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Diversity
Special Issues
Biodiversity Conservation in Metacommunities
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Biodiversity Conservation in Metacommunities

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 3252

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alessandro Ferrarini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Lipu-BirdLife Italy, Via Udine 3/a, I-43122 Parma, Italy
Interests: behavioural ecology; ecological modelling; numerical ecology; spatial ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A metacommunity is a set of local communities that are linked by the dispersal of multiple potentially interacting species. Metacommunity theory describes the processes that occur at the metacommunity scale and suggests novel ways of thinking about species interactions, with fundamental implications for conservation ecology and biogeography.

The editor of this Special Issue welcomes submissions of both original research and synthetic reviews, including, but not limited to: 1) analyses of metacommunity structure; 2) analyses of metacommunity biodiversity (alpha, beta and gamma diversity); 3) analyses of species assemblage (modularity, nestedness, and species co-occurrences); 4) analyses of metacommunity changes over time; 5) analyses of the connection between species assemblage and environmental/anthropogenic drivers; 6) conceptual models to explain patterns in presence–absence data; 7) analyses of dispersal dynamics among communities; and 8) analysis of the biotic drivers (e.g., competition and mutualism) that shape the presence–absence of species. Studies about any type of metacommunity (e.g., islands in an archipelago, wetlands on land, and networks of protected areas) of both animals and plants are welcome, with a main focus on biodiversity conservation.

Dr. Alessandro Ferrarini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biotic drivers
  • dispersal dynamics
  • environmental/anthropogenic drivers
  • metacommunity biodiversity
  • metacommunity changes over time
  • metacommunity structure
  • species assemblage
  • species functional traits

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2382 KiB  
Article
The Community Structure of eDNA in the Los Angeles River Reveals an Altered Nitrogen Cycle at Impervious Sites
by Savanah Senn, Sharmodeep Bhattacharyya, Gerald Presley, Anne E. Taylor, Rayne Stanis, Kelly Pangell, Daila Melendez and Jillian Ford
Diversity 2023, 15(7), 823; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070823 - 29 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1288
Abstract
In this study, we sought to investigate the impact of urbanization, the presence of concrete river bottoms, and nutrient pollution on microbial communities along the L.A. River. Six molecular markers were evaluated for the identification of bacteria, plants, fungi, fish, and invertebrates in [...] Read more.
In this study, we sought to investigate the impact of urbanization, the presence of concrete river bottoms, and nutrient pollution on microbial communities along the L.A. River. Six molecular markers were evaluated for the identification of bacteria, plants, fungi, fish, and invertebrates in 90 samples. PCA (principal components analysis) was used along with PAM (partitioning around medoids) clustering to reveal community structure, and an NB (negative binomial) model in DESeq2 was used for differential abundance analysis. PCA and factor analysis exposed the main axes of variation but were sensitive to outliers. The differential abundance of Proteobacteria was associated with soft-bottom sites, and there was an apparent balance in the abundance of bacteria responsible for nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen cycling was explained via ammonia-oxidizing archaea; the complete ammonia oxidizers, Nitrospira sp.; nitrate-reducing bacteria, Marmoricola sp.; and nitrogen-fixing bacteria Devosia sp., which were differentially abundant at soft-bottom sites (p adj < 0.002). In contrast, the differential abundance of several cyanobacteria and other anoxygenic phototrophs was associated with the impervious sites, which suggested the accumulation of excess nitrogen. The soft-bottom sites tended to be represented by a differential abundance of aerobes, whereas the concrete-associated species tended to be alkaliphilic, saliniphilic, calciphilic, sulfate dependent, and anaerobic. In the Glendale Narrows, downstream from multiple water reclamation plants, there was a differential abundance of cyanobacteria and algae; however, indicator species for low nutrient environments and ammonia-abundance were also present. There was a differential abundance of ascomycetes associated with Arroyo Seco and a differential abundance of Scenedesmaceae green algae and cyanobacteria in Maywood, as seen in the analysis that compared suburban with urban river communities. The proportion of Ascomycota to Basidiomycota within the L.A. River differed from the expected proportion based on published worldwide freshwater and river 18S data; the shift in community structure was most likely associated with the extremes of urbanization. This study indicates that extreme urbanization can result in the overrepresentation of cyanobacterial species that could cause reductions in water quality and safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation in Metacommunities)
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13 pages, 3033 KiB  
Article
Anthropogenic Pressure and Climate Change Could Severely Hamper the Avian Metacommunity of the Sicilian Wetlands
by Alessandro Ferrarini, Claudio Celada and Marco Gustin
Diversity 2022, 14(9), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14090696 - 23 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1264
Abstract
Our study shows that the current levels of anthropogenic exploitation of the Sicilian wetlands (Italy), combined with the likely exacerbation of climate-driven variables, are unsustainable and could soon exclude many bird species from this metacommunity. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean [...] Read more.
Our study shows that the current levels of anthropogenic exploitation of the Sicilian wetlands (Italy), combined with the likely exacerbation of climate-driven variables, are unsustainable and could soon exclude many bird species from this metacommunity. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and its wetlands represent a network of unreplaceable stopover sites that allow waterbirds to rest and refuel during migratory journeys along the central-eastern Mediterranean bird flyway. During the summer period, these species experience higher levels of environmental stress as water scarcity and anthropogenic pressure are at their peak. Through field surveys, geoprocessing and statistical analyses, we investigated: (a) the structure of the avian metacommunity of the largest Sicilian wetlands during July–September and (b) the effects of 10 (geographic, hydrological and anthropogenic) wetland attributes on avian diversity. We sampled 73 bird species, of which 30 are listed in annex I of the Birds Directive. The avian metacommunity was significantly nested and non-modular; in addition, it presented elevated beta diversity and random species assemblage. Environmental filtering superseded biotic interactions in determining species composition. Avian diversity was significantly favored by higher water levels, water-level fluctuations and water discharges, and disfavored by water diversion, salinity and tourism pressure. The knowledge concerning the particular structure of the avian metacommunity of the Sicilian wetlands can facilitate the implementation of conservation policies that could mitigate and compensate the effects of short- and mid-term risks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation in Metacommunities)
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