A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology
Trait-based approaches have improved our understanding of plant evolution, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. A major challenge for the upcoming decades is to understand the functions and evolution of early life-history traits, across levels of organization and ecological strategies. Alth...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72572 |
| _version_ | 1848762786149040128 |
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| author | Saatkamp, A. Cochrane, A. Commander, L. Guja, L. Jimenez-Alfaro, B. Larson, J. Nicotra, A. Poschlod, P. Silveira, F. Cross, Adam Dalziell, Emma Dickie, J. Erickson, T. Fidelis, A. Fuchs, A. Golos, P. Hope, M. Lewandrowski, W. Merritt, D. Miller, B. Miller, R. Offord, C. Ooi, M. Satyanti, A. Sommerville, K. Tangney, R. Tomlinson, Sean Turner, S. Walck, J. |
| author_facet | Saatkamp, A. Cochrane, A. Commander, L. Guja, L. Jimenez-Alfaro, B. Larson, J. Nicotra, A. Poschlod, P. Silveira, F. Cross, Adam Dalziell, Emma Dickie, J. Erickson, T. Fidelis, A. Fuchs, A. Golos, P. Hope, M. Lewandrowski, W. Merritt, D. Miller, B. Miller, R. Offord, C. Ooi, M. Satyanti, A. Sommerville, K. Tangney, R. Tomlinson, Sean Turner, S. Walck, J. |
| author_sort | Saatkamp, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Trait-based approaches have improved our understanding of plant evolution, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. A major challenge for the upcoming decades is to understand the functions and evolution of early life-history traits, across levels of organization and ecological strategies. Although a variety of seed traits are critical for dispersal, persistence, germination timing and seedling establishment, only seed mass has been considered systematically. Here we suggest broadening the range of morphological, physiological and biochemical seed traits to add new understanding on plant niches, population dynamics and community assembly. The diversity of seed traits and functions provides an important challenge that will require international collaboration in three areas of research. First, we present a conceptual framework for a seed ecological spectrum that builds upon current understanding of plant niches. We then lay the foundation for a seed-trait functional network, the establishment of which will underpin and facilitate trait-based inferences. Finally, we anticipate novel insights and challenges associated with incorporating diverse seed traits into predictive evolutionary ecology, community ecology and applied ecology. If the community invests in standardized seed-trait collection and the implementation of rigorous databases, major strides can be made at this exciting frontier of functional ecology. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:53:06Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-72572 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:53:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-725722019-02-12T07:36:37Z A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology Saatkamp, A. Cochrane, A. Commander, L. Guja, L. Jimenez-Alfaro, B. Larson, J. Nicotra, A. Poschlod, P. Silveira, F. Cross, Adam Dalziell, Emma Dickie, J. Erickson, T. Fidelis, A. Fuchs, A. Golos, P. Hope, M. Lewandrowski, W. Merritt, D. Miller, B. Miller, R. Offord, C. Ooi, M. Satyanti, A. Sommerville, K. Tangney, R. Tomlinson, Sean Turner, S. Walck, J. Trait-based approaches have improved our understanding of plant evolution, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. A major challenge for the upcoming decades is to understand the functions and evolution of early life-history traits, across levels of organization and ecological strategies. Although a variety of seed traits are critical for dispersal, persistence, germination timing and seedling establishment, only seed mass has been considered systematically. Here we suggest broadening the range of morphological, physiological and biochemical seed traits to add new understanding on plant niches, population dynamics and community assembly. The diversity of seed traits and functions provides an important challenge that will require international collaboration in three areas of research. First, we present a conceptual framework for a seed ecological spectrum that builds upon current understanding of plant niches. We then lay the foundation for a seed-trait functional network, the establishment of which will underpin and facilitate trait-based inferences. Finally, we anticipate novel insights and challenges associated with incorporating diverse seed traits into predictive evolutionary ecology, community ecology and applied ecology. If the community invests in standardized seed-trait collection and the implementation of rigorous databases, major strides can be made at this exciting frontier of functional ecology. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72572 10.1111/nph.15502 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Saatkamp, A. Cochrane, A. Commander, L. Guja, L. Jimenez-Alfaro, B. Larson, J. Nicotra, A. Poschlod, P. Silveira, F. Cross, Adam Dalziell, Emma Dickie, J. Erickson, T. Fidelis, A. Fuchs, A. Golos, P. Hope, M. Lewandrowski, W. Merritt, D. Miller, B. Miller, R. Offord, C. Ooi, M. Satyanti, A. Sommerville, K. Tangney, R. Tomlinson, Sean Turner, S. Walck, J. A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| title | A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| title_full | A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| title_fullStr | A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| title_full_unstemmed | A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| title_short | A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| title_sort | research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72572 |