Assembly of functional diversity in an oceanic island flora

Martha Paola Barajas Barbosa (), Dylan Craven, Patrick Weigelt, Pierre Denelle, Rüdiger Otto, Sandra Díaz, Jonathan Price, José María Fernández-Palacios and Holger Kreft
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Martha Paola Barajas Barbosa: University of Göttingen
Dylan Craven: Universidad Mayor
Patrick Weigelt: University of Göttingen
Pierre Denelle: University of Göttingen
Rüdiger Otto: Universidad de La Laguna
Sandra Díaz: Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Jonathan Price: University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
José María Fernández-Palacios: Universidad de La Laguna
Holger Kreft: University of Göttingen

Nature, 2023, vol. 619, issue 7970, 545-550

Abstract: Abstract Oceanic island floras are well known for their morphological peculiarities and exhibit striking examples of trait evolution1–3. These morphological shifts are commonly attributed to insularity and are thought to be shaped by the biogeographical processes and evolutionary histories of oceanic islands2,4. However, the mechanisms through which biogeography and evolution have shaped the distribution and diversity of plant functional traits remain unclear5. Here we describe the functional trait space of the native flora of an oceanic island (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) using extensive field and laboratory measurements, and relate it to global trade-offs in ecological strategies. We find that the island trait space exhibits a remarkable functional richness but that most plants are concentrated around a functional hotspot dominated by shrubs with a conservative life-history strategy. By dividing the island flora into species groups associated with distinct biogeographical distributions and diversification histories, our results also suggest that colonization via long-distance dispersal and the interplay between inter-island dispersal and archipelago-level speciation processes drive functional divergence and trait space expansion. Contrary to our expectations, speciation via cladogenesis has led to functional convergence, and therefore only contributes marginally to functional diversity by densely packing trait space around shrubs. By combining biogeography, ecology and evolution, our approach opens new avenues for trait-based insights into how dispersal, speciation and persistence shape the assembly of entire native island floras.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06305-z

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