scholarly journals On the importance of spatial scales on beta diversity of coral assemblages: a study from Venezuelan coral reefs

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9082
Author(s):  
Emy Miyazawa ◽  
Luis M. Montilla ◽  
Esteban Alejandro Agudo-Adriani ◽  
Alfredo Ascanio ◽  
Gloria Mariño-Briceño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Coral Assemblage ◽  
The Caribbean

Estimating variability across spatial scales has been a major issue in ecology because the description of patterns in space is extremely valuable to propose specific hypotheses to unveil key processes behind these patterns. This paper aims to estimate the variability of the coral assemblage structure at different spatial scales in order to determine which scales explain the largest variability on β-diversity. For this, a fully-nested design including a series of hierarchical-random factors encompassing three spatial scales: (1) regions, (2) localities and (3) reefs sites across the Venezuelan territory. The variability among spatial scales was tested with a permutation-based analysis of variance (Permanova) based on Bray-Curtis index. Dispersion in species presence/absence across scales (i.e., β-diversity) was tested with a PermDisp analysis based on Jaccard’s index. We found the highest variability in the coral assemblage structure between sites within localities (Pseudo-F = 5.34; p-value = 0.001, CV = 35.10%). We also found that longitude (Canonical corr = 0.867, p = 0.001) is a better predictor of the coral assemblage structure in Venezuela, than latitude (Canonical corr = 0.552, p = 0.021). Largest changes in β-diversity of corals occurred within sites (F = 2.764, df1= 35, df2 = 107, p = 0.045) and within localities (F = 4.438, df1= 6, df2 = 29, p = 0.026). Our results suggest that processes operating at spatial scales of hundreds of meters and hundreds of kilometers might both be critical to shape coral assemblage structure in Venezuela, whereas smaller scales (i.e., hundreds of meters) showed to be highly- important for the species turnover component of β-diversity. This result highlights the importance of creating scale-adapted management actions in Venezuela and likely across the Caribbean region.

scholarly journals The many forms of beta diversity: a comment on McGill et al. and some notational suggestions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Jeppsson
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Temporal Trend ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Biodiversity Change ◽  
The Many

Fundamentally, beta diversity is a measure of species turnover across time or space. In practice, it is sometimes unclear exactly what aspect of beta diversity that is implied in studies. For instance, a trend in ’spatial beta diversity’ can be used to refer to both differences in spatial beta diversity between sites, as well as a temporal trend in spatial beta diversity (at the same site). In a recent review, McGill et al. [1] provide a useful and much needed overview of different aspects of biodiversity change, and show areas where we lack knowledge. Even so, McGill et al. ignore some aspects of beta diversity and sometimes pool different types of beta diversity under the same heading. However, their review mainly focused on temporal trends in diversity, while I here want to highlight spatial patterns in temporal β -diversity (species turnover) as an important but somewhat overlooked component of biodiversity change. Furthermore, I propose a slightly modified classification and nomenclature of metrics of biodiversity change, with the aim of complementing their review. The notation used here can hopefully be useful to other authors as well.

Spatial variability and human disturbance of sponge assemblages associated with mangrove roots in the southern Caribbean

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edlin Guerra-Castro ◽  
Paula Young ◽  
Adriana Pérez-Vázquez ◽  
Sophie Carteron ◽  
Adriana Alvizu
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Southern Caribbean ◽  
Mangrove Roots

Assemblages growing on Caribbean red-mangrove roots are very diverse and characteristically dominated by sponges. The scales of spatial variation of this fauna in the Caribbean region have not been hierarchically quantified, although such information is necessary to understand the relative importance of ecological processes and possible responses to anthropogenic disturbances. We used a hierarchical nested design to identify patterns of spatial variability at different scales, namely among roots, sites, localities and regions within the southern Caribbean. Simultaneously, the sampling considered the relative distance from sources of human disturbance to test the null hypothesis of no difference in sponge diversity among localities as a result of anthropogenic stress. Significant spatial variability in species composition was detected at all spatial scales, especially at the among-root scale. However, there were no differences associated with distance from human disturbance. These results indicate high regional and local β diversity, and also suggest that results from small-scale experiments cannot be scaled up to the entire community. Further, spatial analysis of sponge assemblages is not enough to detect deleterious effects of human disturbances on mangrove areas.

Ecological boundaries in estuaries: macrobenthic β-diversity in the Río de la Plata system (34–36°S)

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Giberto ◽  
C.S. Bremec ◽  
A. Cortelezzi ◽  
A. Rodrigues Capitulo ◽  
A. Brazeiro
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Rio De La Plata ◽  
Río De La Plata ◽  
La Plata ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Ecological Boundaries ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

In this study, we analyse spatial patterns of macrobenthic communities of the Río de la Plata system, and assess the species turnover or beta diversity and its relationship with environmental gradients. Macrobenthic samples and physico-chemical parameters were collected from 20 sampling sites along a transect of 560 km, including the freshwater (FW), estuarine (ES) and marine (MA) sectors. Three main assemblages corresponding to the above mentioned sectors were defined with multivariate analysis (cluster, MDS). In total 134 taxa were recorded, 81 in MA, 33 in FW and 38 in ES, represented mainly by polychaete, mollusc and crustacean species. Depth, salinity and %clay showed the strongest correlation with the observed faunal patterns (ρw=0.62; BIO-ENV analysis). Beta diversity varied between dominant taxonomic groups and was positively correlated with changes in salinity. The high variability in the composition of assemblages was reflected in beta diversity, reaching its highest values at the boundaries between the defined sectors. This study suggests that beta diversity represents a useful tool to define ecological boundaries for benthic communities in the Río de la Plata.

scholarly journals Species turnover drives β-diversity patterns across multiple spatial scales of plant-galling interactions in mountaintop grasslands

