One of the core issues in community ecology is the understanding of mechanisms that determine community structure. In this study, we examine how two structurally distinct habitats (campo sujo – a grassy savanna habitat with low shrubby cover – and seasonal semi-deciduous forest) and distinct hydrological seasons (dry and rainy) influence the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of lizard assemblages in a savanna area in the Brazilian Cerrado. We used pitfall traps to sample lizards from May 2000 to February 2002. To quantify spatio-temporal changes in the lizard assemblages, we used parameters of taxonomic (species richness – SR), functional (functional diversity – SES.FD, functional redundancy – FR and functional dispersion – FDis), and phylogenetic diversity (phylogenetic species richness – PSR and phylogenetic species variability – PSV). We also estimate functional and phylogenetic structure of the assemblages in each habitat during dry and rainy seasons. We recorded 182 lizards distributed among 14 species. Species composition differed among habitat types, but did not differ seasonally within habitats. SES.FD, FDis, and FR also differed among habitat types but not among seasons, with SES.FD and FDis being greater in seasonal semi-deciduous forest, while FR was greater in campo sujo. SR, PSR, and PSV were not influenced by the factors analysed. The lizard assemblage of campo sujo was functionally clustered in the dry season and phylogenetically clustered in the rainy season. These results demonstrate that differences among habitat types and seasons are important in shaping the taxonomic, functional, phylogenetic diversity and structure of lizard assemblages in the savanna area studied. Our study also demonstrates the importance of using different measures of diversity to obtain a better understanding on the mechanisms that influence the lizard assemblages in a highly seasonal environment.

中文翻译：

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巴西塞拉多地区跨栖息地和季节的蜥蜴组合的分类、功能和系统发育多样性

群落生态学的核心问题之一是对决定群落结构的机制的理解。在这项研究中，我们研究了两个结构不同的栖息地（campo sujo – a grassy savanna habitat with low shrubby cover – and seasonal semi-deciduous forest) and distinct hydrological seasons (dry and rainy) influence the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of lizard assemblages in a savanna area in the Brazilian Cerrado. We used pitfall traps to sample lizards from May 2000 to February 2002. To quantify spatio-temporal changes in the lizard assemblages, we used parameters of taxonomic (species richness – SR), functional (functional diversity – SES.FD, functional redundancy – FR and functional dispersion – FDis), and phylogenetic diversity (phylogenetic species richness – PSR and phylogenetic species variability – PSV). We also estimate functional and phylogenetic structure of the assemblages in each habitat during dry and rainy seasons. We recorded 182 lizards distributed among 14 species. Species composition differed among habitat types, but did not differ seasonally within habitats. SES.FD, FDis, and FR also differed among habitat types but not among seasons, with SES.FD and FDis being greater in seasonal semi-deciduous forest, while FR was greater in 坎波苏乔。SR、PSR 和 PSV 不受所分析因素的影响。Campo sujo的蜥蜴组合在旱季功能上聚集，在雨季在系统发育上聚集。这些结果表明，栖息地类型和季节之间的差异对于形成所研究稀树草原地区蜥蜴组合的分类、功能、系统发育多样性和结构非常重要。我们的研究还证明了使用不同的多样性度量来更好地了解在高度季节性环境中影响蜥蜴组合的机制的重要性。