Local and Regional Determinants of an Uncommon Functional Group in Freshwater Lakes and Ponds.

ABSTRACT: A combination of local and regional factors and stochastic forces is expected to determine the occurrence of species and the structure of communities. However, in most cases, our understanding is incomplete, with large amounts of unexplained variation. Using functional groups rather than individual species may help explain the relationship between community composition and conditions. In this study, I used survey data from freshwater lakes and ponds to understand factors that determine the presence of the floating plant functional group in the northeast United States. Of the 176 water bodies surveyed, 104 (59.1%) did not contain any floating plant species. The occurrence of this functional group was largely determined by local abiotic conditions, which were spatially autocorrelated across

SUBMITTER: McCann MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4488069 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature