Regional metacommunities in two coastal systems: spatial structure and drivers of plant assemblages

Aim Biogeographical patterns in metacommunities are still poorly understood, and different processes are expected to occur in different habitats. We analysed the regional plant metacommunities of coastal habitats to test whether (1) the influence of space and climate differs between two habitats differentiated along the seashore–inland gradient, and (2) regional variation in species composition of these habitats can be ascribed to different metacommunity paradigms. Location The entire coast of the Iberian Peninsula, south-western Europe. Methods We collected data on the plant species composition of coastal sites on sand dunes across 3000 km of coastline. The sites were classified into two habitats corresponding to shifting and stable sand dunes, and divided into three distinct geographical regions: Cantabrian, Atlantic and Mediterranean. We assessed the geographical structure of the species composition using ordination, estimates of species turnover and spatial autocorrelation. We then used multivariate models and variation partitioning to test the influence of climatic and spatial effects. Analyses were conducted for the whole data set and the geographical subsets. Results Metacommunities from shifting and stable dunes showed similar spa- tial patterns, with the highest species turnover occurring in the Mediterranean region. Similarities between communities that were nearer each other (typically < 100 km) were weaker in shifting than in stable dunes, although the distance decay for sites that were further apart was similar in both habitats. Variation in species composition in shifting dunes was mainly explained by distance and climate, while in stable dunes the effect of climate was clearly dominant. The observed differences were relatively consistent across geographical regions. Main conclusions Distinct processes structure the metacommunities in two dune habitats differentiated along the seashore–inland gradient. Communities of shifting dunes seem to be structured by an interplay of neutral or patch-dynamic processes and to a lesser degree by species sorting. In contrast, communities of stable dunes are mainly governed by species sorting in response to climatic gradi- ents. These results highlight the importance of differentiating habitats according to local ecological factors when analysing regional patterns in metacommunities

Novel community data in ecology-properties and prospects

New technologies for monitoring biodiversity such as environmental (e)DNA, passive acoustic monitoring, and optical sensors promise to generate automated spatiotemporal community observations at unprecedented scales and resolutions. Here, we introduce ‘novel community data’ as an umbrella term for these data. We review the emerging field around novel community data, focusing on new ecological questions that could be addressed; the analytical tools available or needed to make best use of these data; and the potential implications of these developments for policy and conservation. We conclude that novel community data offer many opportunities to advance our understanding of fundamental ecological processes, including community assembly, biotic interactions, micro- and macroevolution, and overall ecosystem functioning

Plant functional and taxonomic diversity in European grasslands along climatic gradients

Aim: European grassland communities are highly diverse, but patterns and drivers of their continental-scale diversity remain elusive. This study analyses taxonomic and functional richness in European grasslands along continental-scale temperature and precipitation gradients. Location: Europe. Methods: We quantified functional and taxonomic richness of 55,748 vegetation plots. Six plant traits, related to resource acquisition and conservation, were analysed to describe plant community functional composition. Using a null-model approach we derived functional richness effect sizes that indicate higher or lower diversity than expected given the taxonomic richness. We assessed the variation in absolute functional and taxonomic richness and in functional richness effect sizes along gradients of minimum temperature, temperature range, annual precipitation, and precipitation seasonality using a multiple general additive modelling approach. Results: Functional and taxonomic richness was high at intermediate minimum temperatures and wide temperature ranges. Functional and taxonomic richness was low in correspondence with low minimum temperatures or narrow temperature ranges. Functional richness increased and taxonomic richness decreased at higher minimum temperatures and wide annual temperature ranges. Both functional and taxonomic richness decreased with increasing precipitation seasonality and showed a small increase at intermediate annual precipitation. Overall, effect sizes of functional richness were small. However, effect sizes indicated trait divergence at extremely low minimum temperatures and at low annual precipitation with extreme precipitation seasonality. Conclusions: Functional and taxonomic richness of European grassland communities vary considerably over temperature and precipitation gradients. Overall, they follow similar patterns over the climate gradients, except at high minimum temperatures and wide temperature ranges, where functional richness increases and taxonomic richness decreases. This contrasting pattern may trigger new ideas for studies that target specific hypotheses focused on community assembly processes. And though effect sizes were small, they indicate that it may be important to consider climate seasonality in plant diversity studies

Editorial: Microbial Landscape Ecology: Highlights on the Invisible Corridors

International audience[No abstract available