Differences in factors determining the taxon-based and trait-based community structures: a field test using zooplankton

Ecological community structure is determined by dispersal and environmental filters. Although it has traditionally been described in terms of taxonomic units, traits have recently been recognized as alternative units for the description of community structure. However, the relative importance of dispersal and environmental filters may differ between taxon-based and trait-based communities. For example, because species distributions have geographic ranges, taxon-based community structure may be more dispersal-limited, whereas trait-based community structure may be more regulated by environmental conditions because traits are less tied to specific habitat locations. However, no study has yet quantified how the contributions of the two filters differ for taxon- and trait-based community structure. In this study, therefore, we examined zooplankton assemblages in 87 artificial reservoirs throughout the Japanese archipelago to quantify the relative importance of two filters by examining the effects of spatial configuration (reflecting dispersal filters) and biotic and abiotic variables (reflecting environmental filters) on taxon- and trait-based community structure. The variation in taxon-based community structure was explained equally well by spatial and environmental variables. However, variation in trait-based community structure was explained more by environmental variables. These results show that the relative importance of spatial and environmental filters changes with the unit describing community structure.

Primary Presenter: Hiromichi Suzuki, Tohoku University (hiromichi.suzuki0611@gmail.com)

Authors:

Hiromichi Suzuki, Tohoku University  (hiromichi.suzuki0611@gmail.com)

Hidetake Ichiyanagi, Water Resources Environmental Center  (nagi@hb.tp1.jp)

Jamie Kass, Tohoku University  (kass@tohoku.ac.jp)

Jotaro Urabe, Tohoku University  (urabe@tohoku.ac.jp)