Environmental Patch Dynamics: A Vertical Metacommunity Framework Emerging from Marine Caves

Environmental Patch Dynamics: A Vertical Metacommunity Framework Emerging from Marine Caves | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 27 March 2026 V1 Latest version Share on Environmental Patch Dynamics: A Vertical Metacommunity Framework Emerging from Marine Caves Authors : Yeray González Marrero 0000-0003-0306-5208 , Sabrina Clemente [email protected] , Antonio Canepa-Oneto , Javier Cristobo , Carlos Hernandez-Gonzalez , and Vasilis Gerovasileiou Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.177462399.98292608/v1 136 views 100 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract In metacommunity theory, which has primarily addressed horizontal processes, vertical connectivity has received little attention despite being a primary driver of biodiversity in spatially structured environments. This conceptual blind spot limits our understanding of community assembly in marine environments, where vertical processes are fundamental. Here, we used marine cave sessile communities as a model system to develop and test the first mechanistic framework to explicitly incorporate vertical connectivity, which we applied across hierarchical spatial scales. Based on a two-year dataset including nine marine caves in the Canary Islands, we partitioned community variance, examined spatial patterns of beta diversity, and analysed autocorrelation. Three-dimensional bathymetric analysis quantified connectivity to deep-water habitats, and mixed-effects models tested its influence on community diversity and thermal affinities. Cave-scale variance exceeded island-scale variance, a pattern consistent with a pronounced “cave individuality”. Species turnover drove beta diversity, and distance decay was weak — a pattern inconsistent with horizontal dispersal models. Bathymetric connectivity was a key predictor of diversity: caves more connected to deep-water habitats supported richer assemblages. These patterns reflect shifts in thermal structure, with well-connected caves exhibiting greater thermal diversity and stronger cold-water affinities. We propose the Environmental Patch Dynamics (EPD) framework, a mechanistic extension of metacommunity theory integrating species sorting and patch dynamics across four hierarchical stages. Vertical recruitment from depth-stratified external propagule pools, mediated by episodic upwelling, primarily structures these communities. By incorporating vertical connectivity and benthic–pelagic coupling, the EPD framework provides a transferable architecture for understanding community assembly in other vertically-structured ecosystems and reveals clear implications for their conservation under a warming ocean. Supplementary Material File (main document.docx) Download 85.04 KB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 27 March 2026 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords community assembly depth gradients macroecology marine caves metacommunity theory vertical connectivity Authors Affiliations Yeray González Marrero 0000-0003-0306-5208 University of La Laguna View all articles by this author Sabrina Clemente [email protected] University of La Laguna View all articles by this author Antonio Canepa-Oneto University of Burgos Polytechnic High School View all articles by this author Javier Cristobo Spanish Oceanographic Institute Gijon Oceanographic Centre View all articles by this author Carlos Hernandez-Gonzalez Spanish Institute of Oceanography Oceanographic Center of Canarias View all articles by this author Vasilis Gerovasileiou Ionian University - Zakynthos View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 136 views 100 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Yeray González Marrero, Sabrina Clemente, Antonio Canepa-Oneto, et al. Environmental Patch Dynamics: A Vertical Metacommunity Framework Emerging from Marine Caves. Authorea . 27 March 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.177462399.98292608/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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