Trait evolution, community assembly, and the phylogenetic structure of ecological communities.

N.J.B. Kraft, W.K. Cornwell, C.O. Webb, D.D. Ackerlly

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Taxa co-occurring in communities often represent a non-random sample, in phenotypic or phylogenetic terms, of the regional species pool. While heuristic arguments have identified processes that create community phylogenetic patterns, further progress hinges on a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions between underlying ecological and evolutionary processes. We created a simulation framework to model trait evolution, assemble communities (via competition, habitat filtering, or neutral assembly), and test the phylogenetic pattern of the resulting communities. We found that phylogenetic community structure is greatest when traits are highly conserved and when multiple traits influence species membership in communities. Habitat filtering produces stronger phylogenetic structure when taxa with derived (as opposed to ancestral) traits are favored in the community. Nearest-relative tests have greater power to detect patterns due to competition, while total community relatedness tests perform better with habitat filtering. The size of the local community relative to the regional pool strongly influences statistical power; in general, power increases with larger pool sizes for communities created by filtering but decreases for communities created by competition. Our results deepen our understanding of processes that contribute to phylogenetic community structure and provide guidance for the design and interpretation of empirical research. © 2007 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalThe American Naturalist
    Volume170
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

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