Spatial autocorrelations are one of the most prevalent natural phenomena in ecological data. It is generally assumed that short-distance dispersers are spatially limited and thus have stronger spatial autocorrelation patterns than do long-distance dispersers.
To test this hypothesis, I quantified and compared spatial autocorrelation patterns of global richness rankings of amphibians, mammals, and birds using an autoregressive model. A species richness ranking was used as a proxy of species richness, which was obtained through a digital image processing method from published world maps of species richness.
Results:
The results showed that the spatial structure could explain the highest variance involved in global richness rankings of mammals (intermediate-distance dispersers), followed by birds (long-distance dispersers).
In contrast, amphibians, representing short-distance dispersers, had the lowest degree of spatial autocorrelation patterns. Thus, the present results do not support the abovementioned hypothesis.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, a complex relationship exists between an animal’s dispersal ability and its spatial autocorrelation pattern.
The dispersal abilities of species can be negatively correlated with spatial autocorrelation patterns.
Author: Youhua Chen
Credits/Source: Zoological Studies 2013, 52:57
Published on: 2013-12-12
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