Responses of taxonomic distinctness and species diversity indices to anthropogenic impacts and natural environmental gradients in stream macroinvertebrates

1. Many studies have shown traditional species diversity indices to perform poorly in discriminating anthropogenic influences on biodiversity. By contrast, in marine systems, taxonomic distinctness indices that take into account the taxonomic relatedness of species have been shown to discriminate anthropogenic effects. However, few studies have examined the performance of taxonomic distinctness indices in freshwater systems. 2. We studied the performance of four species diversity indices and four taxonomic distinctness indices for detecting anthropogenic effects on stream macroinvertebrate assemblages. Further, we examined the effects of catchment type and area, as well as two variables (pH and total phosphorus) potentially describing anthropogenic perturbation on biodiversity. 3. We found no indications of degraded biodiversity at the putatively disturbed sites. However, species density, rarefied species richness, Shannon's diversity and taxonomic diversity showed higher index values in streams draining mineral as opposed to peatland catchments. 4. Of the major environmental gradients analysed, biodiversity indices showed the strongest relationships with catchment area, lending further support to the importance of stream size for macroinvertebrate biodiversity. Some of the indices also showed weak linear and quadratic relationships to pH and total phosphorus, and residuals from the biodiversity index‐catchment area regressions (i.e. area effect standardized) were more weakly related to pH and total phosphorus than the original index values. 5. There are a number of reasons why the biodiversity indices did not respond to anthropogenic perturbation. First, some natural environmental gradients may mask the effects of perturbation on biodiversity. Secondly, perturbations of riverine ecosystems in our study area may not be strong enough to cause drastic changes in biodiversity. Thirdly, multiple anthropogenic stressors may either increase or decrease biodiversity, and thus the coarse division of sites into reference and altered streams may be an oversimplification. 6. Although neither species diversity nor taxonomic distinctness indices revealed anthropogenic degradation of macroinvertebrate assemblages in this study, the traditional species diversity and taxonomic distinctness indices were very weakly correlated. Therefore, we urge that biodiversity assessment and conservation planning should utilize a number of different indices, as they may provide complementary information about biotic assemblages.     

历山自然保护区猪尾沟森林群落植物多样性研究

采用丰富度指数、物种多样性指数和均匀度指数对山西历山自然保护区猪尾沟森林群落多样性进行研究。结果表明 :1 )同一群落内 ,多样性指数存在一定的波动范围 ;不同群落间 ,物种多样性也存在差异 ,但其并不一定具有统计学意义。由此表明 ,群落之间存在差异 ,同时也存在着连续性。 2 )海拔高度是决定本区多样性分布格局的主导因子 ,随着群落分布海拔高度的增加 ,多样性呈一致的上升趋势 ,即多样性与海拔呈正相关关系。 3)群落物种多样性对海拔的敏感性由大到小的次序为草本层 >乔木层 >灌木层 ,其中乔木层的丰富度指数、草本层均匀度指数与海拔有着极显著的正相关关系 ,而乔木层的多样性指数、草本层的丰富度指数与海拔有着极显著的负相关关系 ,灌木层的多样性与海拔没有显著的相关性。 4)群落中不同结构、不同层次对群落总体多样性的贡献是不同的 ,两种测定方法所产生的总体多样性之间呈显著相关关系 ,表明给定加权参数的测定方法没有影响客观生态意义的反映 ,同时也更好地反映出群落结构对于群落多样性的功能差异     

井冈山鹿角杜鹃群落灌木层功能多样性及其随海拔梯度的变化

研究植物群落功能多样性沿环境梯度的变化可以揭示功能多样性与生态系统功能间的关系及维持机制。以井冈山地区鹿角杜鹃（Rhododendron latoucheae）群落为研究对象,通过调查不同海拔梯度群落灌木层植物的物种组成与结构特征,研究了该群落类型灌木层植物的物种多样性、功能多样性、环境因子的特征及其相互之间的关系。结果表明：1）群落类型灌木层植物物种多样性和功能多样性沿海拔梯度呈现不同的变化趋势。物种多样性指数均随着海拔的升高呈减小趋势,而功能多样性指数的变化却较为复杂。其中FRic、FEve和FDis随着海拔的升高显著减小,FDiv和Rao却随海拔的升高而增加;2）群落中物种多样性和功能多样性呈现复杂的相关性。FRic、FEve与丰富度指数呈显著正相关,而Rao、FDis、FDiv与Simpson优势度指数呈线性相关关系,且具有显著相关性;3）群落所分布的坡位及土壤氮与磷含量等环境因子对灌木植物的功能多样性有着重要的影响。鹿角杜鹃群落灌木层植物的物种多样性和功能多样性的相互关系及其对环境变化的响应共同决定了群落的生态系统功能。     

新疆天山森林公园土壤螨类群落多样性与环境因子的相关性

为探讨西北干旱区森林土壤螨类群落和环境因子的相互关系,于2014年对新疆天山森林公园七种不同生境进行土壤螨类群落调查与环境因子测定,并采用除趋势对应分析法(DCA)和冗余分析法(RDA)对土壤螨类群落结构和多样性特征及其与环境因子之间的关系进行相关分析。结果表明,共捕获土壤螨类成体标本24399只,隶属4目56科108属(包括9个中国新记录属),其中小甲螨属Oribatella为优势类群。方差分析表明,在7种不同生境之间土壤螨类群落多样性指标均存在显著差异(P<0.05),Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H)依次为针叶林>苗圃林>阔叶林>灌木林>针阔混交林>草甸草原>林中草地。RDA分析结果表明,第一主轴和第二主轴分别解释了土壤螨类主要群落总变量的34.8%和27.3%,所有环境因子共解释了土壤螨类群落物种组成变异的82.1%。蒙特卡罗置换检验显示,十种环境因子与全部排序轴(F=7.355,P=0.002)均存在极显著的相关性。研究表明,海拔、土壤含水量和有机质含量对螨类群落结构和多样性的影响显著。     

Functional diversity and trait–environment relationships of stream fish assemblages in a large tropical catchment

1. The species composition of stream fish assemblages changes across the longitudinal fluvial gradient of large river basins. These changes may reflect both zonation in species distributions and environmental filtering of fish traits as stream environments change from the uplands to the lowlands of large catchments. Previous research has shown that taxonomic diversity generally increases in larger, lowland streams, and the River Continuum Concept, the River Habitat Template and other frameworks have provided expectations for what functional groups of fishes should predominate in certain stream types. However, studies addressing the functional trait composition of fish assemblages across large regions are lacking, particularly in tropical river basins. 2. We examined functional trait–environment relationships and functional diversity of stream fish assemblages in the Río Grijalva Basin in southern Mexico. Traits linked to feeding, locomotion and life history strategy were measured in fishes from streams throughout the catchment, from highland headwaters to broad, lowland streams. Relationships between functional traits and environmental variables at local and landscape scales were examined using multivariate ordination, and the convex hull volume of trait space occupied by fish assemblages was calculated as a measure of functional diversity. 3. Although there were a few exceptions, functional diversity of assemblages increased with species richness along the gradient from uplands to lowlands within the Grijalva Basin. Traits related to swimming, habitat preference and food resource use were associated with both local (e.g. substratum type, pool availability) and landscape‐scale (e.g. forest cover) environmental variables. 4. Along with taxonomic structure and diversity, the functional composition of fish assemblages changed across the longitudinal fluvial gradient of the basin. Trait–environment relationships documented in this study partially confirmed theoretical expectations and revealed patterns that may help in developing a better understanding of general functional responses of fish assemblages to environmental change.     

Macrophytes in boreal streams: Characterizing and predicting native occurrence and abundance to assess human impact

Macrophytes are a structurally and functionally essential element of stream ecosystems and therefore indispensable in assessment, protection and restoration of streams. Modelling based on continuous environmental gradients offers a potential approach to predict natural variability of communities and thereby improve detection of anthropogenic community change. Using data from minimally disturbed streams, we described natural macrophyte assemblages in pool and riffle habitats separately and in combination, and explored their variation across large scale environmental gradients. Specifically, we developed RIVPACS-type models to predict the presence and abundance of macrophyte taxa at stream sites in the absence of human influence and, used data from impacted streams to explore the responses of three biotic indices to anthropogenic stress. The indices used, taxonomic completeness (O/E-taxa), a measure of compositional dissimilarity (BC-index) and an index taking into account the abundance of species (AB-index), are based on predicted and observed macrophyte communities. We found that size of the catchment area, altitude, latitude and percentage of lakes in the catchment were the large scale environmental variables that best predicted the natural variation of assemblages. The RIVPACS approach substantially improved both the precision and accuracy to predict the natural communities and the sensitivity to human disturbance. O/E-taxa performed best in relation to the null model decreasing the variation by 20% in pools, 29% in riffles and 32% in combined data. In general, models based on the riffle assemblages performed better than models based on pool assemblages, but including both habitats and predicting abundances instead of only presence/absence yielded the greatest accuracy and sensitivity. Our results support the use of multivariate modelling techniques in predicting reference condition to assess status of stream macrophyte communities.     

Stream community structure in relation to spatial variation: the influence of mesohabitat characteristics

Community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates was studied in six first- through fourth-order streams in northeast France, to elucidate changes in richness, abundance, diversity and evenness of mesohabitat assemblages as a function of environmental conditions. Patch samples were subjected to multivariate analyses to determine: (i) relationships among seven indices describing community structure (structure parameters); (ii) relationships among seven environmental variables; (iii) the relationship between community structure and environmental characteristics of patches. Faunal data showed that indices measuring the distribution of individuals among taxa (evenness, dominance) and richness are prominent in describing the structure of macroinvertebrate communities of mesohabitats. The analysis of environmental data demonstrated a major differentiating ability of current velocity and strong inter-relations among in-stream hydraulic-dependent parameters in structuring the mesohabitat environment. The co-structure (= relationship) between community organization and environmental variables indicated that substrate may be a primary determinant of community structure. Current velocity and water depth emerged as secondary factors. Trends in community structure were closely related to the spatial variability of mesohabitats. Species richness increased with habitat heterogeneity. Total abundance increased with trophic potentialities of patches. Equitability and diversity seemed to increase with patch stability. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of the temperature regime on the composition of the macrozoobenthos community in a thermal brook in Serbia

In contrast to cold and eurythermal waters, benthic communities of warm brooks in temperate regions have been inadequately studied. In order to investigate the effects of water thermal regime on the benthic communities of warm waters and their relationships with those of cold and eurythermic ones, the macrozoobenthos was studied at eight sites in the Toplica River, and at four sites in its tributary, the Termalni brook. Investigations were carried out seasonally from April 2000 to January 2001. Warm waters of the Termalni brook were characterized by specific macrozoobenthos assemblages that exhibited significant differences to the populations of eurythermal and cold waters of the Toplica River. The dominant taxa in the macrozoobenthos community of warm waters were mainly Gastropoda species. Moreover, benthic communities of warm waters were characterized by lower diversity and greater biomass in comparison with those of cold and eurythermal waters. The gradient of average annual temperatures represented the main ecological factor influencing changes of diversity and biomass along the course of the investigated Termalni brook. Inflow of warm waters at site T₆ lead to a decrease in macrozoobenthos abundance and changes in qualitative and quantitative composition of the benthocoenosis of a highland stream, but did not significantly alter diversity.     

Seasonal shifts in the assembly dynamics of benthic macroinvertebrate and diatom communities in a subtropical river

Identifying seasonal shifts in community assembly for multiple biological groups is important to help enhance our understanding of their ecological dynamics. However, such knowledge on lotic assemblages is still limited. In this study, we used biological traits and functional diversity indices in association with null model analyses to detect seasonal shifts in the community assembly mechanisms of lotic macroinvertebrates and diatoms in an unregulated subtropical river in China. We found that functional composition and functional diversity (FRic, FEve, FDis, MNN, and SDNN) showed seasonal variation for macroinvertebrate and diatom assemblages. Null models suggested that environmental filtering, competitive exclusion, and neutral process were all important community assembly mechanisms for both biological groups. However, environmental filtering had a stronger effect on spring macroinvertebrate assemblages than autumn assemblages, but the effect on diatom assemblages was the same in both seasons. Moreover, macroinvertebrate and diatom assemblages were shaped by different environmental factors. Macroinvertebrates were filtered mainly by substrate types, velocity, and COD_Mn, while diatoms were mainly shaped by altitude, substrate types, and water quality. Therefore, our study showed (a) that different biological assemblages in a river system presented similarities and differences in community assembly mechanisms, (b) that multiple processes play important roles in maintaining benthic community structure, and (c) that these patterns and underlying mechanisms are seasonally variable. Thus, we highlight the importance of exploring the community assembly mechanisms of multiple biological groups, especially in different seasons, as this is crucial to improve the understanding of river community changes and their responses to environmental degradation.     

Intercontinental trends in functional and phylogenetic structure of stream fish assemblages

Understanding of community assembly has been improved by phylogenetic and trait‐based approaches, yet there is little consensus regarding the relative importance of alternative mechanisms and few studies have been done at large geographic and phylogenetic scales. Here, we use phylogenetic and trait dispersion approaches to determine the relative contribution of limiting similarity and environmental filtering to community assembly of stream fishes at an intercontinental scale. We sampled stream fishes from five zoogeographic regions. Analysis of traits associated with habitat use, feeding, or both resulted in more occurrences of trait underdispersion than overdispersion regardless of spatial scale or species pool. Our results suggest that environmental filtering and, to a lesser extent, species interactions were important mechanisms of community assembly for fishes inhabiting small, low‐gradient streams in all five regions. However, a large proportion of the trait dispersion values were no different from random. This suggests that stochastic factors or opposing assembly mechanisms also influenced stream fish assemblages and their trait dispersion patterns. Local assemblages tended to have lower functional diversity in microhabitats with high water velocity, shallow water depth, and homogeneous substrates lacking structural complexity, lending support for the stress‐dominance hypothesis. A high prevalence of functional underdispersion coupled with phylogenetic underdispersion could reflect phylogenetic niche conservatism and/or stabilizing selection. These findings imply that environmental filtering of stream fish assemblages is not only deterministic, but also influences assemblage structure in a fairly consistent manner worldwide.     

Spatial and temporal variation of fish assemblages and their associations to habitat variables in a mountain stream of north Tiaoxi River,China

The spatial and temporal variations of the fish assemblages in mountain streams of China are poorly understood. The relationships between the fish assemblage and selected habitat features were examined in the North Tiaoxi River, one of headwaters of Taihu Lake. A total of 3,348 individuals belonging to 5 orders, 11 families, 25 genera and 34 species were collected including 33 native species and one invasive species. Among those, about 20 species were endemic to China. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) was applied to compare fish assemblage structures from upstream to downstream during four seasons. Species assemblages differed along the stream continuum, but there was little apparent change associated with the seasons. Species richness and Shannon-Weaver index (H′) tended to increase along the stream continuum from the upstream to downstream and the proportion of invertivorous fish tended to significantly decrease along the continuum with a parallel significant increase in the percentage of omnivores. Fish assemblages were significantly related to both water quality and habitat structure variables. Canonical Correspondence Analysis ordinations (CCA) revealed that 6 of the 14 selected environmental variables had significant relationships with the fish assemblage such as distance to source, stream width, altitude, pH, water depth, and water velocity and different sampling sites were associated with different environmental variables in different seasons. The main differences in fish assemblage structure and diversity within the whole watercourse are probably related to large-scale factors such distance to source, altitude and stream width. Differences of instream characteristics are likely to be caused by natural variability of the ecosystems but also, in some case, by anthropogenic influence like human settlements, agriculture and river embankment and pollution from small factory.     

Implications of community concordance for assessing stream integrity at three nested spatial scales in Minnesota,U.S.A.

1. Fish and invertebrate assemblage data collected from 670 stream sites in Minnesota (U.S.A.) were used to calculate concordance across three nested spatial scales (statewide, ecoregion and catchment). Predictive taxa richness models, calibrated using the same data, were used to evaluate whether concordant communities exhibited similar trends in human‐induced taxa loss across all three scales. Finally, we evaluated the strength of the relationship between selected environmental variables and the composition of both assemblages at all three spatial scales. 2. Significant concordance between fish and invertebrate communities occurred at the statewide scale as well as in six of seven ecoregions and 17 of the 21 major catchments. However, concordance was not consistently indicative of significant relationships between rates of fish and invertebrate taxa loss at those same scales. 3. Fish and invertebrate communities were largely associated with different environmental variables, although the composition of both communities was strongly correlated with stream size across all three scales. 4. Predictive taxa‐loss models for fish assemblages were less sensitive and precise than models for invertebrate assemblages, likely because of the relatively low number of common fish taxa in our data set. Both models, however, distinguished reference from non‐reference sites. 5. The importance of concordance, geographic context and scale are discussed in relation to the design and interpretation of stream integrity indicators. In particular, our findings suggest that community concordance should not be viewed as a substitute for an evaluation of how assemblages respond to environmental stressors.     

Multiple facets of stream macroinvertebrate alpha diversity are driven by different ecological factors across an extensive altitudinal gradient

Environmental filtering and spatial structuring are important ecological processes for the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. However, the relative importance of these ecological drivers for multiple facets of diversity is still poorly understood in highland streams. Here, we examined the responses of three facets of stream macroinvertebrate alpha diversity to local environmental, landscape‐climate and spatial factors in a near‐pristine highland riverine ecosystem. Taxonomic (species richness, Shannon diversity, and evenness), functional (functional richness, evenness, divergence, and Rao's Quadratic entropy), and a proxy of phylogenetic alpha diversity (taxonomic distinctness and variation in taxonomic distinctness) were calculated for macroinvertebrate assemblages in 55 stream sites. Then Pearson correlation coefficient was used to explore congruence of indices within and across the three diversity facets. Finally, multiple linear regression models and variation partitioning were employed to identify the relative importance of different ecological drivers of biodiversity. We found most correlations between the diversity indices within the same facet, and between functional richness and species richness were relatively strong. The two phylogenetic diversity indices were quite independent from taxonomic diversity but correlated with functional diversity indices to some extent. Taxonomic and functional diversity were more strongly determined by environmental variables, while phylogenetic diversity was better explained by spatial factors. In terms of environmental variables, habitat‐scale variables describing habitat complexity and water physical features played the primary role in determining the diversity patterns of all three facets, whereas landscape factors appeared less influential. Our findings indicated that both environmental and spatial factors are important ecological drivers for biodiversity patterns of macroinvertebrates in Tibetan streams, although their relative importance was contingent on different facets of diversity. Such findings verified the complementary roles of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity, and highlighted the importance of comprehensively considering multiple ecological drivers for different facets of diversity in biodiversity assessment.     

Rényi多样性指数曲线在评价和监测转基因作物对生物多样性影响中的应用

【背景】多样性比较是评价转基因作物对生物群落影响的标准参数之一。以往用于描述多样性的指数很多,但这些指数各有优缺点,生物学解释不全面。运用现代生物多样性表示方法,能够描述更复杂情况下的多样性关系。本文主要介绍了Rényi多样性指数曲线在生物安全研究中的应用。【方法】Rényi多样性指数曲线与以往常用的一维多样性指数不同,当其等级参数为某些特定值时代表了几个著名的多样性指数,该方法可较为确切地评价复杂的生物群落的多样性。本文在介绍其计算公式后,通过比较河北省2种转Bt基因棉田（孟山都33B和中棉30,均未施农药）以及常规管理（施用农药）和综合治理（IPM,施用农药和释放赤眼蜂相结合）条件下非转基因棉田的蜘蛛群落,证明了该方法的适用性。【结果】Rényi多样性指数曲线分析表明了所有可能的互作类型：1个明确的多样性排序以及2类棉田蜘蛛群落间不同的潜在关系。Rényi指数分析表明,在供试棉田中,中棉30棉田的蜘蛛多样性指数最高,其他3种棉田蜘蛛的多样性高低则难以一概而论。蜘蛛稀有种的多样性以孟山都33B棉田最高,IPM和常规棉田次之;蜘蛛常见种的多样性以IPM棉田最高,常规棉田和孟山都33B棉田次之。【结论与意义】Rényi多样性指数可用于生物群落多样性的综合评价,并可用于评价不同管理措施对生物多样性的影响。该方法弥补了仅用单一数量参数评价多样性的传统方法的缺陷,将不同参数整合成一个具有内在关联的概念框架。     

