Congruence between co-occurrence and trait-based networks is scale-dependent: a case study with flea parasites of small mammalian hosts.

ABSTRACT: We applied a novel framework based on network theory and a concept of modularity that estimates congruence between trait-based ( = functional) co-occurrence networks, thus allowing the inference of co-occurrence patterns and the determination of the predominant mechanism of community assembly. The aim was to investigate the relationships between species co-occurrence and trait similarity in flea communities at various scales (compound communities: across regions within a biogeographic realm or across sampling sites within a geographic region; component communities: across sampling sites within a geographic region; and infracommunities: within a sampling site). We found that compound communities within biogeographic realms were assembled via environmental or host-associated filtering

SUBMITTER: Krasnov BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11578890 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature