Situated against the backdrop of Pico del Teide, Spain’s loftiest peak at 3,715 meters, Tenerife boasts an unexpectedly diverse range of plant forms and functions. Image Credit: Holger Kreft
A research team led by the University of Göttingen scrutinizes the differences in morphology and functionality between insular and continental plants.
Islands in the ocean offer invaluable laboratories for exploration in the fields of ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Seminal theories, such as Darwin’s concept of evolution, owe their origins to the study of species interactions within these isolated ecosystems. A recent undertaking by a global consortium of scientists, spearheaded by the University of Göttingen, explored the vegetative diversity of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
The results confounded expectations: The plant life of the island displayed an astonishing variety of forms. However, in functional respects, these plants demonstrated no significant departures from their continental equivalents. Intriguingly, Tenerife’s flora is predominantly comprised of slow-growing, woody shrubs that adopt a “low-risk” survival strategy. The study’s findings have been published in the esteemed journal, Nature.
The team conducted rigorous field studies at over 500 disparate locations across the island, ranging from sea level to elevations exceeding 3,300 meters. Employing the latest techniques in functional ecology, they examined how the island’s plant life functionally diverged from flora elsewhere on the globe.
Common island plants, such as the flowering herbaceous plant known as the “tower of jewels” (Echium wildpretii), display captivating adaptations to both living and inert surroundings. The study indicates that medium-sized, slow-growing, woody shrubs constitute the dominant element in Tenerife’s flora. Image Credit: José María Fernández-Palacios
Approximately 80% of Tenerife’s indigenous seed plants were documented in the study. Researchers assessed eight distinct characteristics: plant stature, specific wood density, leaf thickness, absolute and specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, nitrogen levels in leaf tissues, and seed mass. This information was compared with data from over 2,000 species of mainland plants.
Professor Holger Kreft of the University of Göttingen’s Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography research group, who spearheaded the study, elucidated, “Our research reveals, quite unexpectedly, that species which evolved in the Canary Islands do not widen the range of observable traits, meaning they do not contribute to increased functional diversity.”
Historically, island species have exhibited notable distinctions when compared to their mainland relatives. A case in point is the Galapagos giant tortoise, which, owing to its adaptation to the island’s environment, is considerably larger than continental tortoises.
Contrary to initial expectations, the researchers did not observe any significant differences between the island and continental plants. Kreft added, “Instead, we observed that the majority of species are influenced by the environmental conditions of the island, giving rise to medium-sized, woody plants that grow slowly, often in resource-limited and high-extinction-risk settings. The extensive functional diversity is largely attributed to species that are prevalent both on the island and the adjacent mainland.”
Dr. Paola Barajas Barbosa, the study’s primary author, noted, “At the outset of our investigation, we hypothesized that insular plants would exhibit basic differences and limited functional diversity due to their geographical isolation.” Barbosa, who conducted the research as part of her doctoral work at the University of Göttingen, currently conducts research at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research in Leipzig. “Therefore, it was all the more startling to discover that Tenerife’s plants maintain a relatively high degree of functional diversity.”
Citation: “Assembly of functional diversity in an oceanic island flora” by Martha Paola Barajas Barbosa, Dylan Craven, Patrick Weigelt, Pierre Denelle, Rüdiger Otto, Sandra Díaz, Jonathan Price, José María Fernández-Palacios, and Holger Kreft, published on July 12, 2023, in Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06305-z
Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Evolutionary Biology
What is the primary focus of the study led by the University of Göttingen?
The study aims to examine the differences in form and function between the plant species found on Tenerife, an oceanic island, and their mainland counterparts. The research specifically scrutinizes how these plants have evolved and adapted in the isolated environment of the island.
Who led the research and where has the study been published?
The research was spearheaded by Professor Holger Kreft and Dr. Paola Barajas Barbosa from the University of Göttingen. The study has been published in the esteemed scientific journal, Nature.
What were the key findings of the study?
The most striking finding was the unexpected diversity in plant forms on Tenerife. However, in functional terms, these island plants did not display significant differences from mainland plant species. The flora of Tenerife is predominantly comprised of slow-growing, woody shrubs with a “low-risk” life strategy.
What methodologies were employed in the study?
The research team conducted extensive field research at over 500 sites across Tenerife, employing the latest techniques in functional ecology. They documented about 80% of the island’s native seed plants and analyzed eight distinct plant characteristics for the study.
How does the study challenge established norms in evolutionary biology?
Contrary to established expectations, the study found that species which have evolved in the Canary Islands do not contribute to increased functional diversity. This challenges conventional wisdom that island plants would be functionally distinct due to their geographical isolation.
How many plant characteristics were surveyed and compared?
Eight plant characteristics were surveyed: plant size, specific wood density, leaf thickness, absolute and specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, nitrogen levels in leaf tissues, and seed mass. This data was compared with information on over 2,000 mainland plant species.
Does the study have implications beyond Tenerife?
While the study is specifically focused on Tenerife, its findings could have broader implications for our understanding of plant evolution, biogeography, and ecology, particularly for plants on isolated oceanic islands.
What were the researchers’ initial expectations?
Initially, the researchers assumed that the plant species on Tenerife would display significant functional differences from their mainland counterparts due to their geographical isolation. However, the study found the opposite to be true.
More about Evolutionary Biology
- University of Göttingen Official Website
- Nature Journal
- Evolutionary Biology Concepts
- Overview of Functional Ecology
- Tenerife’s Flora and Fauna
- Oceanic Islands and Evolution
- Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
