黄土高原腹地人工林下草本层群落构建机制

群落构建机制是生态学研究的核心论题。生态位理论和中性理论是阐明群落构建的两种主要理论, 但这两种理论分别强调的环境过滤和扩散限制对群落构建的影响尚存争议。该研究以黄土高原人工林下草本层群落为研究对象, 将群落物种组成数据与地理空间、气候、地形以及生物因子相结合, 运用随机森林模型(RF)和基于距离矩阵的多元回归方法(MRM), 探究了各个因子的重要性, 并通过邻体主坐标矩阵(PCNM)和基于距离的冗余分析(db-RDA)分别筛选显著的空间结构和环境因子, 最后结合筛选出的PCNM特征值和环境变量进行变差分解。研究结果显示: 1)林下草本层群落组成相似性随地理距离和生境差异的增加而减小。2)地理距离与生境差异共同解释了群落组成相似性变化的47.8%。其中, 空间因子和环境因子的独立解释率分别为14.1%和9.8%, 两者的联合解释率为23.9%。3)地理距离和年降水量是引起研究区内物种组成变化的关键因子, 且地理距离的重要性大于年降水量。在黄土高原腹地, 扩散限制与环境过滤共同主导了人工林下草本层群落的构建过程。     

秦岭西部森林群落相似性递减格局及其影响因素

群落间物种组成的相似性递减格局与生境过滤、空间过程密切相关,探索其成因涉及到群落构建机制等生态学核心问题。本研究以秦岭西部森林群落为研究对象,运用Mantel检验和基于距离矩阵的多元回归方法,探究了不同生态因子对群落相似性变异的贡献,并通过置换检验比较不同生活型之间相似性的空间递减率差异。结果显示:(1)3种生活型物种组成相似性与地理距离、海拔距离、局地生境异质性差异均呈显著递减趋势;(2)地理距离与生境差异作为主导因子,分别共同解释乔木、灌木和草本群落相似性变异的41.1%、59.0%和47.4%,且地理距离的单独解释率均大于生境过滤的单独解释率;(3)不同生活型相似性在空间上的递减率大小关系为:乔木灌木草本,表明物种因扩散能力的不同而对空间阻隔效应的响应存在差异。本研究初步确定扩散限制与生境过滤共同主导了秦岭西部森林群落的构建过程,且扩散限制所起作用更为显著。     

汾河中上游湿地植被β多样性

探讨和揭示群落构建机制(生态位理论和中性理论)是生态学和生物地理学研究的热点和难点之一。研究β多样性格局及其与空间距离和环境异质性的关系为解释群落构建机制提供了一定的理论依据,以往群落β多样性的研究主要集中于物种组成的差异性,对种间在进化关系和功能属性方面的差异则关注较少。在野外调查的基础上,分析了汾河中上游湿地植被Tβ(taxonβ-diversity)、Pβ(phylogeneticβ-diversity)和Fβ(functionalβ-diversity)多样性格局及其与空间距离和生境异质性的关系。结果表明:(1)随着样地间距离的增加,Tβ、Pβ和Fβ整体上表现出逐渐增加的趋势,即表现出群落的距离衰减效应。(2)土壤因子中,TP是影响样地间Tβ、Pβ和Fβ的主要因子(P0.05);p H、TOC和TN对Tβ、Pβ和Fβ的影响均未达到显著水平(P0.05)。(3)由于受到空间扩散限制和生境异质性的影响,样地间β多样性表现出较大的差异,Tβ(0.66—1)、Pβ(0.42—0.85)和Fβ(0.51—0.94)。(4)尽管Tβ、Pβ和Fβ反映了多样性的不同方面,但三者之相关性极显著(P0.01);(5)对Tβ、Pβ和Fβ多样性格局及其与空间距离和生境异质性的关系进行研究,表明环境因子和扩散限制共同决定着β多样性的格局,即群落的构建机制由生态位理论和中性理论共同主导。     

环境筛选和扩散限制对长江流域湖北段湿地植物群落构建的共同影响

湿地植物群落构建机制的研究可为湿地生态系统管理和受损湿地生态恢复与重建提供重要理论依据。地处长江流域的湖北省是我国湿地资源最为丰富的地区之一,通过野外调查研究了长江流域湖北段内不同类型湿地中的主要湿地植物群落类型,分析了研究区内湿地植物群落物种β多样性格局;利用相关性检验(Mantel test)方法和基于相似或相异度矩阵的多元回归模型(MRM)分析了环境差异和地理距离与湿地植物群落的物种相异性的相关性,及其对该区域湿地植物群落构建的相对贡献率。结果表明长江流域湖北段8个不同类型湿地内的湿地植物群落物种相异性指数差异显著,群落间物种相异性指数与地理距离和环境距离均呈显著正相关关系;MRM分析表明环境筛选和扩散限制共同解释了研究区内群落物种变异指数的54.72%;其中,环境距离独立解释率为22.03%,地理距离独立解释率为9.98%,二者联合解释率为22.71%。结果表明环境筛选和扩散限制共同影响了长江流域湖北段湿地植物群落构建过程,且环境筛选贡献更大。建议除了考虑空间尺度、环境因子、植被类型外,未来需进一步研究时间尺度及人类干扰等因子对该区域湿地植物群落构建的影响。     

丛枝菌根真菌生物地理学研究进展

丛枝菌根真菌(arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,AMF)普遍存在于陆地生态系统中,能与绝大多数高等植物形成菌根共生体系。AMF能够促进植物对矿质养分的吸收,增强植物的抗逆能力,在维持生态系统稳定性和生产力中发挥着重要作用。AMF生物地理学主要研究AMF的生物地理分布格局和群落构建机制,对于理解AMF在不同生态系统中的重要性至关重要。总结了AMF生物地理学最新研究进展及研究方法,提出了AMF生物地理学研究理论框架。认为AMF在自然界中并非简单随机分布,宿主植物、地理因子、气候因子和土壤因子共同决定AMF的群落结构,不同尺度下的AMF群落构建符合生态位-中性连续统假说,但在不同尺度下这些驱动因子的相对重要性不同。在全球尺度和区域尺度下,AMF的地理分布格局主要受地理距离和气候因子的影响,中性理论的作用大于生态位理论。随着空间尺度的缩减,宿主植物和环境因子对AMF群落的影响胜过地理距离和扩散限制的作用,生态位理论取代中性理论在AMF群落构建中的主导地位。此外,很多研究发现,同一生境中AMF的群落构建机制并非一成不变,会随环境的变化而发生改变。在未来的研究中,应在野外调查和公共数据库的基础上加强整合分析和数据挖掘工作,从而进一步丰富和完善AMF生物地理学理论。     

植物群落构建机制研究进展

群落构建研究对于解释物种共存和物种多样性的维持是至关重要的,因此一直是生态学研究的中心论题。尽管近年来关于生态位和中性理论的验证研究已经取得了显著的成果,但对于局域群落构建机制的认识仍存在很大争议。随着统计和理论上的进步使得用功能性状和群落谱系结构解释群落构建机制变为可能,主要是通过验证共存物种的性状和谱系距离分布模式来实现。然而,谱系和功能性状不能相互替代,多种生物和非生物因子同时控制着群落构建,基于中性理论的扩散限制、基于生态位的环境过滤和竞争排斥等多个过程可能同时影响着群落的构建。所以,综合考虑多种方法和影响因素探讨植物群落的构建机制,对于预测和解释植被对干扰的响应,理解生物多样性维持机制有重要意义。试图在简要回顾群落构建理论及研究方法发展的基础上,梳理其最新研究进展,并探讨整合功能性状及群落谱系结构的研究方法,解释群落构建和物种多样性维持机制的可能途径。在结合功能性状和谱系结构研究群落构建时,除了考虑空间尺度、环境因子、植被类型外,还应该关注时间尺度、选择性状的种类和数量、性状的种内变异、以及人为干扰等因素对群落构建的影响。     

基于PGGB途径优化桫椤组织培养繁殖体系研究

该研究以龙溪-虹口国家级自然保护区内11个典型地震滑坡体为研究对象,采用非度量多维尺度分析(NMDS)和相似性分析(ANOSIM)初步探讨了β多样性海拔格局,并运用Mantel检验和基于距离矩阵的多元回归方法(MRM)进一步分析不同生态因子对群落β多样性变异的贡献,以揭示地震干扰后滑坡体植物群落β多样性的响应机制及生物多样性形成和维持机制。结果表明：(1)随着海拔的升高,木本植物β多样性表现出单调递减格局,而草本植物β多样性则表现出“U”形变化格局,滑坡体植物群落组成和结构在海拔梯度上存在显著的差异(P< 0.001)。(2)草本植物和木本植物β多样性与地理距离、海拔距离、局地生境差异均呈显著递增趋势(P< 0.001),地理距离和海拔距离是引起群落物种组成变化的关键因子,且海拔距离的重要性均大于地理距离。(3)地理距离和生境差异作为主导因子,分别共同解释了木本和草本β多样性变异的61.52%和40.91%,且环境差异单独解释率均大于地理距离单独解释率。(4)环境差异和地理距离对木本植物β多样性的作用均强于草本植物。研究认为,生境过滤和扩散限制共同影响着地震滑坡体植物群落的β多样性格局,且生境过滤所起作用更为显著。     

浙江遂昌马尾松林物种和谱系β多样性驱动因子分析

生境过滤和扩散限制是影响森林群落间物种组成差异(β多样性)的主要生态过程。为了探究生境过滤和扩散限制对亚热带马尾松(Pinus massoniana)群落物种和谱系β多样性的相对贡献,该文以浙江省遂昌县37个马尾松林样地为研究对象,结合物种和谱系β多样性分析,探讨了影响群落间物种组成差异主要生态机制; 通过计算群落内物种β多样性指数(Bray-Curtis指数)和谱系β多样性指数(Dnn指数和Dpw指数),分析土壤、地形等生境因子和地理距离与物种和谱系β多样性之间的相关性,并通过方差分解分析生境因子和地理距离对物种和谱系β多样性的相对作用大小; 此外,还进行了不同径级和生长型的上述相关性分析和方差分解。结果表明:(1)Bray-Curtis指数与土壤、地形因子和地理距离均显著正相关,Dnn指数仅与地理距离显著正相关,Dpw指数与土壤因子和地理距离均显著正相关。(2)环境因子对Bray-Curtis指数和Dpw指数的解释度均高于地理距离的解释度。(3)从物种多样性角度来说,生境因子对不同生长阶段Bray-Curtis指数的解释度均高于地理距离的解释度; 从谱系多样性角度来说,地理距离对幼树阶段的Dnn指数和Dpw指数的解释度更高,生境因子则对成树阶段的Dpw指数的解释度更高。由此可以推论,生境过滤是驱动该地区马尾松林物种和谱系β多样性的主要生态机制,扩散限制仅在幼树阶段对马尾松林谱系β多样性起主导作用。     

基于植物多度的群落物种组成与环境关联性分析

揭示群落物种组成与环境的关联性对于理解物种共存机制具有重要意义.传统生态种组划分不仅带有主观性,且难以定量种组-环境的关联程度.本研究以浙江天童31个处于不同生境的植物群落为研究材料,以群落实际物种组成作为研究对象,利用物种多度分别构建了各群落的最大、实际和相对环境选择性指数,并以随机模拟的群落环境关联性作为零假设,通过与实际群落相比较来揭示群落物种组成的环境关联程度;最后,利用环境选择指数(environmental dependence index)与群落生境马氏距离(Mahalanobis distance)的相关分析来确认群落物种组成与环境的关联性.结果表明:最大环境选择指数反映的是现有生境在理论上的最优群落配置组合的环境选择性.实际选择指数可反映群落物种组成对现状生境的选择性,相对环境选择指数可综合反映群落物种组成与环境间的关联性;相对环境选择指数与单独生境因子的相关性不显著,而与表征综合环境特征的Mahalanobis距离显著正相关;随生境异质性增大,群落物种组成的环境专—性更强.此结果为天童常绿阔叶林的群落物种组成与生境关联性提供了新证据,也为如何完善物种与环境之间关系的定量化研究提供了借鉴.     

阿拉善荒漠啮齿动物集合群落实证研究

当生态学家探求在破碎化的栖息地中,群落物种的共存机制、多样性、局域尺度的性质和过程被放到更广阔的时空框架内时,就出现了"集合群落"这一概念。Leibold提出了集合群落概念,他们将一个集合群落定义为局域群落集,这些群落由各个潜在的相互作用的物种的扩散连接在一起。集合群落理论描述了那些发生在集合群落尺度上的过程,并且提出思考关于物种相互作用的新方法。集合群落概念为群落生态学提供了一个新的革命性的范式,集合群落研究的最基本问题是同一系统中多物种共存的机理、多样性的形成原因与维持机制。该范式强调区域范围内群落中的综合变异,强调环境特证和栖息地之间通过扩散调节的生物相互作用和空间变化。Leibold等提出了解释集合群落结果理论上的4个生态范式,即(1)中性理论;(2)斑块动态理论;(3)物种分配理论;(4)集团效应理论。之后有大量有关检验这4种生态理论的研究,但是有关陆地脊椎动物系统的集合群落的研究较少。2010—2012年,通过在内蒙古阿拉善荒漠景观中的8个固定样地中,对啮齿动物、栖息地环境因子进行调查。利用冗余分析和偏冗余分析,评估环境特征和空间特征对物种组成的影响。结果表明,环境特征独自解释72.8%的啮齿动物物种组成变化,空间特征独自解释33.8%的物种组成变化,环境特征和空间特征共同解释86.5%的啮齿动物物种组成变化,结果显著(P=0.032);去除环境特征之后,空间特征解释13.7%的变化(P=0.246),结果不显著;去除空间特征之后,栖息地变化解释52.7%的变化(P=0.016);环境特征和空间特征的交互作用解释20.1%的物种组成的变化,该区域啮齿动物群落构成集合群落,物种共存中环境特征起着主导作用,由物种分配理论解释该集合群落结构。     

Primate communities are structured more by dispersal limitation than by niches

1.?A major goal in community ecology is to identify mechanisms that govern the assembly and maintenance of ecological communities. Current models of metacommunity dynamics differ chiefly in the relative emphasis placed on dispersal limitation and niche differentiation as causal mechanisms structuring ecological communities. Herein we investigate the relative roles of these two mechanisms in structuring primate communities in Africa, South America, Madagascar and Borneo. 2.?We hypothesized that if dispersal limitation is important in structuring communities, then community similarity should depend on geographical proximity even after controlling for ecological similarity. Conversely, if communities are assembled primarily through niche processes, then community similarity should be determined by ecological similarity regardless of geographical proximity. 3.?We performed Mantel and partial Mantel tests to investigate correlations among primate community similarity, ecological distance and geographical distance. Results showed significant and strongly negative relationships between diurnal primate community similarity and both ecological similarity and geographical distance in Madagascar, but significant and stronger negative relationships between community similarity and geographical distance in African, South American and Bornean metacommunities. 4.?We conclude that dispersal limitation is an important determinant of primate community structure and may play a stronger role in shaping the structure of some terrestrial vertebrate communities than niche differentiation. These patterns are consistent with neutral theory. We recommend tests of functional equivalence to determine the extent to which neutral theory may explain primate community composition.     

Soil‐based habitat partitioning in understorey palms in lower montane tropical forests

Aim Dispersal assembly and niche assembly are two competing theories proposed to explain the maintenance of species diversity in tropical forests. Dispersal theory emphasizes the role of chance colonization events and distance‐limited seed dispersal in explaining species abundance and distribution, whereas niche theory emphasizes differences among species in requirements for potentially limiting resources. Species distribution patterns in tropical forests often correlate with geology and topography, but tests of the relative importance of dispersal and niche partitioning have been hampered by an inadequate characterization of resource availability. The aim of this study was to explore how soil chemical and physical properties, climate, and geographic distance affect understorey palm communities in lower montane forests. Location Fortuna Forest Reserve, Chiriqui Province, and Palo Seco Forest Reserve, Bocas del Toro Province, in western Panama. Methods Understorey palms and soil nutrient concentrations were surveyed within 10 sites on different soil types across a 13‐km transect. Variation in palm community composition was examined in relation to spatial and environmental variables. Results The 25 understorey palm species recorded in the study were non‐randomly distributed among forests differing in soil nutrient availability. In support of dispersal theory, floristic similarity decreased predictably with increasing geographic distance. However, environmental and soil variables were also correlated with geographic distance. Floristic similarity was also highly associated with a subset of environmental variables. Variation in palm community similarity was most strongly correlated with inorganic nitrogen availability and cation concentration. A subset of soil variables had a stronger relationship with floristic similarity when geographic distance was controlled for than did geographic distance when differences in soils were controlled for. Main conclusions Both dispersal and niche processes affect palm species distribution patterns. Although spatially limited dispersal may influence species distribution patterns, soil‐based habitat associations, particularly with respect to soil nitrogen, cation availability and aluminium concentrations, remain important factors influencing palm community composition at the mesoscale level in this tropical montane forest.     

