Scale-dependent changes in the functional diversity of macrophytes in subtropical freshwater lakes in south China.

ABSTRACT: Ecological processes are generally scale-dependent and there is little consensus about the relative importance of deterministic versus stochastic processes in driving patterns of biological diversity. We investigated how the relationship between functional dispersion and environmental gradients changes with spatial scale in subtropical freshwater lakes. The functional alpha and beta dispersions of all the tested traits were significantly under-dispersed across spatial scales and along environmental gradients. Results showed more functional similarity within communities in leaf dry mass content and flowering duration but less functional turnover among communities in all the tested traits at regional scales (Yunnan-Guizhou plateau and the middle and low reaches of the Yangtze River). The str

SUBMITTER: Fu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5557923 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature