Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly

Abstract Animal body size exhibits rapid responses to environmental variations and displays considerable variability across ecological scales, significantly influencing ecological community assembly. However, our understanding of the extent of body size variation and its responses to environmental d...

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Autori principali: Teng Li, Xianping Li, Lingyun Zheng, Huixin Li
Natura: Articolo
Lingua:inglese
Pubblicazione: Wiley 2024-07-01
Serie:Ecology and Evolution
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Accesso online:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70025
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author Teng Li
Xianping Li
Lingyun Zheng
Huixin Li
author_facet Teng Li
Xianping Li
Lingyun Zheng
Huixin Li
author_sort Teng Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Animal body size exhibits rapid responses to environmental variations and displays considerable variability across ecological scales, significantly influencing ecological community assembly. However, our understanding of the extent of body size variation and its responses to environmental differences within soil fauna remains limited, impeding a comprehensive grasp of soil fauna's functional ecology. Here, we aim to investigate the magnitude of intrageneric body size variation and its implications for soil nematode community assembly along an altitudinal gradient. We examined soil nematode body size responses along an altitudinal gradient spanning from 3136 to 4128 m in an alpine mountain region of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We assessed the contributions of intra‐ and intergeneric variations in body size, both within and among communities, using individual body size values. The implications of these variations for community assembly processes were determined through phenotypic variance ratios employing permutation tests. Our analyses did not reveal statistically significant correlations between altitude and the community‐weighted mean body mass, regardless of considering intrageneric trait variation (IGTV). Approximately 15% of the variation in body size among communities and a substantial 72% of the variation in body size within communities can be attributed to IGTV. Altitude did not significantly affect IGTV within or among communities. Furthermore, our results underscored the dominant role of internal filtering within the community in governing nematode community assembly, with external filtering outside the community playing a limited role within our altitudinal range. Our findings emphasize the dominant role of body size variation within communities rather than among communities, attributable to strong internal filtering processes. These findings advance our understanding of body size variation in soil nematodes across ecological scales and highlight the pivotal role of intrageneric variation in shaping the functional ecology of soil fauna.
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spelling doaj-art-ea463520958640fa9b7288cf5624bb4b2025-07-24T00:21:19ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-07-01147n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70025Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assemblyTeng Li0Xianping Li1Lingyun Zheng2Huixin Li3College of Resources and Environmental Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing ChinaAbstract Animal body size exhibits rapid responses to environmental variations and displays considerable variability across ecological scales, significantly influencing ecological community assembly. However, our understanding of the extent of body size variation and its responses to environmental differences within soil fauna remains limited, impeding a comprehensive grasp of soil fauna's functional ecology. Here, we aim to investigate the magnitude of intrageneric body size variation and its implications for soil nematode community assembly along an altitudinal gradient. We examined soil nematode body size responses along an altitudinal gradient spanning from 3136 to 4128 m in an alpine mountain region of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We assessed the contributions of intra‐ and intergeneric variations in body size, both within and among communities, using individual body size values. The implications of these variations for community assembly processes were determined through phenotypic variance ratios employing permutation tests. Our analyses did not reveal statistically significant correlations between altitude and the community‐weighted mean body mass, regardless of considering intrageneric trait variation (IGTV). Approximately 15% of the variation in body size among communities and a substantial 72% of the variation in body size within communities can be attributed to IGTV. Altitude did not significantly affect IGTV within or among communities. Furthermore, our results underscored the dominant role of internal filtering within the community in governing nematode community assembly, with external filtering outside the community playing a limited role within our altitudinal range. Our findings emphasize the dominant role of body size variation within communities rather than among communities, attributable to strong internal filtering processes. These findings advance our understanding of body size variation in soil nematodes across ecological scales and highlight the pivotal role of intrageneric variation in shaping the functional ecology of soil fauna.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70025altitude gradientbody sizecommunity assemblyfunctional ecologyintraspecific variabilitysoil nematodes
spellingShingle Teng Li
Xianping Li
Lingyun Zheng
Huixin Li
Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
Ecology and Evolution
altitude gradient
body size
community assembly
functional ecology
intraspecific variability
soil nematodes
title Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
title_full Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
title_fullStr Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
title_full_unstemmed Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
title_short Stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes: The role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
title_sort stable body sizes in soil nematodes across altitudes the role of intrageneric variation in community assembly
topic altitude gradient
body size
community assembly
functional ecology
intraspecific variability
soil nematodes
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70025
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AT xianpingli stablebodysizesinsoilnematodesacrossaltitudestheroleofintragenericvariationincommunityassembly
AT lingyunzheng stablebodysizesinsoilnematodesacrossaltitudestheroleofintragenericvariationincommunityassembly
AT huixinli stablebodysizesinsoilnematodesacrossaltitudestheroleofintragenericvariationincommunityassembly