Spatial autocorrelation analysis offers new insights into gene flow in the Australian bush rat,Rattus fuscipes

Dispersal is a fundamental process that influences the response of species to landscape change and habitat fragmentation. In an attempt to better understand dispersal in the Australian bush rat, Rattus fuscipes, we have combined a new multilocus autocorrelation method with hypervariable microsatellite genetic markers to investigate fine-scale (< or = 1 km) patterns of spatial distribution and spatial genetic structure. The study was conducted across eight trapping transects at four sites, with a total of 270 animals sampled. Spatial autocorrelation analysis of bush rat distribution revealed that, in general, animals occurred in groups or clusters of higher density (< or = 200 m across), with intervening gaps or lower density areas. Spatial genetic autocorrelation analysis, based on seven hypervariable microsatellite loci (He = 0.8) with a total of 80 alleles, revealed a consistent pattern of significant positive local genetic structure. This genetic pattern was consistent for all transects, and for adults and sub-adults, males and females. By testing for autocorrelation at multiple scales from 10 to 800 m we found that the extent of detectable positive spatial genetic structure exceeded 500 m. Further analyses detected significantly weaker spatial genetic structure in males compared with females, but no significant differences were detected between adults and sub adults. Results from Mantel tests and hierarchical AMOVA further support the conclusion that the distribution of bush rat genotypes is not random at the scale of our study. Instead, proximate bush rats are more genetically alike than more distant animals. We conclude that in bush rats, gene flow per generation is sufficiently restricted to generate the strong positive signal of local spatial genetic structure. Although our results are consistent with field data on animal movement, including the reported tendency for males to move further than females, we provide the first evidence for restricted gene flow in bush rats. Our study appears to be the first microsatellite-based study of fine-scale genetic variation in small mammals and the first to report consistent positive local genetic structure across sites, age-classes, and sexes. The combination of new forms of autocorrelation analyses, hypervariable genetic markers and fine-scale analysis (< 1 km) may thus offer new evolutionary insights that are overlooked by more traditional larger scaled (> 10 km) population genetic studies.     

南极半岛北部南极磷虾渔业空间点格局特征

南极磷虾作为南极生态系统中的关键物种,在空间分布上常表现出集群特征.这也反映到磷虾渔业生产的空间格局特征上.为了探讨捕捞能力有明显差异的船队在高/低单位捕捞努力量渔获量(CPUE)的情况下空间点分布格局特征及其生态学效应,基于南极半岛北部海域的两艘中国南极磷虾渔船(船A为专业南极磷虾渔船,船B为在智利竹筴鱼渔场与南极磷虾渔场转换的兼作渔船)的磷虾渔业数据,从空间点格局的角度出发,分别从两船的高、低CPUE的空间点格局在不同尺度上聚集特征,高、低CPUE在不同尺度上的二元点格局相关关系,以及CPUE点标记格局下的相关性关系等3个方面进行了分析.Ripley的L函数和标记相关函数分析结果表明: 研究对象在空间窗口所有尺度上的空间格局均表现为聚集性,高、低CPUE下均有聚集发生;在15 km尺度上,聚集强度近最大,在15~50 km尺度下,聚集程度稳定;总体上点格局分布的聚集强度依次为:船A高CPUE>船B低CPUE>船B高CPUE>船A低CPUE.船A高、低CPUE在0~75 km尺度上为正相关关系,在大于75 km尺度上为随机关系;船B在所有尺度上的高、低CPUE均为正相关,说明了低CPUE点事件伴随高CPUE的点事件同步发生,两者在大部分尺度下均显著相关.这是磷虾集群模式的动态性和复杂性造成.船A各点的CPUE值在0~44 km尺度上呈正相关,在44~80 km尺度上呈负相关;船B各点的CPUE值在50~70 km尺度上呈负相关,在其他尺度上无显著相关性;正相关反映了磷虾密集集群的种群分布特性,而负相关表明了磷虾群间由于食物和空间原因存在一定的竞争关系.捕捞能力强的船A和捕捞能力较弱的船B在点格局分布上存在较大差异.专业南极磷虾渔船更适于开展磷虾作业空间点格局分析及相关科学调查工作.     

