The latitudinal tree species diversity gradient is mediated by mycorrhizal turnover
Dr. Brian Steidinger, University of Edinburgh
Thursday 17 October, 6-7:00pm
Lecture Theatre, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Date: Thursday 17 October, 2024, Edinburgh, from 6:00-7:00 pm – (Tea/coffee and biscuits will be available from 5:30 pm)
After the Lecture: We plan to take the speaker for dinner. Let us know at the lecture if you would like to join the party.
Venue: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Science Building, 20a Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR
Venue Note: To access the lecture please enter via the Science Buildings main reception, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR. Note this is NOT the public entrance to the gardens. what3words ///ROPES.DINNER.CLUBS
Title: The latitudinal tree species diversity gradient is mediated by mycorrhizal turnover
Abstract: The latitudinal diversity gradient, which describes how species diversity peaks in the tropics and declines towards polar latitudes, is among the most general patterns characterizing life on earth. Recent global analyses have established that the latitudinal decline in tree species diversity coincides with a shift in the dominant form of mycorrhizal symbiosis, from diverse arbuscular mycorrhizal trees (in the tropics) to relatively species-poor ectomycorrhizal trees (in the temperate zone). Here, I use massive global compilation of forest census datasets and methods of casual inference to show that the two gradients are causally linked, with latitudinal mycorrhizal turnover mediating a majority of the latitudinal variability in tree species accumulation rates. By comparing the relationship between local and regional diversity across continents and biomes, I assess the extent to which lower tree species diversity in ectomycorrhizal dominated systems is the result of smaller regional species pools or (by inference) local species interactions. I go on to interpret the latitudinal tree species diversity and mycorrhizal gradients as binary expressions of a single biogeographic pattern.
Bio: Brian Steidinger is a NERC Independent Research Fellow in the Institute for Ecology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh. He uses theory, experiment, and natural history to determine what controls the diversity and distribution of symbiont communities, with a focus on the relationship between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Brian was previously an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Konstanz. He got his PhD in 2016 at Indiana University (working with Jim Bever) and did post-doctoral research at Stanford University (working with Kabir Peay).
