Increasing density of rare species of intertidal gastropods: tests of competitive ability compared with common species

Matias, Miguel G.; Chapman, M. G.; Underwood, A. J.; O’Connor, Nessa E.

doi:10.3354/meps09639

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In this study host identity and spatial variation did not explain all variation detected in the taxonomic composition of faunal assemblages, suggesting the influence of other unquantified factors. These merit further research, and are likely to include biotic processes such as predation (Coull and Wells 1983;Worthington and Fairweather 1989;Hayakawa et al 2012) and competition (Matias et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coralline turf-associated fauna are affected more by spatial variability than by host species identity

2014

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We examined the effects of host species identity and spatial variability on animals inhabiting subtidal coralline algal turfs, by comparing the assemblages of small (1-8 mm) mobile invertebrates associated with five coralline turf species across a number of subtidal rocky reefs in northeastern New Zealand. Coralline turf fauna were abundant (average of 16,000 to 80,000 ind.m −2 ) and diverse (129 taxa in total), with assemblages dominated by arthropods, gastropods and polychaetes. Despite substantial differences in the morphologies of the coralline turf species, host identity had little effect on total abundance and richness of the fauna, and a moderate effect on taxonomic composition. Spatial variation at the scale of 10 2 -10 3 m had a stronger influence than host identity on all three assemblage-level properties, with wave exposure and depth having the most explanatory power of the environmental factors measured. Host-specificity was low, probably due to the close taxonomic relatedness of the host algal species and their inedibility (with consequent lack of dietary specialisation by fauna). For our study system, the results justify the common practice of lumping coralline turf species in ecological studies with regard to the description of the total abundance and richness of the associated fauna, but not the taxonomic composition of the fauna.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coralline turf-associated fauna are affected more by spatial variability than by host species identity

2014

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“…We might therefore hypothesize that common species, having apparently stronger relationships with simple environmental variables, might lean towards being environmental generalists, additionally supported by their very commonness. These and other studies (Kunin & Gaston, ; Bevill & Louda, ; Matias et al ., ), have suggested that the environmental requirements of rare species may be more idiosyncratic, and therefore harder to predict.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between‐taxon matching of common and rare species richness patterns

Reddin

Bothwell

Lennon

2015

Global Ecology and Biogeography

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Aim Our primary aim is to understand how assemblages of rare (restricted range) and common (widespread) species are correlated with each other among different taxa. We tested the proposition that marine species richness patterns of rare and common species differ, both within a taxon in their contribution to the richness pattern of the full assemblage and among taxa in the strength of their correlations with each other. Location The UK intertidal zone. Methods We used high‐resolution marine datasets for UK intertidal macroalgae, molluscs and crustaceans each with more than 400 species. We estimated the relative contribution of rare and common species, treating rarity and commonness as a continuous spectrum, to spatial patterns in richness using spatial cross‐correlations. Correlation strength and significance was estimated both within and between taxa. Results Common species drove richness patterns within taxa, but rare species contributed more when species were placed on an equal footing via scaling by binomial variance. Between taxa, relatively small sub‐assemblages (fewer than 60 species) of common species produced the maximum correlation with each other, regardless of taxon pairing. Cross‐correlations between rare species were generally weak, with maximum correlation occurring between small sub‐assemblages in only one case. Cross‐correlations between common and rare species of different taxa were consistently weak or absent. Main conclusions Common species in the three marine assemblages were congruent in their richness patterns, but rare species were generally not. The contrast between the stronger correlations among common species and the weak or absent correlations among rare species indicates a decoupling of the processes driving common and rare species richness patterns. The internal structure of richness patterns of these marine taxa is similar to that observed for terrestrial taxa.

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“…In line with [33], we defined species as rare if they had less than 1 per cent of the total number of individuals overall. This gave 20 common species and 145 rare species and coincided with an inflection point in the rank abundance plot of the assemblage (figure 2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local and regional rarity in a diverse tropical fish assemblage

et al. 2013

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Because most species in an ecological assemblage are rare, much of the species richness we value is due to taxa with few individuals or a restricted distribution. It has been apparent since the time of ecological pioneers such as Bates and Darwin that tropical systems have disproportionately large numbers of rare species, yet the distribution and abundance patterns of these species remain largely unknown. Here, we examine the diversity of freshwater fish in a series of lakes in the Amazonian várzea, and relate relative abundance, both as numbers of individuals and as biomass, to the occurrence of species in space and time. We find a bimodal relationship of occurrence that distinguishes temporally and spatially persistent species from those that are infrequent in both space and time. Logistic regression reveals that information on occurrence helps distinguish those species that are rare in this locality but abundant elsewhere, from those that are rare throughout the region. These results form a link between different approaches used to evaluate commonness and rarity. In doing so, they provide a tool for identifying species of high conservation priority in poorly documented but species rich localities.

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Increasing density of rare species of intertidal gastropods: tests of competitive ability compared with common species

Cited by 16 publications

References 39 publications

Coralline turf-associated fauna are affected more by spatial variability than by host species identity

Coralline turf-associated fauna are affected more by spatial variability than by host species identity

Between‐taxon matching of common and rare species richness patterns

Local and regional rarity in a diverse tropical fish assemblage

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