title: Additive partitioning of testate amoeba species diversity across habitat hierarchy within the pristine southern taiga landscape (Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve, Russia).
abstract: In order to better understand the distribution patterns of terrestrial eukaryotic microbes and the factors governing them, we studied the diversity partitioning of soil testate amoebae across levels of spatially nested habitat hierarchy in the largest European old-growth dark coniferous forest (Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve; Komi Republic, Russia). The variation in testate amoeba species richness and assemblage structure was analysed in 87 samples from six biotopes in six vegetation types using an additive partitioning procedure and principal component analyses. The 80 taxa recorded represent the highest value of species richness for soil testate amoebae reported for taiga soils so far. Our results indicate that testate amoeba assemblages were highly aggregated at all levels and were mostly controlled by environmental factors rather than dispersal processes. The variation in species diversity of testate amoebae increased from the lowest to the highest hierarchical level. We conclude that, similarly to macroscopic organisms, testate amoeba species richness and community structure are primarily controlled by environmental conditions within the landscape and suggest that metacommunity dynamics of free-living microorganisms are driven by species sorting and/or mass effect processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State University, Krasnaya str. 40, 440026 Penza, Russia. Electronic address: andrey.tsyganov@bk.ru.
authors.forename: Andrey N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Tsyganov
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State University, Krasnaya str. 40, 440026 Penza, Russia.
authors.forename: Alexander A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Komarov
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Soil Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, rue Emile Argand 11, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Jardin Botanique de Neuchâtel, Pertuis-du-Sault 56-58, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Edward A D
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Science Research Center, Hosei University, 2-17-1 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, 102-8160 Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimano
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Structural and Functional Organisation of Forest Ecosystems, Center for Problems of Ecology and Productivity of Forests, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya str. 84/32, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Olga V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Smirnova
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Structural and Functional Organisation of Forest Ecosystems, Center for Problems of Ecology and Productivity of Forests, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya str. 84/32, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Alexey A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Aleynikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State University, Krasnaya str. 40, 440026 Penza, Russia.
authors.forename: Yuri A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Mazei
mesh_terms: D000656:Amoeba / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology*; D044822:Biodiversity; D012426:Russia; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology; D066188:Taiga
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Biodiversity; Community ecology; Metacommunity; Micro-habitat; Soil protozoa; Vegetation type