Temporal heterogeneity increases with spatial heterogeneity in ecological communities

Scott L Collins; Meghan L Avolio; Corinna Gries; Lauren M Hallett; Sally E Koerner; Kimberly J La Pierre; Andrew L Rypel; Eric R Sokol; Samuel B Fey; Dan F B Flynn; Sydney K Jones; Laura M Ladwig; Julie Ripplinger; Matt B Jones

doi:10.1002/ecy.2154

Temporal heterogeneity increases with spatial heterogeneity in ecological communities

Ecology. 2018 Apr;99(4):858-865. doi: 10.1002/ecy.2154. Epub 2018 Feb 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, USA.
² Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA.
³ Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA.
⁴ Environmental Studies Program and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403, USA.
⁵ Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, 27402, USA.
⁶ Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, 21037, USA.
⁷ Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA.
⁸ National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, Colorado, 80301, USA.
⁹ Biology Department, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 97202, USA.
¹⁰ The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02130, USA.
¹¹ Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA.
¹² Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California, 92521, USA.
¹³ National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara, California, 93101, USA.

PMID: 29352480
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2154

Abstract

Heterogeneity is increasingly recognized as a foundational characteristic of ecological systems. Under global change, understanding temporal community heterogeneity is necessary for predicting the stability of ecosystem functions and services. Indeed, spatial heterogeneity is commonly used in alternative stable state theory as a predictor of temporal heterogeneity and therefore an early indicator of regime shifts. To evaluate whether spatial heterogeneity in species composition is predictive of temporal heterogeneity in ecological communities, we analyzed 68 community data sets spanning freshwater and terrestrial systems where measures of species abundance were replicated over space and time. Of the 68 data sets, 55 (81%) had a weak to strongly positive relationship between spatial and temporal heterogeneity, while in the remaining communities the relationship was weak to strongly negative (19%). Based on a mixed model analysis, we found a significant but weak overall positive relationship between spatial and temporal heterogeneity across all data sets combined, and within aquatic and terrestrial data sets separately. In addition, lifespan and successional stage were negatively and positively related to temporal heterogeneity, respectively. We conclude that spatial heterogeneity may be a predictor of temporal heterogeneity in ecological communities, and that this relationship may be a general property of many terrestrial and aquatic communities.

Keywords: CommDyn Database; community dynamics; freshwater ecosystems; heterogeneity; lifespan; species abundance; terrestrial ecosystems.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Biota
Ecosystem*
Fresh Water*