An empirical evaluation of four variants of a universal species–area relationship

McGlinn, Daniel J.; Xiao, Xiao; White, Ethan

doi:10.7717/peerj.212

Cited by 13 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The semi‐recursive predictions of METE have not been previously examined but this model builds directly on the existing theoretical derivations of the DDR by Harte () for HEAP. In Figs 1.1 & 1.2 in the Supporting Information we examine how the semi‐recursive formulation of METE differs from a previous examination of METE's recursive and non‐recursive SARs (McGlinn et al ., ), and in http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.12295/suppinfo we develop the analytical derivations of the semi‐recursive formulation of the DDR.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We build on the hypothesis of equal allocation probabilities (HEAP; Harte et al . 2005; Harte, ) using an approach that combines elements of both a non‐recursive and a recursive version of METE (McGlinn et al ., ). We test those predictions using data from 16 spatially explicit plant communities and compare the performance of METE with that of the classic random placement model (RPM) in which individuals are randomly placed on the landscape (Coleman, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…There is strong empirical support for the predictions of METE for the species abundance distribution (SAD) and patterns related to the spatial distribution of individuals and species (Harte et al ., , ; Harte, ; White et al ., ; McGlinn et al ., ; Xiao et al ., ; Newman et al ., ). Specifically, METE has been successful at predicting spatially implicit patterns of community structure such as the species spatial abundance distribution and the species–area relationship (SAR) (Harte et al ., , ; McGlinn et al ., ). It has even been proposed that the spatial predictions of METE yield a widely applicable universal SAR (Harte et al ., , ; but see Šizling et al ., , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the spatially explicit predictions of the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology

McGlinn

Xiao

Kitzes

et al. 2015

Global Ecology and Biogeography

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AimThe maximum entropy theory of ecology (METE) is a unified theory of biodiversity that attempts to simultaneously predict patterns of species abundance, size and spatial structure. The spatial predictions of this theory have repeatedly performed well at predicting diversity patterns across scales. However, the theoretical development and evaluation of METE has focused on predicting patterns that ignore intersite spatial correlations. As a result the theory has not been evaluated using one of the core components of spatial structure. We develop and test a semi-recursive version of the spatially explicit predictions of METE for the distance-decay relationship of community similarity and compare its performance with the classic random placement model of completely random species distributions. This provides a better understanding and stronger test of the spatial community predictions of METE.Location New World tropical and temperate plant communities. MethodsWe analytically derived and simulated the spatially explicit expectations of METE for the Sørensen index of community similarity. We then compared the distance-decay of community similarity of 16 mapped plant communities with METE and the random placement model. ResultsThe version of METE we examined was successful at capturing the general functional form of the observed distance-decay relationships, a negative power function relationship between community similarity and distance. However, the semi-recursive approach consistently predicted lower intercepts and higher slopes than observed in the empirical distance-decay relationships and yielded worse predictions than the random placement model. Main conclusionsOur results suggest that while the current spatial models of METE accurately predict the spatial scaling of species occupancy, and therefore core ecological patterns like the species-area relationship, its semi-recursive form does not accurately characterize spatially explicit patterns of correlation. More generally, this suggests that tests of spatial theories based only on the species-area relationship may appear to support the underlying theory despite significant deviations in important aspects of spatial structure.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the spatially explicit predictions of the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology

McGlinn

Xiao

Kitzes

et al. 2015

Global Ecology and Biogeography

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“…The iterative variant of this curve (Harte 2011;McGlinn et al 2013), which has successfully upscaled tree richness and has been applied to upscaling arthropod richness , was used here. This SAR is recursively calculated at successively larger doublings of area by solving the coupled equations The parameter x is an unknown constant, and /ðnÞ is the Lerch phi function.…”

Section: Species Affectedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…the appropriate functional form of the relationship, habitat geometry, complex patterns of habitat loss, and species overlap between multiple patches must be carefully considered (Ney-Nifle and Mangel 2000; He and Hubbell 2011;. Additionally, the most widely used equation for the SAR, a power law, has come under increasing criticism from several empirical and theoretical angles (Dengler 2009;McGlinn et al 2013), and more recently developed and better tested scaling theories have not yet been integrated into applied ecology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating biodiversity impacts without field surveys: A case study in northern Borneo

Kitzes

Shirley

2015

Ambio

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In many regions of the world, biodiversity surveys are not routinely conducted prior to activities that lead to land conversion, such as development projects. Here we use top-down methods based on global range maps and bottom-up methods based on macroecological scaling laws to illuminate the otherwise hidden biodiversity impacts of three large hydroelectric dams in the state of Sarawak in northern Borneo. Our retrospective impact assessment finds that the three reservoirs inundate habitat for 331 species of birds (3 million individuals) and 164 species of mammals (110 million individuals). A minimum of 2100 species of trees (900 million individuals) and 17 700 species of arthropods (34 billion individuals) are estimated to be affected by the dams. No extinctions of bird, mammal, or tree species are expected due to habitat loss following reservoir inundation, while 4-7 arthropod species extinctions are predicted. These assessment methods are applicable to any data-limited system undergoing land-use change.

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Disturbance macroecology: a comparative study of community structure metrics in a high‐severity disturbance regime

et al. 2020

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2020.Disturbance macroecology: a comparative study of community structure metrics in a high-severity disturbance regime.Abstract. Macroecological studies have established widespread patterns of species diversity and abundance in ecosystems but have generally restricted their scope to relatively steady-state systems. As a result, how macroecological metrics are expected to scale in ecosystems that experience natural disturbance regimes is unknown. We examine macroecological patterns in a fire-dependent forest of Bishop pine (Pinus muricata). We target two different-aged stands in a stand-replacing fire regime: a mature stand with a diverse understory and with no history of major disturbance for at least 40 yr, and one disturbed by a stand-replacing fire 17 yr prior to measurement. We compare properties of these stands with macroecological predictions from the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology (METE), an information entropy-based theory that has proven highly successful in predicting macroecological metrics in multiple ecosystems and taxa. Ecological patterns in the mature stand more closely match METE predictions than do data from the more recently disturbed, mid-seral stage stand. This suggests METE's predictions are more robust in latesuccessional, slowly changing, or steady-state systems than those in rapid flux with respect to species composition, abundances, and organisms' sizes. Our findings highlight the need for a macroecological theory that incorporates natural disturbance, perturbations, and ecological dynamics into its predictive capabilities, because most natural systems are not in a steady state.

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An empirical evaluation of four variants of a universal species–area relationship

Cited by 13 publications

References 42 publications

Exploring the spatially explicit predictions of the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology

Exploring the spatially explicit predictions of the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology

Estimating biodiversity impacts without field surveys: A case study in northern Borneo

Disturbance macroecology: a comparative study of community structure metrics in a high‐severity disturbance regime

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