Reproductive traits as predictors of assembly chronosequence patterns in epiphyllous bryophyte metacommunities

1) Understanding the mechanisms underlying species assembly is a central focus of plant ecology and is crucial to revealing how plant communities are structured. However, the temporal limitations of most terrestrial plant communities preclude collection of species assembly data in a tractable time-frame. 2) The aim of this study is to investigate the importance of dispersal potential, as estimated by inter-specific variation in sexual and asexual expression, as a predictor of patch chronosequence assembly for epiphyllous (leaf-inhabiting) bryophytes. Secondarily, we investigate whether spatio-temporal patterns in patch turnover and compositional variation infer evidence of local (within-patch) population processes. The frequency and distribution of 55 epiphyllous bryophytes across five leaf age classes were studied on an understory shrub Piper grande (Piperaceae) in pre-montane Panamanian tropical forest. Logistical models were used to test whether inter-specific variation in dispersal...