Keywords

Phylogenetic community structure, community ecology, habitat filtering, competition, diversity, phylogenetic diversiy, aquatic beetles, aquatic beetle assemblages

Abstract

Phylogenetic Community Structure (PCS) metrics are becoming more common in community ecology. PCS metrics estimate the phylogenetic relatedness among members of an ecological community or assemblage. If ecological traits are conserved, then phylogenetic clustering (i.e., taxa are more closely related than expected by chance) indicates habitat filtering as the key process in community assembly. On the other hand, a pattern of phylogenetic overdispersion (i.e., taxa are more distantly related than expected by chance) suggests competition is dominant. Most studies to date have used PCS of unmanipulated ecosystems, but the value of PCS metrics will be best revealed in experiments. This project used PCS for aquatic beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages in experimentally manipulated seasonal wetlands on a cattle ranch in south-central Florida, and compared PCS metrics to standard ecological metrics. Wetlands were experimentally treated with all combinations of pasture management, fencing to exclude cattle, and controlled burning during 2006-2009. Beetle assemblages in fenced wetlands were significantly more overdispersed compared to non-fenced wetlands, suggesting that this treatment decreases habitat filtering, causing competition to become the dominant process in community formation. There was also a significant pasture x fence x burn interaction effect, with assemblages in wetlands differing in PCS depending on what combination of the three treatments were applied. Phylogenetic Diversity (PD – a measure of branch length of a community or assemblage on a phylogenetic tree) was highly correlated with genera richness (number of genera), and these metrics along with the expected number of genera (D – an ecological diversity index) found significant differences among burn treatments and a pasture x iii burn interaction. The results of this study indicate that PCS metrics complement classical ecological methods and should be widely applied.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2012

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Jenkins, David

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Biology

Degree Program

Biology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004394

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004394

Language

English

Release Date

August 2012

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences, Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

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Biology Commons

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