Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
Parasitology. 2024 Jul;151(8):853-863. doi: 10.1017/S0031182024000969. Epub 2024 Oct 8.
We applied a novel framework based on network theory and a concept of modularity that estimates congruence between trait-based ( = functional) co-occurrence networks, thus allowing the inference of co-occurrence patterns and the determination of the predominant mechanism of community assembly. The aim was to investigate the relationships between species co-occurrence and trait similarity in flea communities at various scales (compound communities: across regions within a biogeographic realm or across sampling sites within a geographic region; component communities: across sampling sites within a geographic region; and infracommunities: within a sampling site). We found that compound communities within biogeographic realms were assembled environmental or host-associated filtering. In contrast, functional and spatial/host-associated co-occurrence networks, at the scale of regional compound communities, mostly indicated either stochastic processes or the lack of dominance of any deterministic process. Analyses of congruence between functional and either spatial (for component communities) or host-associated (for infracommunities) co-occurrence networks demonstrated that assembly rules in these communities varied among host species. In component communities, stochastic processes prevailed, whereas environmental filtering was indicated in 4 and limiting similarity/competition in 9 of 31 communities. Limiting similarity/competition processes dominated in infracommunities, followed by stochastic mechanisms. We conclude that assembly processes in parasite communities are scale-dependent, with different mechanisms acting at different scales.
我们应用了一种新的基于网络理论和模块性概念的框架，该框架估计基于特征（=功能）共现网络之间的一致性，从而可以推断出共现模式并确定群落组装的主要机制。目的是研究在不同尺度（复合群落：在生物地理区域内的不同区域或在地理区域内的不同采样点之间；组成群落：在地理区域内的不同采样点之间；和亚群落：在一个采样点内）下，跳蚤群落中物种共现与特征相似性之间的关系。我们发现，生物地理区域内的复合群落是由环境或宿主相关的过滤作用组装而成的。相比之下，在区域复合群落尺度上的功能和空间/宿主相关的共现网络，主要指示随机过程或任何确定性过程的缺乏主导地位。功能和空间（对于组成群落）或宿主相关（对于亚群落）共现网络之间的一致性分析表明，这些群落中的组装规则因宿主物种而异。在组成群落中，随机过程占主导地位，而在 31 个群落中有 4 个群落中指示环境过滤作用，9 个群落中指示限制相似性/竞争。在亚群落中，限制相似性/竞争过程占主导地位，其次是随机机制。我们得出结论，寄生虫群落的组装过程是尺度依赖的，不同的机制在不同的尺度上起作用。
