Impacts of habitat connectivity on grassland arthropod metacommunity structure: A field-based experimental test of theory.

ABSTRACT: Metacommunity theory has advanced scientific understanding of how species interactions and spatial processes influence patterns of biodiversity and community structure across landscapes. While the central tenets of metacommunity theory have been promoted as pivotal considerations for conservation management, few field experiments have tested the validity of metacommunity predictions. Here, we tested one key prediction of metacommunity theory-that decreasing habitat connectivity should erode metacommunity structure by hindering species movement between patches. For 2 years, we manipulated an experimental old-field grassland ecosystem via mowing to represent four levels of habitat connectivity: (1) open control, (2) full connectivity, (3) partial connectivity, and (4) no connectivity. Within

SUBMITTER: Bertellotti F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10630154 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature