Both local stability and dispersal contribute to metacommunity sensitivity to asynchronous habitat availability (depending on landscape structure and foodweb complexity)

Abstract

The stability of isolated communities is determined by foodweb complexity.However, it is unclear how local stability interacts with dispersal in multitrophic metacommunities to shape biodiversity patterns. Furthermore, metacommunity dynamics in landscapes with non-trivial and dynamic structures are less understood.vspace{8pt}\newlineObjectives: We aim to evaluate the influence of local stabilizing factors versus dispersalin determining the sensitivity of metacommunity biodiversity to increasing site availabilityasynchrony. Additionally, we assess the role of foodweb complexity and landscapestructure as modulating factors.vspace{8pt}\newlineMethods: We developed a model based on random matrices for local communities, which are linked by stochastic dispersal over explicit dynamic landscapes. We ran numerical simulations and computed the effect sizes of foodweb temperature, self-limitation, dispersal ability, and all pairwise combinations, on the sensitivity of biodiversity to landscape asynchrony. We explored gradients of species richness, foodweb connectance, number of sites, and landscape modularity.Asynchrony among site availability periods reduced \(\alpha\)-diversity and rose \(\beta\)-diversity. Asynchrony increased \(\gamma\)-diversity at high dispersal rates. Bothlocal and regional stabilizing factors determined the sensitivity of metacommunities to land-scape asynchrony. Local factors were more influential in landscapes with fewer sites andlower modularity. Local factors were particularly influential in metacommunities composed of complex foodwebs.This research offers insights into the dynamics of metacommunitiesin dynamic landscapes, providing valuable knowledge about the interplay between local andregional factors in shaping ecological stability and species persistence. We delve into themechanisms underlying our results and discuss potential extensions of our study.