Individual-based simulation of the spatial and temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate functional groups provides insights into benthic community assembly mechanisms
Authored by Fred Jean, Cedric Bacher, Nikolaos Alexandridis, Nicolas Desroy
Date Published: 2018
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5038
Sponsors:
French National Research Agency (ANR)
Platforms:
NetLogo
Model Documentation:
ODD
Model Code URLs:
https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/pmc/articles/PMC6011875/#supplemental-information
Abstract
The complexity and scales of the processes that shape communities of
marine benthic macroinvertebrates has limited our understanding of their
assembly mechanisms and the potential to make projections of their
spatial and temporal dynamics. Individual-based models can shed light on
community assembly mechanisms, by allowing observed spatiotemporal
patterns to emerge from first principles about the modeled organisms.
Previous work in the Rance estuary (Brittany, France) revealed the
principal functional components of its benthic macroinvertebrate
communities and derived a set of functional relationships between them.
These elements were combined here for the development of a dynamic and
spatially explicit model that operates at two spatial scales. At the
fine scale, modeling each individual's life cycle allowed the
representation of recruitment, inter-and intra-group competition,
biogenic habitat modification and predation mortality. Larval dispersal
and environmental filtering due to the tidal characteristics of the
Rance estuary were represented at the coarse scale. The two scales were
dynamically linked and the model was parameterized on the basis of
theoretical expectations and expert knowledge. The model was able to
reproduce some patterns of alpha-and beta-diversity that were observed
in the Rance estuary in 1995. Model analysis demonstrated the role of
local and regional processes, particularly early post-settlement
mortality and spatially restricted dispersal, in shaping marine benthos.
It also indicated biogenic habitat modification as a promising area for
future research. The combination of this mechanism with different
substrate types, along with the representation of physical disturbances
and more trophic categories, could increase the model's realism. The
precise parameterization and validation of the model is expected to
extend its scope from the exploration of community assembly mechanisms
to the formulation of predictions about the responses of community
structure and functioning to environmental change.
Tags
Individual-based model
models
ecology
Recruitment
Environments
Food webs
Biotic
interactions
Predictions
Beta-diversity
Coral-reefs
Estuarine
Marine-invertebrates
Inter-scale modeling
Functional groups
Benthic
macroinvertebrates
Community assembly
Biological traits
Alpha-diversity
Rance estuary
Biodiversity loss