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. e0195565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Serra Coelho ◽  
Marco Antônio Alves Carneiro ◽  
Cristina Alves Branco ◽  
Rafael Augusto Xavier Borges ◽  
Geraldo Wilson Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Diversity Patterns ◽  
Multiple Spatial Scales ◽  
Β Diversity

scholarly journals Environmental DNA reveals the fine-grained and hierarchical spatial structure of kelp forest fish communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Lamy ◽  
Kathleen J. Pitz ◽  
Francisco P. Chavez ◽  
Christie E. Yorke ◽  
Robert J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Kelp Forest ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Underwater Visual Census ◽  
Rocky Reefs

AbstractBiodiversity is changing at an accelerating rate at both local and regional scales. Beta diversity, which quantifies species turnover between these two scales, is emerging as a key driver of ecosystem function that can inform spatial conservation. Yet measuring biodiversity remains a major challenge, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Decoding environmental DNA (eDNA) left behind by organisms offers the possibility of detecting species sans direct observation, a Rosetta Stone for biodiversity. While eDNA has proven useful to illuminate diversity in aquatic ecosystems, its utility for measuring beta diversity over spatial scales small enough to be relevant to conservation purposes is poorly known. Here we tested how eDNA performs relative to underwater visual census (UVC) to evaluate beta diversity of marine communities. We paired UVC with 12S eDNA metabarcoding and used a spatially structured hierarchical sampling design to assess key spatial metrics of fish communities on temperate rocky reefs in southern California. eDNA provided a more-detailed picture of the main sources of spatial variation in both taxonomic richness and community turnover, which primarily arose due to strong species filtering within and among rocky reefs. As expected, eDNA detected more taxa at the regional scale (69 vs. 38) which accumulated quickly with space and plateaued at only ~ 11 samples. Conversely, the discovery rate of new taxa was slower with no sign of saturation for UVC. Based on historical records in the region (2000–2018) we found that 6.9 times more UVC samples would be required to detect 50 taxa compared to eDNA. Our results show that eDNA metabarcoding can outperform diver counts to capture the spatial patterns in biodiversity at fine scales with less field effort and more power than traditional methods, supporting the notion that eDNA is a critical scientific tool for detecting biodiversity changes in aquatic ecosystems.

scholarly journals The importance of taxonomic resolution for additive beta diversity as revealed through DNA barcoding

Genome ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 1130-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor T. Bringloe ◽  
Karl Cottenie ◽  
Gillian K. Martin ◽  
Sarah J. Adamowicz
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Diversity Partitioning ◽  
Spatial Design ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Caddisfly Larvae ◽  
Additive Measures

Additive diversity partitioning (α, β, and γ) is commonly used to study the distribution of species-level diversity across spatial scales. Here, we first investigate whether published studies of additive diversity partitioning show signs of difficulty attaining species-level resolution due to inherent limitations with morphological identifications. Second, we present a DNA barcoding approach to delineate specimens of stream caddisfly larvae (order Trichoptera) and consider the importance of taxonomic resolution on classical (additive) measures of beta (β) diversity. Caddisfly larvae were sampled using a hierarchical spatial design in two regions (subarctic Churchill, Manitoba, Canada; temperate Pennsylvania, USA) and then additively partitioned according to Barcode Index Numbers (molecular clusters that serve as a proxy for species), genus, and family levels; diversity components were expressed as proportional species turnover. We screened 114 articles of additive diversity partitioning and found that a third reported difficulties with achieving species-level identifications, with a clear taxonomic tendency towards challenges identifying invertebrate taxa. Regarding our own study, caddisfly BINs appeared to show greater subregional turnover (e.g., proportional additive β) compared to genus or family levels. Diversity component studies failing to achieve species resolution due to morphological identifications may therefore be underestimating diversity turnover at larger spatial scales.

Partitioning beta diversity to unravel mechanisms underlying the distributions of nonvolant small mammls in Brazil’s Cerrado

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Ribeiro ◽  
Robert E Ricklefs ◽  
Jader Marinho-Filho
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Habitat Specificity ◽  
Species Sorting ◽  
Cerrado Biome

Abstract Species distributions and the mechanisms that produce patterns in the occupation space are recurrent themes in community ecology. Here, we examine beta diversity among assemblages of small mammals in the Cerrado domain of Brazil to partition the effects of turnover and nestedness on species distributions. Our objective was to evaluate whether balanced spatial variation in abundance (β bal) and abundance gradients (β gra) are congruent within and among habitats and localities of the Brazilian Cerrado. In addition, we wanted to understand whether ecological mechanisms, such as dispersal limitation, habitat filtering, and species sorting, drive the distribution patterns of the Cerrado small mammals. We analyzed the occurrence and abundances of small mammals from 16 localities widely distributed across the Cerrado biome, and grouped our data with respect to two distinct spatial scales. Baselga’s Bray–Curtis index of dissimilarity and its respective partitions, i.e., balanced variation in abundance (β bal) and abundance gradients (β gra), were estimated between sampling units at the two spatial scales. Thus, we used exponential models to search for distance decay in species similarity between pairs of localities and between similar habitats. Our results show that differences between small mammal assemblages in the Cerrado are driven mainly by species replacement rather than independent gain or loss of species, both at small and large scales. The spatial turnover patterns of small mammals in the Cerrado biome are determined by a combination of large scale (biogeographic, spatial) and local mechanisms (low dispersal and habitat specificity). However, processes occurring at small scales seem to be more important in species sorting than processes occurring at large scales. The spatial configuration of the landscape and the extent and quality of habitats strongly influence the rate of species turnover in Cerrado. Thus, protecting the different types of habitats should be of prime importance to conserving the diversity of Cerrado small mammals.

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