Beta多样性分解:方法、应用与展望

Beta多样性是指不同群落间物种组成的差异,由物种周转(或物种替换)和嵌套(或丰富度差异)这两种过程决定。Beta多样性分解是将这两种过程对总体beta多样性的作用进行拆分,然后分别探讨这两种过程对群落间物种组成差异的影响。2010年之后,人们提出了beta多样性分解的方法,其中占据主导地位的是由Andrés Baselga于2010年提出的BAS法(总体beta多样性分解为物种周转和嵌套组分)和由János Podani和Dénes Schmera于2011年以及JoséC.Carvalho等于2012年提出的POD法(总体beta多样性分解为物种替换和丰富度差异组分)。这两种分解方法引起了持续的争论,促进了该领域的快速发展。作者归纳分析了2010年后有关beta多样性分解的文献后发现,使用BAS法的论文无论在发表量和引用次数上都多于POD法(75%vs.20%)。Beta多样性分解的研究主要集中在欧洲(45%),研究类群则以动物(64%)为主。本文在回顾beta多样性分解方法的提出及其发展过程的基础上,从时空维度(纬度梯度、海拔梯度、生境片断化过程以及季节和年际动态)、多样性的不同方面(物种、功能和谱系多样性)和不同生物类群之间的比较等研究角度出发,进一步阐述了beta多样性分解方法在探讨生物多样性分布格局以及形成机制中的应用。对于beta多样性分解的研究,我们认为需要深入探讨的问题有:(1)beta多样性分解方法的比较分析和整合;(2)结合物种多度信息探讨beta多样性及其组分的分布格局;(3)对大尺度下beta多样性分解的结果进行普适性验证。     

林冠结构是局域尺度木本植物功能性状beta多样性形成的重要驱动力

功能性状beta多样性反映了群落间功能性状组成的差异, 解析其形成机制是群落生态学研究的核心内容之一。本研究以云南西双版纳热带季节雨林20 ha动态监测样地为研究对象, 测定木本植物11个重要的功能性状, 采用多度加权的平均最近邻体性状距离度量不同取样尺度的功能性状beta多样性, 基于距离矩阵的多元回归方法解析林冠结构差异、环境异质性、空间距离在功能性状beta多样性格局形成中的相对作用。结果表明, 对于所有木本植物个体(DBH ≥ 1 cm)而言, 同时考虑林冠结构、环境和空间距离的模型为解释功能性状beta多样性格局的最优模型; 在3个不同取样尺度上, 林冠结构差异和环境距离都对功能性状beta多样性具有较大的解释力, 且随着取样尺度的增大而上升, 空间距离的作用基本可以忽略。本研究证实了林冠结构是局域尺度木本植物功能性状beta多样性格局形成的重要驱动力, 这一发现更新了环境异质性和空间距离是驱动功能性状beta多样性格局形成的主要因素的传统认知, 为将来研究功能性状beta多样性形成机制提供新的视角, 并证实了取样尺度在解析木本植物功能性状beta多样性格局形成机制中的重要性。     

西藏横断山区溪流细菌beta多样性组分对气候和水体环境的响应

理解沿环境或空间梯度的群落组成变化(即beta多样性)一直是生态学和保护生物学的中心问题, 且beta多样性的形成机制及其对环境的响应已成为当前生物多样性研究的热点问题。本文以西藏横断山区怒江和澜沧江两个流域入江溪流中的细菌为研究对象, 使用Baselga的beta多样性分解方法, 基于Sørensen相异性指数将细菌的beta多样性分解为周转(turnover)和嵌套(nestedness)两个组分, 探究了细菌beta多样性及其分解组分随海拔距离的分布模式, 并且衡量了环境、气候和空间因子的相对重要性。结果表明, 两个流域中细菌的群落结构显著不同。两个流域的细菌总beta多样性和周转组分随海拔距离的增加而增加, 周转组分占总beta多样性的比例较大。气候和环境因子是两个流域中细菌总beta多样性及周转过程的重要预测因子, 并且所有的显著因子均为正相关, 其中环境因子中相关性最高的为海拔距离(R ²= 0.408, P < 0.001), 而气候因子中相关性最高的为年均温差(R ²= 0.417, P < 0.001)。方差分解结果暗示嵌套组分主要受空间扩散的影响; 总beta多样性和周转组分在环境较恶劣的澜沧江主要受环境过滤的影响, 而在环境较温和的怒江主要受空间扩散和环境过滤的共同影响。此外, 较为恶劣的环境条件会增加细菌的总beta多样性和周转率, 并且会形成更强的环境筛选作用去影响细菌群落的物种组成。我们的研究表明对西藏横断山区水体细菌多样性的保护需要从整个流域入手, 而非少量的生物多样性热点地区。     

北京东灵山辽东栎林植物物种多样性的多尺度分析

多尺度分析物种多样性格局能够为有效保护生物多样性提供重要信息.利用物种多样性的加法分配法则分析了样方-坡位-坡面等级尺度系统辽东栎林植物物种多样性(gamma多样性)的alpha多样性和beta多样性在各尺度上的分配关系.结果表明以物种丰富度为指标的区域物种多样性的最大贡献来自坡面尺度,表明坡面尺度是维持辽东栎林物种多样性的有效尺度;而对Simpson多样性和Shannon多样性的最大贡献则来自样方内,这决定于群落物种优势度和稀有度格局;各尺度间beta多样性组分随尺度的增大而增大可能是环境异质性和扩散作用的综合结果.各尺度间Shannon多样性对总体多样性的贡献大于Simpson多样性的贡献是偶见种在各尺度间分配的结果.物种多样性分配的加法法则为物种多样性格局的多尺度分析提供了理论框架,是检验物种多样性格局形成机制的有效方法.     

美洲森林群落beta多样性的纬度梯度性

Beta多样性度量不同时空尺度物种组成的变化,是生物多样性的重要组成部分;理解其地理格局和形成机制已成为当前生物多样性研究的热点问题。基于Alwyn H. Gentry在美洲收集的131个森林样方数据,采用倍性和加性分配方法度量群落beta多样性,检验beta多样性随纬度的变化趋势,并分析其形成机制。研究表明:(1) 美洲森林群落beta多样性随纬度增加显著下降,热带和亚热带地区beta多样性高于温带地区;此格局可由物种分布范围的纬度梯度性和不同粒度(grain)下物种丰富度与纬度回归斜率的差异推论得出;(2) 加性分配方法表明beta多样性对各个温度带森林群落gamma多样性的相对贡献率平均为78.2%,并且随纬度升高而降低;(3) 美洲南半球森林群落beta多样性高于其北半球,这可能反映了区域间物种进化和环境变迁历史的差异。此外,还探讨了不同beta多样性计算方法的适用情景,首次证实了森林生态系统群落水平beta多样性的纬度梯度性,这对研究生物多样性的形成机制和生物多样性保护都具有重要的意义。     

百山祖自然保护区植物群落beta多样性

本文采用植物群落学的典型样方法,研究了百山祖自然保护区森林植物群落beta多样性格局及其维持机制。通过对45个20m?20m标准样地的调查数据进行分析,运用Chao’s群落距离指数衡量该植物群落beta多样性格局,并通过Mantel检验、基于距离矩阵的偏RDA分析和方差分解等方法初步检验和衡量了各环境因子差异（包括群落郁闭度、海拔、坡度、坡向和坡位）和群落空间距离对该区域beta多样性格局的影响。结果显示,该区域内植物群落beta多样性随着群落间综合环境差异或群落空间距离的增加而增大, 但环境差异和群落空间距离只能解释36%左右的beta多样性格局。检验的5个环境因子中,只有群落郁闭度和海拔对百山祖自然保护区植物群落beta多样性有显著影响,并且群落郁闭度对beta多样性的解释度（20.0%）略高于海拔对beta多样性的解释度（18.0%）。群落空间距离对百山祖自然保护区beta多样性的解释度最小（9.0%）。本文展现了百山祖自然保护区内植物群落beta多样性格局及其与群落环境和空间距离的关系,所获得的结果支持生境异质性和扩散限制联合对植物群落beta多样性起作用的假说。     

南亚热带河流底栖硅藻β多样性及其对空间距离与环境梯度的响应——基于广义非相似性模拟的分析

β多样性指不同生境间群落物种组成的差异,其空间格局及影响因素是生物多样性维持研究的重要内容。以典型的南亚热带中小型河流—广州流溪河为对象,在对底栖硅藻进行季节调查的基础上,采用Baselga对β多样性的分解框架,基于S?rensen相异性系数将底栖硅藻的β多样性分解为周转和嵌套两个组分,运用广义非相似性模拟(Generalized Dissimilarity Modelling, GDM)分析了空间与环境因子对β多样性及其组分的影响。结果表明：底栖硅藻β多样性、物种周转和嵌套组分无明显季节差异,物种周转是流溪河底栖硅藻β多样性的主要组分(>75%);环境与空间过程共同影响流溪河底栖硅藻β多样性和物种周转组分格局,但环境选择是主要的驱动因子;与枯水期相比,丰水期的空间因素对β多样性和物种周转组分的影响程度降低。作为一种非线性距离回归方法,GDM能较好地识别底栖硅藻β多样性及其组分对环境梯度和空间距离的响应。     

小兴安岭凉水国家级自然保护区植物beta多样性及其影响因素

自然保护区如何设置才能够最大程度保护生物多样性, 是保护生物学的研究热点; 阐明beta多样性特征、组分格局及其影响因素是保护生物学的重要基础。本研究选取小兴安岭凉水国家级自然保护区不同功能区(核心区、缓冲区、实验区)及毗邻地区(保护区外)共80块样方作为研究对象, 调查每块样方的保护位置(经纬度、海拔、坡位、坡度、坡向)和群落结构(郁闭度、林龄、乔木树高、胸径、灌木树高、地径), 并采集0-20 cm土壤样品, 测定土壤理化性质(有机碳、全氮、pH值、电导率、含水量、容重)。将样方间的beta多样性分解为物种周转和物种多度差异两种组分, 通过Mantel分析、冗余分析和方差分解分析解析非生物因子(地理地形、保护强度、土壤因子)和生物因子(群落结构)对beta多样性及其组分的影响。结果表明: (1)乔、灌、草3层中, 物种周转组分对于beta多样性的贡献均占主导地位(65%-73%), 物种多度差异贡献较小。(2) Mantel检验结果表明, 乔、灌、草3层beta多样性及其组分与地理地形指标显著相关的因子最多; 土壤因子只对乔木层和灌木层beta多样性及组分有影响, 对草本层影响不大。其中坡位、坡度、乔木树高和保护强度均与保护区乔、灌、草3层beta多样性显著正相关(P < 0.05)。(3)植物整体beta多样性受地理地形影响最大, 但存在乔、灌、草差异。乔木层beta多样性受生物因子影响最大; 灌木层的土壤因子解释力分别为地理地形和生物因子的2倍; 而草本层主要受地理地形的影响, 其解释力分别是土壤和生物因子的26倍和3倍。乔木胸径对植物beta多样性差异具有最大的解释作用。本研究结果表明, 未来保护区设置需要根据保护植物的类型, 选择适当的林分结构、土壤和地理地形等, 以增强保护区植物多样性保护的效果。     

浙江九龙山香果树群落乔木层物种的多样性格局

为了解香果树(Emmenopterys henryi)群落的物种多样性及其驱动因素,在浙江九龙山自然保护区建立了35个以香果树为中心15 m半径的样圆,调查样圆内胸径2.5 cm以上的乔木层树木的物种和胸径。通过线性混合效应模型分析α多样性与海拔、坡向、香果树胸高断面积的关系,通过Mantel检验和方差分解分析样地间距离、海拔、坡向和香果树胸高断面积差异对β多样性的影响。结果表明,九龙山香果树群落乔木层物种丰富(50科96属145种),且以落叶或半常绿树种占优势;样地乔木层Shannon-Wiener指数为2.37～3.40,Simpson指数为0.86～0.94;群落乔木层α多样性随海拔升高呈先升高后下降的变化趋势,但与样地坡向和香果树胸高断面积无关;群落乔木层Sorenson指数为0.15～0.95,物种周转组分对群落β多样性的贡献达74.88%;样地间地理距离与乔木层β多样性及其组分呈显著正相关,样地间海拔差异与其乔木层β多样性及其物种丰富度差异组分呈显著正相关,而样地间香果树胸高断面积差异仅与物种周转组分显著正相关;样地地理距离对于乔木层β多样性及其组分具有最高的解释度(23%...     

地理距离和环境因子对阿拉善戈壁植物群落β多样性的影响

内蒙古阿拉善地区分布着超过20万km²的典型戈壁生态系统, 且这些戈壁生态系统正遭受着持续性气候变暖与极端天气的影响。然而, 土壤、气候、空间变量等因子对阿拉善戈壁大尺度植物β多样性及其关键组分的相对影响还没有得到系统研究。本文通过对阿拉善典型戈壁生境的276个样方进行植物群落组成调查, 并结合气候、土壤等数据, 探讨了地理距离和环境因子对阿拉善戈壁区植物群落β多样性及其组分的影响。研究表明: (1)在阿拉善戈壁区, 随着地理距离的增加, 植物群落β多样性及物种周转组分显著增加, 而且β多样性主要源于物种周转组分, 物种嵌套组分的贡献非常有限; (2)偏Mantel分析显示环境因子和地理距离对β多样性及其物种周转组分均有显著的单独作用; 方差分解结果进一步表明, 环境因子和地理距离共同解释了植物β多样性及其物种周转组分10.84%-17.67% (Bray-Curtis)和15.47%-24.81% (Sørensen)的变异, 但环境因子可以单独解释更多的变异(6.62%-9.97% (Bray-Curtis)和8.98%-14.51% (Sørensen))。在众多环境因子中, 气温日较差、土壤含水量和地表砾石盖度对植物群落β多样性和物种周转组分的贡献更大。以上结果表明, 环境过滤、扩散限制以及其他未知过程可能共同影响阿拉善戈壁区植物群落β多样性格局, 其中环境过滤可能具有更大的影响。     

Assembly mechanisms determining high species turnover in aquatic communities over regional and continental scales

Niche and neutral processes drive community assembly and metacommunity dynamics, but their relative importance might vary with the spatial scale. The contribution of niche processes is generally expected to increase with increasing spatial extent at a higher rate than that of neutral processes. However, the extent to what community composition is limited by dispersal (usually considered a neutral process) over increasing spatial scales might depend on the dispersal capacity of composing species. To investigate the mechanisms underlying the distribution and diversity of species known to have great powers of dispersal (hundreds of kilometres), we analysed the relative importance of niche processes and dispersal limitation in determining beta‐diversity patterns of aquatic plants and cladocerans over regional (up to 300 km) and continental (up to 3300 km) scales. Both taxonomic groups were surveyed in five different European regions and presented extremely high levels of beta‐diversity, both within and among regions. High beta‐diversity was primarily explained by species replacement (turnover) rather than differences in species richness (i.e. nestedness). Abiotic and biotic variables were the main drivers of community composition. Within some regions, small‐scale connectivity and the spatial configuration of sampled communities explained a significant, though smaller, fraction of compositional variation, particularly for aquatic plants. At continental scale (among regions), a significant fraction of compositional variation was explained by a combination of spatial effects (exclusive contribution of regions) and regionally‐structured environmental variables. Our results suggest that, although dispersal limitation might affect species composition in some regions, aquatic plant and cladoceran communities are not generally limited by dispersal at the regional scale (up to 300 km). Species sorting mediated by environmental variation might explain the high species turnover of aquatic plants and cladocerans at regional scale, while biogeographic processes enhanced by dispersal limitation among regions might determine the composition of regional biotas.     

How beta diversity and the underlying causes vary with sampling scales in the Changbai mountain forests

This study aims to establish a relationship between the sampling scale and tree species beta diversity temperate forests and to identify the underlying causes of beta diversity at different sampling scales. The data were obtained from three large observational study areas in the Changbai mountain region in northeastern China. All trees with a dbh ≥1 cm were stem‐mapped and measured. The beta diversity was calculated for four different grain sizes, and the associated variances were partitioned into components explained by environmental and spatial variables to determine the contributions of environmental filtering and dispersal limitation to beta diversity. The results showed that both beta diversity and the causes of beta diversity were dependent on the sampling scale. Beta diversity decreased with increasing scales. The best‐explained beta diversity variation was up to about 60% which was discovered in the secondary conifer and broad‐leaved mixed forest (CBF) study area at the 40 × 40 m scale. The variation partitioning result indicated that environmental filtering showed greater effects at bigger grain sizes, while dispersal limitation was found to be more important at smaller grain sizes. What is more, the result showed an increasing explanatory ability of environmental effects with increasing sampling grains but no clearly trend of spatial effects. The study emphasized that the underlying causes of beta diversity variation may be quite different within the same region depending on varying sampling scales. Therefore, scale effects should be taken into account in future studies on beta diversity, which is critical in identifying different relative importance of spatial and environmental drivers on species composition variation.     

