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 α- and β-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.
Highlights
Environmental change appears to adversely affect ecosystem functioning, both directly and through its impact on biodiversity (Hooper et al, 2012)
Our objective is to develop an individual-based models (IBMs) of complete communities of marine benthic macroinvertebrates, explicitly representing the mechanisms that drive their spatial and temporal dynamics
Mechanistic approach This study aimed to explore the potential to reproduce the dynamics of benthic macroinvertebrate communities through a mechanistic representation of the system, based primarily on theoretical expectations about community assembly mechanisms
Summary
Environmental change appears to adversely affect ecosystem functioning, both directly and through its impact on biodiversity (Hooper et al, 2012). This indirect effect gains importance in the face of expected high biodiversity losses (Bellard et al, 2012). The reliability of predictions can be increased through the representation of community assembly mechanisms (Gotelli et al, 2009). Mechanistic understanding of communities is often difficult to generate empirically, due to the complexity of ecological processes and the spatial and temporal scales at which they operate (Cardinale et al, 2012)
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