Structural and defensive roles of angiosperm leaf venation network reticulation across an Andes-Amazon elevation gradient

BLONDER, BENJAMIN; SALINAS, NORMA; BENTLEY, LISA PATRICK; SHENKIN, ALEXANDER; CHAMBI PORROA, PERCY ORLANDO; VALDEZ TEJEIRA, YOLVI; BOZA ESPINOZA, TATIANA ERIKA; GOLDSMITH, GREGORY R.; ENRICO, LUCAS; DÍAZ, SANDRA

JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY (PRINT)

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2018

0022-0477

Abstract1. The network of minor veins of angiosperm leaves may include loops (reticulation).Variation in network architecture has been hypothesized to have hydraulic andalso structural and defensive functions.2. We measured venation network trait space in eight dimensions for 136 biomassdominantangiosperm tree species along a 3,300 m elevation gradient in southeasternPeru. We then examined the relative importance of multiple ecologicaland evolutionary predictors of reticulation.3. Variation in minor venation network reticulation was constrained to three axes.These axes described reconnecting vs. branching veins, elongated vs. compactareoles compact vs. elongated and low vs. high-density veins. Variation in the firsttwo axes was predicted by traits related to mechanical strength and secondarycompounds, and in the third axis by site temperature.4. Synthesis. Defensive and structural factors primarily explain variation in multipleaxes of reticulation, with a smaller role for climate-linked factors. These resultssuggest that venation network reticulation may be determined more by speciesinteractions than by hydraulic functions.