Null model analyses of temporal patterns of bird assemblages and their foraging guilds revealed the predominance of positive and random associations.

ABSTRACT: Patterns of species associations have been commonly used to infer interactions among species. If species positively co-occur, they may form predominantly neutral assemblages, and such patterns suggest a relatively weak role for compensatory dynamics. The main objective of this study was to test this prediction on temporal samples of bird assemblages (n = 19, 10-57 years) by the presence/absence and quantitative null models on assemblage and guild levels. These null model outcomes were further analyzed to evaluate the effects of various data set characteristics on the outcomes of the null models. The analysis of two binary null models in combination with three association indices revealed 20% with significant aggregations, 61% with random associations, and only 19% with significant s

SUBMITTER: Kornan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6686305 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature