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Beta diversity can be portioned into local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD), which represents the degree of community composition uniqueness of a site compared to regionally sampled sites. LCBD can fluctuate among seasons and ecoregions according to site characteristics, species dispersal abilities, and biotic interactions. In this context, we examined anuran seasonal patterns of LCBD in different ecoregions of Western Brazil, and assessed their correlation with species richness and if environmental (climatic variables, pond area and ecoregions) and/or spatial predictors (spatial configuration of sampling sites captured by distance-based Moran's Eigenvector Maps) would drive patterns of LCBD. We sampled anurans in 19 ponds in different ecoregions in the Mato Grosso do Sul state, Western Brazil, during one dry and one rainy season. We found that LCBD patterns were similar between seasons with sites tending to contribute in the same way for community composition uniqueness during the dry and rainy season. Among studied ecoregions, Cerrado showed higher LCBD values in both seasons. In addition, LCBD was negatively correlated with species richness in the dry season. We also found that LCBD variation was explained by ecoregion in the dry season, but in the rainy season both environmental and spatial global models were non-significant. Our results reinforce the compositional uniqueness of the Cerrado ecoregion when compared to the other ecoregions in both seasons, which may be caused by the presence of species with different requirements that tolerate different conditions caused by seasonality.
Beta diversity can be portioned into local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD), which represents the degree of community composition uniqueness of a site compared to regionally sampled sites. LCBD can fluctuate among seasons and ecoregions according to site characteristics, species dispersal abilities, and biotic interactions. In this context, we examined anuran seasonal patterns of LCBD in different ecoregions of Western Brazil, and assessed their correlation with species richness and if environmental (climatic variables, pond area and ecoregions) and/or spatial predictors (spatial configuration of sampling sites captured by distance-based Moran's Eigenvector Maps) would drive patterns of LCBD. We sampled anurans in 19 ponds in different ecoregions in the Mato Grosso do Sul state, Western Brazil, during one dry and one rainy season. We found that LCBD patterns were similar between seasons with sites tending to contribute in the same way for community composition uniqueness during the dry and rainy season. Among studied ecoregions, Cerrado showed higher LCBD values in both seasons. In addition, LCBD was negatively correlated with species richness in the dry season. We also found that LCBD variation was explained by ecoregion in the dry season, but in the rainy season both environmental and spatial global models were non-significant. Our results reinforce the compositional uniqueness of the Cerrado ecoregion when compared to the other ecoregions in both seasons, which may be caused by the presence of species with different requirements that tolerate different conditions caused by seasonality.
Temporary streams are affected by increasing human alterations, and this situation is expected to worsen under global change. Understanding biodiversity trends and the contribution of sites and species to β‐diversity is of high importance in establishing conservation priorities at a regional scale. This paper focuses on aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity in temporary streams on the island of Mallorca, using a space–time framework. Differences in α‐diversity, spatial–temporal fluctuations of β‐diversity, local contribution to β‐diversity (LCBD) and species contribution to β‐diversity (SCBD) were examined. Data analysis shows that only the space–time approach to β‐diversity can capture the full variation of macroinvertebrate composition in temporary streams. This confirmed our hypothesis that β‐diversity patterns are better explained by incorporating the temporal dimension to the space–time approach. Regarding β‐diversity components, species replacement components always dominate over richness difference. These results imply that β‐diversity variability is mainly caused by differences in species composition, while the relative difference in richness among sites has a minor role. Consequently, the optimal conservation strategy requires the protection of several undisturbed sites. Although the LCBD analysis did not detect any keystone sites, it helped to identify those sites that should be prioritized for restoration efforts (sites with high LCBD values and low α‐diversity). We also concluded that SCBD analysis should be interpreted carefully, as rare endemic species had low SCBD values. This study demonstrated the need for incorporating temporal variability in the analysis of biodiversity patterns in highly dynamic ecosystems, such as temporary streams. It also revealed the urgency of preserving a spatial network of temporary streams under non‐impaired conditions that can act as dispersal point sources to other streams for biodiversity conservation. These insights are relevant for Mallorca and other Mediterranean islands, and for the protection of temporary rivers elsewhere.
In Mediterranean climate regions, intermittent rivers (IRs) harbor highly dynamic communities with species and trait composition changing over time and space. Simultaneously considering multiple biodiversity facets and a spatiotemporal perspective is, therefore, key to developing effective conservation strategies for these ecosystems. We studied the spatiotemporal dynamics of aquatic macroinvertebrates in rivers of the western Mediterranean Basin by analysing (1) the taxonomic and functional richness and the local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD; measured considering taxonomic and functional facets) of perennial rivers and IRs over five sampling times, and (2) their relation with flow intermittence, local environmental uniqueness, and the number of anthropogenic impacts. Both analyses were also conducted for the subset of data including only IRs to compare values between their flowing and disconnected pool phases. According to our results, taxonomic and functional richness tended to be higher in perennial rivers than in IRs, while taxonomic and functional LCBD tended to be higher in IRs than in perennial rivers. When comparing IR sites over time, higher values of taxonomic and functional LCBD corresponded mostly to their disconnected pool phase. Flow intermittence, the number of anthropogenic impacts and the environmental uniqueness were significant predictors of taxonomic and functional richness, but only flow intermittence was an important predictor of taxonomic LCBD. For the IR-only data subset, disconnected pool permanence was the main predictor explaining spatiotemporal patterns. Our results highlight the importance of IRs to biodiversity conservation of Mediterranean climate rivers, especially during the disconnected pool phase, suggesting that these ecosystems cannot be ignored in conservation planning strategies.
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