minA: A minimum area indicator of alpha-diversity patterns

minA: A minimum area indicator of alpha-diversity patterns | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article minA: A minimum area indicator of alpha-diversity patterns Danai-Eleni Michailidou, Maria Lazarina, Athanasios S. Kallimanis, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7123668/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Description of spatial diversity patterns is a crucial part of biogeography and ecology. Diversity patterns vary with scale and the definition of the appropriate scale for their observation and analysis is not always straightforward depending on the research question and studied taxon. Species richness patterns are affected by the sampling design, as sampling area is a complex parameter defined by size, shape and spatial arrangement of the sample. We introduce the minimum area (minA) method, which estimates the smallest area containing a specific number of species. This approach uses species richness as the sampling’s independent variable, thus establishing a direct reference to the functional and ecological characteristics of the studied taxon. We examined how different abundance distributions, spatial aggregation, and starting point locations affect minA size with simulated communities and linear mixed-effects models. We applied the minA method to empirical data of African reptiles (Sauria, Serpentes, Amphisbaenia, Testudines) to explore its ability to identify diversity patterns and hotspots. The minA size decreases with species evenness and increases with spatial aggregation. The impact of the starting point's location on minA size is less important. In African reptiles, minA aligns with richness hotspots, but the minA patterns change with increasing number of species. This indicates that the underlying processes are taxon- and scale-specific. At small scales, environmental conditions and biotic interactions are more likely to drive local diversity. Αt larger scales, biogeographic history becomes the most influential factor. minA could be an alternative tool for studying α-diversity patterns and identifying species-rich regions. species richness spatial patterns reptiles scale Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7123668","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":521688439,"identity":"d5b4b655-cad6-42ed-af97-e5dbcf3f4037","order_by":0,"name":"Danai-Eleni Michailidou","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4UlEQVRIie3RTQqCQBTA8SeCbl65fVJ0hoGgD7pM0sJt0DbCEHTXeqBLdARjwG4ggi2ULiAELSPNVS0m20XMfzEwD34wjwFQqX6xSPN0AOpbpHnPAWtL0OYNoRYEoCKALG3un0k3Edvrcj3BYeZvc1iLzRjMpJQRO3P8Ho8JR+ejzyAWNPVwxWWEZU6go1GR1AkIDEEswoX0YQ25Ew55Te5tSScgZFQRLaiJKaTkuUtnR0j1Ls7OtQ8CdSnpZm5xxdtmYO3DIi9vM4udwouUvDavDx0//+Z7Zv41UalUqr/uATYRRz53CzsoAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Aristotle University of Thessaloniki","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Danai-Eleni","middleName":"","lastName":"Michailidou","suffix":""},{"id":521688440,"identity":"9199c69b-df8e-4994-81fa-611d0a55b456","order_by":1,"name":"Maria Lazarina","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Aristotle University of Thessaloniki","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"","lastName":"Lazarina","suffix":""},{"id":521688441,"identity":"d3af2132-2584-416c-a09f-0d9a36f775c0","order_by":2,"name":"Athanasios S. Kallimanis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Aristotle University of Thessaloniki","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Athanasios","middleName":"S.","lastName":"Kallimanis","suffix":""},{"id":521688442,"identity":"e630e315-2471-4335-8949-254fa494298a","order_by":3,"name":"Stefanos Sgardelis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Aristotle University of Thessaloniki","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stefanos","middleName":"","lastName":"Sgardelis","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-14 17:53:20","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7123668/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7123668/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":92625100,"identity":"2264c949-e21d-4ac1-9d07-f68330de94ca","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:04","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":140646311,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MichailidouetalManuscript.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/fe7b47b88b9dfb40910575bf.docx"},{"id":92625085,"identity":"cbb7b314-81fe-4e72-bc1b-02bcdf662d45","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:02","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":6370,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"936051ea7d194cd9915545fc39545e7e.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/e6d05f7725a0990e06077336.json"},{"id":92625151,"identity":"fe678e87-bb9d-40b0-b987-24cdc792154f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:36:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4373383,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterial.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/206897cabc1ba5ced26139ff.pdf"},{"id":92625150,"identity":"de91b738-241d-46bd-a1b9-303495f99bfd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:36:02","extension":"xml","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":146622,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"936051ea7d194cd9915545fc39545e7e1enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/5276af5dece683edfa570c10.xml"},{"id":92625086,"identity":"d8bb3dce-fb26-4095-a09d-a4edeb7ab0f0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:02","extension":"jpeg","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":176124,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/1edeab9be4beaf4b6631a84e.jpeg"},{"id":92625097,"identity":"5195e085-03ce-44b1-b7b2-ef2c61cf9fea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"jpeg","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":54711646,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/0273ed45a7f1a80f2791e6b1.jpeg"},{"id":92625090,"identity":"a3608eff-4fec-493f-ba4a-b4ce93032059","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"jpeg","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":9216204,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/353677d756b10c23d9bedd84.jpeg"},{"id":92625099,"identity":"e7428b65-997b-47ec-8ca2-7e990dc2f866","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"jpeg","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":76429006,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/4d4d0f86bd43fa6c8f21661a.jpeg"},{"id":92625087,"identity":"47d8cd12-d8ac-408c-bf33-1c57e038e163","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:02","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":29037,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/0b413835f48d096db30a806c.png"},{"id":92625372,"identity":"f9ffd36a-9477-46dc-9190-e37ebe856472","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:44:03","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":268730,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/c59a1e237357ec0cfdf4a01b.png"},{"id":92625092,"identity":"dcb8cb2f-9dc6-42f8-a739-81a8dca87d91","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":200590,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/9835a527ebde0cf6092cf87b.png"},{"id":92625095,"identity":"5caff2d9-9faa-4d78-a35a-8b358b92cbeb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"png","order_by":11,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":304719,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/86d175d28c31388c6d2c310a.png"},{"id":92625096,"identity":"e6168b1a-9742-474d-9e95-48cf01a1294a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"xml","order_by":12,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":144765,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"936051ea7d194cd9915545fc39545e7e1structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/10d6a3af10715fb9615cda1e.xml"},{"id":92625094,"identity":"ed5ebd5b-f588-458a-8a7d-5ba762bd075d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:03","extension":"html","order_by":13,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":151806,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/f1957cde7bcd6dedae0eeea1.html"},{"id":95227510,"identity":"ab8294c8-28be-473d-9877-68ebe50aaa86","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:32:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":906421,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MichailidouetalManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1_covered_0c178ef2-d75c-45e7-b230-44b207ade57f.pdf"},{"id":92625089,"identity":"c7310b08-842f-4393-87b7-3c7949341bdb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-01 22:28:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":4373383,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterial.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7123668/v1/31a70407f164c6d214d5d121.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"minA: A minimum area indicator of alpha-diversity patterns","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"species richness, spatial patterns, reptiles, scale","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7123668/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7123668/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eDescription of spatial diversity patterns is a crucial part of biogeography and ecology. Diversity patterns vary with scale and the definition of the appropriate scale for their observation and analysis is not always straightforward depending on the research question and studied taxon. Species richness patterns are affected by the sampling design, as sampling area is a complex parameter defined by size, shape and spatial arrangement of the sample. We introduce the minimum area (minA) method, which estimates the smallest area containing a specific number of species. This approach uses species richness as the sampling\u0026rsquo;s independent variable, thus establishing a direct reference to the functional and ecological characteristics of the studied taxon. We examined how different abundance distributions, spatial aggregation, and starting point locations affect minA size with simulated communities and linear mixed-effects models. We applied the minA method to empirical data of African reptiles (Sauria, Serpentes, Amphisbaenia, Testudines) to explore its ability to identify diversity patterns and hotspots. The minA size decreases with species evenness and increases with spatial aggregation. The impact of the starting point's location on minA size is less important. In African reptiles, minA aligns with richness hotspots, but the minA patterns change with increasing number of species. This indicates that the underlying processes are taxon- and scale-specific. At small scales, environmental conditions and biotic interactions are more likely to drive local diversity. Αt larger scales, biogeographic history becomes the most influential factor. minA could be an alternative tool for studying α-diversity patterns and identifying species-rich regions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"minA: A minimum area indicator of alpha-diversity patterns","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-01 22:27:58","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7123668/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bc193a2d-ddfb-4193-ac2e-3700fd87b7ab","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 1st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-04T22:08:19+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-01 22:27:58","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7123668","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7123668","identity":"rs-7123668","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}