Temporal variation in dispersal modifies dispersal-diversity relationships in an experimental seagrass metacommunity

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 613:67-76 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12908 Temporal variation in dispersal modifies dispersal-diversity relationships in an experimental seagrass metacommunity Adrian C. Stier1,*, Sarah C. Lee2, Mary I. O’Connor3 1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA 2Department of Biology, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN 46135, USA 3Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada *Corresponding author: astier@ucsb.edu ABSTRACT: Dispersal is a key force driving patterns of biodiversity. However, temporal variation in dispersal due to seasonality, weather, and other stochastic forces is an understudied aspect of the dispersal-diversity relationship. Metacommunity theory predicts temporal variation in dispersal can alter species distributions across patches. We empirically tested the hypothesis that variation in dispersal can modify the nonlinear dispersal-diversity relationship. Using a mesocosm experiment, we factorially manipulated variation in and intensity of dispersal in invertebrate grazer communities associated with nearshore seagrass ecosystems. Higher dispersal intensity led to higher grazer abundance, higher species richness (alpha diversity), and—when dispersal was variable—lower compositional similarity among patches (higher beta diversity). Within each dispersal intensity treatment level, temporal variation in dispersal decreased alpha diversity and increased beta diversity, with strongest effects at low- and intermediate-intensity dispersal. Our results provide the first empirical evidence that temporal variation in dispersal can substantially modify the well-described dispersal-diversity relationship for both alpha and beta diversity. Broadly, our results provide increasing evidence for the effects of spatial and temporal variability in modifying the role of the ecological processes driving marine metacommunity structure. KEY WORDS: Community assembly · Jensen’s inequality · Larval supply · Seagrass · Metacommunity Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Stier AC, Lee SC, O’Connor MI (2019) Temporal variation in dispersal modifies dispersal-diversity relationships in an experimental seagrass metacommunity. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 613:67-76. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12908 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 613. Online publication date: March 21, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.