Cross-Scale Variation in Biodiversity-Environment Links Illustrated by Coastal Sandflat Communities

Spatial variation in the composition of communities is the product of many biotic and environmental interactions. A neglected factor in the analysis of community distribution patterns is the multi-scale nature of the data, which has implications for understanding ecological processes and the development of conservation and environmental management practice. Drawing on recently established multivariate spatial analyses, we investigate whether including relationships between spatial structure and abiotic variables enable us to better discern patterns of species and communities across scales. Data comprised 1200 macrozoobenthic samples collected over an array of distances (30 cm to 1 km) in three New Zealand harbours, as well as commonly used abiotic variables, such as sediment characteristics and chlorophyll a concentrations, measured at the same scales. Moran’s eigenvector mapping was used to extract spatial scales at which communities were structured. Benthic communities, representing primarily bivalves, polychaetes and crustaceans, were spatially structured at four spatial scales, i.e. >100 m, 50–100 m, 50–15 m, and < 15 m. A broad selection of abiotic variables contributed to the large-scale variation, whereas a more limited set explained part of the fine-scale community structure. Across all scales, less than 30% of the variation in spatial structure was captured by our analysis. The large number of species (48) making up the 10 highest species scores based on redundancy analyses illustrate the variability of species-scale associations. Our results emphasise that abiotic variables and biodiversity are related at all scales investigated and stress the importance of assessing the relationship between environmental variables and the abundance and distribution of biological assemblages across a range of different scales.     

Integration of local and regional species-area relationships from space-time species accumulation

A long-standing observation in community ecology is that the scaling of species richness, as exemplified by species-area curves, differs on local and regional scales. This decoupling of scales may be largely due to sampling processes (the increasing constraint imposed by sampling fewer individuals at fine scales), as distinct from ecological processes, such as environmental heterogeneity, that operate across scales. Removal of the sampling constraint from fine-scale richness estimates should yield species-area curves that behave like those of the regions in which they are embedded, but an effective method for this removal has not been available. We suggest an approach that incorporates the manner in which small areas accumulate species over time as a way to remove the signature of sampling processes from fine-scale species-area curves. We report for three species-rich grasslands from two continents how local plant species richness is distributed through time at multiple, nested spatial scales, and we ask whether sampling-corrected curves reflect the spatial scaling of richness of each larger floristic province. Our analysis suggests that fine-scale values of richness are highly constrained by sampling processes, but once these constraints are removed, the spatial scaling of species richness is consistent from the scale of individuals to that of an entire province.     

Productivity–species richness relationship changes from unimodal to positive linear with increasing spatial scale in the Inner Mongolia steppe

Productivity–species diversity relationships have been a controversial research topic in ecology with scale believed to be among the main reasons for discovering different relationships. We collected data on species diversity (richness) and productivity (peak above-ground biomass) of the Stipa breviflora association in the Inner Mongolia grassland to examine spatial scale dependency and possible underlying mechanisms responsible for the relationships found. One local and seven different landscape scales (the first level corresponds in extent to a 100 × 100 km area, which is increased consecutively by 100 km resulting in the 700 × 700 km area at the highest level) were considered. We found that: (1) unimodal relationships dominated the local scale, but this varied depending on the position along successional gradients; (2) a positive linear relationship was common at larger spatial scales; (3) biotic processes were the most likely primary factor underlying local scale unimodal relationships, but environmental heterogeneity (precipitation patterns) was the main determinant of relationships found at larger spatial scales; (4) our study contributed to other empirical evidence and predictions of theoretical models regarding scale dependency of productivity–species richness relationships; (5) while earlier research demonstrated positive linear species richness–productivity relationships across a number of ecological scales in the Inner Mongolia steppe, our study specifically tested a spectrum of geographical scales to confirm the scale-dependency of this relationship. Lastly, our study emphasized the critical role played by precipitation patterns in controlling biodiversity and grassland ecosystem functioning, which maintains the relatively high level of biodiversity and stable ecosystem processes.     

Spatial patterns of trees in natural forests of East-Central Europe

The analysis of spatial patterns is one of the ways to estimate the role of competition among trees in forest dynamics. Three hypotheses concerning distribution patterns in old-growth stands were tested: (1) fine-scale spatial patterns of trees are regular; (2) patterns do not differ significantly from a random distribution, and (3) spatial patterns at larger scales are clumped because of site heterogeneity. Old-growth forest stands in Poland and the Czech Republic were analysed with a modified Ripley K function, using distribution maps of tree stems. Fine-scale spatial patterns (with distances among trees not exceeding 15 m) were usually intermediate between random and regular. Trends towards a regular distribution occurred more often among dead than among live individuals. No significant relationships between tree species were found at smaller scales; however, at larger scales (distances from 15–25 m) negative associations between some species were found. This reflects site heterogeneity rather than any direct influence of one tree species upon another.     

How plant life‐history and ecological traits relate to species rarity and commonness at varying spatial scales

Comparative studies investigating relationships between plant traits and species rarity and commonness were surveyed to establish whether global patterns have emerged that would be of practical use in management strategies aimed at the long‐term conservation of species. Across 54 studies, 94 traits have been examined in relation to abundance, distribution and threatened status at local, regional and geographical spatial scales. Most traits (63) have yet to be the focus of more than one study. Half of the studies involved less than 10 species, and one‐quarter did not replicate rare–common contrasts. Although these features of the literature make it difficult to demonstrate robust generalizations regarding trait relationships with species rarity, some important findings surfaced in relation to traits that have been examined in two or more studies. Species with narrow geographical distributions were found to produce significantly fewer seeds (per unit measurement) than common species (in four of six studies), but did not differ with respect to breeding system (five of five studies). The majority of traits (including seed size, competitive ability, growth form and dispersal mode) were related to rarity in different ways from one study to the next. The highly context‐dependent nature of most trait relationships with rarity implies that application of knowledge concerning rare–common differences and similarities to management plans will vary substantially for different vegetation types and on different continents. A comparative analysis of distribution patterns in relation to several life‐history and ecological traits among 700 Australian eucalypt species was then performed. A significantly dispro­portionate number of tall species and species with long flowering durations had wide geographical ranges. Trait relationships with distribution were explored further through the development of a methodology incorporating multiple spatial scales. Eight theoretical categories were described illustrating variation in distribution patterns (and hence rarity and commonness) across small, intermediate and large spatial scales, based on the spatial structure of species occurrence across the Australian landscape. Each eucalypt species was placed into a category, and trait variation was explored across all species in relation to distribution patterns across multiple spatial scales. This approach yielded important information about trait relationships with distribution among the eucalypts, linking the spatial structure of points‐of‐occurrence with patterns of rarity and commonness. With the pressing need to protect increasing numbers of threatened species and slow rates of extinction, the development and refinement of a broadly usable methodology for rarity studies that encompasses multiple spatial scales, which can be used for any geographical location, will be useful in both conservation and management.     

Micro-spatial genetic structure in song sparrows (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Melospiza melodia</Emphasis>)

The spatial genetic structure of populations is strongly influenced by current and historical patterns of gene flow and drift, which in the simplest case, is limited by geographic distance. We examined the microspatial genetic structure within 33 populations of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) which included eight subspecies located across coastal areas in southern British Columbia (BC) and California. We also examined the effect of water barriers and local density estimates on genetic structuring. Across both regions, positive genetic structure was detectable at distances of less than 10 km. Genetic divergence was highest in Californian subspecies, perhaps due to reduced gene flow across sub-specific contact zones. In BC, populations distributed across islands displayed greater genetic structuring over similar spatial scales than those across mainland sites, supporting the prediction that water barriers reduce gene flow in this species. Our results confirm both the expectation for fine-scale genetic structure in these generally sedentary subspecies, and the role of landscape features in generating geographic variation in genetic structure.     

