Effects of sampling scale on patterns of habitat association in tropical trees

Carol X. Garzon-Lopez; Patrick A. Jansen; Stephanie A. Bohlman; Alejandro Ordonez Gloria; Han Olff

doi:10.1111/jvs.12090

Effects of sampling scale on patterns of habitat association in tropical trees

Carol X. Garzon-Lopez^*, Patrick A. Jansen, Stephanie A. Bohlman, Alejandro Ordonez Gloria, Han Olff

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Questions

Niche differentiation is a central explanation for the co-existence and distribution patterns of numerous tree species in tropical forests, but functional equivalence leading to neutral dynamics has been proposed as an alternative explanation. This niche vs neutral debate is fuelled by the highly variable results yielded by studies of the association between tree species distributions and environmental factors, where some studies find strong associations but others do not. Here, we ask how differences in sampling scale between studies contribute to this variation.

Location

Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

Methods

Using distribution maps of canopy-statured individuals, we evaluated patterns of habitat association in five tropical tree species on Barro Colorado Island across a wide range of sampling scales (from 50 to 1600ha). We investigated the scale-dependency of species clumping patterns (Ripley's K) and the association of species distributions with important environmental variables (forest age, topography and geological formation) using point pattern analyses.

Results

Clump size and clump density had high variances within and among spatial scales. Significant habitat associations were found in all five species, with the number of habitat associations generally increasing with the sampling scale. Ignoring dispersal constraints inflated the number of significant habitat associations.

Conclusions

We found that patterns of habitat association (and hence conclusions on the importance of niche vs neutral processes) are strongly affected by the choice of sampling scale and location. Explicit inclusion of the effect of spatial scale is critical for studies of habitat association and the main processes that structure communities of tropical trees.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Vegetation Science
Volume	25
Issue	2
Pages (from-to)	349-362
Number of pages	14
ISSN	1100-9233
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12090
Publication status	Published - Mar 2014
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Niche differentiation
Species co-existence
Tropical moist forest
Point pattern analysis
Panama
Habitat association
Dispersal limitation
RAIN-FOREST TREES
SPATIAL-PATTERNS
ENVIRONMENTAL HETEROGENEITY
RECRUITMENT LIMITATION
MESOSCALE DISTRIBUTION
ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
NEOTROPICAL FOREST
NEUTRAL THEORY
LANDSCAPE
DISTRIBUTIONS

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10.1111/jvs.12090

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@article{a62a07bce2f94f1bab0377af2374ceab,

title = "Effects of sampling scale on patterns of habitat association in tropical trees",

abstract = "QuestionsNiche differentiation is a central explanation for the co-existence and distribution patterns of numerous tree species in tropical forests, but functional equivalence leading to neutral dynamics has been proposed as an alternative explanation. This niche vs neutral debate is fuelled by the highly variable results yielded by studies of the association between tree species distributions and environmental factors, where some studies find strong associations but others do not. Here, we ask how differences in sampling scale between studies contribute to this variation.LocationBarro Colorado Island, Panama.MethodsUsing distribution maps of canopy-statured individuals, we evaluated patterns of habitat association in five tropical tree species on Barro Colorado Island across a wide range of sampling scales (from 50 to 1600ha). We investigated the scale-dependency of species clumping patterns (Ripley's K) and the association of species distributions with important environmental variables (forest age, topography and geological formation) using point pattern analyses.ResultsClump size and clump density had high variances within and among spatial scales. Significant habitat associations were found in all five species, with the number of habitat associations generally increasing with the sampling scale. Ignoring dispersal constraints inflated the number of significant habitat associations.ConclusionsWe found that patterns of habitat association (and hence conclusions on the importance of niche vs neutral processes) are strongly affected by the choice of sampling scale and location. Explicit inclusion of the effect of spatial scale is critical for studies of habitat association and the main processes that structure communities of tropical trees.",

keywords = "Niche differentiation, Species co-existence, Tropical moist forest, Point pattern analysis, Panama, Habitat association, Dispersal limitation, RAIN-FOREST TREES, SPATIAL-PATTERNS, ENVIRONMENTAL HETEROGENEITY, RECRUITMENT LIMITATION, MESOSCALE DISTRIBUTION, ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY, NEOTROPICAL FOREST, NEUTRAL THEORY, LANDSCAPE, DISTRIBUTIONS",

author = "Garzon-Lopez, {Carol X.} and Jansen, {Patrick A.} and Bohlman, {Stephanie A.} and {Ordonez Gloria}, Alejandro and Han Olff",

year = "2014",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1111/jvs.12090",

language = "English",

volume = "25",

pages = "349--362",

journal = "Journal of Vegetation Science",

issn = "1100-9233",

publisher = "JohnWiley & Sons Ltd.",

number = "2",

}

Effects of sampling scale on patterns of habitat association in tropical trees. / Garzon-Lopez, Carol X.; Jansen, Patrick A.; Bohlman, Stephanie A. et al.
In: Journal of Vegetation Science, Vol. 25, No. 2, 03.2014, p. 349-362.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effects of sampling scale on patterns of habitat association in tropical trees

AU - Garzon-Lopez, Carol X.

AU - Jansen, Patrick A.

AU - Bohlman, Stephanie A.

AU - Ordonez Gloria, Alejandro

AU - Olff, Han

PY - 2014/3

Y1 - 2014/3

N2 - QuestionsNiche differentiation is a central explanation for the co-existence and distribution patterns of numerous tree species in tropical forests, but functional equivalence leading to neutral dynamics has been proposed as an alternative explanation. This niche vs neutral debate is fuelled by the highly variable results yielded by studies of the association between tree species distributions and environmental factors, where some studies find strong associations but others do not. Here, we ask how differences in sampling scale between studies contribute to this variation.LocationBarro Colorado Island, Panama.MethodsUsing distribution maps of canopy-statured individuals, we evaluated patterns of habitat association in five tropical tree species on Barro Colorado Island across a wide range of sampling scales (from 50 to 1600ha). We investigated the scale-dependency of species clumping patterns (Ripley's K) and the association of species distributions with important environmental variables (forest age, topography and geological formation) using point pattern analyses.ResultsClump size and clump density had high variances within and among spatial scales. Significant habitat associations were found in all five species, with the number of habitat associations generally increasing with the sampling scale. Ignoring dispersal constraints inflated the number of significant habitat associations.ConclusionsWe found that patterns of habitat association (and hence conclusions on the importance of niche vs neutral processes) are strongly affected by the choice of sampling scale and location. Explicit inclusion of the effect of spatial scale is critical for studies of habitat association and the main processes that structure communities of tropical trees.

AB - QuestionsNiche differentiation is a central explanation for the co-existence and distribution patterns of numerous tree species in tropical forests, but functional equivalence leading to neutral dynamics has been proposed as an alternative explanation. This niche vs neutral debate is fuelled by the highly variable results yielded by studies of the association between tree species distributions and environmental factors, where some studies find strong associations but others do not. Here, we ask how differences in sampling scale between studies contribute to this variation.LocationBarro Colorado Island, Panama.MethodsUsing distribution maps of canopy-statured individuals, we evaluated patterns of habitat association in five tropical tree species on Barro Colorado Island across a wide range of sampling scales (from 50 to 1600ha). We investigated the scale-dependency of species clumping patterns (Ripley's K) and the association of species distributions with important environmental variables (forest age, topography and geological formation) using point pattern analyses.ResultsClump size and clump density had high variances within and among spatial scales. Significant habitat associations were found in all five species, with the number of habitat associations generally increasing with the sampling scale. Ignoring dispersal constraints inflated the number of significant habitat associations.ConclusionsWe found that patterns of habitat association (and hence conclusions on the importance of niche vs neutral processes) are strongly affected by the choice of sampling scale and location. Explicit inclusion of the effect of spatial scale is critical for studies of habitat association and the main processes that structure communities of tropical trees.

KW - Niche differentiation

KW - Species co-existence

KW - Tropical moist forest

KW - Point pattern analysis

KW - Panama

KW - Habitat association

KW - Dispersal limitation

KW - RAIN-FOREST TREES

KW - SPATIAL-PATTERNS

KW - ENVIRONMENTAL HETEROGENEITY

KW - RECRUITMENT LIMITATION

KW - MESOSCALE DISTRIBUTION

KW - ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY

KW - NEOTROPICAL FOREST

KW - NEUTRAL THEORY

KW - LANDSCAPE

KW - DISTRIBUTIONS

U2 - 10.1111/jvs.12090

DO - 10.1111/jvs.12090

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1100-9233

VL - 25

SP - 349

EP - 362

JO - Journal of Vegetation Science

JF - Journal of Vegetation Science

IS - 2

ER -

Effects of sampling scale on patterns of habitat association in tropical trees

Abstract

Keywords

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