Species assemblage networks identify regional connectivity pathways among hydrothermal vents in the Northwest Pacific.

ABSTRACT: The distribution of species among spatially isolated habitat patches supports regional biodiversity and stability, so understanding the underlying processes and structure is a key target of conservation. Although multivariate statistics can infer the connectivity processes driving species distribution, such as dispersal and habitat suitability, they rarely explore the structure. Methods from graph theory, applied to distribution data, give insights into both connectivity pathways and processes by intuitively formatting the data as a network of habitat patches. We apply these methods to empirical data from the hydrothermal vent habitats of the Northwest Pacific. Hydrothermal vents are "oases" of biological productivity and endemicity on the seafloor that are imminently threatened by anthrop

SUBMITTER: Brunner O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9771708 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature