J 2010

Deterministic assembly of land snail communities according to species size and diet

SCHAMP, Brandon, Michal HORSÁK and Michal HÁJEK

Basic information

Original name

Deterministic assembly of land snail communities according to species size and diet

Authors

SCHAMP, Brandon (124 Canada), Michal HORSÁK (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution) and Michal HÁJEK (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Journal of Animal Ecology, 2010, 0021-8790

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10600 1.6 Biological sciences

Country of publisher

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Impact factor

Impact factor: 4.457

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/10:00040539

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

UT WoS

000278399300009

Keywords in English

body size; community assembly; conductivity; diet; environmental filtering; limiting similarity; pH; trait convergence; trait dispersion; trait divergence
Změněno: 25/10/2012 18:21, prof. RNDr. Michal Horsák, Ph.D.

Abstract

V originále

We investigated whether coexisting snail species in 145 treeless fen communities in the Western Carpathian Mountains differed more in size and diet than would be expected by chance, as predicted for traits commonly associated with competition and differential resource acquisition under limiting similarity theory. Contrary to expectations, coexisting snail species were no more different in body size than expected by chance under a null model. However, variation in body size played a significant role in structuring snail communities: coexisting snail species were significantly more similar with respect to body size. We developed two new test statistics to expand our investigation of limiting similarity to include diet, a nominal trait. We tested whether communities of snails were characterized by a greater richness of diet, and whether different diets were represented more or less evenly within communities. Communities of snails were significantly less evenly distributed than expected by chance, with detritivores being over-represented relative to predatory strategies. We also examined the effect of water pH and conductivity, herbaceous cover, and bryophyte and vascular plant richness, on these trends by examining how the effect size of our tests varied across these gradients. Convergence in species size increased with increasing habitat pH. Specifically, smaller snail species were over-represented in fen communities in general, and this effect was accentuated in increasingly calcareous fens. Theory predicts that traits related strongly to environmental conditions are more likely to be convergent. Our findings support this suggestion, as small snail species have an advantage in tolerating freezing conditions over winter when refuges are limited. These results add to the growing body of literature demonstrating that variation in body size and diet play a strong roll in structuring communities, although frequently in ways not predicted by limiting similarity theory. Finally, our results increase our understanding of how species are assembled non-randomly into communities with respect to important traits.

Links

KJB601630803, research and development project
Name: Původ a vývoj vápnitých slatinišť a jejich bioty v Západních Karpatech: Otázka glaciálních reliktů a refugií
Investor: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Origin and development of the Western Carpathian calcareous-fens and their biota: the question of glacial relicts and refuges
MSM0021622416, plan (intention)
Name: Diverzita biotických společenstev a populací: kauzální analýza variability v prostoru a čase
Investor: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR, Diversity of Biotic Communities and Populations: Causal Analysis of variation in space and time