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186

Spatial distribution of local patch extinctions drives recovery dynamics in metacommunitiesuse asterix (*) to get italics
Camille Saade, Sonia Kéfi, Claire Gougat-Barbera, Benjamin Rosenbaum, and Emanuel A. FronhoferPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"
2021
<p style="text-align: justify;">Human activities lead more and more to the disturbance of plant and animal communities with local extinctions as a consequence. While these negative effects are clearly visible at a local scale, it is less clear how such local patch extinctions affect regional processes, such as metacommunity dynamics and the distribution of diversity in space. Since local extinctions may not be isolated events in space but rather cluster together, it is crucial to investigate their effects in a spatially explicit framework.<br>Here, we use experimental microcosms and numerical simulations to understand the relationship between local patch extinctions and metacommunity dynamics. More specifically, we investigate the effects of the amount and spatial autocorrelation of extinctions in a full factorial design. Experimentally, we found that local patch extinctions increased inter-patch (β-) diversity by creating differences between perturbed and unperturbed patches and at the same time increased local (α-) diversity by delaying the competitive exclusion of inferior competitors. Most importantly, recolonization dynamics depended more strongly on the spatial distribution of patch extinctions than on the amount of extinctions per se. Clustered local patch extinctions reduced mixing between perturbed and unperturbed patches which led to slower recovery, lower α-diversity in unperturbed patches and higher β-diversity. Results from a metacommunity model matched the experimental observations qualitatively when the model included ranked competitive interactions, giving a hint at the underlying mechanisms.<br>Our results highlight that local patch extinctions can increase the diversity within and between communities, that the strength of these effects depends on the spatial distribution of extinctions and that the effects of local patch extinctions can spread regionally, throughout a landscape. These findings are highly relevant for conservation and management of spatially structured communities under global change.</p>
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4660016You should fill this box only if you chose 'All or part of the results presented in this preprint are based on data'. URL must start with http:// or https://
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disturbance, spatial autocorrelation, Moran effect, microcosm, protist, theory
NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).
Biodiversity, Coexistence, Colonization, Community ecology, Competition, Dispersal & Migration, Experimental ecology, Landscape ecology, Spatial ecology, Metacommunities & Metapopulations
No need for them to be recommenders of PCIEcology. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct
e.g. John Doe [john@doe.com]
2020-12-08 15:55:20
Elodie Vercken