Trait overdispersion in dragonflies reveals the role and drivers of competition in community assembly across space and season

Abstract

Our understanding of how biotic interactions influence animal community assembly is largely restricted to local systems due to the difficulty of obtaining ecologically meaningful assemblage data across large spatial extents. Here, we used thousands of spatio-phenologically high-resolution assemblages across three distinct European regions together with a functional diversity approach to understand community assembly of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata), an insect group characterized by a pronounced competitive reproductive biology. We found that adult dragonfly, but not damselfly, assemblages were consistently composed of species morphologically more different than expected by chance based on the traits that enhance their interspecific reproductive encounters. These results provide consistent evidence for the role of competition in the assembly of animal communities, which we interpret is most likely caused by the territorial reproductive biology of dragonflies. Support for competition varied both spatially and seasonally following theoretical expectations, as it was strongest in locations and seasonal moments with low thermal stress (i.e. warm conditions) and high niche packing. Our study illustrates how spatio-temporal diversity patterns arise from variation in assembly processes.