Environmental filters and patterns of tree regeneration in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests

We investigated how environmental variables explain patterns of tree regeneration in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests by: (1) determining whether the seedling and sapling communities show non-random spatial patterns of floristic composition; (2) identifying which environmental variables explain the observed patterns of floristic composition; (3) examining if similarity in floristic composition is related to similarity in environmental variables. We used data gathered in permanent plots established across 10 km in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests. Our analyses consisted of unconstrained ordination analyses (Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling) to characterize the spatial patterns of floristic composition; constrained ordination analyses (Canonical correspondence analysis) to assess the contribution of environmental variables in explaining patterns of floristic composition and, the simple and partial Mantel test to correlate the floristic composition similarity to environmental similarity. Our results provided evidence of non-random spatial patterns of floristic distribution due to structured environmental filters such as canopy-related variables, litter, grazing and aspect. Floristic compositional similarity did not depend on geographical distance between sites or on differences in their environment; therefore a number of plots were similar in floristic composition, in both seedlings and saplings, but have no environmental similarity.     

Environmental filtering by pH and soil nutrients drives community assembly in fungi at fine spatial scales

Whether niche processes, like environmental filtering, or neutral processes, like dispersal limitation, are the primary forces driving community assembly is a central question in ecology. Here, we use a natural experimental system of isolated tree “islands” to test whether environment or geography primarily structures fungal community composition at fine spatial scales. This system consists of isolated pairs of two distantly related, congeneric pine trees established at varying distances from each other and the forest edge, allowing us to disentangle the effects of geographic distance vs. host and edaphic environment on associated fungal communities. We identified fungal community composition with Illumina sequencing of ITS amplicons, measured all relevant environmental parameters for each tree—including tree age, size and soil chemistry—and calculated geographic distances from each tree to all others and to the nearest forest edge. We applied generalized dissimilarity modelling to test whether total and ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) communities were primarily structured by geographic or environmental filtering. Our results provide strong evidence that as in many other organisms, niche and neutral processes both contribute significantly to turnover in community composition in fungi, but environmental filtering plays the dominant role in structuring both free‐living and symbiotic fungal communities at fine spatial scales. In our study system, we found pH and organic matter primarily drive environmental filtering in total soil fungal communities and that pH and cation exchange capacity—and, surprisingly, not host species—were the largest factors affecting EMF community composition. These findings support an emerging paradigm that pH may play a central role in the assembly of all soil‐mediated systems.     

Distance decay of similarity in freshwater communities: do macro‐ and microorganisms follow the same rules?

Aim An intensively debated issue in macroecology is whether unicellular organisms show biogeographic patterns different from those of macroorganisms. One aspect of this debate addresses beta diversity, that is, do microbial organisms exhibit distance‐decay patterns similar to those of macroorganisms? And if so, is the decay of community similarity caused by spatially limited dispersal or by niche‐related factors? We studied the community similarity of stream diatoms, macroinvertebrates and bryophytes across the same set of sites in relation to environmental and geographic distance. Location A geographical gradient of c. 1100 km in Finland. Methods We first identified the subset of environmental variables that produced the highest correlation with community similarities for each taxonomic group. Based on these variables, we used partial Mantel tests to separate the independent influences of environmental and geographical distance for distance decay of community similarity, separately for diatoms, bryophytes and macroinvertebrates. Finally, macroinvertebrates were divided into three groups based on their different dispersal categories and a partial Mantel test was used to assess whether each of these groups were differently affected by environmental versus geographic distance, i.e. is dispersal a key factor in tests of niche versus neutral models. Results The level of environmental control was by far the strongest for diatoms; however, all groups were controlled more by environmental factors than by limited dispersal. Macroinvertebrate species with low dispersal ability were significantly related to geographic distance, while more effective dispersers showed no relationship to geography but were instead strongly related to environmental distance. Main conclusions Our results suggest that patterns between macro‐ and microorganisms are not fundamentally different, but the level of environmental control varies according to dispersal ability. The relative importance of niche versus dispersal processes is not simply a function of organism size but other traits (e.g. life‐history type, dispersal capacity) may obscure this relationship.     