Geographical patterns in the beta diversity of China's woody plants: the influence of space,environment and range size

Beta diversity (i.e. species turnover rate across space) is fundamental for understanding mechanisms controlling large‐scale species richness patterns. However, the influences on beta diversity are still a matter of debate. In particular, the relative role of environmental and spatial processes (e.g. environmental niche versus dispersal limitation of species) remains elusive, and the influence of species range size has been poorly tested. Here, using distribution maps of 11 405 woody species in China (ca 9.6 × 10⁶ km²), we investigated 1) the geographical and directional patterns of beta diversity for all woody species and species with different range sizes, and 2) compared the effects of environmental and spatial processes on these patterns. Beta diversity was calculated as the decay of similarity in species composition with increasing distance. Variables representing environmental energy, water availability, climatic seasonality, habitat heterogeneity and human activities were used to evaluate the effects of environmental processes, while spatial distance was used to assess the influence of spatial processes. The results indicated significant directional patterns of beta diversity: the similarity decay along the latitudinal gradient was 1.6–2.3 times faster than that along the longitudinal gradient. Beta diversity also increased with the decrease of species range size. As compared with spatial processes, environmental processes had stronger effects on longitudinal beta diversity and on the beta diversity of widely‐ranged species. This was opposite to the larger influence of spatial processes on latitudinal beta diversity and the beta diversity of narrowly‐ranged species. These results suggest that the distributions of narrowly‐ranged woody species in China may have not reached equilibrium with their environmental niches due to dispersal limitation induced by China's topography and/or their low dispersal ability. The projected rapid climatic changes will likely endanger such species. Species dispersal processes should be taken into account in future conservation strategies in China.     

Contrasting patterns and mechanisms of spatial turnover for native and exotic freshwater fish in Europe

Aim We compare the distribution patterns of native and exotic freshwater fish in Europe, and test whether the same mechanisms (environmental filtering and/or dispersal limitation) govern patterns of decrease in similarity of native and exotic species composition over geographical distance (spatial species turnover). Locations Major river basins of Europe. Methods Data related to geography, habitat diversity, regional climate and species composition of native and exotic freshwater fish were collated for 26 major European river basins. We explored the degree of nestedness in native and exotic species composition, and quantified compositional similarity between river basins according to the beta‐sim (independent of richness gradient) and Jaccard (dependent of richness gradient) indices of similarity. Multiple regression on distance matrices and variation‐partitioning approaches were used to quantify the relative roles of environmental filtering and dispersal limitation in shaping patterns of decreasing compositional similarity over geographical distance. Results Native and exotic species exhibited significant nested patterns of species composition, indicating that differences in fish species composition between river basins are primarily the result of species loss, rather than species replacement. Both native and exotic compositional similarity decreased significantly with increasing geographical distance between river basins. However, gradual changes in species composition with geographical distance were found only for exotic species. In addition, exotic species displayed a higher rate of similarity decay (higher species turnover rate) with geographical distance, compared with native species. Lastly, the majority of explained variation in exotic compositional similarity was uniquely related to geography, whereas native compositional similarity was either uniquely explained by geography or jointly explained by environment and geography. Main conclusions Our study suggests that large‐scale patterns of spatial turnover for exotic freshwater fish in Europe are generated by human‐mediated dispersal limitation, whereas patterns of spatial turnover for native fish result from both dispersal limitation relative to historical events (isolation by mountain ranges, glacial history) and environmental filtering.     

