Abstract
Biotic communities are structured by both regional processes (e.g., dispersal) and local environmental conditions (e.g., stress). We examined the relative importance of landscape position (position within the hydrologic flow system and distance from other lakes) and local environmental factors in determining the assemblage structure of lake-dwelling snails and fingernail clams in a boreal landscape. Both landscape position and local environmental factors were highly influential in structuring the molluscan assemblages. In canonical correspondence analysis, 53.6% of snail and 48.2% of fingernail clam assemblage composition were accounted for by both sets of variables. The pure effects of landscape position were higher than those of environmental variables, and a considerable amount of variability was shared by the two sets of variables. In regression analysis, 95.5% of snail and 62.2% of fingernail clam species richness was accounted for by the explanatory variable groups, with most of the variability being related to shared effects, followed by landscape position. The effects of landscape position on species composition suggest that passive dispersal increases the similarity of molluscan assemblages in adjacent lakes. This process does not lead to an overall homogenisation of assemblage composition across the landscape, however, because local conditions set a strong environmental filter, excluding species that arrive at an unsuitable lake. These environmental filters may reflect either extinction probability (area, productivity) or species niche differences (calcium levels, abiotic stress). Landscape position may also be important in maintaining the species richness of lake-dwelling molluscan assemblages. By providing potential colonists, nearby source lakes are likely to be important in countering local extinctions. Our test of the relative importance of landscape position and local drivers of assemblage structure was partly confounded by their co-variation. Nevertheless, studying the relationship between landscape position and local variables is useful because it can tell us about the importance of local and regional processes in shaping lake communities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. Aho (1966) ArticleTitleEcological basis of the distribution of the littoral freshwater molluscs in the vicinity of TampereSouth Finland Ann. Zool. Fenn. 3 287–322
J. Aho (1978a) ArticleTitleFreshwater snail populations and the equilibrium theory of island biogeography I. A case study in southern Finland Ann. Zool. Fenn. 15 146–154 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaE1cXmtVert70%3D
J. Aho (1978b) ArticleTitleFreshwater snail populations and the equilibrium theory of island biogeography II. Relative importance of chemical and spatial variables Ann. Zool. Fenn. 15 155–164 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaE1cXmtVert7o%3D
D.A. Boag (1986) ArticleTitleDispersal in pond snails: potential role for waterfowl Can. J. Zool. 64 904–909 Occurrence Handle10.1139/z86-136
A.J. Bohonak D.G. Jenkins (2003) ArticleTitleEcological and evolutionary significance of dispersal by freshwater invertebrates Ecol. Lett. 6 783–796 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00486.x
R.B. Boone W.B. Krohn (2000) ArticleTitlePartitioning sources of variation in vertebrate species richness J. Biogeogr. 27 457–470 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00386.x
D. Borcard P. Legendre P. Drapeau (1992) ArticleTitlePartialling out the spatial component of ecological variation Ecology 73 1045–1055 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1940179
R.A. Briers (2003) ArticleTitleRange size and environmental calcium requirements of British freshwater gastropods Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 12 47–51 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1466-822X.2003.00316.x
C. Brönmark (1985) ArticleTitleFreshwater snail diversity: effects of pond areahabitat heterogeneity and isolation Oecologia 67 127–131 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00378463
K. Cottenie L. Meester ParticleDe (2003) ArticleTitleConnectivity and cladoceran species richness in a metacommunity of shallow lakes Freshwater Biol. 48 823–832 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01050.x
K. Cottenie E. Michels N. Nuytten L. Meester ParticleDe (2003) ArticleTitleZooplankton metacommunity structure: regional versus local processes in highly interconnected ponds Ecology 84 991–1000
J. Elmberg P. Nummi H. Pöysä K. Sjöberg (1993) ArticleTitleFactors affecting species number and density of dabbling duck guilds in north Europe Ecography 16 251–260
J. Figuerola A.J. Green (2002) ArticleTitleDispersal of aquatic organisms by waterbirds: a review of past research and priorities for future studies Freshwater Biol. 47 483–494 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00829.x
R.T.T. Forman (1995) Land Mosaics. Ecology of Landscapes and Regions Cambridge University press Cambridge
J. Heino T. Muotka (2005) ArticleTitleHighly nested snail and clam assemblages in boreal lake littorals: roles of isolation, area and habitat suitability Ecoscience 12 141–147
M.A. Huston (1999) ArticleTitleLocal processes and regional patterns: appropriate scales for understanding variation in the diversity of plants and animals Oikos 86 393–401
R.D. Holt (1993) Ecology at the mesoscale: the influence of regional processes on local communities R. Ricklefs D. Schluter (Eds) Species Diversity in Ecological Communities: Historical and Geographical Perspectives University of Chicago Press Chicago 77–88
S.P. Hubbell (2001) The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography Princeton University Press Princeton
T.K. Kratz K.E. Webster C.J. Bowser J.J. Magnuson B.J. Benson (1997) ArticleTitleThe influence of landscape position on lakes in northern Wisconsin Freshwater Biol. 37 209–217 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00149.x
P. Legendre (1993) ArticleTitleSpatial autocorrelation: trouble or new paradigm? Ecology 74 1659–1673 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1939924
P. Legendre L. Legendre (1998) Numerical Ecology Elsevier Amsterdam
D.B. Lewis J.J. Magnuson (2000) ArticleTitleLandscape spatial patterns in freshwater snail assemblages across Northern Highland catchments Freshwater Biol. 43 409–420 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2000.00514.x
J.J. Magnuson W.M. Tonn A. Banerjee J. Toivonen O. Sanchez M. Rask (1998) ArticleTitleIsolation vs. extinction in the assembly of fishes in small northern lakes Ecology 79 2941–2956 Occurrence Handle10.2307/176528
N. Mouquet M. Loreau (2003) ArticleTitleCommunity patterns in source–sink metacommunities Am. Natural. 162 544–557 Occurrence Handle10.1086/378857
S.G. Nilsson I.N. Nilsson (1978) ArticleTitleBreeding bird community densities and species richness in lakes Oikos 31 214–221
J.D. Olden D.A. Jackson P.R. Peres-Neto (2001) ArticleTitleSpatial isolation and fish communities in drainage lakes Oecologia 127 572–585 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s004420000620
B. Pinel-Alloul T. Niyosenga P. Legendre (1995) ArticleTitleSpatial and environmental components of freshwater zooplankton structure Ecoscience 2 1–19
R. Quinlan A.M. Paterson R.I. Hall P.J. Dillon A.N. Wilkinson B.F. Cumming M.S. Douglas J.P. Smol (2003) ArticleTitleA landscape approach to examining spatial patterns of limnological variables and long-term environmental change in a southern Canadian lake district Freshwater Biol. 48 1676–1697 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01105.x
J.L. Riera J.J. Magnuson T.K. Kratz K.E. Webster (2000) ArticleTitleA geomorphic template for the analysis of lake districts applied to the Northern Highland District, Wisconsin, USA Freshwater Biol. 43 301–318 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2000.00567.x
A.A. Savage G.M. Gazey (1987) ArticleTitleRelationships of physical and chemical conditions to species diversity and density of gastropods in English lakes Biol. Conserv. 42 95–113 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0006-3207(87)90017-6
P. Sorrano K.E. Webster J. Riera T.K. Kratz J. Baron P.A. Bukaveckas G.W. Kling D.S. White N. Caine R.C. Lathrop P.R. Leavitt (1999) ArticleTitleSpatial variation among lakes within landscapes: Ecological organization along lake chains Ecosystems 2 395–410 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s100219900089
C.J.F. ter Braak P. Šmilauer (2002) CANOCO for Windows Version 4.5 Microcomputer Power Ithaca, NY
W.M. Tonn J.J. Magnuson (1982) ArticleTitlePatterns in the species composition and richness of fish assemblages in northern Wisconsin lakes Ecology 63 1149–1166 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1937251
C.C. Vaughn C.M. Taylor (2000) ArticleTitleMacroecology of a host–parasite relationship Ecography 23 11–20 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0587.2000.230102.x
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heino, J., Muotka, T. Landscape Position, Local Environmental Factors, and the Structure of Molluscan Assemblages of Lakes. Landscape Ecol 21, 499–507 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-005-2377-x
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-005-2377-x