Comparison of phylobetadiversity indices based on community data from Gutianshan forest plot

Abstract

Phylobetadiversity incorporates phylogenetic information and beta diversity, and can account for the ecological similarities between communities with a phylogenetic perspective. Although different phylobetadiversity indices reflect differences in different characteristics between communities, the results of different phylobetadiversity indices are not comparable. In this study we examined phylobetadiversity indices for a 24-hm2 plot in the Gutianshan National Nature Reserve. It was found the abundance-weighted D pw was almost identical to Rao’s D of Rao’s quadratic entropy. PhyloSor had a similar ecological meaning and algorithm to UniFrac. Although D nn was different in definition from UniFrac and PhyloSor, they were all strongly correlated. The effect of species abundance on phylobetadiversity was not significant when scales were relatively small, but was significant at larger scales. These contrasts likely resulted from reductions in evenness in communities as scales increased. P ST and Rao’s H better reflected the distance-decay changes caused by spatial and habitat variation than other indices at larger scales, whereas AW-D nn and D nn better reflected these changes at small scales.