic and light environments may double or treble the number of species able to coexist, there is no evidence that partitioning of physical habitats can explain the coexistence of all 16 of these closely related species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Balslev H, Valenica R, Paz y Miño G et al (1998) Species count of vascular plants in one hectare of humid lowland forest in Amazonian Ecuador. In: Dallemeier F, Comisky J (eds) Forest biodiversity in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, vol 21. Research and monitoring, MAB, UNESCO, Paris, pp 585–594

    Google Scholar 

  • Bawa KS (1980) Evolution of dioecy in flowering plants. An Rev Ecol Syst 11:15–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bawa KS, Opler PA (1975) Dioecism in tropical forest trees. Evolution 29:167–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DA, Clark DB (1992) Life history diversity of canopy and emergent trees in a neotropical rain forest. Ecol Mon 62:315–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DB, Palmer MW, Clark DA (1999) Edaphic factors and the landscape-scale distributions of tropical rain forest trees. Ecology 80:2662–2675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Condit R, Ashton PS, Baker P et al (2000) Spatial patterns in the distribution of tropical tree species. Science 288:1414–1418

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH, Tracey JG, Webb LJ (1984) Compensatory recruitment, growth, and mortality as factors maintaining rain forest tree diversity. Ecol Mon 54:141–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalling JW, Hubbell SP (2002) Seed size, growth rate and gap microsite conditions as determinants of recruitment success for pioneer species. J Ecol 90:557–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalling JW, Hubbell SP, Silvera K (1998) Seed dispersal, seedling establishment and gap partitioning among tropical pioneer trees. J Ecol 86:674–689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies SJ, Palmiotto PA, Ashton PS et al (1998) Comparative ecology of 11 sympatric species of Macaranga in Borneo: tree distribution in relation to horizontal and vertical resource heterogeneity. J Ecol 86:662–673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daws MI, Pearson TRH, Burslem DFRP et al (2005) Effects of topographic position, leaf litter and seed size on seedling demography in a semi-deciduous tropical forest in Panama. Plant Ecol 179:93–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debski I, Burslem DFRP, Lamb D et al (2000) Ecological processes maintaining differential tree species distributions in an Australian subtropical rain forest: implications for models of species coexistence. J Trop Ecol 16:387–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debski I, Burslem DFRP, Palmiotto PA et al (2002) Habitat preferences of Aporosa in two Malaysian forests: implications for abundance and coexistence. Ecology 83:2005–2018

    Google Scholar 

  • Denslow JS (1987) Tropical forest gaps and tree species diversity. An Rev Ecol Syst 18:431–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duque A, Sanchez M, Cavelier J et al (2002) Different floristic patterns of woody understorey and canopy plants in Colombian Amazonia. J Trop Ecol 18:499–525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher BL, Howe HF, Wright SJ (1991) Survival and growth of Virola surinamensis yearlings – water augmentation in gap and understorey. Oecologia 86:292–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gartlan JS, Newbery DM, Thomas DW et al (1986) The influence of topography and soil-phosphorus on the vegetation of Korup Forest Reserve, Cameroon. Vegetatio 65:131–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gentry AH (1982) Patterns of neotropical plant species diversity. Evol Biol 15:1–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubb PJ (1977) The maintenance of species richness in plant communities: the importance of the regeneration niche. Biol Rev 52:107–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke IAUN, Esufali S et al (2006) Species – habitat associations in a Sri Lankan dipterocarp forest. J Trop Ecol 22:371–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haase P (1995) Spatial pattern analysis in ecology based on Ripley's K-function: Introduction and methods of edge correction. J Veg Sci 6:575–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harms KE, Condit R, Hubbell SP et al (2001) Habitat associations of trees and shrubs in a 50-ha neotropical forest plot. J Ecol 89:947–959

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He F, Legendre P, LaFrankie JV (1996) Spatial pattern of diversity in a tropical rain forest in Malaysia. J Biogeog 23:57–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howe HF (1983) Annual variation in a neotropical seed-dispersal system. In: Sutton SL, Whitmore TC, Chadwick AC (eds) Tropical rain forests: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe HF (1990) Survival and growth of juvenile Virola surinamensis in Panama: effects of herbivory and canopy closure. J Trop Ecol 6:259–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe HF (1993) Seed dispersal by birds and mammals: implications for seedling demography. In: Bawa KS (ed) Reproductive ecology of tropical forest plants. UNESCO, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubbell SP (2001) The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • John R, Dalling JW, Harms KE et al (2007) Soil nutrients influence spatial distributions of tropical tree species. PNAS 104:864–869

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King DA, Wright SJ, Connell JH (2006) The contribution of interspecific variation in maximum tree height to tropical and temperate diversity. J Trop Ecol 22:11–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K (1994) Relative importance of photosynthetic traits and allocation patterns as correlates of seedling shade tolerance of 13 tropical trees. Oecologia 98:419–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeling HC, Phillips OL (2007) A calibration method for the crown illumination index for assessing forest light environments. For Ecol Manage 242:431–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman M, Lieberman D, Peralta R (1995) Canopy closure and the distribution of tropical forest seedlings. J Trop Ecol 11:161–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Losos EC, Leigh EG (2004) Tropical forest diversity and dynamism – findings from a large-scale plot network. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Newbery DM, Campbell EJF, Proctor J et al (1996) Primary lowland dipterocarp forest at Danum Valley, Sabah. Malaysia species composition and patterns in the understorey. Vegetatio 122:193–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacala SW, Canham CD, Saponara J et al (1996) Forest models defined by field measurements: estimation, error analysis and dynamics. Ecol Mon 66:1–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmiotto PA, Vogt KA, Ashton PS et al (2004) Linking canopy gaps, topographic position and edaphic variation in a tropical rainforest: implications for species diversity. In: Losos EC, Leigh EG (eds) Tropical forest diversity and dynamism. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips OL, Nuñez Vargas P, Monteagudo AL et al (2003) Habitat association among Amazonian tree species: a landscape-scale approach. J Ecol 91:757–775

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitman NCA, Terborgh JW, Silman MR et al (1999) Tree species distributions in an upper Amazonian forest. Ecology 80:2651–2661

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitman NCA, Terborgh JW, Silman MR et al (2001) Dominance and distribution of tree species in upper Amazonian terre firme forests. Ecology 82:2101–2117

    Google Scholar 

  • Pyke CR, Condit R, Aguilar S et al (2001) Floristic composition across a climatic gradient in a neotropical lowland forest. J Veg Sci 12:553–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Queenborough SA, Burslem DFRP, Garwood NC et al (2007) Determinants of biased sex ratios and inter-sex costs of reproduction in dioecious tropical forest trees. Am J Bot 94:67–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Queenborough SA, Burslem DFRP, Garwood NC et al (in press) Neighborhood and community interactions determine the spatial pattern of tropical tree seedling survival. Ecology

  • Ripley BD (1976) The second-order analysis of stationary processes. J Appl Prob 13:255–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues WA (1980) Revisão taxonômica das espécies de Virola Aublet (Myristicaceae) do Brasil. Act Amazon vol(supl):1–27

  • Roosmalen M, Bardales MDP, Garcia OMDC (1996) Frutos da floresta Amazonica, Parte I: Myristicaceae. Act Amazon 25:209–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Russo SE, Augspurger CK (2004) Aggregated seed dispersal by spider monkeys limits recruitment to clumped patterns in Virola calophylla. Ecol Lett 7:1058–1067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo SE, Davies SJ, King DA et al (2005) Soil-related performance variation and distributions of tree species in a Bornean rain forest. J Ecol 93:879–889

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sheil D, Burslem DFRP, Alder D (1995) The interpretation and mininterpretation of mortality rate measures. J Ecol 83:331–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith AC (1937) The American species of Myristicaceae. Brittonia 2:393–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svenning J-C (1999) Microhabitat specialization in a species-rich palm community in Amazonian Ecuador. J Ecol 87:55–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svenning J-C (2001) On the role of microenvironmental heterogeneity in the ecology and diversification of neotropical rain-forest palms (Arecaceae). Bot Rev 67:1–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuomisto H, Ruokolainen K, Poulsen AD et al (2002) Distribution and diversity of pteridophytes and Melastomataceae along edaphic gradients in Yasuni National Park, Ecuadorian Amazonia. Biotropica 34:516–533

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuomisto H, Poulsen AD, Ruokolainen K et al (2003) Linking floristic patterns with soil heterogeneity and satellite imagery in Ecuadorian Amazonia. Ecol Appl 13:352–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner IM (2001) The ecology of trees in the tropical rain forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Valencia R, Balslev H, Paz y Miño G (1994) High tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian Ecuador. Biodiv Cons 3:21–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valencia R, Foster RB, Villa G et al (2004a) Tree species distributions and local habitat variation in the Amazon: large forest plot in eastern Ecuador. J Ecol 92:214–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valencia R, Condit R, Foster RB (2004b) Yasuni Forest Dynamics Plot, Ecuador. In: Losos EC, Leigh EG (eds) Tropical forest diversity and dynamism – findings from a large-scale plot network. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Villela DM, Proctor J (1999) Litterfall mass, chemistry and nutrient retranslocation in a monodominant forest on Maracá Island, Roraima, Brazil. Biotropica 31:198–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb CO, Peart DR (2000) Habitat associations of trees and seedlings in a Bornean rain forest. J Ecol 88:464–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright SJ (2002) Plant diversity in tropical forests: a review of mechanisms of species coexistence. Oecologia 130:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamada T, Tomita A, Itoh A et al (2006) Habitat associations of Sterculiaceae trees in a Bornean rain forest plot. J Veg Sci 17:559–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Ministerio del Ambiente of Ecuador and F. Koester for permission to work in Yasuní National Park, R. Condit for permission to work within the Yasuní forest dynamics plot itself, and the re-census team of A. Loor, J. Zambrano, G. Grefa, J. Suarez, P. Alvia and M. Zambrano and the staff of Estación Cientifica Yasuní for assistance with fieldwork. We thank Kyle Harms for assisting with habitat association analyses. The first author was funded by a Study Abroad Studentship from The Leverhulme Trust.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, Scotland, UK

    Simon A. Queenborough & David F. R. P. Burslem

  2. Department of Animal and Plant Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Simon A. Queenborough

  3. Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Nancy C. Garwood

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Apartado 17-01-2148, Quito, Ecuador

    Renato Valencia

Authors
  1. Simon A. Queenborough
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David F. R. P. Burslem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nancy C. Garwood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Renato Valencia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simon A. Queenborough.

Appendix

Appendix

Table A1 Results of bivariate Ripley’s K analysis for pair-wise comparisons among species
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Queenborough, S.A., Burslem, D.F.R.P., Garwood, N.C. et al. Habitat niche partitioning by 16 species of Myristicaceae in Amazonian Ecuador. Plant Ecol 192, 193–207 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-007-9328-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-007-9328-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation