Taxonomic identity, biodiversity, and antecedent disturbances shape the dimensional stability of stream invertebrates

Limnology and Oceanography Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

The “dimensional stability” approach measures different components of ecological stability to investigate how they are related. Yet, most empirical work has used small-scale and short-term experimental manipulations. Here, we apply this framework to a long-term observational dataset of stream macroinvertebrates sampled between the winter flooding and summer monsoon seasons. We test hypotheses that relate variation among stability metrics across different taxa, the magnitude of antecedent (monsoon) and immediate (winter) floods to stability metrics, and the relative importance of disturbance magnitude and taxonomic richness on community dimensional stability. Cluster analysis revealed four distinct stability types, and we found that the magnitude of floods during the prior monsoon was more important in influencing stability than the winter flood itself. For dimensional stability at the community level, taxonomic richness was more important than disturbance magnitude. This work demonstrates that abiotic and biotic factors determine dimensional stability in a natural ecosystem.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Taxonomic identity, biodiversity, and antecedent disturbances shape the dimensional stability of stream invertebrates
Series title Limnology and Oceanography Letters
DOI 10.1002/lol2.10303
Volume 8
Issue 3
Year Published 2023
Language English
Publisher Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Contributing office(s) Southwest Biological Science Center
Description 9 p.
First page 464
Last page 472
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