Data from: Process-based species pools reveal the hidden signature of biotic interactions amid the influence of temperature filtering

A persistent challenge in ecology is to tease apart the influence of multiple processes acting simultaneously and interacting in complex ways to shape the structure of species assemblages. We implement a heuristic approach that relies on explicitly defining species pools and permits assessment of the relative influence of the main processes thought to shape assemblage structure: environmental filtering, dispersal limitations and biotic interactions. We illustrate our approach using data on the assemblage composition and geographic distribution of hummingbirds, a comprehensive phylogeny and morphological traits. The implementation of several process-based species pool definitions in null models suggests that temperature, but not precipitation or dispersal limitation, acts as the main regional filter of assemblage structure. Incorporating this environmental filter directly into the definition of assemblage-specific species pools revealed an otherwise hidden pattern of phylogenetic evenness, indicating that biotic interactions might further influence hummingbird assemblage structure. Such hidden patterns of assemblage structure call for a reexamination of a multitude of phylogenetic- and trait-based studies that did not explicitly consider potentially important processes in their definition of the species pool. Our heuristic approach provides a transparent way to explore patterns and refine interpretations of the underlying causes of assemblage structure.

生态学领域长期存在的一项核心挑战，在于厘清并区分同时发生、以复杂方式相互作用并共同塑造物种集合（species assemblage）结构的多重过程各自的影响。本研究采用一种依赖于明确定义物种库（species pool）的启发式方法，可用于评估被认为塑造物种集合结构的主要过程的相对影响：环境过滤（environmental filtering）、扩散限制（dispersal limitations）以及生物相互作用（biotic interactions）。本研究以蜂鸟的物种集合组成与地理分布数据，以及一套完整的系统发育树和形态性状数据为例，演示了该方法的应用。通过在零模型（null models）中采用多种基于过程的物种库定义方式，研究结果表明，温度而非降水量或扩散限制，是塑造物种集合结构的主要区域过滤因子。将该环境过滤直接纳入针对特定群落的物种库定义中，揭示了原本被掩盖的系统发育均匀度（phylogenetic evenness）模式，表明生物相互作用可能进一步影响蜂鸟的物种集合结构。这类被掩盖的物种集合结构模式，呼吁学界重新审视大量未在物种库定义中明确考虑潜在关键过程的系统发育与性状相关研究。本研究提出的启发式方法，为探索物种集合结构模式、厘清其背后成因的解释提供了一种清晰透明的途径。