Pond metacommunity biotic interactions

Macrophytes and macroinvertebrates data from 64 ponds distributed across an aridity gradient in Argentine Patagonia. We performed three statistical analyses to test the four study hypotheses (see " <strong>Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate metacommunity interactions across drought-threatened Patagonian ponds</strong> "). The first analysis consisted of the generation of separated distance biotic matrices (beta diversity for macrophytes and macroinvertebrates), and three predictor matrices to perform all potential correlations through Moran Spectral Randomization of Mantel tests (H1). In the second analysis, we fitted generalized dissimilarity models using macroinvertebrate beta diversity as a response variable (based on presence-absence and abundance data). Meanwhile, the predictor variables used were the abundance-based macrophyte beta diversity and the environmental variables (H2). Finally, we performed a JSDM using one presence-absence matrix as the response variable (i.e., merging the raw data on macrophytes and macroinvertebrates), and environmental variables as predictors (H3 and H4). We conducted all analyzes in the R software (R Core Team 2022).