Scientific Reports (Feb 2025)

Large range sizes link fast life histories with high species richness across wet tropical tree floras

  • Timothy R. Baker,
  • Stephen Adu-Bredu,
  • Kofi Affum-Baffoe,
  • Shin-ichiro Aiba,
  • Perpetra Akite,
  • Miguel Alexiades,
  • Everton Almeida,
  • Edmar Almeida de Oliveira,
  • Esteban Alvarez Davila,
  • Christian Amani,
  • Ana Andrade,
  • Luiz Aragao,
  • Alejandro Araujo-Murakami,
  • Eric Arets,
  • Luzmila Arroyo,
  • Peter Ashton,
  • Suspense A. Averti Ifo,
  • Gerardo A. C. Aymard,
  • Michel Baisie,
  • William Balee,
  • Michael Balinga,
  • Lindsay F. Banin,
  • Olaf Banki,
  • Christopher Baraloto,
  • Jorcely Barroso,
  • Jean-Francois Bastin,
  • Hans Beeckman,
  • Serge Begne,
  • Natacha Nssi Bengone,
  • Nicholas Berry,
  • Wemo Betian,
  • Vincent Bezard,
  • Lilian Blanc,
  • Pascal Boeckx,
  • Damien Bonal,
  • Frans Bongers,
  • Francis Q. Brearley,
  • Roel Brienen,
  • Foster Brown,
  • Musalmah Bt. Nasaradin,
  • Benoit Burban,
  • David F. R. P. Burslem,
  • Plinio Camargo,
  • Jose Luis Camargo,
  • Wendeson Castro,
  • Carlos Ceron,
  • Victor Chama Moscoso,
  • Colin Chapman,
  • Jerome Chave,
  • Eric Chezeaux,
  • Murray Collins,
  • James Comiskey,
  • David Coomes,
  • Fernando Cornejo Valverde,
  • Flavia R. C. Costa,
  • Aida Cuni-Sanchez,
  • Lola da Costa,
  • Douglas C. Daly,
  • Martin Dančák,
  • Armandu Daniels,
  • Greta Dargie,
  • Stuart Davies,
  • Charles De Canniere,
  • Thales de Haulleville,
  • Jhon del Aguila Pasquel,
  • Geraldine Derroire,
  • Kyle G. Dexter,
  • Anthony Di Fiore,
  • Marie-Noel K. Djuikouo,
  • Jean-Louis Doucet,
  • Vincent Droissart,
  • Gerald Eilu,
  • Thaise Emillio,
  • Julien Engel,
  • Bocko Yannick Enock,
  • Fidele Evouna Ondo,
  • Corneille Ewango,
  • Sophie Fauset,
  • Ted R. Feldpausch,
  • Muhammad Fitriadi,
  • Gerardo Flores Llampazo,
  • Ernest G. Foli,
  • Gabriella Fredriksson,
  • David R. Galbraith,
  • Martin Gilpin,
  • Emanuel Gloor,
  • Christelle Gonmadje,
  • Rene Guillen Villaroel,
  • Jefferson Hall,
  • Keith C. Hamer,
  • Alan Hamilton,
  • Olivier Hardy,
  • Terese Hart,
  • Radim Hédl,
  • Rafael Herrera,
  • Niro Higuchi,
  • Claude Marcel Hladik,
  • Eurídice Honorio Coronado,
  • Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco,
  • Walter Huaraca Huasco,
  • Wannes Hubau,
  • Muhammad Idhamsyah,
  • Sascha A. Ismail,
  • Kath Jeffery,
  • Eliana Jimenez,
  • Tommaso Jucker,
  • Elizabeth Kearsley,
  • Lip Khoon Kho,
  • Timothy Killeen,
  • Kanehiro Kitayama,
  • William Laurance,
  • Susan Laurance,
  • Miguel Leal,
  • Simon L. Lewis,
  • Stanislav Lhota,
  • Jeremy Lindsell,
  • Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez,
  • Jon Lovett,
  • Richard Lowe,
  • William E. Magnusson,
  • Jean-Remy Makana,
  • Yadvinder Malhi,
  • Beatriz Marimon,
  • Ben Hur Marimon Junior,
  • Andrew Marshall,
  • Colin Maycock,
  • Faustin Mbayu,
  • Casimiro Mendoza,
  • Irina Mendoza Polo,
  • Faizah Metali,
  • Vianet Mihindou,
  • Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza,
  • Sam Moore,
  • Patrick Mucunguzi,
  • Jacques Mukinzi,
  • Pantaleo Munishi,
  • Laszlo Nagy,
  • Petrus Naisso,
  • David Neill,
  • Adriano Nogueira Lima,
  • Percy Nunez Vargas,
