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Background and Aims <p>Island area is widely recognized as a key factor influencing biological diversity, as evidenced by numerous studies on plants and animals. However, despite extensive research on the species–area relationship in macroorganisms, the underlying mechanisms shaping the species–area relationship of soil nematodes in insular environments remain poorly understood.</p> Methods <p>In this study, we surveyed soil nematode communities across 20 representative tropical islands in the South China Sea, ranging in size from 1.19 to 405.99&#xa0;ha. We quantified taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity across spatial scales and assessed a comprehensive set of potential drivers, including plant diversity, soil bacterial and fungal community composition, and various soil physicochemical properties.</p> Results <p>While island area exerted significant positive effects on both alpha and gamma diversity across all dimensions, among the beta diversity components, only phylogenetic beta diversity displayed a significant positive relationship with island area. In addition to the direct effect of island area on island-level (i.e., gamma) taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities, we identified significant indirect effects on taxonomic gamma diversity mediated by the soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and pH. Furthermore, increases in nematode functional diversity on larger islands were driven by greater heterogeneity in community composition, likely resulting from increased spatial distances among sampling sites.</p> Conclusion <p>These findings highlight the combined roles of habitat quality, area per se, and dispersal limitation in shaping species–area relationships in soil nematodes, thus offering novel insights into the biogeography and conservation of soil fauna in island ecosystems.</p>

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Species-area relationship of soil nematodes on tropical islands: patterns and potential mechanisms

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月8日

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  • Haifeng Ding,
  • Hao Qin,
  • Yikang Cheng,
  • Shurong Zhou

摘要

Background and Aims

Island area is widely recognized as a key factor influencing biological diversity, as evidenced by numerous studies on plants and animals. However, despite extensive research on the species–area relationship in macroorganisms, the underlying mechanisms shaping the species–area relationship of soil nematodes in insular environments remain poorly understood.

Methods

In this study, we surveyed soil nematode communities across 20 representative tropical islands in the South China Sea, ranging in size from 1.19 to 405.99 ha. We quantified taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity across spatial scales and assessed a comprehensive set of potential drivers, including plant diversity, soil bacterial and fungal community composition, and various soil physicochemical properties.

Results

While island area exerted significant positive effects on both alpha and gamma diversity across all dimensions, among the beta diversity components, only phylogenetic beta diversity displayed a significant positive relationship with island area. In addition to the direct effect of island area on island-level (i.e., gamma) taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities, we identified significant indirect effects on taxonomic gamma diversity mediated by the soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and pH. Furthermore, increases in nematode functional diversity on larger islands were driven by greater heterogeneity in community composition, likely resulting from increased spatial distances among sampling sites.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the combined roles of habitat quality, area per se, and dispersal limitation in shaping species–area relationships in soil nematodes, thus offering novel insights into the biogeography and conservation of soil fauna in island ecosystems.