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Community-weighted mean functional effect traits determine larval amphibian responses to litter mixtures

  • Community ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Plant species composition is changing across many landscapes, but it is unclear how these changes affect habitat quality for animals. We used functional diversity and community-weighted mean (CWM) trait values for four plant traits (litter N, P, lignin and soluble phenolics) to explore how changes in plant species composition may affect larval amphibians in a simplified aquatic ecosystem. We predicted that increased functional diversity would improve amphibian performance (survivorship, developmental rate, and size). We also predicted that increases in CWM N and P would improve amphibian performance, while increases in CWM lignin and soluble phenolics would have negative effects on amphibian performance. We did not detect an effect of functional diversity; instead, CWM litter N and soluble phenolics were useful predictors of amphibian performance. We demonstrate that quantifying the CWM of ecologically relevant traits represents a powerful approach for predicting how changes in plant species composition can affect aquatic communities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank S. Biddlecomb, I. Conte-Jerpe, J. Dietrich, E. Merritt, C. Thurston, W. Simmons, and R. Wong for assistance. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (Grant No. DGE-0707428 to J. S. C.) and the New York State Department of Transportation (to B. B.). This project was approved by Cornell University’s Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee (Protocol No. 2008-0037).

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  1. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    J. S. Cohen, S-K. D. Rainford & B. Blossey

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  1. J. S. Cohen
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  2. S-K. D. Rainford
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  3. B. Blossey
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Correspondence to J. S. Cohen.

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Communicated by Scott D. Peacor.

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Cohen, J.S., Rainford, SK.D. & Blossey, B. Community-weighted mean functional effect traits determine larval amphibian responses to litter mixtures. Oecologia 174, 1359–1366 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2856-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2856-8

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