Niche partitioning in a periphyton metacommunity peaks at intermediate species richness in midsized rivers.

ABSTRACT: The trait-based partitioning of species plays a critical role in biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships. This niche partitioning drives and depends on community structure, yet this link remains elusive in the context of a metacommunity, where local community assembly is dictated by regional dispersal alongside local environmental conditions. Hence, elucidating the coupling of niche partitioning and community structure needs spatially explicit studies. Such studies are particularly necessary in river networks, where local habitats are highly connected by unidirectional water flow in a spatially complex network structure and frequent disturbance makes community structure strongly dependent on recolonization. Here, we show that taxonomic turnover among periphyton communities colonizing

SUBMITTER: Fuß T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11751593 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature