Species sorting is a mechanism in the

metacommunity An ecological metacommunity is a set of interacting communities which are linked by the dispersal of multiple, potentially interacting species. The term is derived from the field of community ecology, which is primarily concerned with patterns of ...

framework of

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

whereby

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

distributions and abundances can be related to the environmental or biotic conditions in a particular habitat. The species sorting paradigm describes a system of habitat patches with different environmental conditions that organisms can move between. Species are able to disperse to patches with suitable environmental conditions, resulting in patterns where environmental conditions can predict the species found in a particular

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

References

{{Reflist Ecology