Environmental controls on the distribution and diversity of lentic Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) across an altitudinal gradient in tropical South America

To predict the response of aquatic ecosystems to future global climate change, data on the ecology and distribution of keystone groups in freshwater ecosystems are needed. In contrast to mid‐ and high‐latitude zones, such data are scarce across tropical South America (Neotropics). We present the distribution and diversity of chironomid species using surface sediments of 59 lakes from the Andes to the Amazon (0.1–17°S and 64–78°W) within the Neotropics. We assess the spatial variation in community assemblages and identify the key variables influencing the distributional patterns. The relationships between environmental variables (pH, conductivity, depth, and sediment organic content), climatic data, and chironomid assemblages were assessed using multivariate statistics (detrended correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis). Climatic parameters (temperature and precipitation) were most significant in describing the variance in chironomid assemblages. Temperature and precipitation are both predicted to change under future climate change scenarios in the tropical Andes. Our findings suggest taxa of Orthocladiinae, which show a preference to cold high‐elevation oligotrophic lakes, will likely see range contraction under future anthropogenic‐induced climate change. Taxa abundant in areas of high precipitation, such as Micropsectra and Phaenopsectra, will likely become restricted to the inner tropical Andes, as the outer tropical Andes become drier. The sensitivity of chironomids to climate parameters makes them important bio‐indicators of regional climate change in the Neotropics. Furthermore, the distribution of chironomid taxa presented here is a vital first step toward providing urgently needed autecological data for interpreting fossil chironomid records of past ecological and climate change from the tropical Andes.     

Trait-based metrics as bioindicators: Responses of stream fish assemblages to a gradient of environmental degradation

The development of biomonitoring tools is increasingly appealing in light of the increasing degradation of aquatic ecosystems. In this context, we investigated the responses of stream fish communities to the gradient of environmental degradation in different basins using a variety of indices based on functional diversity, functional composition, and taxonomic diversity. We used datasets from three Brazilian ecoregions. In order to describe the gradient of environmental degradation we scored streams based on local and landscape variables. The functional structure of the assemblages was described in relation to seven functional traits related to habitat use, swimming capacity, and maneuverability. We described assemblages in each ecoregion separately in relation to 20 potential indicators, grouped in four families: indices of functional diversity based on presence/absence (FD_p/a); indices of functional diversity weighted by abundance (FD_abund); indices of functional composition (mT); and, indices based on taxonomic diversity (TDiv). The relationship between the indicators and the gradient of environmental degradation were evaluated using linear regression. We found a significant interaction effect (ANOVA, p = 0.006) between group of indices and ecoregions for the performance of indicators, suggesting a context-dependent response. The indices, on an individual basis, had variable performance and consistency among ecoregions. Four mT indicators demonstrated the highest average performance and consistency. Taxonomic diversity indicators consistently had the lowest average performance, while FD_p/a and FD_abund indicators had low average performance and variable inter-regional consistency. The differential inter-regional performance of indicators was due to the differences in the lengths of the gradients of environmental degradation. Our results indicate that functional traits have greater predictive power compared to taxonomic indicators for fish responses to a gradient of environmental degradation. Although indicators of functional composition are the most promising, we emphasize that caution is needed when generalizing functional diversity indicators across ecoregions because most of them are context-dependent.     

