1. Multifaceted assessment of stream fish alpha and beta diversity using spatial models.
- Author
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Zbinden, Zachery D., Geheber, Aaron D., Lehrter II, Richard J., and Matthews, William J.
- Subjects
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FRESHWATER fishes , *FISH diversity , *EUCLIDEAN distance , *FACTOR analysis , *SPATIAL variation , *DRAINAGE - Abstract
Our understanding of the factors determining stream community assembly has mainly been built upon taxonomic diversity. Additionally, most investigations of factors governing assembly are limited in scope and use of spatial model testing. Therefore, we combine a sizeable environmental dataset (local and landscape level) with robust spatial analysis to model the factors determining multiple facets of stream fish diversity—across a region and within four drainages. We found that total dissimilarity was more explained by replacement than nestedness. Fish diversity was governed by spatial and environmental factors, although the degree depended on the diversity facet and drainage. Adjusted R2 for combined models (i.e., spatial plus environment) of fish beta diversity was as high as 0.65. Local instream habitat variables were the most explanatory factors. Spatial factors based on overland Euclidean distance and asymmetric (directional) distance revealed more explanatory power than symmetric hydrologic distance. The purely spatial variation was often as high as 33% explained. Multiple facets were strongly correlated and provided similar results—albeit some differences arose, especially within different drainages; these differences highlight how difficult it is to generalize the multifaceted approach. However, the importance of exploring spatial models for determining the role of spatial processes on community assembly cannot be overstated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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