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Habitat filtering and inferred dispersal ability condition across‐scale species turnover and rarity in Macaronesian island spider assemblages
Author(s) -
MalumbresOlarte Jagoba,
Rigal François,
Girardello Marco,
Cardoso Pedro,
Crespo Luís Carlos,
Amorim Isabel R.,
Arnedo Miquel,
Boieiro Mário,
Carvalho José Carlos,
Carvalho Rui,
Gabriel Rosalina,
LamelasLopez Lucas,
López Heriberto,
Paulo Octávio S.,
Pereira Fernando,
PérezDelgado Antonio J.,
Rego Carla,
Romeiras Maria,
RosPrieto Alejandra,
Oromí Pedro,
Vieira Ana,
Emerson Brent C.,
Borges Paulo A. V.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1365-2699
pISSN - 0305-0270
DOI - 10.1111/jbi.14271
Subject(s) - habitat , ecology , biological dispersal , archipelago , beta diversity , insular biogeography , species richness , ballooning , biology , abundance (ecology) , alpha diversity , species diversity , biogeography , spider , geography , population , physics , demography , plasma , quantum mechanics , sociology , tokamak
Abstract Aim Habitat diversity has been linked to the diversity and structure of island communities, however, little is known about patterns and processes within habitats. Here we aim to determine the contributions of habitat type and inferred dispersal frequency to the differences in taxonomic structure between assemblages in the same island habitat. Location The Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde). Taxon Spiders (Araneae). Methods We established forest and dry habitat sites (each with five plots) on two islands per archipelago. We collected spiders using standardised sampling protocols. We tested the differences in beta diversity separately for each habitat and for each inferred category of ballooning (an aerial dispersal strategy) frequency across geographic scales through nested non‐parametric permutational multivariate analyses of variance. We then tested whether ballooning and habitat influenced heterogeneity in species composition (dispersion in beta diversity) in the two habitat types. We analysed the effects of habitat and ballooning on species abundance distribution (SAD) and rarity by fitting Gambin models and evaluating the contribution of ballooning categories to SAD. Results Communities of the same archipelago and habitat were taxonomically more similar, and beta diversity increased with geographic scale, being greater in dry habitats. There was greater species replacement among assemblages in dry habitats than in forests, with greater differences for rare ballooners. There were no differences in SAD between habitats although dry habitat sites seemed to harbour more species with low abundances (rare species) than forests. Main conclusions Habitat type does not only condition the differences between spider assemblages of the same habitat but also the scale at which they occur. These differences may be determined by the heterogeneity in the physical structure of each habitat as well as how much this structure facilitates aerial dispersal (ballooning), and should be considered in theories/hypotheses on island community assembly as well as in conservation strategies.