Partitioning beta diversity to untangle mechanisms underlying the assembly of bird communities in Mediterranean olive groves

Aim: We investigated taxonomic and functional beta diversity of bird communities inhabiting Mediterranean olive groves subject to either intensive or extensive management of the ground cover and located in landscapes with different degrees of complexity.

Location: Andalusia, southern Spain.

Methods: We partitioned taxonomic and functional beta diversity into its two additive components, turnover and nestedness. We also explored the contributions of single sites to overall beta diversity (LCBD) and separated the effects of species replacement (turnover) and richness difference (nestedness) in order to identify ecologically unique sites -keystone communities- within the metacommunity. In a further step, we employed abundance- and functional-based indicator species analyses to characterize bird assemblages. 

Results: Taxonomic beta diversity increased with landscape complexity. Although both taxonomic and functional differences among assemblages were driven mainly by species repla...