eprintid: 10110095
rev_number: 14
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/11/00/95
datestamp: 2020-09-17 13:52:26
lastmod: 2021-10-08 21:58:11
status_changed: 2020-09-17 13:52:26
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Llewellyn, T
creators_name: Gaya, E
creators_name: Murrell, DJ
title: Are Urban Communities in Successional Stasis? A Case Study on Epiphytic Lichen Communities
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C08
divisions: D09
divisions: F99
keywords: bioindicators; community ecology; empty niches; epiphytes; fungal diversity; pollution; species co-occurrence; urban ecosystems; lichenized fungi
note: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
abstract: Urban areas may contain a wide range of potential habitats and environmental gradients and, given the many benefits to human health and well-being, there is a growing interest in maximizing their biodiversity potential. However, the ecological patterns and processes in urban areas are poorly understood. Using a widely applicable ecological survey method, we sampled epiphytic lichen communities, important bioindicators of atmospheric pollution, on host Quercus trees in urban parks of London, UK, to test if common patterns relating to lichen diversity are mirrored in urban green spaces. We found lichen diversity to be dependent on host species identity, and negatively related to local tree crowding. In addition, we found a strong negative effect of tree size on lichen diversity, leaving large trees as unexploited niches. A novel network analysis revealed the presence of only pioneer communities, showing the lichen communities are being held in successional stasis, likely due to the heritage effects of SO2 emissions and current nitrogen pollution and particulate emissions. Our study highlights that jointly assessing species richness, community structure and the successional stage can be key to understanding diversity patterns in urban ecosystems. Subsequently, this may help best determine the optimum conditions that will facilitate biodiversity increase within cities.
date: 2020-09-01
date_type: published
publisher: MDPI AG
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d12090330
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1812980
doi: 10.3390/d12090330
lyricists_name: Murrell, David
lyricists_id: DJMUR72
actors_name: Kalinowski, Damian
actors_id: DKALI47
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Diversity
volume: 12
number: 9
article_number: 330
issn: 1424-2818
citation:        Llewellyn, T;    Gaya, E;    Murrell, DJ;      (2020)    Are Urban Communities in Successional Stasis? A Case Study on Epiphytic Lichen Communities.                   Diversity , 12  (9)    , Article 330.  10.3390/d12090330 <https://doi.org/10.3390/d12090330>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10110095/1/Murrel_Are%20Urban%20Communities%20in%20Successional%20Stasis%3F%20A%20Case%20Study%20on%20Epiphytic%20Lichen%20Communities_VoR.pdf