Michael Smith Building, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 May 12;366(1569):1329-36. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0183.
Genetic differences among tree species, their hybrids and within tree species are known to influence associated ecological communities and ecosystem processes in areas of limited species diversity. The extent to which this same phenomenon occurs based on genetic variation within a single tree species, in a diverse complex ecosystem such as a tropical forest, is unknown. The level of biodiversity and complexity of the ecosystem may reduce the impact of a single tree species on associated communities. We assessed the influence of within-species genetic variation in the tree Brosimum alicastrum (Moraceae) on associated epiphytic and invertebrate communities in a neotropical rainforest. We found a significant positive association between genetic distance of trees and community difference of the epiphytic plants growing on the tree, the invertebrates living among the leaf litter around the base of the tree, and the invertebrates found on the tree trunk. This means that the more genetically similar trees are host to more similar epiphyte and invertebrate communities. Our work has implications for whole ecosystem conservation management, since maintaining sufficient genetic diversity at the primary producer level will enhance species diversity of other plants and animals.
已知树种、种间杂种以及树种内的遗传差异会影响物种多样性有限地区的相关生态群落和生态系统过程。在热带雨林等复杂多样的生态系统中，基于单一树种内遗传变异的这种现象发生的程度尚不清楚。生物多样性的水平和生态系统的复杂性可能会降低单个树种对相关群落的影响。我们评估了在新热带雨林中，豆科植物 Brosimum alicastrum（Brosimum alicastrum）内物种遗传变异对相关附生植物和无脊椎动物群落的影响。我们发现，树木之间的遗传距离与树上生长的附生植物、树基部落叶层中生活的无脊椎动物以及树干上发现的无脊椎动物群落之间存在显著的正相关关系。这意味着遗传上越相似的树木，其附生植物和无脊椎动物群落就越相似。我们的研究结果对整个生态系统的保护管理具有重要意义，因为在初级生产者层面保持足够的遗传多样性将提高其他植物和动物的物种多样性。
