Abstract
1. Numerous mechanisms have been proposed to explain the island species–area relationship (ISAR), including the passive sampling effect, the habitat diversity effect, ecological drift and a group of mechanisms jointly termed environmental filtering (or abiotic selection process). However, determining which of these hy‐ potheses underpins the ISAR in a given system remains an open and controversial question, particularly with regards to the environmental filtering.
2. The effect of environmental filtering on the ISAR for woody plants was tested on 29 islands in a subtropical land‐bridge archipelago. Island area had a significant effect on species richness, while isolation was not found to have an effect. After controlling for the passive sampling effect and habitat diversity using a systematic sampling design, we found that a positive ISAR remained.
3. After controlling for island area and isolation, species richness was significantly affected by environmental conditions (e.g. total phosphorus, soil depth and bulk density).
4. When a null model was used that randomly assigned individuals to islands from the regional pool, the difference between the observed and expected richness was greater for smaller islands relative to larger islands.
5. Synthesis. Our results point to an overlooked role of environmental filtering in driving the island species–area relationship (ISAR). Consequently, our study high‐ lights the importance of considering deterministic process in future analyses of the ISAR.
2. The effect of environmental filtering on the ISAR for woody plants was tested on 29 islands in a subtropical land‐bridge archipelago. Island area had a significant effect on species richness, while isolation was not found to have an effect. After controlling for the passive sampling effect and habitat diversity using a systematic sampling design, we found that a positive ISAR remained.
3. After controlling for island area and isolation, species richness was significantly affected by environmental conditions (e.g. total phosphorus, soil depth and bulk density).
4. When a null model was used that randomly assigned individuals to islands from the regional pool, the difference between the observed and expected richness was greater for smaller islands relative to larger islands.
5. Synthesis. Our results point to an overlooked role of environmental filtering in driving the island species–area relationship (ISAR). Consequently, our study high‐ lights the importance of considering deterministic process in future analyses of the ISAR.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Ecology |
| Early online date | 10 Sept 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 10 Sept 2019 |
Keywords
- colonization and extinction
- environmental filtering
- habitat fragmentation
- island species–area relationship
- passive sampling
- selection process
- species density
Access to Document
- Liu_et_al_Environmental_filtering_underpins_the_island_species_area_relationship_in_a_subtropical_anthropogenic_archipelago_Journal_of_Ecology_2019
Checked for eligibility: 10/10/2019 This is the accepted version of the following article:Liu, J, Matthews, TJ, Zhong, L, Liu, J, Wu, D, Yu, M. Environmental filtering underpins the island species—area relationship in a subtropical anthropogenic archipelago. J Ecol. 2019, which has been published in final form at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13272. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Wiley Self Archiving Policy [http://www.wileyauthors.com/self-archiving].