Abstract
Habitat network connectivity influences colonization dynamics, species invasions, and biodiversity patterns. Recent theoretical work suggests dendritic networks, such as those found in rivers, alter expectations regarding colonization and dispersal dynamics compared with other network types. As many native and non-native species are spreading along river networks, this may have important ecological implications. However, experimental studies testing the effects of network structure on colonization and diversity patterns are scarce. Up to now, experimental studies have only considered networks where sites are connected with small corridors, or dispersal was experimentally controlled, which eliminates possible effects of species interactions on colonization dynamics. Here, we tested the effect of network connectivity and species interactions on colonization dynamics using continuous linear and dendritic (i.e., river-like) networks, which allow for active dispersal. We used a set of six protist species and one rotifer species in linear and dendritic microcosm networks. At the start of the experiment, we introduced species, either singularly or as a community within the networks. Species subsequently actively colonized the networks. We periodically measured densities of species throughout the networks over 2 weeks to track community dynamics, colonization, and diversity patterns. We found that colonization of dendritic networks was faster compared with colonization of linear networks, which resulted in higher local mean species richness in dendritic networks. Initially, community similarity was also greater in dendritic networks compared with linear networks, but this effect vanished over time. The presence of species interactions increased community evenness over time, compared with extrapolations from single-species setups. Our experimental findings confirm previous theoretical work and show that network connectivity, species-specific dispersal ability, and species interactions greatly influence the dispersal and colonization of dendritic networks. We argue that these factors need to be considered in empirical studies, where effects of network connectivity on colonization patterns have been largely underestimated.
Highlights
Understanding colonization and invasion dynamics is a long-standing question in ecology (Fisher 1937; Skellam 1951; Elton 1958)
Recent theoretical work suggests dendritic networks, such as those found in rivers, alter expectations regarding colonization and dispersal dynamics compared with other network types
We tested the effect of network connectivity and species interactions on colonization dynamics using continuous linear and dendritic networks, which allow for active dispersal
Summary
Understanding colonization and invasion dynamics is a long-standing question in ecology (Fisher 1937; Skellam 1951; Elton 1958). Colonization of empty habitat is the most important process that counteracts the negative effects of extinctions on biodiversity (Hanski 1999; Clobert et al 2012). Most empirical and theoretical studies on dispersal dynamics have focused on dispersal in highly simplified habitat systems, such as two-dimensional networks (i.e., latticelike) (Okubo et al 1989; Hanski 1999) or randomized networks (Melbourne and Hastings 2009). It was found that network connectivity, defined as the extent to which habitat sites within a network are connected to one another and the ease (speed) with which species move between the sites (Newman 2010), and subsequent changes therein alter colonization patterns and ecological dynamics (Holland and Hastings 2008)
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