Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
4-2-2018
Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract
A species’ distribution and abundance are determined by abiotic conditions and biotic interactions with other species in the community. Most species distribution models correlate the occurrence of a single species with environmental variables only, and leave out biotic interactions. To test the importance of biotic interactions on occurrence and abundance, we compared a multivariate spatiotemporal model of the joint abundance of two invasive insects that share a host plant, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae) and elongate hemlock scale (EHS; Fiorina externa), to independent models that do not account for dependence among co‐occurring species. The joint model revealed that HWA responded more strongly to abiotic conditions than EHS. Additionally, HWA appeared to predispose stands to subsequent increase of EHS, but HWA abundance was not strongly dependent on EHS abundance. This study demonstrates how incorporating spatial and temporal dependence into a species distribution model can reveal the dependence of a species’ abundance on other species in the community. Accounting for dependence among co‐occurring species with a joint distribution model can also improve estimation of the abiotic niche for species affected by interspecific interactions.
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Lany, N. K., Zarnetske, P. L., Schliep, E. M., Schaeffer, R. N., Orians, C. M., Orwig, D. A. and Preisser, E. L. (2018), Asymmetric biotic interactions and abiotic niche differences revealed by a dynamic joint species distribution model. Ecology. . doi:10.1002/ecy.2190
Author Manuscript
This is a pre-publication author manuscript of the final, published article.
Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable
towards Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth in our Terms of Use.