  • Lucas Ojo,
  • Walter Palacios,
  • Nadir Pallqui Camacho,
  • Alexander Parada Gutierrez,
  • Julie Peacock,
  • Kelvin S.-H. Peh,
  • Antonio Pena Cruz,
  • Colin Pendry,
  • Toby Pennington,
  • Maria Cristina Penuela-Mora,
  • Pascal Petronelli,
  • Oliver L. Phillips,
  • Georgia Pickavance,
  • G. John Pipoly,
  • Nigel Pitman,
  • Axel Dalberg Poulsen,
  • Ghillean T. Prance,
  • Adriana Prieto,
  • Richard B. Primack,
  • Lan Qie,
  • Simon A. Queenborough,
  • Terry Sunderland,
  • Carlos Quesada,
  • Freddy Ramirez Arevalo,
  • Hirma Ramirez-Angulo,
  • Jan Reitsma,
  • Maxime Réjou-Méchain,
  • Anand Roopsind,
  • Francesco Rovero,
  • Ervan Rutishauser,
  • Kamariah Abu Salim,
  • Rafael Salomao,
  • Ismayadi Samsoedin,
  • Muhd Shahruney Saparudin,
  • Juliana Schietti,
  • Ricardo A. Segovia,
  • Julio Serrano,
  • Rafizah Serudia,
  • Douglas Sheil,
  • Natalino Silva,
  • Javier Silva Espejo,
  • Marcos Silveira,
  • Murielle Simo-Droissart,
  • James Singh,
  • Bonaventure Sonké,
  • Thaise Emilio Lopes De Sousa,
  • Juliana Stropp,
  • Rahayu Sukri,
  • Terry Sunderland,
  • Martin Svátek,
  • Michael Swaine,
  • Hermann Taedoumg,
  • Joey Talbot,
  • Sylvester Tan,
  • James Taplin,
  • David Taylor,
  • Hans ter Steege,
  • John Terborgh,
  • Armando Torres-Lezama,
  • John Tshibamba Mukendi,
  • Darlington Tuagben,
  • Peter van de Meer,
  • Geertje van der Heijden,
  • Peter van der Hout,
  • Mark van Nieuwstadt,
  • Bert van Ulft,
  • Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez,
  • Ronald Vernimmen,
  • Barbara Vinceti,
  • Simone Vieira,
  • Ima Celia Guimaries Vieira,
  • Emilio Vilanova Torre,
  • Jason Vleminckx,
  • Lee White,
  • Simon Willcock,
  • Mathew Williams,
  • John T. Woods,
  • Tze Leong Yao,
  • Ishak Yassir,
  • Roderick Zagt,
  • Lise Zemagho

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84367-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Understanding how the traits of lineages are related to diversification is key for elucidating the origin of variation in species richness. Here, we test whether traits are related to species richness among lineages of trees from all major biogeographical settings of the lowland wet tropics. We explore whether variation in mortality rate, breeding system and maximum diameter are related to species richness, either directly or via associations with range size, among 463 genera that contain wet tropical forest trees. For Amazonian genera, we also explore whether traits are related to species richness via variation among genera in mean species-level range size. Lineages with higher mortality rates—faster life-history strategies—have larger ranges in all biogeographic settings and have higher mean species-level range sizes in Amazonia. These lineages also have smaller maximum diameters and, in the Americas, contain dioecious species. In turn, lineages with greater overall range size have higher species richness. Our results show that fast life-history strategies influence species richness in all biogeographic settings because lineages with these ecological strategies have greater range sizes. These links suggest that dispersal has been a key process in the evolution of the tropical forest flora.

Keywords