Species niches, not traits, determine abundance and occupancy patterns: A multi-site synthesis

Author(s):Show less -

Marino, Nicholas A. C. ^{[1, 2]} ; Cereghino, Regis ^[3] ; Gilbert, Benjamin ^[4] ; Petermann, Jana S. ^{[5, 6]} ; Srivastava, Diane S. ^{[7, 8]} ; de Omena, Paula M. ^[9] ; Bautista, Fabiola Ospina ^{[10, 11]} ; Guzman, Laura Melissa ^[5] ; Romero, Gustavo Q. ^[9] ; Trzcinski, M. Kurtis ^[12] ; Barberis, Ignacio M. ^[13] ; Corbara, Bruno ^[14] ; Debastiani, Vanderlei J. ^{[15, 16]} ; Dezerald, Olivier ^[17] ; Kratina, Pavel ^[18] ; Leroy, Celine ^{[19, 20]} ; MacDonald, Arthur Andrew M. ^{[3, 21]} ; Montero, Guillermo ^[22] ; Pillar, Valerio D. ^{[15, 16]} ; Richardson, Barbara A. ^[23] ; Richardson, Michael J. ^[23] ; Talaga, Stanislas ^[24] ; Goncalves, Ana Z. ^[25] ; Piccoli, Gustavo C. O. ^[26] ; Jocque, Merlijn ^[27] ; Farjalla, Vinicius F. ^[1]

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Univ Fed Rio De Janeiro, Inst Biol, Dept Ecol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Rio De Janeiro, Programa Posgrad Ecol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil

^[3] Univ Toulouse, CNRS, ECOLAB, Toulouse - France

^[4] Univ Toronto, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Toronto, ON - Canada

^[5] Univ Salzburg, Dept Biosci, Salzburg - Austria

^[6] Berlin Brandenburg Inst Adv Biodivers Res, Berlin - Germany

^[7] Univ British Columbia, Dept Zool, Vancouver, BC - Canada

^[8] Univ British Columbia, Biodivers Res Ctr, Vancouver, BC - Canada

^[9] Univ Estadual Campinas UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Interacoes Multitrof & Biodiversidade, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[10] Univ Andes, Dept Biol Sci, Bogota - Colombia

^[11] Univ Caldas, Dept Ciencias Biol, Caldas - Colombia

^[12] Univ British Columbia, Dept Forest & Conservat Sci, Vancouver, BC - Canada

^[13] Univ Nacl Rosario, CONICET, Inst Invest Ciencias Agr Rosario, Fac Ciencias Agr, Zavalla - Argentina

^[14] Univ Clermont Auvergne, Lab Microorganismes Genome & Environm, Aubiere - France

^[15] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Ecol, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[16] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Programa Posgrad Ecol, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[17] INRA, UMR ESE, Ecol & Ecosyst Hlth, Rennes - France

^[18] Queen Mary Univ London, Sch Biol & Chem Sci, London - England

^[19] Univ Montpellier, AMAP, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier - France

^[20] Univ Antilles, Univ Guyane, EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Kourou - France

^[21] Ctr Synth & Anal Biodivers CESAB FRB, Aix En Provence - France

^[22] Univ Nacl Rosario, Fac Ciencias Agr, Zavalla - Argentina

^[23] Univ Puerto Rico Rio Piedras, Coll Nat Sci, Inst Trop Ecosyst Studies, Luquillo LTER, San Juan, PR 00931 - USA

^[24] Inst Pasteur Guyane, Unite Entomol Med, Cayenne - France

^[25] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Bot, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[26] Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool & Bot, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[27] Royal Belgian Inst Nat Sci, Aquat & Terr Ecol, Brussels - Belgium

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY; v. 29, n. 2 NOV 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Aim Locally abundant species are usually widespread, and this pattern has been related to properties of the niches and traits of species. However, such explanations fail to account for the potential of traits to determine species niches and often overlook statistical artefacts. Here, we examine how trait distinctiveness determines the abilities of species to exploit either common habitats (niche position) or a range of habitats (niche breadth) and how niche position and breadth, in turn, affect abundance and occupancy. We also examine how statistical artefacts moderate these relationships. Location Sixteen sites in the Neotropics. Time period 1993-2014. Major taxa studied Aquatic invertebrates from tank bromeliads. Methods We measured the environmental niche position and breadth of each species and calculated its trait distinctiveness as the average trait difference from all other species at each site. Then, we used a combination of structural equation models and a meta-analytical approach to test trait-niche relationships and a null model to control for statistical artefacts. Results The trait distinctiveness of each species was unrelated to its niche properties, abundance and occupancy. In contrast, niche position was the main predictor of abundance and occupancy; species that used the most common environmental conditions found across bromeliads were locally abundant and widespread. Contributions of niche breadth to such patterns were attributable to statistical artefacts, indicating that effects of niche breadth might have been overestimated in previous studies. Main conclusions Our study reveals the generality of niche position in explaining one of the most common ecological patterns. The robustness of this result is underscored by the geographical extent of our study and our control of statistical artefacts. We call for a similar examination across other systems, which is an essential task to understand the drivers of commonness across the tree of life. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/09699-5 - Nitrogen metabolism and its interaction with the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in Guzmania monostachia (Bromeliaceae): a physiological and molecular approach
• Grantee: Ana Zangirólame Gonçalves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/01209-9 - Effects of climate change on the structure of food webs in latitudinal gradients
• Grantee: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• FAPESP's process: 14/04603-4 - Global warming effects on the trophic structure and ecosystem functioning in tank-bromeliads
• Grantee: Pablo Augusto Poleto Antiqueira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate