Habitat loss driven by land-use change is a major factor shaping the dynamics of urban bird community structures.However,the potential mechanisms by which the spatial configuration and composition of blue-green infras...Habitat loss driven by land-use change is a major factor shaping the dynamics of urban bird community structures.However,the potential mechanisms by which the spatial configuration and composition of blue-green infrastructure,recognized as biodiversity hotspots in urban landscapes,influence urban bird beta diversity remain insufficiently understood.This study was conducted in the built-up area of Yinchuan,an internationally recognized wetland city in Northwest China.From December 2023 to June 2024,we systematically surveyed bird communities during both the breeding and wintering periods across 29 blue-green space mosaics.We quantified taxonomic,functional,and phylogenetic beta diversity,along with their turnover component and nestedness-resultant component,based on both pairwise beta diversity and multiple-site beta diversity.We further assessed the relative importance of landscape variables and spatial geographic distance in shaping beta diversity patterns and used hierarchical modeling of species communities(HMSC)to explore the responses of bird occurrence and functional traits to landscape variables.Our results revealed that species turnover was the dominant driver of taxonomic,functional,and phylogenetic beta diversity.Seasonal differences were observed in the effects of spatial geographic distance and landscape structure on beta diversity and its components,with landscape variables showing higher explanatory power than geographic isolation.In the breeding period,landscape diversity and waterbody area had positive effects on bird occurrence,whereas in the wintering period,most landscape features—except for landscape diversity—exerted neutral or negative influences.Regarding functional traits,we found that reproductive traits,flight ability,and foraging characteristics responded significantly to landscape structure,and that some small-bodied species active in aerial and canopy layers were more adaptable to habitat fragmentation.This study provides novel insights into the assembly processes and driving mechanisms of urban bird communities and offers scientific support for the notion that designing and maintaining blue-green infrastructure can contribute to urban biodiversity conservation.展开更多
Species distribution patterns is one of the important topics in ecology and biological conservation.Although species distribution models have been intensively used in the research,the effects of spatial associations a...Species distribution patterns is one of the important topics in ecology and biological conservation.Although species distribution models have been intensively used in the research,the effects of spatial associations and spatial dependence have been rarely taken into account in the modeling processes.Recently,Joint Species Distribution Models(JSDMs)offer the opportunity to consider both environmental factors and interspecific relationships as well as the role of spatial structures.This study uses the HMSC(Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities)framework to model the multispecies distribution of a marine fish assemblage,in which spatial associations and spatial dependence is deliberately accounted for.Three HMSC models were implemented with different structures of random effects to address the existence of spatial associations and spatial dependence,and the predictive performances at different levels of sample sizes were analyzed in the assessment.The results showed that the models with random effects could account for a larger proportion of explainable variance(32.8%),and particularly the spatial random effect model provided the best predictive performances(R_(mean)^(2)=0.31),indicating that spatial random effects could substantially influence the results of the joint species distribution.Increasing sample size had a strong effect(R_(mean)^(2)=0.24-0.31)on the predictive accuracy of the spatially-structured model than on the other models,suggesting that optimal model selection should be dependent on sample size.This study highlights the importance of incorporating spatial random effects for JSDM predictions and suggests that the choice of model structures should consider the data quality across species.展开更多
Understanding plant community assembly is crucial for effective ecosystem conservation and restoration.The ecological filter framework describes community assembly as a process shaped by dispersal,environmental,and bi...Understanding plant community assembly is crucial for effective ecosystem conservation and restoration.The ecological filter framework describes community assembly as a process shaped by dispersal,environmental,and biotic filters.Additionally,functional traits and phylogenetic relationships are increasingly recognized as important factors influencing species coexistence and community structure.However,both the ecological filter framework and the roles of functional traits and phylogeny in community assembly remain underexplored in the Algerian steppes—particularly in the El Bayadh region,where ongoing vegetation degradation threatens ecosystem stability.This study applied Hierarchical Modeling of Species Communities(HMSC)as an integrative approach to assess how ecological filters influence plant community assembly in the El Bayadh steppe and to evaluate the roles of functional traits and phylogenetic relationships in this process.Environmental data—including soil properties,topography,precipitation,and land use types(grazing and exclosure)—were collected across 50 plots in April and October,2023,along with functional traits from 24 species.These traits include root length,leaf area,specific leaf area,clonality,life history,and seed mass.HMSC results revealed that soil properties and precipitation were the primary drivers of community structure,while sand height and elevation had a moderate influence.In contrast,competition and grazing played relatively minor roles.Species responses to environmental covariates were heterogeneous:soil fertility and texture had mixed effects,benefiting some species while limiting others;sand encroachment and precipitation variability generally had negative impacts,whereas grazing exclusion favored many species.A weak phylogenetic signal was recorded,indicating that community assembly was driven more by environmental filtering than by shared evolutionary history.Functional trait responses to environmental variation reflected plant strategies that balanced resource acquisition and conservation.Specifically,seed mass,leaf area,and root length increased under higher soil moisture and nutrient availability but declined in response to salinity,precipitation variability,and sand height.Clonality and perennial life history traits enhanced the survival of plant species under harsh conditions.Overall,this study provides a holistic understanding of community assembly processes in the El Bayadh steppe and offers valuable insights for ecosystem management and restoration in arid and degraded ecosystem environments.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32401409)the Central Government’s Special Fund for National Key Protected Wildlife Conservation Projects in Yinchuan City(HXCG-ZC2023148,XZ-2024-16)。
