highly significantP = 0.02
This visual separation pattern was supported by statistical testing: permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) confirmed highly significant differences in community structure among groups ( R 2 = 0.313, P = 0.02), and a test for homogeneity of multivariate dispersions (PERMDISP) verified that within-group dispersion was homogeneous across groups ( P = 0.0599), thereby ruling out differences in within-group variation as the driver of the observed pattern (Fig.