The role of functional traits in species distributions revealed through a hierarchical model

Abstract

Quantifying how functional traits relate to environmental gradients provides insight into mechanisms governing species distributions. Here, we bring together the fields of species distribution modelling and functional trait ecology with hierarchical modelling by explicitly incorporating traits into a multi-species distribution model. We combined traits from the leaf-height-seed strategy scheme (specific leaf area (SLA), plant height and seed mass) with a distribution model for 20 eucalypt taxa in Victoria, Australia. The key insight of this approach is how traits modulate species responses to environmental gradients. The strongest link was between SLA and percent rock cover (species with low..