Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data
Diatoms are diverse and widespread freshwater Eukaryotes that make excellent microbial subjects for addressing questions in metacommunity ecology. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the simple trophic structure of glacier-fed streams provides an ideal outdoor laboratory where well-described d...
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2020
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 https://doaj.org/article/423bbdde2d784503a9fe057eb45a1dc0 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:423bbdde2d784503a9fe057eb45a1dc0 2023-05-15T13:33:25+02:00 Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data Eric R. Sokol J. E. Barrett Tyler J. Kohler Diane M. McKnight Mark R. Salvatore Lee F. Stanish 2020-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 https://doaj.org/article/423bbdde2d784503a9fe057eb45a1dc0 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 https://doaj.org/article/423bbdde2d784503a9fe057eb45a1dc0 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 8 (2020) Antarctica Bacillariophyceae Nostoc dispersal stream ecology Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 2022-12-31T00:58:52Z Diatoms are diverse and widespread freshwater Eukaryotes that make excellent microbial subjects for addressing questions in metacommunity ecology. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the simple trophic structure of glacier-fed streams provides an ideal outdoor laboratory where well-described diatom assemblages are found within two cyanobacterial mat types, which occupy different habitats and vary in coverage within and among streams. Specifically, black mats of Nostoc spp. occur in marginal wetted habitats, and orange mats (Oscillatoria spp. and Phormidium spp.) occur in areas of consistent stream flow. Despite their importance as bioindicators for changing environmental conditions, the role of dispersal in structuring dry valley diatom metacommunities remains unclear. Here, we use MCSim, a spatially explicit metacommunity simulation package for R, to test alternative hypotheses about the roles of dispersal and species sorting in maintaining the biodiversity of diatom assemblages residing in black and orange mats. The spatial distribution and patchiness of cyanobacterial mat habitats was characterized by remote imagery of the Lake Fryxell sub-catchment in Taylor Valley. The available species pool for diatom metacommunity simulation scenarios was informed by the Antarctic Freshwater Diatoms Database, maintained by the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program. We used simulation outcomes to test the plausibility of alternative community assembly hypotheses to explain empirically observed patterns of freshwater diatom biodiversity in the long-term record. The most plausible simulation scenarios suggest species sorting by environmental filters, alone, was not sufficient to maintain biodiversity in the Fryxell Basin diatom metacommunity. The most plausible scenarios included either (1) neutral models with different immigration rates for diatoms in orange and black mats or (2) species sorting by a relatively weak environmental filter, such that dispersal dynamics also influenced diatom community ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) Fryxell ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) Lake Fryxell ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctica Bacillariophyceae Nostoc dispersal stream ecology Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Antarctica Bacillariophyceae Nostoc dispersal stream ecology Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 Eric R. Sokol J. E. Barrett Tyler J. Kohler Diane M. McKnight Mark R. Salvatore Lee F. Stanish Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data |
topic_facet |
Antarctica Bacillariophyceae Nostoc dispersal stream ecology Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Diatoms are diverse and widespread freshwater Eukaryotes that make excellent microbial subjects for addressing questions in metacommunity ecology. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the simple trophic structure of glacier-fed streams provides an ideal outdoor laboratory where well-described diatom assemblages are found within two cyanobacterial mat types, which occupy different habitats and vary in coverage within and among streams. Specifically, black mats of Nostoc spp. occur in marginal wetted habitats, and orange mats (Oscillatoria spp. and Phormidium spp.) occur in areas of consistent stream flow. Despite their importance as bioindicators for changing environmental conditions, the role of dispersal in structuring dry valley diatom metacommunities remains unclear. Here, we use MCSim, a spatially explicit metacommunity simulation package for R, to test alternative hypotheses about the roles of dispersal and species sorting in maintaining the biodiversity of diatom assemblages residing in black and orange mats. The spatial distribution and patchiness of cyanobacterial mat habitats was characterized by remote imagery of the Lake Fryxell sub-catchment in Taylor Valley. The available species pool for diatom metacommunity simulation scenarios was informed by the Antarctic Freshwater Diatoms Database, maintained by the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program. We used simulation outcomes to test the plausibility of alternative community assembly hypotheses to explain empirically observed patterns of freshwater diatom biodiversity in the long-term record. The most plausible simulation scenarios suggest species sorting by environmental filters, alone, was not sufficient to maintain biodiversity in the Fryxell Basin diatom metacommunity. The most plausible scenarios included either (1) neutral models with different immigration rates for diatoms in orange and black mats or (2) species sorting by a relatively weak environmental filter, such that dispersal dynamics also influenced diatom community ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eric R. Sokol J. E. Barrett Tyler J. Kohler Diane M. McKnight Mark R. Salvatore Lee F. Stanish |
author_facet |
Eric R. Sokol J. E. Barrett Tyler J. Kohler Diane M. McKnight Mark R. Salvatore Lee F. Stanish |
author_sort |
Eric R. Sokol |
title |
Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data |
title_short |
Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data |
title_full |
Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data |
title_fullStr |
Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data |
title_sort |
evaluating alternative metacommunity hypotheses for diatoms in the mcmurdo dry valleys using simulations and remote sensing data |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 https://doaj.org/article/423bbdde2d784503a9fe057eb45a1dc0 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley Fryxell Lake Fryxell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley Fryxell Lake Fryxell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
op_source |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 8 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 https://doaj.org/article/423bbdde2d784503a9fe057eb45a1dc0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.521668 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
8 |
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1766042200799444992 |