Community Ecology Processes, Models, and Applications

Table 9.1Implications of different perspectives on metacommunity dynamics (Leiboldet al.2004) for management of
biodiversity and ecosystem services (inspired by Mouillot 2007)

Perspective Ecological processes Management implications

Species sorting Local processes determine diversity.
Coexistence by niche separation, local
heterogeneity creates niches leading to
higher diversity.
Disturbances decrease local diversity.Low dispersal
into patches, but some dispersal needed for local
communities to track environmental changes.
Sorting of most efficient competitors results in high
ecosystem functioning

Proper local management most
important.
Local diversity: maintain local conditions
by management.
Regional diversity: maintain diversity of
conditions on regional scale; manage
patches differently when appropriate.
Maintain some connections between
patches to allow environmental
tracking.
Local management to maintain diversity
increases resource use and local
ecosystem services
Patch dynamics Metapopulation dynamics, patches fairly equal.
Extinctions can be stochastic, caused by
competitors or predators, disturbance-driven or
deterministic. Colonization often distance
dependent, dispersal limitation may be
important.
Regional coexistence and diversity depends on
trade-offs, e.g. between dispersal and
competitive ability.
Stochastic extinctions lead to lower ecosystem
functioning

Local and regional diversity and species
occurrence maintained by higher
connectivity between patches, and
maintaining disturbance regimes.
Local diversity maintained by
maintaining the regional species pool.
Ecosystem services depend on dispersal
of functionally dominant species or
sets of species with similar effects on
functioning
Low dispersal rates and low regional
occurrence result in lower average
ecosystem services with a high
variability among patches
Dispersal-driven
metacommunities
(mass effects)
(1) between
patches, or
(2) from matrix to
patches

Island biogeography roots.

Source-sink dynamics, patches of varying quality.

Dispersal from outside local patches, i.e. other

source patches or matrix, has major effects on

local dynamics and composition (diversity).

Local diversity may increase with increasing

dispersal of new and less competitive species into

patches, but then decrease as immigration of

good dispersers dominate dynamics, which also

leads to homogenization of regional diversity

Maintain dispersal but do not
homogenize region.
Important to identify and manage
source patches. Promote diversity of
conditions regionally to maintain
sources for different species.
Ecosystem services depend on dispersal
from sources, but high regional
dispersal may prevent local sorting of
efficient species.
High-quality matrix important if
dispersal from matrix enhances
ecosystem functioning
Neutral Acts on longer time scales.
Individuals of different species are similar in fitness,
competitive ability, etc., but are not necessarily
equal.
Balance between ecological drift and speciation
maintains diversity

Short-term management implications

less clear.

Maintain regional dynamics and habitat

diversity.

Do not change fitness relations

drastically (e.g. many forestry

practices predominantly decrease

fitness of old-growth species, thus

decreasing diversity)

The perspectives are patch-based, and the uninhabitable matrix affects only migration rates. However, in many
managed systems the matrix is often habitat for many species and is most easily included in thedispersal-driven(mass
effects) metacommunity perspective.
Note: Perspectives are not exclusive (see text).