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How do Empirical Metacommunity Ecologists (not) Define Local Communities and How Could These be Better Defined?

Lluís Serra-Domínguez¹, Otso Ovaskainen¹, Nerea Abrego¹

¹Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.

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|December 29, 2025

Summary

Ecological studies using Metacommunity Theory often lack clear spatial definitions for local communities. This research proposes new methods for defining local communities to improve ecological research comparability and interpretation.

Keywords:

agent‐based simulation co‐occurrence fitness influence individual‐based network interactions local community metacommunity metacommunity ecology metacommunity theory modularity

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Theoretical Ecology
Community Ecology

Background:

Metacommunity Theory is a key framework in empirical community ecology.
It assumes individuals form local communities, which together constitute a metacommunity.
The definition of a local community is crucial for linking theory to empirical data.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the lack of explicit spatial definitions for local communities in empirical studies within Metacommunity Theory.
To propose alternative, ecologically justified approaches for delineating local communities.
To improve the interpretability and comparability of ecological research.

Main Methods:

A literature review to identify current practices in defining local communities.
Development of three novel approaches for delineating local communities based on spatial overlap, interaction, and fitness effects.
Agent-based simulations to test the proposed definitions and their outcomes.

Main Results:

Most empirical studies under Metacommunity Theory lack explicit spatial definitions of local communities.
Few studies provide ecological justification for their chosen spatial units.
Proposed definitions can lead to different local community delineations, which may not be discrete units.

Conclusions:

The mismatch between Metacommunity Theory's assumptions and empirical practice hinders research.
Explicitly defining local communities is essential for aligning empirical work with theory.
Guidelines and complementary data collection are recommended for ecologically justified delineations.