Keynote Speakers
主旨演讲嘉宾
Si-Chong Chen
Si-Chong CHEN is a plant ecologist whose research focuses on seed ecology, plant regeneration, and biotic interactions across environmental gradients. Her work combines field studies, large-scale data synthesis, and macroecological approaches to understand how plant reproductive strategies shape biodiversity patterns from local to global scales, with particular attention to biases and gaps in geography and taxonomy. She is a PI at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales. Si-Chong has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in journals including Ecology Letters, New Phytologist, and Global Ecology and Biogeography. She currently serves as President-Elect of the International Society for Seed Science (ISSS) and is on the editorial boards of several international journals.
Unveiling the tropical unknown: Identifying and addressing global biases in seed ecology
Long-standing geographic and taxonomic biases in ecology have significantly impaired our understanding of global biodiversity patterns. Seed ecology research remains heavily skewed toward the Global North, leaving the hyper-diverse tropical regions underrepresented. This imbalance is not merely a data gap; it is a fundamental bias that distorts our knowledge of ecological processes and evolutionary strategies.
I will first examine these biases through the lens of biotic interactions, specifically seed predation and defence. The classic hypothesis suggests that both predation pressure and plant defences intensify at lower latitudes. However, I will present evidence from multiple large-scale experiments, spanning the Australian east coast and extensive forest networks across China, that challenge these assumptions. Our findings, encompassing both interspecific comparisons and intraspecific studies of Chinese cork oak populations, demonstrate that physical investment in seed protection does not consistently increase towards the tropics. In many instances, seed predation is actually higher at high latitudes, and tropical seeds are not necessarily better defended than their temperate counterparts. These results are further supported by our recent global-scale empirical research and data syntheses on seed physical defences, suggesting that current paradigms may oversimplify the complex drivers of plant-animal interactions.
Beyond biotic interactions, I will discuss the broader implications of these biases for seed functional traits. To move toward a more inclusive global seed ecology, we have developed initiatives such as the Chinese Seed Trait Database, Tropical Seed Trait Database and the TEA-Traits database for Tropical East Africa. By integrating regional datasets, herbarium records, and AI-enhanced trait extraction, we can bridge the tropical gaps in functional trait research. Ultimately, I argue that synthesising cross-continental empirical data with comprehensive trait databases is essential for establishing a representative seed ecology that reflects the diversity and evolutionary history of the world’s flora.