Abstract
The continuum hypothesis has been proposed as a means to reconcile the contradiction between the niche and neutral theories. While past research has shown that species richness affects the location of communities along the niche-neutrality continuum, there may be extrinsic forces at play as well. We used a spatially explicit continuum model to quantify the effects of environmental heterogeneity, comprising abundance distribution and spatial configuration of resources, on the degree of community neutrality. We found that both components of heterogeneityaffect the degree of community neutrality and that species' dispersal characteristics affect the neutrality-heterogeneity relationship. Narrower resource abundance distributions decrease neutrality, while spatial configuration, which is manifested by spatial aggregation of resources, decreases neutrality at higher aggregation levels. In general, the degree of community neutrality was affected by complex interactions among spatial configuration of resources, their abundance distributions and the dispersal characteristics of species in the community. Our results highlight the important yet overlooked role of the environment in dictating the location of communities along the hypothesized niche-neutrality continuum.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 20133249 |
Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Volume | 281 |
Issue number | 1783 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 26 Mar 2014 |
Keywords
- Continuum hypothesis
- Environmental heterogeneity
- Neutrality
- Niche
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Immunology and Microbiology
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Environmental Science
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences