Howeth, J.G., J.J. Weis, J. Brodersen, E.C. Hatton & D.M. Post. (2013). Intraspecific phenotypic variation in a fish predator affects multitrophic lake metacommunity structure. Ecology and Evolution. 3(15):5031-5044.

510744

10.1002/ece3.878 [view]

Howeth, J.G., J.J. Weis, J. Brodersen, E.C. Hatton & D.M. Post

2013

3(15):5031-5044.

Publication

Available for editors  

Contemporary insights from evolutionary ecology suggest that population divergence in ecologically important traits within predators can generate diversifying ecological selection on local community structure. Many studies acknowledging these effects of intraspeci?c variation assume that local populations are situated in communities that are unconnected to similar communities within a shared region. Recent work from metacommunity ecology suggests that species dispersal among communities can also in?uence species diversity and composition but can depend upon the relative importance of the local environment. Here, we study the relative effects of intraspeci?c phenotypic variation in a ?sh predator and spatial processes related to plankton species dispersal on multitrophic lake plankton metacommunity structure. Intraspeci?c diversi?cation in foraging traits and residence time of the planktivorous ?sh alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) among coastal lakes yields lake metacommunities supporting three lake types which differ in the phenotype and incidence of alewife: lakes with anadromous, landlocked, or no alewives. In coastal lakes, plankton community composition was attributed to dispersal versus local environmental predictors, including intraspeci?c variation in alewives. Local and beta diversity of zooplankton and phytoplankton was additionally measured in response to intraspeci?c variation in alewives. Zooplankton communities were structured by species sorting, with a strong in?uence of intraspeci?c variation in A. pseudoharengus. Intraspeci?c variation altered zooplankton species richness and beta diversity, where lake communities with landlocked alewives exhibited intermediate richness between lakes with anadromous alewives and without alewives, and greater community similarity. Phytoplankton diversity, in contrast, was highest in lakes with landlocked alewives. The results indicate that plankton dispersal in the region supplied a migrant pool that was strongly structured by intraspeci?c variation in alewives. This is one of the ?rst studies to demonstrate that intraspeci?c phenotypic variation in a predator can maintain contrasting patterns of multitrophic diversity in metacommunities.

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