Associations among species traits, distribution, and demographic performance after typhoon disturbance for 22 co-occurring woody species in a mesic forest on a subtropical oceanic island

To support conservation and restoration, it is important to understand how differences in species functional traits relate to the distribution and demographic performance (i.e., changes in rates of growth, survival and recruitment) of co-occurring endemic, indigenous, and alienspecies on oceanic islands, where species are especially vulnerable to invasion. We examined interspecific differences in leaf and wood traits, and their associations with species origin ( endemic, indigenous, and alien), distribution patterns, and demographic performance after typhoondisturbance for 22 co-occurring woody species at Sekimon on Hahajima Island in the Ogasawara Islands. Principal components analysis showed that the first and second principal components were associated with trait variations along spectra of leaf and wood economics (LES and WES). Species origin was not significantly associated with these components. Conservative species with low resource acquisition along the LES were abundant before the typhoonbut acquisitive species had higher recruitment after the typhoon. After the typhoon, acquisitive species along the WES showed higher recruitment, relative growth ratesbut low survival rates on soil substrates. Endemicand indigenous species had lower recruitment and relative growth ratesand endemicspecies had lower survival rates than alienspecies. Alien, endemicand indigenous species have similar functional space along the LES and WES, but these functional differences do not simply explain high demographic performance of alienspecies after the typhoonunder the conditions of the species composition shifting from endemicspecies to alienspecies after repeated typhoondisturbances.