A new sampling method that decouples spatial and environmental correlations was developed and applied to a temperate forest understory. Data were used to contrast niche theory with neutral theory, and only showed support for niche theory. A spatial and environmental partitioning analysis indicated that the effects of dispersal are primarily important within the spatial extent of environments suitable for a given species. The same sampling data were used to test correlates of non-native species invasion at a species level and as a group. The distributions of non-native plant species are also better explained by the niche model; however, non-native species do not appear to negatively impact native species, nor to be negatively impacted by native species. Together, these results suggest that the forest understory is strongly niche-structured, but likely not saturated. Diversity in this forest appears to be primarily determined by regional processes, and only secondarily by local species interactions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.19731 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Gilbert, Benjamin |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Biology) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002022822, Theses scanned by McGill Library. |
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