Biology subjects

Pos, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Pos, E..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Solving the SLoSS debate: Scale-dependent effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity loss

Should what is left of nature be contained in a Single Large or Several Small (SLoSS) areas? This question of what would minimize the impact severity of habitat destruction on biodiversity loss is much debated, mainly because studies generally focus on different spatial and temporal scales. Using a semi-spatially explicit, (near-)neutral, individual-based model, we investigate the effects of fragmentation on biodiversity loss at two spatial (landscape-versus subcommunity level) and two temporal scales (static versus dynamic effects). Our results show that the role of spatial configuration of habitat destruction depends on when and at what scale we measure biodiversity loss. When considering the more realistic assumption that species differ in dispersal capacity, differences between spatial configurations are likely to be amplified. Our results indicate that the spatial configuration of habitat loss needs to be considered when evaluating the risks of further habitat destruction.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

The Maximum Entropy Formalism of statistical mechanics in a biological application: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology

In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important constraints via predictions using least biased probability distributions. We apply it to over two thousand hectares of Amazonian tree inventories across seven forest types and thirteen functional traits, representing major global axes of plant strategies. Results show that constraints formed by regional relative abundances of genera explain eight times more of local relative abundances than constraints based on directional selection for specific functional traits, although the latter does show clear signals of environmental dependency. These results provide a quantitative insight by inference from large-scale data using cross-disciplinary methods, furthering our understanding of ecological dynamics.

ecology↗