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Organization of Plethodon salamander communities: guild-based community assembly
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA. dcadams@iastate.edu
Ecology
|June 1, 2007
Summary
Community assembly in Plethodon salamanders is shaped by competition. Species co-occurrence patterns reveal deterministic processes, suggesting stable combinations are possible and competition is prevalent.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Herpetology
Background:
- Understanding community assembly is a key goal in ecology.
- Deterministic processes, like competition, may structure ecological communities.
- Eastern Plethodon salamanders offer a model system to study these processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate species co-occurrence patterns in eastern Plethodon salamanders.
- To test predictions from a guild model of competition-based community assembly.
- To determine if community organization reflects deterministic ecological processes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a large database of Plethodon species occurrences (45 species, 4540 sites).
- Statistical examination of species co-occurrence patterns at regional and continental scales.
- Comparison of observed distributions with null models of community assembly.
Main Results:
- Species co-occurrence patterns were significantly nonrandom across scales.
- Species from different size guilds showed more even distributions than expected by chance.
- High-richness sites exhibited consistent community composition, with recurring species sets.
Conclusions:
- Eastern Plethodon communities are assembled through competitive mechanisms.
- Stable species combinations can form at various richness levels.
- Interspecific competition is a prevalent force structuring these salamander communities.
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