Ecological niche features override biological traits and taxonomic relatedness as predictors of occupancy and abundance in lake littoral macroinvertebrates
Heino, J., & Tolonen, K. (2018). Ecological niche features override biological traits and taxonomic relatedness as predictors of occupancy and abundance in lake littoral macroinvertebrates. Ecography, 41(12), 2092-2103. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03968
Published in
EcographyDate
2018Copyright
© 2018 The Authors.
The degree to which species ecological and biological traits determine their distribution and abundance has intrigued ecologists for a long time, and it has seen a revival in recent years. This topic is important because it provides information about the determinants of species rarity and their conservation implications. We examined the effects of niche breadth, niche position, biological traits and taxonomic relatedness on the interspecific occupancy–abundance relationship, as well as on occupancy and abundance, in lake littoral macroinvertebrates. We sampled 48 lakes in a boreal lake district, found altogether 155 species, and calculated regional occupancy (as the proportion of sites occupied) and local abundance (as mean abundance at occupied sites) for each species. We determined niche position and niche breadth for each species using the outlying mean index analysis. Also, we calculated trait vectors and taxonomic vectors describing species trait similarity and taxonomic relatedness, respectively, using principal coordinates analysis. We found a strong positive occupancy–abundance relationship that was mostly explained by among‐species variation in niche position, followed by niche breadth. Instead, trait vectors and taxonomic vectors tended to be less important in affecting occupancy and abundance than the niche features. Our results strongly suggest that niche position, a measure of habitat availability for littoral macroinvertebrates, is the chief determinant of their occupancy and abundance. This finding has important implications for ecology and conservation of species, as species with marginal niche position, a reflection of low habitat availability, are both regionally rare and locally uncommon. Such species may face double jeopardy if environmental conditions change and affect their preferred marginal habitat types.
...
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.ISSN Search the Publication Forum
0906-7590Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/28013354
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Environmental filtering and spatial effects on metacommunity organisation differ among littoral macroinvertebrate groups deconstructed by biological traits
Tolonen, Kimmo; Cai, Yongjiu; Vilmi, Annika; Karjalainen, Satu Maaria; Sutela, Tapio; Heino, Jani (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2018)We examined spatial and environmental effects on the deconstructed assemblages of littoral macroinvertebrates within a large lake. We deconstructed assemblages by three biological trait groups: body size, dispersal mode ... -
Environmental drivers alter PUFA content in littoral macroinvertebrate assemblages via changes in richness and abundance
Strandberg, Ursula; Arhonditsis, George; Kesti, Petri; Vesterinen, Jussi; Vesamäki, Jussi S.; Taipale, Sami J.; Kankaala, Paula (Springer, 2023)Shallow littoral areas in lakes are productive and highly diverse ecotonal zones, providing habitats for both invertebrate and vertebrate species. We developed a Bayesian modeling framework to elucidate the relationships ... -
Environmental drivers of lake profundal macroinvertebrate community variation : implications for bioassessment
Jyväsjärvi, Jussi (University of Jyväskylä, 2011) -
Diet and trophic niche of the invasive signal crayfish in the first invaded Italian stream ecosystem
Ercoli, Fabio; Ghia, Daniela; Gruppuso, Laura; Fea, Gianluca; Bo, Tiziano; Ruokonen, Timo J. (Nature Publishing Group, 2021)The occurrence of the signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus in the Valla Stream was the first established population of this invasive species recorded in an Italian stream ecosystem. We evaluated the seasonality of diet ... -
Nutritional quality of littoral macroinvertebrates and pelagic zooplankton in subarctic lakes
Vesterinen, Jussi; Keva, Ossi; Kahilainen, Kimmo K.; Strandberg, Ursula; Hiltunen, Minna; Kankaala, Paula; Taipale, Sami J. (Wiley, 2021)Littoral benthic primary production is considered the most important energy source of consumers in subarctic lakes. We analyzed essential fatty acid (EFA) and amino acid (EAA) content of 23 littoral benthic macroinvertebrate ...