Author: Angelika L Kurthen,   (Oregon State University)

Description:
The role of connectivity and dispersal are fundamental to metacommunity structuring. However, their role in shaping high mountain stream metacommunities remains understudied. This study investigates metacommunity structuring of stream macroinvertebrates and diatoms on two aspects of Cangshan Mountain, Southwest China, with differing connectivity. On the west aspect, streams are tributaries of a river and on the east aspect, streams flow into a lake. We conducted an Elements of Metacommunity Structure analysis to determine the metacommunity structuresand performed Mantel and partial Mantel tests, examining relationships between community dissimilarities and physical (i.e. network, topographic, Euclidean) and environmental distances. Both macroinvertebrate and diatom communities exhibited turnover. The mantel tests indicated that physical distance and environmental factors jointly determined the metacommunity structure of diatom and macroinvertebrate communities on both aspects. However, the partial mantel tests suggested that physical distance structured the diatom metacommunity on the river-connected aspect more than environmental factors, while environmental factors more strongly influenced the diatom metacommunity on the lake-connected aspect. Both physical and environmental factors structured the macroinvertebrate metacommunity on either aspect. Understanding the mechanisms behind these patterns can provide conservation insights in high mountain areas in general, as well as in this region of high biodiversity, which is currently threatened by anthropogenic impacts.

Category: Scientific Program Abstract > Special Session > CS25 Community Ecology