Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system.
We propose an extension to the metacommunity (MC) concept and a novel operational methodology that has the potential to refine the analysis of MC structure at different hierarchical levels. We show that assemblages of species can also be seen as assemblages of abstract subregional habitat-related me...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3528783?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1817997446470434816 |
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| author | Vinko Bandelj Cosimo Solidoro Daniele Curiel Gianpiero Cossarini Donata Melaku Canu Andrea Rismondo |
| author_facet | Vinko Bandelj Cosimo Solidoro Daniele Curiel Gianpiero Cossarini Donata Melaku Canu Andrea Rismondo |
| author_sort | Vinko Bandelj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We propose an extension to the metacommunity (MC) concept and a novel operational methodology that has the potential to refine the analysis of MC structure at different hierarchical levels. We show that assemblages of species can also be seen as assemblages of abstract subregional habitat-related metacommunities (habMCs). This intrinsically fuzzy concept recognizes the existence of habMCs that are typically associated with given habitats, while allowing for the mixing and superposition of different habMCs in all sites and for boundaries among subregions that are neither spatially sharp nor temporally constant. The combination of fuzzy clustering and direct gradient analysis permits us to 1) objectively identify the number of habMCs that are present in a region as well as their spatial distributions and relative weights at different sites; 2) associate different subregions with different biological communities; and 3) quantitatively assess the affinities between habMCs and physical, morphological, biogeochemical, and environmental properties, thereby enabling an analysis of the roles and relative importance of various environmental parameters in shaping the spatial structure of a metacommunity. This concept and methodology offer the possibility of integrating the continuum and community unit concepts and of developing the concept of a habMC ecological niche. This approach also facilitates the practical application of the MC concept, which are not currently in common use. Applying these methods to macrophytobenthic and macrozoobenthic hard-substrate assemblages in the Venetian Lagoon, we identified a hierarchical organization of macrobenthic communities that associated different habMCs with different habitats. Our results demonstrate that different reference terms should be applied to different subregions to assess the ecological status of a waterbody and show that a combination of several environmental parameters describes the spatial heterogeneity of benthic communities much better than any single property can. Our results also emphasize the importance of considering heterogeneity and fuzziness when working in natural systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:38:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e80ccf1a9a7b41fe82abf30b2157c846 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:38:19Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-e80ccf1a9a7b41fe82abf30b2157c8462022-12-22T02:17:20ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-01712e5239510.1371/journal.pone.0052395Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system.Vinko BandeljCosimo SolidoroDaniele CurielGianpiero CossariniDonata Melaku CanuAndrea RismondoWe propose an extension to the metacommunity (MC) concept and a novel operational methodology that has the potential to refine the analysis of MC structure at different hierarchical levels. We show that assemblages of species can also be seen as assemblages of abstract subregional habitat-related metacommunities (habMCs). This intrinsically fuzzy concept recognizes the existence of habMCs that are typically associated with given habitats, while allowing for the mixing and superposition of different habMCs in all sites and for boundaries among subregions that are neither spatially sharp nor temporally constant. The combination of fuzzy clustering and direct gradient analysis permits us to 1) objectively identify the number of habMCs that are present in a region as well as their spatial distributions and relative weights at different sites; 2) associate different subregions with different biological communities; and 3) quantitatively assess the affinities between habMCs and physical, morphological, biogeochemical, and environmental properties, thereby enabling an analysis of the roles and relative importance of various environmental parameters in shaping the spatial structure of a metacommunity. This concept and methodology offer the possibility of integrating the continuum and community unit concepts and of developing the concept of a habMC ecological niche. This approach also facilitates the practical application of the MC concept, which are not currently in common use. Applying these methods to macrophytobenthic and macrozoobenthic hard-substrate assemblages in the Venetian Lagoon, we identified a hierarchical organization of macrobenthic communities that associated different habMCs with different habitats. Our results demonstrate that different reference terms should be applied to different subregions to assess the ecological status of a waterbody and show that a combination of several environmental parameters describes the spatial heterogeneity of benthic communities much better than any single property can. Our results also emphasize the importance of considering heterogeneity and fuzziness when working in natural systems.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3528783?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Vinko Bandelj Cosimo Solidoro Daniele Curiel Gianpiero Cossarini Donata Melaku Canu Andrea Rismondo Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system. PLoS ONE |
| title | Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system. |
| title_full | Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system. |
| title_fullStr | Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system. |
| title_short | Fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system. |
| title_sort | fuzziness and heterogeneity of benthic metacommunities in a complex transitional system |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3528783?pdf=render |
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