Sediment availability provokes a shift from Brownian to Lévy‐like clonal expansion in a dune building grass
Reijers, V.C; Hoeks, S.; van Belzen, J.; Siteur, K.; de Rond, A.J.A.; van de Ven, C.N.; Lammers, C.; van de Koppel, J.; van der Heide, T. (2021). Sediment availability provokes a shift from Brownian to Lévy‐like clonal expansion in a dune building grass. Ecol. Lett. 24(2): 258-268. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13638Additional data: In: Ecology Letters. Blackwell: Oxford. ISSN 1461-023X; e-ISSN 1461-0248, more |   |
| Keyword | Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link [WoRMS]
| | Author keywords | Ammophila arenaria; biogeomorphic landscapes; clonal expansion; coastal dunes; engineering traits; habitat modification; Levy movement |
| Authors | | Top | - Reijers, V.C, more
- Hoeks, S.
- van Belzen, J., more
| - Siteur, K., more
- de Rond, A.J.A.
- van de Ven, C.N., more
| - Lammers, C., more
- van de Koppel, J., more
- van der Heide, T., more
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| Abstract | In biogeomorphic landscapes, plant traits can steer landscape development through plant-mediated feedback interactions. Interspecific differences in clonal expansion strategy can therefore lead to the emergence of different landscape organisations. Yet, whether landscape-forming plants adopt different clonal expansion strategies depending on their physical environment remains to be tested. Here, we use a field survey and a complementary mesocosm approach to investigate whether sediment deposition affects the clonal expansion strategy employed by dune-building marram grass individuals. Our results reveal a consistent shift in expansion pattern from more clumped, Brownian-like, movement in sediment-poor conditions, to patchier, Levy-like, movement under high sediment supply rates. Additional model simulations illustrate that the sediment-dependent shift in movement strategies induces a shift in optimisation of the cost-benefit relation between landscape engineering (i.e. dune formation) and expansion. Plasticity in expansion strategy may therefore allow landscape-forming plants to optimise their engineering ability depending on their physical landscape. |
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