Stygobiotic crustacean species richness: a question of numbers,a matter of scale

Species richness in ground water is still largely underestimated, and this situation stems from two different impediments: the Linnaean (i.e. the taxonomic) and the Wallacean (i.e. the biogeographical) shortfalls. Within this fragmented frame of knowledge of subterranean biodiversity, this review was aimed at (i) assessing species richness in ground water at different spatial scales, and its contribution to overall freshwater species richness at the continental scale; (ii) analysing the contribution of historical and ecological determinants in shaping spatial patterns of stygobiotic species richness across multiple spatial scales; (iii) analysing the role of β-diversity in shaping patterns of species richness at each scale analysed. From data of the present study, a nested hierarchy of environmental factors appeared to determine stygobiotic species richness. At the broad European scale, historical factors were the major determinants in explaining species richness patterns in ground water. In particular, Quaternary glaciations have strongly affected stygobiotic species richness, leading to a marked latitudinal gradient across Europe, whereas little effects were observed in surface fresh water. Most surface-dwelling fauna is of recent origin, and colonized this realm by means of post-glacial dispersal. Historical factors seemed to have also operated at the smaller stygoregional and regional scales, where different karstic and porous aquifers showed different values of species richness. Species richness at the small, local scale was more difficult to be explained, because the analyses revealed that point-diversity in ground water was rather low, and at increasing values of regional species richness, reached a plateau. This observation supports the coarse-grained role of truncated food webs and oligotrophy, potentially reflected in competition for food resources among co-occurring species, in shaping groundwater species diversity at the local scale. Alpha-diversity resulted decoupled from γ-diversity, suggesting that β-diversity accounted for the highest values of total species richness at the spatial scales analysed.     

Combining environmental niche models,multi-grain analyses,and species traits identifies pervasive effects of land use on butterfly biodiversity across Italy

Understanding how species respond to human activities is paramount to ecology and conservation science, one outstanding question being how large-scale patterns in land use affect biodiversity. To facilitate answering this question, we propose a novel analytical framework that combines environmental niche models, multi-grain analyses, and species traits. We illustrate the framework capitalizing on the most extensive dataset compiled to date for the butterflies of Italy (106,514 observations for 288 species), assessing how agriculture and urbanization have affected biodiversity of these taxa from landscape to regional scales (3–48 km grains) across the country while accounting for its steep climatic gradients. Multiple lines of evidence suggest pervasive and scale-dependent effects of land use on butterflies in Italy. While land use explained patterns in species richness primarily at grains ≤12 km, idiosyncratic responses in species highlighted “winners” and “losers” across human-dominated regions. Detrimental effects of agriculture and urbanization emerged from landscape (3-km grain) to regional (48-km grain) scales, disproportionally affecting small butterflies and butterflies with a short flight curve. Human activities have therefore reorganized the biogeography of Italian butterflies, filtering out species with poor dispersal capacity and narrow niche breadth not only from local assemblages, but also from regional species pools. These results suggest that global conservation efforts neglecting large-scale patterns in land use risk falling short of their goals, even for taxa typically assumed to persist in small natural areas (e.g., invertebrates). Our study also confirms that consideration of spatial scales will be crucial to implementing effective conservation actions in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. In this context, applications of the proposed analytical framework have broad potential to identify which mechanisms underlie biodiversity change at different spatial scales.     