Revealing Beta-Diversity Patterns of Breeding Bird and Lizard Communities on Inundated Land-Bridge Islands by Separating the Turnover and Nestedness Components

Beta diversity describes changes in species composition among sites in a region and has particular relevance for explaining ecological patterns in fragmented habitats. However, it is difficult to reveal the mechanisms if broad sense beta-diversity indices (i.e. yielding identical values under nestedness and species replacement) are used. Partitioning beta diversity into turnover (caused by species replacement from site to site) and nestedness-resultant components (caused by nested species losses) could provide a unique way to understand the variation of species composition in fragmented habitats. Here, we collected occupancy data of breeding birds and lizards on land-bridge islands in an inundated lake in eastern China. We decomposed beta diversity of breeding bird and lizard communities into spatial turnover and nestedness-resultant components to assess their relative contributions and respective relationships to differences in island area, isolation, and habitat richness. Our results showed that spatial turnover contributed more to beta diversity than the nestedness-resultant component. The degree of isolation had no significant effect on overall beta diversity or its components, neither for breeding birds nor for lizards. In turn, in both groups the nestedness-resultant component increased with larger differences in island area and habitat richness, respectively, while turnover component decreased with them. The major difference among birds and lizards was a higher relevance of nestedness-resultant dissimilarity in lizards, suggesting that they are more prone to local extinctions derived from habitat fragmentation. The dominance of the spatial turnover component of beta diversity suggests that all islands have potential conservation value for breeding bird and lizard communities.     

Phylogenetic and functional diversity area relationships in two temperate forests

Phylogenetic diversity (PD, the diversity of lineages) and functional diversity (FD, the diversity of functional traits or groups in a biological community) reflect important yet poorly understood attributes of species assemblages. Until recently, few studies have examined the spatial variation of PD and FD in natural communities. Yet the relationships between PD and FD and area (termed PDAR and FDAR), like the analogous species–area relationship (SAR), have received less attention and may provide insights into the mechanisms that shape the composition and dynamics of ecological communities. In this study, we used four spatial point process models to evaluate the likely roles of the random placement of species, habitat filtering, dispersal limitation, and the combined effects of habitat filtering and dispersal limitation in producing observed PDARs and FDARs in two large, fully mapped temperate forest research plots in northeast China and in north‐central USA. We found that the dispersal limitation hypothesis provided a good approximation of the accumulation of PD and FD with increasing area, as it did for the species area curves. PDAR and FDAR patterns were highly correlated with the SAR. We interpret this as evidence that species interactions, which are often influenced by phylogenetic and functional similarity, may be relatively unimportant in structuring temperate forest tree assemblages at this scale. However, the scale‐dependent departures of the PDAR and FDAR that emerged for the dispersal limitation hypothesis agree with operation of competitive exclusion at small scales and habitat filtering at larger scales. Our analysis illustrates how emergent community patterns in fully mapped temperate forest plots can be influenced by multiple underlying processes at different spatial scales.     

Altitude effects on spatial components of vascular plant diversity in a subarctic mountain tundra

Environmental gradients are caused by gradual changes in abiotic factors, which affect species abundances and distributions, and are important for the spatial distribution of biodiversity. One prominent environmental gradient is the altitude gradient. Understanding ecological processes associated with altitude gradients may help us to understand the possible effects climate change could have on species communities. We quantified vegetation cover, species richness, species evenness, beta diversity, and spatial patterns of community structure of vascular plants along altitude gradients in a subarctic mountain tundra in northern Sweden. Vascular plant cover and plant species richness showed unimodal relationships with altitude. However, species evenness did not change with altitude, suggesting that no individual species became dominant when species richness declined. Beta diversity also showed a unimodal relationship with altitude, but only for an intermediate spatial scale of 1 km. A lack of relationships with altitude for either patch or landscape scales suggests that any altitude effects on plant spatial heterogeneity occurred on scales larger than individual patches but were not effective across the whole landscape. We observed both nested and modular patterns of community structures, but only the modular patterns corresponded with altitude. Our observations point to biotic regulations of plant communities at high altitudes, but we found both scale dependencies and inconsistent magnitude of the effects of altitude on different diversity components. We urge for further studies evaluating how different factors influence plant communities in high altitude and high latitude environments, as well as studies identifying scale and context dependencies in any such influences.     

