Narrow environmental niches predict land-use responses and vulnerability of land snail assemblages.

ABSTRACT:

Background

How land use shapes biodiversity and functional trait composition of animal communities is an important question and frequently addressed. Land-use intensification is associated with changes in abiotic and biotic conditions including environmental homogenization and may act as an environmental filter to shape the composition of species communities. Here, we investigated the responses of land snail assemblages to land-use intensity and abiotic soil conditions (pH, soil moisture), and analyzed their trait composition (shell size, number of offspring, light preference, humidity preference, inundation tolerance, and drought resistance). We characterized the species' responses to land use to identify 'winners' (species that were more common on sites with high land-use intensi

SUBMITTER: Wehner K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7853316 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature