Geographical variation in the trait-based assembly patterns of multitrophic invertebrate communities

It has been argued that the mechanisms structuring ecological communities may be more generalizable when based on traits than on species identities. If so, patterns in the assembly of community-level traits along environmental gradients should be similar in different places in the world. Alternatively, geographic change in the species pool and regional variation in climate might result in site-specific relationships between community traits and local environments. These competing hypotheses are particularly untested for animal communities. Here we test the geographic constancy of trait-based assembly patterns using a widespread multi-trophic community: aquatic macroinvertebrates within bromeliads. We used data on 615 invertebrate taxa from 1656 bromeliads in 26 field sites from Mexico to Argentina. We summarized invertebrate traits with four orthogonal axes, and used these trait axes to examine trait convergence and divergence assembly patterns along three environmental gradients: detri...

已有研究表明，基于功能性状（traits）的生态群落构建机制，或许比基于物种身份的机制更具普适性。若此观点属实，那么沿环境梯度（environmental gradients）形成的群落水平功能性状组装模式，在全球不同区域应具有相似性。反之，物种种库的地理变异与区域气候异质性，可能会导致群落功能性状与局域环境之间出现位点特异性的关联关系。这两种竞争性假说在动物群落研究领域尚未得到充分检验。本研究以分布广泛的多营养级群落——凤梨科植物（bromeliads）生境内的水生大型无脊椎动物（aquatic macroinvertebrates）为研究对象，检验基于功能性状的组装模式的地理恒定性。我们使用了从墨西哥到阿根廷共26个野外样地中1656株凤梨科植物对应的615种无脊椎动物类群数据。我们通过四个正交轴对无脊椎动物的功能性状进行归纳总结，并借助这些性状轴，沿三类环境梯度探究性状的趋同与趋异组装模式：detri...