Local and Regional Effects on Community Structure of Dung Beetles in a Mainland-Island Scenario

Understanding the ecological mechanisms driving beta diversity is a major goal of community ecology. Metacommunity theory brings new ways of thinking about the structure of local communities, including processes occurring at different spatial scales. In addition to new theories, new methods have been developed which allow the partitioning of individual and shared contributions of environmental and spatial effects, as well as identification of species and sites that have importance in the generation of beta diversity along ecological gradients. We analyzed the spatial distribution of dung beetle communities in areas of Atlantic Forest in a mainland-island scenario in southern Brazil, with the objective of identifying the mechanisms driving composition, abundance and biomass at three spatial scales (mainland-island, areas and sites). We sampled 20 sites across four large areas, two on the mainland and two on the island. The distribution of our sampling sites was hierarchical and areas are isolated. We used standardized protocols to assess environmental heterogeneity and sample dung beetles. We used spatial eigenfunctions analysis to generate the spatial patterns of sampling points. Environmental heterogeneity showed strong variation among sites and a mild increase with increasing spatial scale. The analysis of diversity partitioning showed an increase in beta diversity with increasing spatial scale. Variation partitioning based on environmental and spatial variables suggests that environmental heterogeneity is the most important driver of beta diversity at the local scale. The spatial effects were significant only at larger spatial scales. Our study presents a case where environmental heterogeneity seems to be the main factor structuring communities at smaller scales, while spatial effects are more important at larger scales. The increase in beta diversity that occurs at larger scales seems to be the result of limitation in species dispersal ability due to habitat fragmentation and the presence of geographical barriers.     

Dispersal ability links to cross‐scale species diversity patterns across the Eurasian Arctic tundra

Aim The role of dispersal in structuring biodiversity across spatial scales is controversial. If dispersal controls regional and local community assembly, it should also affect the degree of spatial species turnover as well as the extent to which regional communities are represented in local communities. Here we provide the first integrated assessment of relationships between dispersal ability and local‐to‐regional spatial aspects of species diversity across a large geographical area. Location Northern Eurasia. Methods Using a cross‐scale analysis covering local (0.64 m²) to continental (the Eurasian Arctic biome) scales, we compared slope parameters of the dissimilarity‐to‐distance relationship in species composition and the local‐to‐regional relationship in species richness among three plant‐like groups that differ in dispersal ability: lichens with the highest dispersal ability; mosses and moss allies with intermediate dispersal ability; and seed plants with the lowest dispersal ability. Results Diversity patterns generally differed between the three groups according to their dispersal ability, even after controlling for niche‐based processes. Increasing dispersal ability is linked to decreasing spatial species turnover and an increasing ratio of local to regional species richness. All comparisons supported our expectations, except for the slope of the local‐to‐regional relationship in species richness for mosses and moss allies which was not significantly steeper than that of seed plants. Main conclusions The negative link between dispersal ability and spatial species turnover and the corresponding positive link between dispersal ability and the ratio of local‐to‐regional species richness support the idea that dispersal affects community structure and diversity patterns across spatial scales.     

Spatio-temporal drivers of different oomycete beta diversity components in Brazilian rivers

Disentangling the role of mechanisms driving metacommunity structure is fundamental for conservation strategies. Several studies have been done in aquatic communities; however, little is known about the factors driving oomycete communities. This research aimed to investigate beta diversity patterns and assess the role of environmental (chemical, physical, and hydrologic), spatial, and temporal (sampling months) factors in driving oomycete beta diversity in a spatial extent of 33 km from two Brazilian rivers. We took water samples in 10 sites quarterly, from August 2017 to May 2018. The partition of beta diversity into its components – species replacement and richness difference – was performed using the Jaccard dissimilarity index. Distance-based redundancy analysis and variation partitioning were used to assess the relationship between explanatory variables and beta diversity. We found that beta diversity was spatially and temporally high, and the replacement component was the main driver of the oomycete metacommunity’s beta diversity. Replacement and total beta diversity were explained mainly by spatial location and the month of sampling, while the richness difference was more associated with the environmental variables chlorophyll a and ammonia. Our findings suggest that dispersal limitation (spatial) and temporal factors are the main drivers of the total beta diversity and replacement in the oomycete metacommunity, while species sorting (environmental factor) influences the richness difference. Accordingly, that taking temporal factors into account in metacommunity studies is important to explain beta diversity patterns, especially in rivers with remarkable variability in hydrological regime and under eutrophic conditions.