Novel Insights to Be Gained From Applying Metacommunity Theory to Long-Term, Spatially Replicated Biodiversity Data

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Aldo Compagnoni¹  Max C. N. Castorani²  Riley Andrade³  Eric R. Sokol⁵  Luca Marazzi⁶  Sydne Record⁷  Nathan I. Wisnoski⁸  Nicole M. Voelker⁹  Christopher Swan⁹  Phoebe L. Zarnetske^1,12  Nina Lany^1,12  Thomas Lamy^1,13  Jonathan D. Tonkin^1,14 

[1] 0German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany;1Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States;2School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States;3National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Battelle, Boulder, CO, United States;4Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States;Department of Biological Sciences, Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States;Department of Biology, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, United States;Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States;Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, United States;Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States;Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States;Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States;Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States;School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand;

关键词: LTER;    NCO;    synthesis;    metacommunity;    biodiversity;    spatio-temporal;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fevo.2020.612794

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Global loss of biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services is occurring at an alarming rate and is predicted to accelerate in the future. Metacommunity theory provides a framework to investigate multi-scale processes that drive change in biodiversity across space and time. Short-term ecological studies across space have progressed our understanding of biodiversity through a metacommunity lens, however, such snapshots in time have been limited in their ability to explain which processes, at which scales, generate observed spatial patterns. Temporal dynamics of metacommunities have been understudied, and large gaps in theory and empirical data have hindered progress in our understanding of underlying metacommunity processes that give rise to biodiversity patterns. Fortunately, we are at an important point in the history of ecology, where long-term studies with cross-scale spatial replication provide a means to gain a deeper understanding of the multiscale processes driving biodiversity patterns in time and space to inform metacommunity theory. The maturation of coordinated research and observation networks, such as the United States Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, provides an opportunity to advance explanation and prediction of biodiversity change with observational and experimental data at spatial and temporal scales greater than any single research group could accomplish. Synthesis of LTER network community datasets illustrates that long-term studies with spatial replication present an under-utilized resource for advancing spatio-temporal metacommunity research. We identify challenges towards synthesizing these data and present recommendations for addressing these challenges. We conclude with insights about how future monitoring efforts by coordinated research and observation networks could further the development of metacommunity theory and its applications aimed at improving conservation efforts.

【 授权许可】

Unknown