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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Topography And Disturbance Influence Trait‐Based Composition And Productivity Of Adjacent Habitats In A Coastal System, Joseph K. Brown, Julie C. Zinnert
Topography And Disturbance Influence Trait‐Based Composition And Productivity Of Adjacent Habitats In A Coastal System, Joseph K. Brown, Julie C. Zinnert
Biology Publications
Coastal systems experience frequent disturbance and multiple environmental stressors over short spatial and temporal scales. Investigating functional traits in coastal systems has the potential to inform how variation in disturbance frequency and environmental variables influence differences in trait‐based community composition and ecosystem function. Our goals were to (1) quantify trait‐based communities on two barrier islands divergent in topography and long‐term disturbance response and (2) determine relationships between community trait‐based composition and ecosystem productivity. We hypothesized that locations documented with high disturbance would have habitats with similar environmental conditions and trait‐based communities, with the opposite relationship in low‐disturbance locations. Furthermore, we …
Functional Traits Of Expanding, Thicket-Forming Shrubs: Contrasting Strategies Between Exotic And Native Species, Sheri A. Shiflett, Julie C. Zinnert, Donald R. Young
Functional Traits Of Expanding, Thicket-Forming Shrubs: Contrasting Strategies Between Exotic And Native Species, Sheri A. Shiflett, Julie C. Zinnert, Donald R. Young
Biology Publications
Woody expansion has been documented for decades in many different systems globally, often yielding vast changes in ecosystem functioning. While causes and consequences of woody expansion have been well documented, few studies have addressed plant functional traits that promote dramatic and rapid expansion in range. Our objectives were to investigate plant functional traits that contribute to the colonization, rapid expansion, and thicket formation of an invasive, N-fixing shrub, Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. (Elaeagnaceae), and a native, N-fixing shrub Morella cerifera (L.) Small (Myricaceae) and compare to native, sympatric, non-expanding shrub species. Quantified functional traits included morphological (e.g., specific leaf area, leaf …