Testing the independent species' arrangement assertion made by theories of stochastic geometry of biodiversity

Thorsten Wiegand, Andreas Huth, Stephan Getzin, Xugao Wang, Zhanqing Hao, C. V. Savitri Gunatilleke, I. A.U. Nimal Gunatilleke

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

92 Scopus citations

Abstract

The assertion that the spatial location of different species is independent of each other is fundamental in major ecological theories such as neutral theory that describes a stochastic geometry of biodiversity. However, this assertion has rarely been tested. Here we use techniques of spatial point pattern analysis to conduct a comprehensive test of the independence assertion by analysing data from three large forest plots with different species richness: a species-rich tropical forest at Barro Colorado Island (Panama), a tropical forest in Sinharaja (Sri Lanka), and a temperate forest in Changbaishan (China). We hypothesize that stochastic dilution effects owing to increasing species richness overpower signals of species associations, thereby yielding approximate species independence. Indeed, the proportion of species pairs showing: (i) no significant interspecific association increased with species richness, (ii) segregation decreased with species richness, and (iii) small-scale interspecific interaction decreased with species richness. This suggests that independence may indeed be a good approximation in the limit of very species-rich communities. Our findings are a step towards a better understanding of factors governing species-rich communities and we propose a hypothesis to explain why species placement in species-rich communities approximates independence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3312-3320
Number of pages9
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume279
Issue number1741
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Environmental heterogeneity
  • Forests
  • Neutral theory
  • Point pattern analysis
  • Spatial pattern
  • Species interactions

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