Abstract
Understanding the factors shaping biological communities is crucial for biodiversity conservation and maintaining ecosystem functions. Recent data suggest that decoupling spatial autocorrelation of diversity into its positive and negative components can unveil previously undetected community assembly processes, enhancing our comprehension of their impact on diversity facets. However, previous applications of such approaches had focused on a few assembly drivers and limited diversity components. In this study, we explore how various ecological factors (e.g., wetland connectivity and size, species co-occurrence, and environmental variability) influence spatial autocorrelation patterns in multiple aspects of diversity, including richness, dominance, evenness, and beta-diversity. To achieve this, we analyze plant diversity in 21 high Andean wetlands across a significant aridity gradient. By integrating autocorrelation analyses with partial least squares structural equation modeling, we recognized two groups of community parameters with divergent spatial patterns. The first group demonstrates increased positive spatial autocorrelations in response to environmental variation and wetland connectivity effects; this group included richness and dominance-related parameters. In contrast, the second group, comprising evenness-related parameters, exhibits increased negative spatial autocorrelation driven by species co-occurrence effects. These findings provide new insights into ecological processes influencing species assemblages and clarify the information captured by traditional taxonomic parameters. They offer the potential for targeted conservation and restoration efforts by advocating measures at local or landscape scales.
Presenters
Adriana Lozada PiñaPostdoctoral Researcher, Biology, Universidad de La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile Angéline Bertin
Associate professor, Biology, Universidad de La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
HIGH ANDEAN WETLANDS, SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION, DIVERSITY INDICES, ASSEMBLY PROCESS
