Ecology Letters Impact Factor

Ecology Letters Impact Factor – Effect of primary productivity on beta diversity of ecological communities Effect of primary productivity on beta diversity of ecological communities

Leticia Simon Bora Research Center in Limnology, Ichthyology and Aquaculture – Nupelia, Postgraduate Program in Ecology of Continental Aquatic Environments, Maringa State University – UEM, Av. Colombo, 5790, Zona 7, CEP 87020-900, Maringá, PR, Brazil Juliana Wojciechowski Biological Sciences Sector, Laboratory of Biodiversity Analysis and Synthesis, Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Department of Botany, Federal AvPR – UFPR University. Cell Francisco H. dos Santos, 100, Jardim das Americas, CEP 81530-000, Curitiba, PR, Brazil Jacqueline Dietrich Research Center in Limnology, Ichthyology and Aquaculture – Nupelia, Postgraduate Program in Continental Aqua State University of Ecology , Av. Colombo, 5790, Zona 7, CEP 87020-900, Maringá, PR, Brazil Andre Andrian Padial Research Center in Limnology, Ichthyology and Aquaculture – NUPELIA, Continental Aquatic Environments, UEM University of Maring State University Postgraduate Program in Ecology. Colombo, 5790, Zona 7, CEP 87020-900, Maringá, PR, BrazilSector of Biological Sciences, Laboratory of Analysis and Synthesis in Biodiversity, Postgraduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Department of Botany, Federal University of Parana – UFPR. Cell Francisco H. dos Santos, 100, Jardim das Américas, CEP 81530-000, Curitiba, PR, Brazil*e-mail: [email protected] http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8766-5974 About the authors

Ecology Letters Impact Factor

A number of environmental factors have been predicted to affect beta diversity—the disparity between localities or communities over time. Considering the effect of primary productivity, the literature differs as to whether it is positive, negative, or hump-shaped. This is relevant given the debate over the role of primary productivity over the deterministic and stochastic processes that shape ecological communities. The main objective of this study was to review the ecological literature to explore the causes of variation in key relationships between beta diversity and primary productivity.

Telling Ecological Networks Apart By Their Structure: An Environment Dependent Approach

We performed scientometric analysis following the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews, and articles were searched through the ISI Web of Science® database.

A natural increase in published articles has led to a greater than expected number of articles addressing the relationship between beta diversity and primary productivity. Of the 465 articles found, only 38 deal directly with the beta diversity-productivity relationship. From them, we extracted 76 relationships, most of them positive, almost all factors were analyzed. However, the proportion of negative studies was higher in aquatic environments. In the Afrotropical region, terrestrial studies found only negative correlations. There is a clear trend towards studies on large spatial scales, terrestrial environments, vertebrates, and near or Palearctic regions. There is a clear dominance of studies using small-bodied organisms in aquatic environments, which use vertebrates and plants more often than terrestrial studies.

There is growing interest in the study of this relationship. The positive relationship can be explained by several environmental factors, and the more common negative relationship in aquatic environments can be explained by productivity eutrophication. We also highlighted gaps in knowledge by specifically considering studies in small and medium aquatic scales, groups beyond plants and vertebrates in terrestrial environments, and studies in the Afrotropical and Indo-Malayan regions.

Many environmental factors predictably affect beta diversity—the variation of communities across locations or over time. Given the effect of primary productivity, there is disagreement in the literature as to what type of relationship (positive, negative, or dome-shaped) would be found. This is relevant given the discussion of the role of primary productivity in changing ecological communities through deterministic and stochastic processes. The main objective of this study was to clarify the main relationship between beta diversity and primary productivity in published articles and to clarify which factors (scale, environment, organism or biogeographical region) may influence this relationship.

Addressing Context Dependence In Ecology: Trends In Ecology & Evolution

We performed scientometric analysis following the PRISMA protocol for systematic reviews. Articles were searched through the ISI Web of Science® database.

The number of articles addressing the relationship between beta diversity and primary productivity has been increasing over time rather than the natural development of science. Of the 465 articles found, only 38 directly deal with the relationship between beta diversity and productivity. In these 38 articles, 76 relationships were found and most of them were positive, practically all factors were analyzed. Only negative correlations and terrestrial studies were found in the Afrotropical region. There is a clear bias for studies in large-scale, terrestrial environments, with vertebrates, and in proximity and Palearctic regions. Aquatic environments were clearly dominated by studies involving invertebrates and microorganisms/fungi.

There is growing interest in studies involving these relationships. These scientometrics often found positive correlations. A lack of studies at small and medium scales, groups other than plants and vertebrates in terrestrial environments, and aquatic studies in the Afrotropics and Indo-Malayan regions showed a gap in knowledge.

Understanding the mechanisms that determine biodiversity in biotic communities is a major goal in ecology and is essential to prevent the impact of anthropogenic activities on diversity (CHASE & LEIBOLD, 2002CHASE, J.M. & LEIBOLD, M.A. Spatial Scale Determines Productivity-Biodiversity Relationships,20,20). , 416(6879), 427-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/416427a. PMid:11919631. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/416427a… ) such concerns are particularly relevant in aquatic ecosystems, which have both high biological diversity (Balien et al., 2008Balien, E. V., Segers, H., Leveque , C. and Martens, K. Freshwater fauna diversity assessment: an overview of results. Hydrobiology, 2008, 595(1), 627-637. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9246-3 . http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750 -007 -924… ) and suffer from high extinction rates (Jenkins, 2003 Jenkins, M. Prospects for biodiversity. Science, 2003, 302(5648), 1175 -1177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/ Science. 1088666. PMid:14615529. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.108866…). Indeed, one of the most relevant ecological effects in both aquatic and terrestrial environments is known as biotic homogenization—the loss of beta diversity through space and/or time (McKinney & Lockwood, 1999MCKINNEY, M.L. & LOCKWOOD, J.L. Biotic homogenization: replacing many lost in the next mass extinction Some winners. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 1999, 14(11), 450-453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01679-1. PMid:10511724. http://dx .doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(99)… OLDEN & POFF, 2003OLDEN, J.D. & POFF, N.L. Toward a mechanistic understanding and prediction of biotic naturalization, American naturalization. 2003, 162(4), 442-460. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/378212. PMid:14582007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/378212… ). Relatedly, community ecologists are focusing on identifying determinants of beta diversity (MELO et al., 2011 MELO, A.S., SCHNECK, F., HEPP, L.U., SIMÕES, N.R., SIQUEIRA, T. and BINI, L.M. Focus methods: and aquatic ecosystems. Applications of the concept of beta diversity. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 2011, 23(3), 318-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2179-975X201200500001. http://doi.x. .doi .org/10.1590 /S2179-975X2012… ), including the nature of processes shaping community diversity (Heino et al., 2015b HEINO, J., MELO, A.S., SIQUEIRA, T., SOINEN, J., SOINENLANKOVANKOVANKO , S. and BINI, L.M. Metacommunity Organization, spatial extent and dispersal in aquatic systems: patterns, processes and prospects. Freshwater Biology, 2015b, 60(5), 845-869. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ fwb. 12533. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12533… ) stochastic and deterministic processes can interact to determine beta diversity (Chase, 2010CHASE, J.M. Stochastic community assembly leads to higher productivity in more productive environments Biodiversity is created. Science, 2010, 328(5984), 1388-1391. http://dx.doi.org/1216/science.1187820. PMid:20508088. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.118782… ; Heino et al., 2015a HEINO, J., MELO, A.S. and BINI, L.M. It is restoration – ecological heterogeneity relationships in running water systems. Freshwater Biology, 2015a, 60(2), 223-235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12502. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111 /fwb.12502…). Deterministic processes are related to species filtering, supported by the theoretical background of niche theory. As more heterogeneous environments support more opportunities to explore resources, heterogeneous landscapes are expected to have higher species abundances. On the other hand, stochastic processes include environmental drift, species dispersal limits, and the dynamics of colonization and extinction as differences between communities (Chase, 2010CHASE, J.M. Stochastic assembly leads to higher biodiversity in more productive environments. Science, 2010, 849(328) ). 2015a HEINO, J., MELO, A.S. and BINI, L.M. Reconceptualizing the beta diversity-ecological heterogeneity relationship in running water systems. Freshwater Biology, 2015a, 60(2), 223-235. http://dx.doi.org 10.1111/fwb.12502. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12502… ).

An Appraisal Of Bird Mediated Ecological Functions In A Changing World

Primary productivity (the carbon rate determined by photosynthesis) is one of the main determinants of biodiversity and, therefore, has a major impact on beta diversity. Previous studies have generated strong evidence that increases in primary productivity increase the frequency of stochastic processes (CHASE & LEIBOLD, 2002CHASE, J.M. & LEIBOLD, M.A. Spatial scale determines productivity-biodiversity relationships. Nature, 2002, 416(62879), -430. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1038/416427a. PMid:11919631. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/416427a… ; CHASE, 2010CHASE, J.M. Stochastic community assembly leads to higher biodiversity in more productive environments. Science. , 2010, 328(5984), 1388-1391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1187820. PMid:20508088. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/s .118782… ). Productivity can also be considered a measure of ecological heterogeneity, since its growth can promote the coexistence of species by avoiding competitive exclusion and, consequently, is one of the main factors responsible for the heterogeneous distribution of biodiversity (CHASE & LEIBOLD, 2002CHASE, J.M. & LEIBOLD), M.A. Spatial scale determines the productivity-biodiversity relationship. Nature, 2002, 416(6879), 427-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/416427a. PMid:11919631. http://dx.do. org/10.1038/416427a… ). A competitive exclusion, for example, occurs when productivity leads to superior competitors and saddles between other species sharing the same resources, with the potential to produce multiple states of equilibrium (Chase and Leibold, 2003CHASE, J.M. and LEIBOLD, M.A. 2003). Ecological Niches: Bridging Classical and Contemporary Perspectives, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226101811.001.0001. http://dx.doi.org/10.7220987/ …).

However, the relationship between primary productivity and biodiversity components is variable and appears to be context-dependent. For example, Chase and