Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2-22-2022
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Volume
289
First Page
20211762
Abstract
While considerable evidence exists of biogeographic patterns in the intensity of species interactions, the influence of these patterns on variation in community structure is less clear. Studying how the distributions of traits in communities vary along global gradients can inform how variation in interactions and other factors contribute to the process of community assembly. Using a model selection approach on measures of trait dispersion in crustaceans associated with eelgrass (Zostera marina) spanning 30° of latitude in two oceans, we found that dispersion strongly increased with increasing predation and decreasing latitude. Ocean and epiphyte load appeared as secondary predictors; Pacific communities were more overdispersed while Atlantic communities were more clustered, and increasing epiphytes were associated with increased clustering. By examining how species interactions and environmental filters influence community structure across biogeographic regions, we demonstrate how both latitudinal variation in species interactions and historical contingency shape these responses. Community trait distributions have implications for ecosystem stability and functioning, and integrating large-scale observations of environmental filters, species interactions and traits can help us predict how communities may respond to environmental change.
DOI
doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1762
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Gross, Collin P.; Duffy, J. Emmett; (...); Orth, Robert J.; and et al, The biogeography of community assembly: latitude and predation drive variation in community trait distribution in a guild of epifaunal crustaceans (2022). Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289, 20211762.
doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1762
Supplementary Material
