Context-dependent interactions and the regulation of species richness in freshwater fish

Andrew S. MacDougall (), Eric Harvey, Jenny L. McCune, Karin A. Nilsson, Joseph Bennett, Jennifer Firn, Timothy Bartley, James B. Grace, Jocelyn Kelly, Tyler D. Tunney, Bailey McMeans, Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki, Taku Kadoya, Ellen Esch, Kevin Cazelles, Nigel Lester and Kevin S. McCann
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Andrew S. MacDougall: University Of Guelph
Eric Harvey: University Of Guelph
Jenny L. McCune: University Of Guelph
Karin A. Nilsson: University Of Guelph
Joseph Bennett: Carleton University
Jennifer Firn: Queensland University Of Technology
Timothy Bartley: University Of Guelph
James B. Grace: Wetland And Aquatic Research Center
Jocelyn Kelly: University Of Guelph
Tyler D. Tunney: University Of Guelph
Bailey McMeans: University Of Guelph
Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki: National Institute For Environmental Studies
Taku Kadoya: National Institute For Environmental Studies
Ellen Esch: University Of Guelph
Kevin Cazelles: University Of Guelph
Nigel Lester: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Kevin S. McCann: University Of Guelph

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Species richness is regulated by a complex network of scale-dependent processes. This complexity can obscure the influence of limiting species interactions, making it difficult to determine if abiotic or biotic drivers are more predominant regulators of richness. Using integrative modeling of freshwater fish richness from 721 lakes along an 11o latitudinal gradient, we find negative interactions to be a relatively minor independent predictor of species richness in lakes despite the widespread presence of predators. Instead, interaction effects, when detectable among major functional groups and 231 species pairs, were strong, often positive, but contextually dependent on environment. These results are consistent with the idea that negative interactions internally structure lake communities but do not consistently ‘scale-up’ to regulate richness independently of the environment. The importance of environment for interaction outcomes and its role in the regulation of species richness highlights the potential sensitivity of fish communities to the environmental changes affecting lakes globally.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03419-1

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