BioScaling investigates the spatial scaling of aquatic biodiversity by examining how community composition (β-diversity) changes across increasing geographical distances in environmentally homogeneous habitats. Using rice fields as a model ecosystem due to their structural similarity across Eurasia, the research employs a multi-taxon approach—from bacteria to vertebrates—to empirically test how β-diversity varies with spatial scale, primarily due to dispersal limitation rather than habitat variation. The methodology integrates extensive field sampling across hierarchical spatial scales, metabarcoding, meta-analysis of existing literature, and ecological modeling of metacommunities and metapopulations. By controlling for environmental heterogeneity, the project aims to disentangle the effects of geographic distance and dispersal on biodiversity patterns, contributing fundamental insights into the organization of aquatic communities and offering implications for conservation and management of wetland agroecosystems.
Team
Our project is led by researchers Maria Anton-Pardo and Francesc Mesquita from Universitat de Valencia, together with other researchers from the same university, Giampaolo Rossetti (Università degli Studi di Parma), Sukonthip Savatenalinton (Mahasarakham University), Anne Magurran (University of Saint Andrews).
Part of our team sampling Italian ricefields in Verona region. (From left to right: Bruno Chianese, Giampaolo Rossetti, Álex Mestre, Paco Mesquita and Maria Anton-Pardo)
ICBiBE; Universitat de València
Francesc Mesquita-Joanes (IP)
Maria Anton-Pardo (IP)
Bruno Chianese-Blanco (predoc)
Alexandre Mestre (research team)
Raquel Ortells (research team)
Ferran Palero (research team)
