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SFS Annual Meeting

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FUNCTIONAL TRAITS OF REGIONAL SPECIES POOLS INTERACT WITH MULTIPLE DISPERSAL PATHWAYS TO SHAPE REGIONAL BIODIVERSITY PATTERNS

The functional connectivity of river networks is dictated by the dendritic structure of the network, the topology of the surrounding landscape, and the functional traits of regional species pools. In arid river networks, highly dynamic streamflow causes connectivity and aquatic habitat to be temporally dynamic. Aquatic macroinvertebrates have evolved diverse life histories that allow them to use multiple dispersal pathways, including overland flight, that structure their populations. In this study we combine monthly macroinvertebrate sampling across dry and wet seasons in a dynamic river (Indian Creek, San Jacinto Mountains, CA) and long-term archived macroinvertebrate sampling across California in addition to monitoring of artificial colonization habitat placed in surrounding landscapes to quantify connectivity between habitat. We pair this empirical data with metacommunity (MCSIM) and population (Riverfly) models to simulate the effects of varied connectivity and disturbance on regional diversity. This study hypothesized that beta diversity fluctuates with hydrological flow, with greater dissimilarity of species in dry months and decreased dissimilarity when flow is restored in wet months, with these results contingent upon species functional traits and overland connectivity.

Kurt Anderson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California, Riverside, kurt.anderson@ucr.edu;


Ryan Conway (Primary Presenter/Author), University of California, Riverside, rconw002@ucr.edu;