Neighbour diversity in lichen-dominated communities

In this study, we examined two sets of contact neighbour data from lichen-d ominated communities (one saxicolous, the other epiphytic) to determine whe ther the diversity of contact neighbours is significantly less than expecte d, indicating segregation of species. We also wanted to test whether the ob served neighbour diversity changed with the species' own frequency. Using t wo measures of diversity, we found that in both saxicolous and epiphytic co mmunities, there was a significant tendency for neighbour diversity to be l ower than expected. The results are consistent with Pacala's spatial segreg ation hypothesis but may indicate that the plants' responses to environment al variables act at very small scales in these communities.