Both local stability and dispersal contribute to metacommunity sensitivity to asynchronous habitat availability (depending on landscape structure and foodweb complexity)

The stability of isolated communities is determined by foodweb complexity. However, it is unclear how local stability interacts with dispersal in multitrophic metacommunities to shape biodiversity patterns. Furthermore, metacommunity dynamics in landscapes with non-trivial and dynamic structures are less understood. We aim to evaluate the influence of local stabilizing factors versus dispersal in determining the sensitivity of metacommunity biodiversity to increasing site availability asynchrony. Additionally, we assess the role of foodweb and landscape complexities as modulating factors. To achieve these goals, we developed a model based on random matrices for local communities linked by stochastic dispersal over explicit, dynamic landscapes. Both local and regional stabilizing factors determined the sensitivity of metacommunities to landscape asynchrony. Local factors were more influential in landscapes with fewer sites and lower modularity, and in more complex foodwebs. We delve into the mechanisms underlying our results and discuss potential extensions of our study.