Data from: Cross-scale interactions and the distribution-abundance relationship

Positive interspecific relationships between local abundance and extent of
regional distribution are among the most ubiquitous patterns in ecology.
Although multiple hypotheses have been proposed, the mechanisms underlying
distribution-abundance (d-a) relationships remain poorly understood. We
examined the intra- and interspecific distribution-abundance relationships
for a metacommunity of 13 amphibian species sampled for 15 consecutive
years. Mean density of larvae in occupied ponds was positively related to
number of ponds occupied by species; employing the fraction of ponds
uniquely available to each species this same relationship sharply
decelerates. The latter relationship suggested that more abundant species
inhabited most available habitats annually, whereas rarer species were
dispersal limited. We inferred the mechanisms responsible for this pattern
based on the dynamics of one species, Pseudacris triseriata, which
transitioned between a rare, narrowly distributed species to a common,
widely distributed species and then back again. Both transitions were
presaged by marked changes in mean local densities driven by climatic
effects on habitat quality. We identified threshold densities separating
these population regime shifts that differed with landscape configuration.
Our data suggest that these transitions were caused by strong cross-scale
interactions between local resource/niche processes and larger scale
metapopulation processes. The patterns we observed have relevance for
understanding the mechanisms of interspecific d-a relationships and
critical thresholds associated with habitat fragmentation.