Landscape configuration affects probability of apex predator presence and community structure in experimental metacommunities

Landscape configuration affects probability of apex predator presence and community structure in experimental metacommunities | 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 Landscape configuration affects probability of apex predator presence and community structure in experimental metacommunities Ellie Wolfe, Edd Hammill, Jane Memmott, Christopher F. Clements This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-768807/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, highlighting the urgent requirement for well-designed protected areas. Design tactics previously proposed to promote biodiversity include enhancing the number, connectivity, and heterogeneity of reserve patches. However, how the importance of these features changes depending on what the conservation objective is remains poorly understood. Here we use experimental landscapes containing ciliate protozoa to investigate how the number and heterogeneity in size of habitat patches, rates of dispersal between neighbouring patches, and mortality risk of dispersal across the nonhabitat ‘matrix’ interact to affect a number of diversity measures. We show that increasing the number of patches significantly increases γ diversity and reduces the overall number of extinctions, whilst landscapes with heterogeneous patch sizes have significantly higher γ diversity than those with homogeneous patch sizes. Furthermore, the responses of predators depended on their feeding specialism, with generalist predator presence being highest in a single large patch, whilst specialist predator presence was highest in several-small patches with matrix dispersal. Our evidence emphasises the importance of considering how top-down effects can drive community responses to patch configuration. Biological Chemistry Behavioral Ecology dispersal diversity heterogeneity protected area SLOSS Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 09 Aug, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Aug, 2021 Editor assigned by journal 02 Aug, 2021 First submitted to journal 30 Jul, 2021 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-768807","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":44517381,"identity":"2a690a7a-d044-4752-93b6-6f805044b854","order_by":0,"name":"Ellie Wolfe","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIie3RMWrDMBiGYYmAs6iYbp8wOFdQyNAEArmKNWXKWjQVF8OfxXR2b+GtZHPIkEVkTsjQhFzA0AvUaseCnLGD3kkSPPBLYiwU+pfx10tmkCrG8243/T3LvWRQqNZOJz+kYbiHDOnxnYyu3fouEkPT4IGw/Eh2xVdrwOJ1E8nKQ2Sl6SYOWG3eNKGxYLBZJGsPUWe9nohnrGrLiW2pG+zIInnxkMVZUyIiLJXlRevIqI+oRJOsCFlHcjiiHPENhs+re2SMNyUnWAsxtrqY+a4fl/tr95UvoycxvLXGzNN0v9ueSg/5k+j9yFAoFAr19w3jYk+ze5rr6gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5161-4350","institution":"University of Bristol School of Biological Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ellie","middleName":"","lastName":"Wolfe","suffix":""},{"id":44517382,"identity":"b03bafff-7bd3-42d5-bdb6-d9cbe5adacd5","order_by":1,"name":"Edd Hammill","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Utah State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Edd","middleName":"","lastName":"Hammill","suffix":""},{"id":44517383,"identity":"88f4cb6e-a84e-4771-9c60-f06ab253c39c","order_by":2,"name":"Jane Memmott","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bristol","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jane","middleName":"","lastName":"Memmott","suffix":""},{"id":44517384,"identity":"d2e1d361-d7db-4201-bb88-2961a7d8591b","order_by":3,"name":"Christopher F. 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