Assessing environmental and spatial drivers of non-marine ostracod metacommunities structure in Northern and Southern Patagonian environments

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms structuring the metacommunities is a fundamental question in community ecology. Ostracods are an ideal study group for metacommunity studies, due to their environmental sensitivity, high dispersal capacity and increased use as biological proxy in (paleo-) ecology studies. We studied the contribution of environmental and spatial processes in structuring non-marine ostracod metacommunities in Northern and Southern Patagonia. A total of 37 ostracod species were found at the 105 environments studied. According to variation partitioning results, in Northern Patagonia the metacommunities were influenced by a combination of species sorting (environmental control, including non-spatial and spatial components) and spatial effects (e.g. dispersal limitation). While species sorting (environmental control, due to non-spatial components) was the principal mechanism structuring Southern Patagonia. Discrepancies between the degree of environmental and spatial control structuring ostracod metacommunities could be associated to differences in study areas extension and in sampled sites distances, more than differences in Ostracoda response. Instead, the spatial extent not influenced total beta diversity and their components between the studied areas. Our study expanded the understanding of the drivers affecting the non-marine ostracod metacommunities in Patagonia, Argentina. And also, about the variables structuring the ostracod assemblages. Increase the knowledge in these aspects have important implications for (paleo-) ecology studies, allowing trustworthy interpretations in biological assessment programs and paleoenvironmental interpretations.