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Dryad

Data from: Virus community structuring is shaped by habitat heterogeneity and resource utilisation strategies

Data files

Jul 12, 2023 version files 4.03 GB

Abstract

After decades of disconcerted research, we still recognise large gaps in the understanding of mechanisms that govern disease dynamics in complex biological communities. To determine how spatial structuring of plant communities caused by anthropic disturbance affects resource utilisation traits of viruses, we combine high-throughput, network, and metacommunity approaches. We find that the disturbance gradient corresponded to network modules and habitat specificity exhibited by a majority of viruses. Communities were connected through key hub species of either generalist viruses or high potential host reservoirs. Spatial dependencies were evident in regression models of species richness and correlations between metacommunity structure and both host range and transmission mode at finer spatial resolutions. We propose that virus community assembly is influenced by variation in niche opportunities. Distinctions in virus community composition caused by resource compartmentalisation can be used to track ecological traits important in forecasting transmission risk.