Spatially structured environmental filtering of collembolan traits in late successional salt marsh vegetation.

ABSTRACT: Both the environment and the spatial configuration of habitat patches are important factors that shape community composition and affect species diversity patterns. Species have traits that allow them to respond to their environment. Our current knowledge on environment to species traits relationships is limited in spite of its potential importance for understanding community assembly and ecosystem function. The aim of our study was to examine the relative roles of environmental and spatial variables for the small-scale variation in Collembola (springtail) communities in a Dutch salt marsh. We used a trait-based approach in combination with spatial statistics and variance partitioning, between environmental and spatial variables, to examine the important ecological factors that drive commun

SUBMITTER: Widenfalk LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4568007 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature