Data from: Relationships between adaptive and neutral genetic diversity and ecological structure and function: a meta-analysis

1. Understanding the effects of intraspecific genetic diversity on the structure and functioning of ecological communities is a fundamentally important part of evolutionary ecology and may also have conservation relevance in identifying the situations in which genetic diversity coincides with species-level diversity. 2. Early studies within this field documented positive relationships between genetic diversity and ecological structure, but recent studies have challenged these findings. Conceptual synthesis has been hampered because studies have used different measures of intraspecific variation (phenotypically adaptive vs. neutral) and have considered different measures of ecological structure in different ecological and spatial contexts. The aim of this study is to strengthen conceptual understanding by providing an empirical synthesis quantifying the relationship between genetic diversity and ecological structure. 3. Here, I present a meta-analysis of the relationship between genetic diversity within plant populations and the structure and functioning of associated ecological communities (including 423 effect sizes from 70 studies). I used Bayesian meta-analyses to examine (i) the strength and direction of this relationship, (ii) the extent to which phenotypically adaptive and neutral (molecular) measures of diversity differ in their association with ecological structure and (iii) variation in outcomes among different measures of ecological structure and in different ecological contexts. 4. Effect sizes measuring the relationship between adaptive diversity (genotypic richness) and both community- and ecosystem-level ecological responses were small, but significantly positive. These associations were supported by genetic effects on species richness and productivity, respectively. 4. There was no overall association between neutral genetic diversity and measures of ecological structure, but a positive correlation was observed under a limited set of demographic conditions. These results suggest that adaptive and neutral genetic diversity should not be treated as ecologically equivalent measures of intraspecific variation. 5. Synthesis. This study advances the debate over whether relationships between genetic diversity and ecological structure are either simply positive or negative, by showing how the strength and direction of these relationships changes with different measures of diversity and in different ecological contexts. The results provide a solid foundation for assessing when and where an expanded synthesis between ecology and genetics will be most fruitful.1. 解析种内遗传多样性（intraspecific genetic diversity）对生态群落（ecological communities）结构与功能的影响，是进化生态学（evolutionary ecology）的核心研究内容之一；同时，在甄别遗传多样性与物种级多样性（species-level diversity）重合的场景时，该研究也具备保护生物学应用价值。 2. 该领域早期研究曾证实遗传多样性与生态结构间存在正相关关系，但后续研究对此结论提出了质疑。由于过往研究采用了不同的种内变异度量指标（表型适应性变异与中性变异），且在不同生态与空间背景下选取了各异的生态结构度量方式，导致该领域的概念综合研究始终难以推进。本研究旨在通过量化遗传多样性与生态结构间关联的实证综合，强化学界对该议题的概念认知。 3. 本研究针对植物种群内遗传多样性与关联生态群落的结构及功能间的关联开展元分析（meta-analysis），共纳入70项研究的423个效应量（effect sizes）。本研究采用贝叶斯元分析（Bayesian meta-analysis）展开三方面考察：（i）该关联的强度与方向；（ii）表型适应性多样性与中性（分子）多样性指标在与生态结构的关联程度上的差异；（iii）不同生态结构度量方式及不同生态背景下的研究结果变异情况。 4. 衡量适应性多样性与基因型丰富度（genotypic richness）和群落及生态系统层面生态响应间关联的效应量数值较小，但呈显著正相关。上述两类关联分别得到了遗传效应对物种丰富度（species richness）与生产力（productivity）影响的研究结果支持。 4. 中性遗传多样性（neutral genetic diversity）与生态结构度量指标间整体无显著关联，但在特定种群统计条件下观察到了正相关关系。上述结果表明，适应性与中性遗传多样性不应被视为生态学上等价的种内变异度量指标。 5. 综合分析。本研究揭示了遗传多样性与生态结构间关联的强度与方向如何随多样性度量指标及生态背景的不同而变化，从而推进了关于该关联仅为正相关或负相关的学术争论。本研究结果为评估生态学与遗传学的跨领域综合研究在何时何地最具成效提供了坚实的理论基础。