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The joint contributions of environmental filtering and spatial processes to macroinvertebrate metacommunity dynamics in the alpine stream environment of Baima Snow Mountain, Southwest China
  • +9
  • Muhammad Farooq,
  • Xianfu Li,
  • Zhengfei Li,
  • Ronglong Yang,
  • Zhen Tian,
  • Lu Tan,
  • Davide Fornacca,
  • Yanpeng Li,
  • Nima Cili,
  • Zhongyong Ciren,
  • Shuoran Liu,
  • Wen Xiao
Muhammad Farooq
of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University

Corresponding Author:farooq@eastern-himalaya.cn

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Xianfu Li
Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University
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Zhengfei Li
Institute of Hydrobiology Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Ronglong Yang
Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University
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Zhen Tian
Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University
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Lu Tan
Institute of Hydrobiology Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Davide Fornacca
of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University
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Yanpeng Li
Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research
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Nima Cili
Deqin Administration Bureau, Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve
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Zhongyong Ciren
Deqin Administration Bureau, Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve
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Shuoran Liu
Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University
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Wen Xiao
Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research
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Abstract

As a rapidly growing field of community ecology, the study of meta-communities provides an effective framework to unravel community assembly mechanisms by focusing on the relative contributions of environmental screening and spatial processes. While macroinvertebrates have been extensively investigated in many river ecosystems, meta-community ecology perspectives in high mountain stream networks are very limited. In this study, we assessed the role of ecological determinants and temporal dynamics in the macroinvertebrate meta-community assembly of an alpine stream situated in a dry-hot valley of Baima Snow Mountain, Northwest Yunnan. Our results show significant differences in the macroinvertebrate community composition across time periods. Spatial structuring and environmental filtering jointly drive the configuration of macroinvertebrate meta-community, with relative contributions to the variance in community composition varying over time. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) and variation partitioning indicate that environmental variables are the most important predictors of community organization in most scenarios, whereas spatial determinants also play a significant role. Moreover, the explanatory power, identity, and the relative significance of ecological indicators change over time. Particularly, in the years 2018 and 2019, stronger environmental filtering was found shaping community assembly, suggesting that deterministic mechanisms predominated in driving community dynamics in such a specific environment of the stream. However, spatial factors had a stronger predictive power on meta-community structures in 2017, implying conspicuous dispersal mechanisms which may be owing to increased connectivity amongst locations. Thereby, we inferred that the stream macroinvertebrate metacommunity composition can be regulated by the interaction of both spatial processes and environmental filtering, with relative contributions varying over time. Based on these findings, we suggest that community ecology studies in aquatic systems should be designed beyond single snapshot investigations.
03 Jan 2022Published in Diversity volume 14 issue 1 on pages 28. 10.3390/d14010028