New method reveals key factors driving changes in biodiversity patterns.
The MoB method helps break down changes in species richness into factors like species distribution, density, and arrangement. By comparing different types of species rarefaction curves, we can see how these factors affect biodiversity at different scales. The researchers tested this method on simulated and real plant data, showing its validity. The new R package, mobr, provides metrics for ecologists to understand what drives species richness changes across scales.