A truce with neutral theory: local deterministic factors, species traits and dispersal limitation together determine patterns of diversity in stream invertebrates

1. Studies seeking to explain local patterns of diversity have typically relied on niche explanations, reflected in correlations with local environmental conditions, or neutral theory, invoking dispersal processes and speciation. 2. We used macroinvertebrate community data from 10 streams that varied independently in local ecological conditions and spatial proximity. Neutral theory predicts that similarity in communities will be negatively associated with distance between sites, while niche theory suggests that community similarity will be positively associated with similarity in local ecological conditions. 3. Similarity in total invertebrate, grazer and predator assemblages showed negative relationships with distance and, for grazers and predators, positive relationships with local ecological conditions. However, the best model predicting community similarity in all three cases included aspects of both local ecological conditions and distance between sites. 4. When assemblages were analysed according to dispersal ability, high-dispersal species were shown to be freely accessing all sites and community similarity was not well predicted by either local ecology or spatial separation. Assemblages of species with low and moderate dispersal ability were best predicted by combined models, including distance between sites and local ecological factors. 5. The results suggest that the perceived dichotomy between neutral and local environmental processes in determining local patterns of diversity may not be useful. Neutral and niche processes structured these communities differentially depending on trophic level and species traits. 6. We emphasize the potential for both dispersal processes and local environmental conditions to explain local patterns of diversity.     

Relative contributions of neutral and niche-based processes to the structure of a desert grassland grasshopper community

Whether neutral or deterministic factors structure biotic communities remains an open question in community ecology. We studied the spatial structure of a desert grassland grasshopper community and tested predictions for species sorting based on niche differentiation (deterministic) and dispersal limitation (neutral). We contrasted the change in species relative abundance and community similarity along an elevation gradient (i.e., environmental gradient) against community change across a relatively homogeneous distance gradient. We found a significant decrease in pairwise community similarity along both elevation and distance gradients, indicating that dispersal limitation plays a role in structuring local grasshopper communities. However, the distance decay of similarity was significantly stronger across the elevational gradient, indicating that niche-based processes are important as well. To further investigate mechanisms underlying niche differentiation, we experimentally quantified the dietary preferences of two common species, Psoloessa texana and Psoloessa delicatula, for the grasses Bouteloua eriopoda and Bouteloua gracilis, which are the dominant plants (~75% of total cover) in our study area. Cover of the preferred host plant explained some of the variation in relative abundances of the two focal species, although much variance in local Psoloessa distribution remained unexplained. Our results, the first to examine these hypotheses in arid ecosystems, indicate that the composition of local communities can be influenced by both probabilistic processes and mechanisms based in the natural histories of organisms.     

Geography,environment, and spatial turnover of species in China's grasslands

Environment and spatial processes are key factors in shaping species composition in a community. These two factors make competing predictions concerning the decay of species composition similarity with environmental divergence and geographic distance. Unfortunately, these can be difficult to test independently because changes in environment are commonly well correlated with geographic distance. However, an opportunity is provided by exploiting marked regional differences in the spatial structure of the environment. In this study, we test the predictions of environment filtering and dispersal in explaining species turnover using > 300 study sites spanning ?4000 km, across three major grasslands in China in which the environment is spatially structured to different degrees. We find that species composition similarity decayed with environmental divergence in the same way in all three regions, and even across biogeographic regions between which dispersal barriers are evident; in contrast, the decay of species composition similarity with geographic distance depended largely on the spatial structure of the environment. We conclude that, at the scale of study, environmental filtering rather than spatial processes best explains patterns of species turnover in China's grasslands.     

Patterns of parasite community dissimilarity: the significant role of land use and lack of distance‐decay in a bat–helminth system

Increasing community dissimilarity across geographic distance has been described for a wide variety of organisms and understanding its underlying causes is key to understanding mechanisms driving patterns of biodiversity. Both niche‐based and neutral processes may produce a distance decay relationship; however, disentangling their relative influence requires simultaneous examination of multiple potential drivers. Parasites represent a unique opportunity in which to study distance decay because community dissimilarity may depend on environmental requirements and dispersal capability of parasites as well also those of their hosts. We used big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus and their intestinal helminths to investigate: 1) independent contributions of geographic and environmental distances on dissimilarity of intestinal helminth component communities between populations of big brown bats; 2) which environmental variables best explained variation in community dissimilarity; and 3) whether similar patterns of decay with geographic or environmental distance were observed for within‐host population and within‐individual host parasite communities. We used compositional measures of community dissimilarity to examine how parasite communities may change with geographic distance and varying environmental conditions. Non‐spatial variables strongly influenced compositional parasite community dissimilarity over multiple community scales, and we observed little evidence for spatial processes such as distance decay. Environment surrounding roost sites better predicted helminth community dissimilarity than any other class of variables and landcover classes representing anthropogenic modification consistently explained variation in community structure. Our results indicate that human disturbance drives significant patterns of parasite community dissimilarity, most likely by changing the presence or abundance of intermediate hosts in an area.