Abstract Detail
Ecological Section Super, Laura [1], Pither, Jason [1]. Investigating the effect of spatial environmental heterogeneity on the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic assembly of plant metacommunities. Spatial environmental heterogeneity is known to influence the structure of diversity within and among plant communities, but how it affects the importance of stochastic relative to deterministic assembly processes remains unclear. We sought insights into this issue using spatially explicit metacommunity simulations. We manipulated patterns of environmental heterogeneity to exhibit varied scenarios of spatial autocorrelation, and examined how this treatment interacted with dispersal and ecological similarity among species. Preliminary findings indicate that the effects of spatial environmental heterogeneity can be subtle or pronounced depending upon assumptions regarding the nature of species' differences. This research has relevance to both theoretical and applied ecology focused on understanding how environmental heterogeneity affects plant biodiversity. Broader Impacts:
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1 - University of British Columbia Okanagan, Biology, Centre for Species at Risk and Habitat Studies, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada
Keywords:
community assembly
community ecology
deterministic assembly
metacommunity
plant community
spatially explicit modeling
spatial dynamics
spatial ecology
spatial environmental heterogeneity
spatial patterns
stochastic assembly
stochastic factors.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall A/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PEC007
Abstract ID:163 | 
