Oral Presentations and Performances: Session III
Project Type
Presentation
Project Funding and Affiliations
Kellogg Biological Station, KBS LTER, Michigan State University
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Meredith Zettlemoyer
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Division of Biological Sciences
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Title: No evidence for warming effects on tallgrass prairie plant extirpation in Kalamazoo Michigan
Author list: Emily Horner, Meredith Zettlemoyer
Abstract:
More and more species face extinction as our climate warms. Understanding how climate change influences local extinctions may help us comprehend and predict global extinctions. Ultimately, local extinction originates from declines in vital rates such as survival, growth, and reproduction. One way to examine how warming affects local extinctions is to compare responses between locally extinct (or “extirpated”) versus still present (or “extant”) species. In this comparative framework, more negative effects of warming on extirpated species’ vital rates would suggest a role of warming in their local extinction. Extirpated species could also have generally lower vital rates than the more successful extant species regardless of warming. We used an experimental heating array to compare extant and reintroduced locally extinct tallgrass prairie species’ vital rates under ambient vs. warmed (+3°C) conditions. Warming does not affect the vital rates of these tallgrass prairie plants, suggesting that warming is not a major reason that these species went locally extinct in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. We detect general differences in performance between locally extinct vs. extant species. Specifically, small extirpated species have higher survival and are more likely to produce flowers than small extant species. Meanwhile, taller extant species have higher survival and are more likely to produce flowers than tall extirpated species. However, we found that locally extinct and extant species have no general differences in flower or seed production. This result suggests that extirpated species might invest more resources early in life and points to a key difference between extirpated and extant species that contributes to our limited understanding of the population dynamics of local extinction.
Category
Life Sciences
No evidence for warming effects on tallgrass prairie plant extirpation in Kalamazoo Michigan
UC 333
Title: No evidence for warming effects on tallgrass prairie plant extirpation in Kalamazoo Michigan
Author list: Emily Horner, Meredith Zettlemoyer
Abstract:
More and more species face extinction as our climate warms. Understanding how climate change influences local extinctions may help us comprehend and predict global extinctions. Ultimately, local extinction originates from declines in vital rates such as survival, growth, and reproduction. One way to examine how warming affects local extinctions is to compare responses between locally extinct (or “extirpated”) versus still present (or “extant”) species. In this comparative framework, more negative effects of warming on extirpated species’ vital rates would suggest a role of warming in their local extinction. Extirpated species could also have generally lower vital rates than the more successful extant species regardless of warming. We used an experimental heating array to compare extant and reintroduced locally extinct tallgrass prairie species’ vital rates under ambient vs. warmed (+3°C) conditions. Warming does not affect the vital rates of these tallgrass prairie plants, suggesting that warming is not a major reason that these species went locally extinct in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. We detect general differences in performance between locally extinct vs. extant species. Specifically, small extirpated species have higher survival and are more likely to produce flowers than small extant species. Meanwhile, taller extant species have higher survival and are more likely to produce flowers than tall extirpated species. However, we found that locally extinct and extant species have no general differences in flower or seed production. This result suggests that extirpated species might invest more resources early in life and points to a key difference between extirpated and extant species that contributes to our limited understanding of the population dynamics of local extinction.