Environmental Filtering Influences Functional Community Assembly of Epibenthic Communities

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Lauren Sutton, Franz J. Mueter, Bodil A. Bluhm, Katrin Iken
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
• Subjects: community assembly; environmental filtering; functional traits; trait convergence; Arctic; Science; Q; General. Including nature conservation; geographical distribution; QH1-199.5; Chukchi Sea; Beaufort Sea; Chukchi
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.736917; https://doaj.org/article/d23d820901fe4616b07119bdc74d9722

Community assembly theory states that species assemble non-randomly as a result of dispersal limitation, biotic interactions, and environmental filtering. Strong environmental filtering likely leads to local assemblages that are similar in their functional trait composition (high trait convergence) while functional trait composition will be less similar (high trait divergence) under weaker environmental filters. We used two Arctic shelves as case studies to examine the relationship between functional community assembly and environmental filtering using the geographically close but functionally and environmentally dissimilar epibenthic communities on the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea shelves. Environmental drivers were compared to functional trait composition and to trait convergence within each shelf. Functional composition in the Chukchi Sea was more strongly correlated with environmental gradients compared to the Beaufort Sea, as shown by a combination of RLQ and fourth corner analyses and community-weighted mean redundancy analyses. In the Chukchi Sea, epibenthic functional composition, particularly body size, reproductive strategy, and several behavioral traits (i.e., feeding habit, living habit, movement), was most strongly related to gradients in percent mud and temperature while body size and larval development were most strongly related to a depth gradient in the Beaufort Sea. The stronger environmental filter in the Chukchi Sea also supported the hypothesized relationship with higher trait convergence, although this relationship was only evident at one end of the observed environmental gradient. Strong environmental filtering generally provides a challenge for biota and can be a barrier for invading species, a growing concern for the Chukchi Sea shelf communities under warming conditions. Weaker environmental filtering, such as on the Beaufort Sea shelf, generally leads to communities that are more structured by biotic interactions, and possibly representing partitioning of resources among species from ...