文摘Habitat loss driven by land-use change is a major factor shaping the dynamics of urban bird community structures.However,the potential mechanisms by which the spatial configuration and composition of blue-green infrastructure,recognized as biodiversity hotspots in urban landscapes,influence urban bird beta diversity remain insufficiently understood.This study was conducted in the built-up area of Yinchuan,an internationally recognized wetland city in Northwest China.From December 2023 to June 2024,we systematically surveyed bird communities during both the breeding and wintering periods across 29 blue-green space mosaics.We quantified taxonomic,functional,and phylogenetic beta diversity,along with their turnover component and nestedness-resultant component,based on both pairwise beta diversity and multiple-site beta diversity.We further assessed the relative importance of landscape variables and spatial geographic distance in shaping beta diversity patterns and used hierarchical modeling of species communities(HMSC)to explore the responses of bird occurrence and functional traits to landscape variables.Our results revealed that species turnover was the dominant driver of taxonomic,functional,and phylogenetic beta diversity.Seasonal differences were observed in the effects of spatial geographic distance and landscape structure on beta diversity and its components,with landscape variables showing higher explanatory power than geographic isolation.In the breeding period,landscape diversity and waterbody area had positive effects on bird occurrence,whereas in the wintering period,most landscape features—except for landscape diversity—exerted neutral or negative influences.Regarding functional traits,we found that reproductive traits,flight ability,and foraging characteristics responded significantly to landscape structure,and that some small-bodied species active in aerial and canopy layers were more adaptable to habitat fragmentation.This study provides novel insights into the assembly processes and driving mechanisms of urban bird communities and offers scientific support for the notion that designing and maintaining blue-green infrastructure can contribute to urban biodiversity conservation.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2022YFD2401301)。
文摘Species distribution patterns is one of the important topics in ecology and biological conservation.Although species distribution models have been intensively used in the research,the effects of spatial associations and spatial dependence have been rarely taken into account in the modeling processes.Recently,Joint Species Distribution Models(JSDMs)offer the opportunity to consider both environmental factors and interspecific relationships as well as the role of spatial structures.This study uses the HMSC(Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities)framework to model the multispecies distribution of a marine fish assemblage,in which spatial associations and spatial dependence is deliberately accounted for.Three HMSC models were implemented with different structures of random effects to address the existence of spatial associations and spatial dependence,and the predictive performances at different levels of sample sizes were analyzed in the assessment.The results showed that the models with random effects could account for a larger proportion of explainable variance(32.8%),and particularly the spatial random effect model provided the best predictive performances(R_(mean)^(2)=0.31),indicating that spatial random effects could substantially influence the results of the joint species distribution.Increasing sample size had a strong effect(R_(mean)^(2)=0.24-0.31)on the predictive accuracy of the spatially-structured model than on the other models,suggesting that optimal model selection should be dependent on sample size.This study highlights the importance of incorporating spatial random effects for JSDM predictions and suggests that the choice of model structures should consider the data quality across species.
基金supported by the Foundation of the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue(FUQAT)Quebec Research Fund(FRQ)(2021-SE7-282961)。
文摘Understanding plant community assembly is crucial for effective ecosystem conservation and restoration.The ecological filter framework describes community assembly as a process shaped by dispersal,environmental,and biotic filters.Additionally,functional traits and phylogenetic relationships are increasingly recognized as important factors influencing species coexistence and community structure.However,both the ecological filter framework and the roles of functional traits and phylogeny in community assembly remain underexplored in the Algerian steppes—particularly in the El Bayadh region,where ongoing vegetation degradation threatens ecosystem stability.This study applied Hierarchical Modeling of Species Communities(HMSC)as an integrative approach to assess how ecological filters influence plant community assembly in the El Bayadh steppe and to evaluate the roles of functional traits and phylogenetic relationships in this process.Environmental data—including soil properties,topography,precipitation,and land use types(grazing and exclosure)—were collected across 50 plots in April and October,2023,along with functional traits from 24 species.These traits include root length,leaf area,specific leaf area,clonality,life history,and seed mass.HMSC results revealed that soil properties and precipitation were the primary drivers of community structure,while sand height and elevation had a moderate influence.In contrast,competition and grazing played relatively minor roles.Species responses to environmental covariates were heterogeneous:soil fertility and texture had mixed effects,benefiting some species while limiting others;sand encroachment and precipitation variability generally had negative impacts,whereas grazing exclusion favored many species.A weak phylogenetic signal was recorded,indicating that community assembly was driven more by environmental filtering than by shared evolutionary history.Functional trait responses to environmental variation reflected plant strategies that balanced resource acquisition and conservation.Specifically,seed mass,leaf area,and root length increased under higher soil moisture and nutrient availability but declined in response to salinity,precipitation variability,and sand height.Clonality and perennial life history traits enhanced the survival of plant species under harsh conditions.Overall,this study provides a holistic understanding of community assembly processes in the El Bayadh steppe and offers valuable insights for ecosystem management and restoration in arid and degraded ecosystem environments.
