Advances in joint species distribution models to reveal community structure and its environmental response.

Species distribution models are commonly used in basic and applied ecological research to examine the factors driving the distribution and abundance of organisms. They are employed to quantify species’ relationships with abiotic conditions, to predict species’ response to land-use and climatic change, and to identify potential conservation areas. Biotic interactions have been rarely included in traditional species distribution models, wherein joint species distribution models (JSDMs) emerge as a feasible approach to simultaneously incorporate environmental factors and interspecific interactions, making it a powerful tool for analyzing the structure and assembly of biotic communities.