Which factors do you consider when moving to a new area — school districts, home size or distance from work? If hundreds of people are competing for a spot, what determines who gets in?

Communities are ultimately shaped by an interplay of local factors, such as home size, and regional ones, such as school districts. New research published in the journal Ecology Letters examines how local and regional factors determine the makeup of plant species in grasslands.

Researchers from Michigan State University's Brudvig Restoration Ecology lab are working to solve a longstanding question in community ecology: How do regional and local factors jointly determine biodiversity?