13 Result(s)
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T. Michael Anderson
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Article
The role of microsite sunlight environment on growth, architecture, and resource allocation in dominant Acacia tree seedlings, in Serengeti, East Africa
Seedling establishment is a critical life history stage for savanna tree recruitment due to variability in resource availability. While tree–grass competition for water is recognized as an important driver of ...
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Change in dominance determines herbivore effects on plant biodiversity
Herbivores alter plant biodiversity (species richness) in many of the world’s ecosystems, but the magnitude and the direction of herbivore effects on biodiversity vary widely within and among ecosystems. One c...
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Article
Seed production, infestation, and viability in Acacia tortilis (synonym: Vachellia tortilis) and Acacia robusta (synonym: Vachellia robusta) across the Serengeti rainfall gradient
Tree recruitment in savannas proceeds in multiple stages characterized by successive filters occurring at the seed and seedling stages. The “demographic bottleneck” hypothesis suggests that such filters ultima...
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Variation in the soil ‘silicon landscape’ explains plant silica accumulation across environmental gradients in Serengeti
Beneficial aspects of plant silicon (Si) have been identified, but little is known about how multiple abiotic conditions interact in a natural environment to influence plant Si-accumulation. Consequently, we i...
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Article
Leaf thickness controls variation in leaf mass per area (LMA) among grazing-adapted grasses in Serengeti
Leaf mass per area (LMA) is a primary plant functional trait that represents the cost of constructing a leaf. Ultimately, plants modify LMA by altering leaf thickness (LT), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), or b...
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Article
Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness
Data from grasslands across five continents show clear signals of numerous underlying mechanisms linking ecosystem productivity and species richness.
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Open AccessPlant species’ origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands
Exotic species dominate many communities; however the functional significance of species’ biogeographic origin remains highly contentious. This debate is fuelled in part by the lack of globally replicated, sys...
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Precipitation, fire and demographic bottleneck dynamics in Serengeti tree populations
Tree size distributions are the outcome of demographic processes and disturbance events, and size distribution analysis provides a useful tool for understanding pattern and process in tree population dynamics....
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Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation
Experimental data collected from 40 grasslands on 6 continents show that nutrients and herbivores can serve as counteracting forces to control local plant diversity; nutrient addition reduces local diversity t...
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Open AccessSeagrass–Sediment Feedback: An Exploration Using a Non-recursive Structural Equation Model
The reciprocal effects between sediment texture and seagrass density are assumed to play an important role in the dynamics and stability of intertidal–coastal ecosystems. However, this feedback relationship ha...
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Soil CO2 Emissions Associated with Termitaria in Tropical Savanna: Evidence for Hot-Spot Compensation
Our understanding of carbon (C) dynamics within savannas is very limited, especially how source/sink dynamics are influenced by the resident biota. Previous measurements of epigeal termite mounds (termitaria),...
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Article
Road will ruin Serengeti
Tanzania's iconic national park must not be divided by a highway, say Andrew Dobson, Markus Borner, Tony Sinclair and 24 others. A route farther south would bring greater benefits to development and the enviro...
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Article
Scale-dependent relationships between the spatial distribution of a limiting resource and plant species diversity in an African grassland ecosystem
One cornerstone of ecological theory is that nutrient availability limits the number of species that can inhabit a community. However, the relationship between the spatial distribution of limiting nutrients an...
