Assessing the scale-specific importance of niches and other spatial processes on beta diversity: a case study from a temperate forest |
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Authors: | Etienne Laliberté Alain Paquette Pierre Legendre André Bouchard |
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Institution: | (1) Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (IRBV), Université de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada;(2) Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada;(3) Present address: School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | Niche processes and other spatial processes, such as dispersal, may simultaneously control beta diversity, yet their relative
importance may shift across spatial and temporal scales. Although disentangling the relative importance of these processes
has been a continuing methodological challenge, recent developments in multi-scale spatial and temporal modeling can now help
ecologists estimate their scale-specific contributions. Here we present a statistical approach to (1) detect the presence
of a space–time interaction on community composition and (2) estimate the scale-specific importance of environmental and spatial
factors on beta diversity. To illustrate the applicability of this approach, we use a case study from a temperate forest understory
where tree seedling abundances were monitored during a 9-year period at 40 permanent plots. We found no significant space–time
interaction on tree seedling composition, which means that the spatial abundance patterns did not vary over the study period.
However, for a given year the relative importance of niche processes and other spatial processes was found to be scale-specific.
Tree seedling abundances were primarily controlled by a broad-scale environmental gradient, but within the confines of this
gradient the finer scale patchiness was largely due to other spatial processes. This case study illustrates that these two
sets of processes are not mutually exclusive and can affect abundance patterns in a scale-dependent manner. More importantly,
the use of our methodology for future empirical studies should help in the merging of niche and neutral perspectives on beta
diversity, an obvious next step for community ecology.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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Keywords: | Environmental control Neutral theory Niche Space– time interaction Spatial autocorrelation |
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