Data from: Priority effects are interactively regulated by top-down and bottom-up forces: evidence from wood decomposer communities

Leopold, Devin R., Stanford University

Wilkie, J. Paula, Stanford University

Dickie, Ian A., Lincoln University, University of Canterbury

Allen, Robert B., Landcare Research

Buchanan, Peter K., Landcare Research

Fukami, Tadashi, Stanford University

Published Jun 12, 2018 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7p2cv

Cite this dataset

Leopold, Devin R. et al. (2018). Data from: Priority effects are interactively regulated by top-down and bottom-up forces: evidence from wood decomposer communities [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7p2cv

Abstract

Both top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (resource availability) forces can determine the strength of priority effects, or the effects of species arrival history on the structure and function of ecological communities, but their combined influences remain unresolved. To test for such influences, we assembled experimental communities of wood-decomposing fungi using a factorial manipulation of fungivore (Folsomia candida) presence, nitrogen availability, and fungal assembly history. We found interactive effects of all three factors on fungal species composition and wood decomposition 1 year after the fungi were introduced. The strength of priority effects on community structure was affected primarily by nitrogen availability, whereas the strength of priority effects on decomposition rate was interactively regulated by nitrogen and fungivores. These results demonstrate that top-down and bottom-up forces jointly determine how strongly assembly history affects community structure and function.

Usage notes

sample.data

Contains sample metadata along with measurements related to wood decomposition during the experiment.

species.prevalence

Results of LH-PCR characterization of fungal species prevalence. For each of the 10 fungal species used in the experiments, the number of wood-disc subsamples (out of 9) are indicated for each microcosm.

collembola.csv

Categorical observations of Collembola abundance before each harvest (0 = no individual in the microcosm; 1 = 1-10 individuals; 2 = 10-100 individuals; and 3 = more than 100 individuals).