Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities

Species-rich communities are structured by environmental filtering and a multitude of associations including trophic, mutualistic, and antagonistic relationships. Graphs (networks) defined from correlations in presence or abundance data have the potential to identify this structure, but species with...

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Main Authors: Joseph T. Siddons, Andrew J. Irwin, Zoe V. Finkel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.943540/full
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author Joseph T. Siddons
Andrew J. Irwin
Zoe V. Finkel
author_facet Joseph T. Siddons
Andrew J. Irwin
Zoe V. Finkel
author_sort Joseph T. Siddons
collection DOAJ
description Species-rich communities are structured by environmental filtering and a multitude of associations including trophic, mutualistic, and antagonistic relationships. Graphs (networks) defined from correlations in presence or abundance data have the potential to identify this structure, but species with very high absence rates or abundances frequently near detection limits can result in biased retrieval of association graphs. Here we use graph clustering analysis to identify five sub-communities of plankton from the North Atlantic Ocean. We show how to mitigate the challenges of high absence rates and detection limits. The sub-communities are distinguished partially by their constituent functional groups: one group is dominated by diatoms and another by dinoflagellates, while the other three sub-communities are mixtures of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Diagnosing pairwise taxonomic associations and linking them to specific processes is challenging because of overlapping associations and complex graph topologies. Our approach presents a robust approach for identifying candidate associations among species through sub-community analysis and quantifying the aggregate strength of pairwise associations emerging in natural communities.
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spelling doaj.art-5eadf4dab61146ee8d0f78b4881155942022-12-22T03:41:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452022-08-01910.3389/fmars.2022.943540943540Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-CommunitiesJoseph T. Siddons0Andrew J. Irwin1Zoe V. Finkel2Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, CanadaDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, CanadaDepartment of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, CanadaSpecies-rich communities are structured by environmental filtering and a multitude of associations including trophic, mutualistic, and antagonistic relationships. Graphs (networks) defined from correlations in presence or abundance data have the potential to identify this structure, but species with very high absence rates or abundances frequently near detection limits can result in biased retrieval of association graphs. Here we use graph clustering analysis to identify five sub-communities of plankton from the North Atlantic Ocean. We show how to mitigate the challenges of high absence rates and detection limits. The sub-communities are distinguished partially by their constituent functional groups: one group is dominated by diatoms and another by dinoflagellates, while the other three sub-communities are mixtures of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Diagnosing pairwise taxonomic associations and linking them to specific processes is challenging because of overlapping associations and complex graph topologies. Our approach presents a robust approach for identifying candidate associations among species through sub-community analysis and quantifying the aggregate strength of pairwise associations emerging in natural communities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.943540/fullplanktoncommunitygraphassociationclusteringsub-community
spellingShingle Joseph T. Siddons
Andrew J. Irwin
Zoe V. Finkel
Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities
Frontiers in Marine Science
plankton
community
graph
association
clustering
sub-community
title Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities
title_full Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities
title_fullStr Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities
title_full_unstemmed Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities
title_short Graphical Analysis of A Marine Plankton Community Reveals Spatial, Temporal, and Niche Structure of Sub-Communities
title_sort graphical analysis of a marine plankton community reveals spatial temporal and niche structure of sub communities
topic plankton
community
graph
association
clustering
sub-community
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.943540/full
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AT andrewjirwin graphicalanalysisofamarineplanktoncommunityrevealsspatialtemporalandnichestructureofsubcommunities
AT zoevfinkel graphicalanalysisofamarineplanktoncommunityrevealsspatialtemporalandnichestructureofsubcommunities