Nematode distributions as spatial null models for macroinvertebrate species richness across environmental gradients: A case from mountain lakes.

ABSTRACT: Nematode species are widely tolerant of environmental conditions and disperse passively. Therefore, the species richness distribution in this group might largely depend on the topological distribution of the habitats and main aerial and aquatic dispersal pathways connecting them. If so, the nematode species richness distributions may serve as null models for evaluating that of other groups more affected by environmental gradients. We investigated this hypothesis in lakes across an altitudinal gradient in the Pyrenees. We compared the altitudinal distribution, environmental tolerance, and species richness, of nematodes with that of three other invertebrate groups collected during the same sampling: oligochaetes, chironomids, and nonchironomid insects. We tested the altitudinal bias in distr

SUBMITTER: de Mendoza G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5415540 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature