The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama
As climate change leads to increasing temperatures, tropical dry seasons are expected to become more severe. An overall intensification of drought events may strongly affect vascular epiphytes. Especially at the community level, the response of epiphytes to intense drought events is still poorly und...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/5/325 |
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| author | Helena J. R. Einzmann Letizia Weichgrebe Gerhard Zotz |
| author_facet | Helena J. R. Einzmann Letizia Weichgrebe Gerhard Zotz |
| author_sort | Helena J. R. Einzmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As climate change leads to increasing temperatures, tropical dry seasons are expected to become more severe. An overall intensification of drought events may strongly affect vascular epiphytes. Especially at the community level, the response of epiphytes to intense drought events is still poorly understood. Therefore, the severe El Niño event of 2015/16 was used to assess the impact of prolonged drought on an epiphyte community on <i>Annona glabra</i> host trees, around Barro Colorado Island. Prior census data from 2002 and 2015 served as a reference for background community dynamics. Net species changes and net population changes at the species level were determined for both periods. While the total abundance of the community almost doubled during the 13 years of the reference period, individual numbers decreased by c. 17% within the year of the El Niño event. Overall, the El Niño event strongly affected the epiphyte community and led to a strong decrease in epiphyte numbers and species. These findings contrast with most previous studies in tropical lowlands that found epiphyte populations to be rather resistant to similarly severe drought events. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:02:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ee34593a865c4572bf7f5b4fdc3f89d0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:02:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-ee34593a865c4572bf7f5b4fdc3f89d02023-11-23T10:42:31ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-04-0114532510.3390/d14050325The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland PanamaHelena J. R. Einzmann0Letizia Weichgrebe1Gerhard Zotz2Functional Ecology Group, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, P.O. Box 5634, 26046 Oldenburg, GermanyFunctional Ecology Group, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, P.O. Box 5634, 26046 Oldenburg, GermanyFunctional Ecology Group, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, P.O. Box 5634, 26046 Oldenburg, GermanyAs climate change leads to increasing temperatures, tropical dry seasons are expected to become more severe. An overall intensification of drought events may strongly affect vascular epiphytes. Especially at the community level, the response of epiphytes to intense drought events is still poorly understood. Therefore, the severe El Niño event of 2015/16 was used to assess the impact of prolonged drought on an epiphyte community on <i>Annona glabra</i> host trees, around Barro Colorado Island. Prior census data from 2002 and 2015 served as a reference for background community dynamics. Net species changes and net population changes at the species level were determined for both periods. While the total abundance of the community almost doubled during the 13 years of the reference period, individual numbers decreased by c. 17% within the year of the El Niño event. Overall, the El Niño event strongly affected the epiphyte community and led to a strong decrease in epiphyte numbers and species. These findings contrast with most previous studies in tropical lowlands that found epiphyte populations to be rather resistant to similarly severe drought events.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/5/325Barro Colorado Islandclimate changedroughtEl Niñoepiphyte censustropical lowlands |
| spellingShingle | Helena J. R. Einzmann Letizia Weichgrebe Gerhard Zotz The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama Diversity Barro Colorado Island climate change drought El Niño epiphyte census tropical lowlands |
| title | The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama |
| title_full | The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama |
| title_short | The Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Vascular Epiphytes in Lowland Panama |
| title_sort | impact of a severe el nino event on vascular epiphytes in lowland panama |
| topic | Barro Colorado Island climate change drought El Niño epiphyte census tropical lowlands |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/5/325 |
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