Species–area relationships explained by the joint effects of dispersal limitation and habitat heterogeneity

Abstract

Species-area relationships (SARs) characterize the spatial distribution of species diversity in community ecology, but the biological mechanisms underlying the SARs have not been fully explored. Here, we examined the roles of dispersal limitation and habitat heterogeneity in shaping SARs in two large-scale forest plots. One is a 24-ha subtropical forest in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, China. The other is a 50-ha tropical rain forest in Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Spatial point pattern models were applied to investigate the contributions of dispersal and habitat heterogeneity and their interactions to the formation of the SARs in the two sites. The results showed that, although dispersal and habitat heterogeneity each could significantly contribute to the SARs, each alone was insufficient to explain the SARs. Their joint effects sufficiently explained the real SARs, suggesting that heterogeneous habitat and dispersal limitation are two predominant mechanisms for maintaining the spatial distributions of the species in these two forests. These results add to our understanding of the ecological processes underlying the spatial variation of SARs in natural forest communities.

Relationships Between Plant Species Richness and Environmental Factors in Nature Reserves at Different Spatial Scales

“…Species richness of all the groups were strongly associated with the area of nature reserves in a temperate region, which is consistent with the results of Zhang et al [12] and Novaglio et al [13]. Larger areas encompass more diverse habitats [11] and thus promote higher diversity. We also found that nature reserve area was the most dominant factor affecting species richness in the studied nature reserves across the temperate region of China (Shandong Province).…”

Effecten van gebiedsgrootte op de kwaliteitsbeoordeling van Natuurgebieden : evaluatie begrenzing van beoordelingsgebieden volgens de Werkwijze Monitoring en Beoordeling van het Natuurnetwerk

“…We verwachten een verzadigingsverband tussen het oppervlak van een beheertype binnen een beoordelingsgebied en het aantal kwalificerende soorten (Shen et al 2009). Als het oppervlak nul is, vinden we geen soorten en als we grotere oppervlak bemonsteren, zullen we steeds meer soorten vinden.…”

Species-area relationship within and across functional groups at alpine grasslands on the northern Tibetan Plateau, China

“…However, together, these factors may be sufficient to describe SAR (Shen et al 2009). Functional traits are related to plant growth, reproduction and survival; therefore, to some extent, they can reflect environmental filtration, biotic interactions and plant adaptation strategies (Stegen and Swenson 2009;Cadotte et al 2013).…”