Measuring biodiversity to explain community assembly: a unified approach

One of the oldest challenges in ecology is to understand the processes that underpin the composition of communities. Historically, an obvious way in which to describe community compositions has been diversity in terms of the number and abundances of species. However, the failure to reject contradictory models has led to communities now being characterized by trait and phylogenetic diversities. Our objective here is to demonstrate how species, trait and phylogenetic diversity can be combined together from large to local spatial scales to reveal the historical, deterministic and stochastic processes that impact the compositions of local communities. Research in this area has recently been advanced by the development of mathematical measures that incorporate trait dissimilarities and phylogenetic relatedness between species. However, measures of trait diversity have been developed independently of phylogenetic measures and conversely most of the phylogenetic diversity measures have been developed independently of trait diversity measures. This has led to semantic confusions particularly when classical ecological and evolutionary approaches are integrated so closely together. Consequently, we propose a unified semantic framework and demonstrate the importance of the links among species, phylogenetic and trait diversity indices. Furthermore, species, trait and phylogenetic diversity indices differ in the ways they can be used across different spatial scales. The connections between large‐scale, regional and local processes allow the consideration of historical factors in addition to local ecological deterministic or stochastic processes. Phylogenetic and trait diversity have been used in large‐scale analyses to determine how historical and/or environmental factors affect both the formation of species assemblages and patterns in species richness across latitude or elevation gradients. Both phylogenetic and trait diversity have been used at different spatial scales to identify the relative impacts of ecological deterministic processes such as environmental filtering and limiting similarity from alternative processes such as random speciation and extinction, random dispersal and ecological drift. Measures of phylogenetic diversity combine phenotypic and genetic diversity and have the potential to reveal both the ecological and historical factors that impact local communities. Consequently, we demonstrate that, when used in a comparative way, species, trait and phylogenetic structures have the potential to reveal essential details that might act simultaneously in the assembly of species communities. We highlight potential directions for future research. These might include how variation in trait and phylogenetic diversity alters with spatial distances, the role of trait and phylogenetic diversity in global‐scale gradients, the connections between traits and phylogeny, the importance of trait rarity and independent evolutionary history in community assembly, the loss of trait and phylogenetic diversity due to human impacts, and the mathematical developments of biodiversity indices including within‐species variations.     

停止人为去除植物功能群后的高寒草甸多样性恢复过程与群落构建

已有大量研究利用功能性状或系统发育来推断群落构建机制, 然而不同过程可能会导致相似的格局。本文基于对甘南高寒草甸植物功能群去除处理后群落恢复过程的跟踪调查, 对比了物种多样性、功能多样性和系统发育多样性的动态变化, 并分析了物种定殖与消失过程对功能多样性和系统发育多样性变化的影响。结果表明: 去除不同数量功能群的群落中: (1)包括物种丰富度(SR)、Shannon-Wiener指数(H°)和Simpson指数(D)在内的传统物种多样性均随时间快速上升并与自然群落趋同, 不同群落的均匀度指数(J)随时间呈增加趋势并趋于相似; 功能多样性(FD)与系统发育多样性(PD)呈现出与物种多样性相似的动态变化趋势, 而平均配对距离(MPD/MPD_a、MFD/MFD_a)则向中等程度聚集。(2)不同群落的功能群和物种组成在短期内均恢复到与自然群落非常相似的程度。(3)物种定殖与消失过程的功能格局是群落恢复过程中趋同效应的主要驱动力。本研究揭示了高寒草甸植物功能群去除停止后群落短期内快速恢复的过程, 说明在小尺度且周边具有大范围未退化草甸的情况下, 无论物种多样性、功能多样性还是系统发育多样性都具有较快的恢复能力, 同时说明了利用群落系统发育多样性格局来推断群落构建机制的局限性。     

Biodiversity in microbial communities: system scale patterns and mechanisms

The relationship between anthropogenic impact and the maintenance of biodiversity is a fundamental question in ecology. The emphasis on the organizational level of biodiversity responsible for ecosystem processes is shifting from a species-centred focus to include genotypic diversity. The relationship between biodiversity measures at these two scales remains largely unknown. By stratifying anthropogenic effects between scales of biodiversity of bacterial communities, we show a statistically significant difference in diversity based on taxonomic scale. Communities with intermediate species richness show high genotypic diversity while speciose and species-poor communities do not. We propose that in species-poor communities, generally comprising stable yet harsh conditions, physiological tolerance and competitive trade-offs limit both the number of species that occur and the loss of genotypes due to decreases in already constrained fitness. In species-rich communities, natural environmental conditions result in well-defined community structure and resource partitioning. Disturbance of these communities disrupts niche space, resulting in lower genotypic diversity despite the maintenance of species diversity. Our work provides a model to inform future research about relationships between species and genotypic biodiversity based on determining the biodiversity consequences of changing environmental context.