Spatial heterogeneity in the herbaceous layer of a semi-arid savanna ecosystem

Despite increasing recognition of the role spatial pattern can play in ecosystem function, few studies have quantified spatial heterogeneity in savanna ecosystems. The spatial distribution of herbaceous biomass and species composition was measured across three scales in a semi-arid savanna in central Kenya, and patterns were related to environmental variables at different scales. Herbaceous biomass declined across a rainfall gradient and from upper to lower topographic positions, but variation within a site (across 5–50 m) was similar in magnitude to among-site variation associated with rainfall and topography. Geostatistical analyses showed that patchiness at scales of 5–25 m explained 20% of total variation in herbaceous biomass. This pattern arose from the presence of both 5–10-m diameter patches containing high herbaceous biomass (> 170 g m^–2) and 5–10-m diameter patches characterized by nearly bare soil surfaces (< 40 g m^–2). Patch structure was contingent on topography, with larger bare patches at ridgeline and upper hillslope positions. Grass species distributions showed the greatest degree of patch structure and species turnover across distances of 5–45 m. Additional community variation was associated with topography, with minimal variation in species composition across the rainfall gradient. Pattern diversity significantly exceeded levels reported for four other grassland ecosystems, suggesting fundamental differences in local processes generating spatial pattern. It is hypothesized that heterogeneously distributed grazing pressure, interacting with the distribution of shrub canopies, is an important factor generating such high levels of small-scale patch structure in this savanna.     

Cross-taxon congruence in tree,bird and bat species distributions at a moderate spatial scale across four tropical forest types in the Philippines

Indicator species groups are often used as surrogates for overall biodiversity in conservation planning because inventories of multiple taxa are rare, especially in the tropics where most biodiversity is found. At coarse spatial scales most studies show congruence in the distribution of species richness and of endemic and threatened species of different species groups. At finer spatial scale levels however, cross-taxon congruence patterns are much more ambiguous. In this study we investigated cross-taxon patterns in the distribution of species richness of trees, birds and bats across four tropical forest types in a ca. 100 × 35 km area in the Northern Sierra Madre region of Luzon Island, Philippines. A non-parametric species richness estimator (Chao1) was used to compensate for differential sample sizes, sample strategies and completeness of species richness assessments. We found positive but weak congruence in the distribution of all and endemic tree and bird and tree and bat species richness across the four forest types; strong positive congruence in the distribution of all and endemic bat and bird species richness and low or negative congruence in the distribution of globally threatened species between trees, birds and bats. We also found weak cross-taxon congruence in the complementarity of pairs of forest types in species richness between trees and birds and birds and bats but strong congruence in complementarity of forest pairs between trees and bats. This study provides further evidence that congruence in the distribution of different species groups is often ambiguous at fine to moderate spatial scales. Low or ambiguous cross-taxon congruence complicates the use of indicator species and species groups as a surrogate for biodiversity in general for local systematic conservation planning.     

Novel spatial analysis methods reveal scale‐dependent spread and infer limiting factors of invasion by Sahara mustard

Multiple scale‐dependent ecological processes influence species distributions. Uncovering these drivers of dynamic range boundaries can provide fundamental ecological insights and vital knowledge for species management. We develop a transferable methodology that uses widely available data and tools to determine critical scales in range expansion and to infer dominating scale‐dependent forces that influence spread. We divide a focal geographic region into different sized square cells, representing different spatial scales. We then used herbarium records to determine the species' occupancy of cells at each spatial scale. We calculated the growth in cell occupancy across scales to infer the scale dependent expansion rate. This is the first time such a ‘box‐counting’ method is used to study range expansion. We coupled this multi‐scale analysis with species distribution models to determine the range and spatial scales where suitable climate allows the species to spread, and where other factors may be influencing the expansion. We demonstrate our methodology by assessing the spread of invasive Sahara mustard in North America. We detect critical scales where its spread is limited (100–500 km) or unconstrained (5–50 km) by climatic variables. Using climate‐based models to assess the similarity of climate envelopes in its native and invaded range, we find that the climate in the invaded range generally predicts the native distribution, suggesting that either there has been little local adaptation to climate occurring since introduction or the biological interaction experienced in the invaded range has not driven the species to occupy climatic conditions much different from its native range. Our novel method can be broadly utilized in other studies to generate critical insights into the scale dependency of different ecological drivers that influence the spread and distribution limits, as well as to help parameterizing predictions of future spread, and thus inform management decisions.     

Isolation by resistance across a complex coral reef seascape

A detailed understanding of the genetic structure of populations and an accurate interpretation of processes driving contemporary patterns of gene flow are fundamental to successful spatial conservation management. The field of seascape genetics seeks to incorporate environmental variables and processes into analyses of population genetic data to improve our understanding of forces driving genetic divergence in the marine environment. Information about barriers to gene flow (such as ocean currents) is used to define a resistance surface to predict the spatial genetic structure of populations and explain deviations from the widely applied isolation-by-distance model. The majority of seascape approaches to date have been applied to linear coastal systems or at large spatial scales (more than 250 km), with very few applied to complex systems at regional spatial scales (less than 100 km). Here, we apply a seascape genetics approach to a peripheral population of the broadcast-spawning coral Acropora spicifera across the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, a high-latitude complex coral reef system off the central coast of Western Australia. We coupled population genetic data from a panel of microsatellite DNA markers with a biophysical dispersal model to test whether oceanographic processes could explain patterns of genetic divergence. We identified significant variation in allele frequencies over distances of less than 10 km, with significant differentiation occurring between adjacent sites but not between the most geographically distant ones. Recruitment probabilities between sites based on simulated larval dispersal were projected into a measure of resistance to connectivity that was significantly correlated with patterns of genetic divergence, demonstrating that patterns of spatial genetic structure are a function of restrictions to gene flow imposed by oceanographic currents. This study advances our understanding of the role of larval dispersal on the fine-scale genetic structure of coral populations across a complex island system and applies a methodological framework that can be tailored to suit a variety of marine organisms with a range of life-history characteristics.     

Plant dispersal in the sub-Antarctic inferred from anisotropic genetic structure

Climatic conditions and landscape features often strongly affect species' local distribution patterns, dispersal, reproduction and survival and may therefore have considerable impacts on species' fine-scale spatial genetic structure (SGS). In this study, we demonstrate the efficacy of combining fine-scale SGS analyses with isotropic and anisotropic spatial autocorrelation techniques to infer the impact of wind patterns on plant dispersal processes. We genotyped 1304 Azorella selago (Apiaceae) specimens, a wind-pollinated and wind-dispersed plant, from four populations distributed across sub-Antarctic Marion Island. SGS was variable with Sp values ranging from 0.001 to 0.014, suggesting notable variability in dispersal distance and wind velocities between sites. Nonetheless, the data supported previous hypotheses of a strong NW-SE gradient in wind strength across the island. Anisotropic autocorrelation analyses further suggested that dispersal is strongly directional, but varying between sites depending on the local prevailing winds. Despite the high frequency of gale-force winds on Marion Island, gene dispersal distance estimates (σ) were surprisingly low (<10 m), most probably because of a low pollen dispersal efficiency. An SGS approach in association with isotropic and anisotropic analyses provides a powerful means to assess the relative influence of abiotic factors on dispersal and allow inferences that would not be possible without this combined approach.     

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.     

Spatial scaling and transition in pneumatophore arthropod communities

Although most ecological variables are scale-dependent, few studies cover a broad range of spatial scales. Here, we consider South African mangrove pneumatophore arthropod communities (mites, crustaceans and insects), across seven spatial scales (from 10  cm to 100  km). We plot spatial autocorrelation in individual species, evaluate if resource and habitat availability determine spatial patterning, and identify the scales of community transition. Spatial autocorrelation in most ecological variables decreased with increasing spatial scale, with notable exceptions for the larger scales. Negative abundance autocorrelation was stronger at 10  km than at 100  km for common species, while the opposite was true for rare species. Spatial autocorrelation in species richness decreased from 1  m (strong positive) to 10  km (strong negative), but was not significant at the 100  km scale. These patterns reflect the patchy distribution of pneumatophores within mangrove forests, that of the forests along the coast, and the poor dispersal abilities of most of the arthropods sampled, in a highly dynamic environment. Although resource and habitat availability exhibited a similar autocorrelation pattern to that of the community, the total mass of pneumatophores did not appear to be an important determinant of community structure. Variations in the abundance of common species, as well as the restricted distribution of rare species caused assemblage structure to change gradually with increasing distance from 10 cm to 100 km, but only marginally from 10 to 100  km. We highlight the need for cross-scale studies in bridging the gap between two key ecological concepts: potential ecological niche and realized geographic range.     

The distribution of hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from micro- to macro-scale: Spatial patterns on habitat-forming algae

Scaling up from local, short-term experiments to larger-area and longer-term ones is crucial to address the role of scale in ecology. Few studies, however, examined large-scale spatial variability in the distribution and abundance of marine organisms, with rare attempts to directly compare spatial variation at local (centimetres-metres) vs. regional (1000's of kilometres) scale. Here, we used a hierarchical design to describe the spatial distribution of the hydroids epiphitic of the brown alga Cystoseira amentacea, a habitat-forming species that provides a continuous, extensive settling substrate at regional scale along the rocky coasts in the Mediterranean Sea. This continuity provides the potential to deal with scale-related variability, increasing area of investigation without adding differences deriving from habitat heterogeneity or changes in topographic complexity. Hydroids were selected for their abundance and for their life cycle features (rapid growth, small body size, early sexual or asexual reproduction and short life span), allowing rapid responses to changes in environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to analyse whether the structure of hydroid assemblages living on C. amentacea had a consistent pattern of variation among three portions of the algal thallus (i.e., basal, middle, and distal) across a spectrum of scales and whether having or not a pelagic stage could exert a significant influence on the distribution patterns of the species. A total of 32 species were identified. Multivariate analyses showed that hydroid colonization of Cystoseira occurs differently along each thallus, with patterns of variation in the structure of assemblages differing at an even smaller spatial scale than that of single plants. However, such differences varied from patch to patch. Among the 14 species identified as “important” to define the hydroid assemblage inhabiting Cystoseira, only one (Clytia hemisphaerica) has free medusae, the other species reproducing by fixed gonophores or by short-lived medusoids. Univariate analysis showed significant differences among portions of thalli in terms of spatial variability at the various scales investigated, thus suggesting that patterns of multivariate variation along the three portions of thalli might vary across scale. Overall, our results suggest that patterns of distribution of hydroids along C. amentacea thalli significantly vary across spatial scales but that the observed differences can be hardly interpreted on the basis of life-cycle patterns.     

Fine-scale spatial genetic structure and dispersal among spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) breeding populations

We examined fine-scale genetic variation among breeding aggregations of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) to quantify dispersal, interpopulation connectivity and population genetic structure. Spotted salamanders rely on temporary ponds or wetlands for aggregate breeding. Adequate breeding sites are relatively isolated from one another and field studies suggest considerable adult site fidelity; therefore, we expected to find population structure and differentiation at small spatial scales. We used microsatellites to estimate population structure and dispersal among 29 breeding aggregations in Tompkins County, New York, USA, an area encompassing 1272 km(2). Bayesian and frequency-based analyses revealed fine-scale genetic structure with two genetically defined demes: the North deme included seven breeding ponds, and the South deme included 13 ponds. Nine ponds showed evidence of admixture between these two genetic pools. Bayesian assignment tests for detection of interpopulation dispersal indicate that immigration among ponds is common within demes, and that certain populations serve as sources of immigrants to neighbouring ponds. Likewise, spatial genetic correlation analyses showed that populations < or = 4.8 km distant from each other show significant genetic correlation that is not evident at higher scales. Within-population levels of relatedness are consistently larger than expected if mating were completely random across ponds, and in the case of a few ponds, within-population processes such as inbreeding or reproductive skew contribute significantly to differentiation from neighbouring ponds. Our data underscore the importance of these within-population processes as a source of genetic diversity across the landscape, despite considerable population connectivity. Our data further suggest that spotted salamander breeding groups behave as metapopulations, with population clusters as functional units, but sufficient migration among demes to allow for potential rescue and recolonization. Amphibian habitats are becoming increasingly fragmented and a clear understanding of dispersal and patterns of population connectivity for taxa with different ecologies and life histories is crucial for their conservation.