1
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Hughes EC, Edwards DP, Bright JA, Capp EJR, Cooney CR, Varley ZK, Thomas GH. Global biogeographic patterns of avian morphological diversity. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:598-610. [PMID: 35199925 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the biogeographical patterns, and evolutionary and environmental drivers, underpinning morphological diversity are key for determining its origins and conservation. Using a comprehensive set of continuous morphological traits extracted from museum collections of 8353 bird species, including geometric morphometric beak shape data, we find that avian morphological diversity is unevenly distributed globally, even after controlling for species richness, with exceptionally dense packing of species in hyper-diverse tropical hotspots. At the regional level, these areas also have high morphological variance, with species exhibiting high phenotypic diversity. Evolutionary history likely plays a key role in shaping these patterns, with evolutionarily old species contributing to niche expansion, and young species contributing to niche packing. Taken together, these results imply that the tropics are both 'cradles' and 'museums' of phenotypic diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma C Hughes
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - David P Edwards
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Jen A Bright
- Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK
| | - Elliot J R Capp
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | - Zoë K Varley
- Bird Group, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Tring, UK
| | - Gavin H Thomas
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Bird Group, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Tring, UK
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2
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Jarzyna MA, Quintero I, Jetz W. Global functional and phylogenetic structure of avian assemblages across elevation and latitude. Ecol Lett 2020; 24:196-207. [PMID: 33124188 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Mountain systems are exceptionally species rich, yet the associated elevational gradients in functional and phylogenetic diversity and their consistency across latitude remain little understood. Here, we document how avian functional and phylogenetic diversity and structure vary along all major elevational gradients worldwide and uncover strong latitudinal differences. Assemblages in warm tropical lowlands and cold temperate highlands are marked by high functional overdispersion and distinctiveness, whereas tropical highlands and temperate lowlands appear strongly functionally clustered and redundant. We additionally find strong geographic variation in the interplay of phylogenetic and functional structure, with strongest deviations between the two in temperate highlands. This latitudinal and elevational variation in assemblage functional structure is underpinned by nuanced shifts in the position, shape and composition of multivariate trait space. We find that, independent of latitude, high-elevation assemblages emerge as exceptionally susceptible to functional change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta A Jarzyna
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Avenue, 300 Aronoff Laboratory, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.,Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University, 1760 Neil Avenue, 175 Pomerene Hall, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Ignacio Quintero
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.,Institut de Biologie de l'ENS (IBENS), Département de biologie, École normale supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Walter Jetz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
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3
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Vagle GL, McCain CM. Natural population variability may be masking the more-individuals hypothesis. Ecology 2020; 101:e03035. [PMID: 32112417 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Species richness and productivity are correlated at global and regional scales, but the mechanisms linking them are inconclusive. The most commonly invoked mechanism, the more-individuals hypothesis (MIH), hypothesizes that increased productivity leads to increased food resource availability, which leads to an increased number of individuals supporting more species. Empirical evidence for the MIH remains mixed despite a substantial literature. Here we used simulations to determine whether interannual population variability could be masking a "true" MIH relationship. In each simulation, fixed linear relationships between productivity, richness, and 50-yr average abundance mimicked the MIH mechanism. Abundance was allowed to vary annually and sampled for 1-40 yr. Linear regressions of richness on sampled abundance assessed the probability of detecting the fixed MIH relationship. Medium to high population variability with short-term sampling (1-3 yr) led to poor detection of the fixed MIH relationship. Notably, this level of sampling and population variability describes nearly all MIH studies to date. Long-term sampling (5+ yr) led to improved detection of the fixed relationship; thus it is necessary to detect support for the MIH reliably. Such sampling duration is nonexistent in the MIH literature. Robust future studies of the MIH necessitate consideration of interannual population variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant L Vagle
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.,BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Christy M McCain
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.,Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
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4
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Storch D, Bohdalková E, Okie J. The more-individuals hypothesis revisited: the role of community abundance in species richness regulation and the productivity-diversity relationship. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:920-937. [PMID: 29659144 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Species richness increases with energy availability, yet there is little consensus as to the exact processes driving this species-energy relationship. The most straightforward explanation is the more-individuals hypothesis (MIH). It states that higher energy availability promotes a higher total number of individuals in a community, which consequently increases species richness by allowing for a greater number of species with viable populations. Empirical support for the MIH is mixed, partially due to the lack of proper formalisation of the MIH and consequent confusion as to its exact predictions. Here, we review the evidence of the MIH and evaluate the reliability of various predictions that have been tested. There is only limited evidence that spatial variation in species richness is driven by variation in the total number of individuals. There are also problems with measures of energy availability, with scale-dependence, and with the direction of causality, as the total number of individuals may sometimes itself be driven by the number of species. However, even in such a case the total number of individuals may be involved in diversity regulation. We propose a formal theory that encompasses these processes, clarifying how the different factors affecting diversity dynamics can be disentangled.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Storch
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Eliška Bohdalková
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Jordan Okie
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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5
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Xu H, Cao Y, Cao M, Wu J, Wu Y, Le Z, Cui P, Li J, Ma F, Liu L, Hu F, Chen M, Tong W. Varying congruence among spatial patterns of vascular plants and vertebrates based on habitat groups. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:8829-8840. [PMID: 29152180 PMCID: PMC5677491 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Proxies are adopted to represent biodiversity patterns due to inadequate information for all taxa. Despite the wide use of proxies, their efficacy remains unclear. Previous analyses focused on overall species richness for fewer groups, affecting the generality and depth of inference. Biological taxa often exhibit very different habitat preferences. Habitat groupings may be an appropriate approach to advancing the study of richness patterns. Diverse geographical patterns of species richness and their potential mechanisms were then examined for habitat groups. We used a database of the spatial distribution of 32,824 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and plants from 2,376 counties across China, divided the five taxa into 30 habitat groups, calculated Spearman correlations of species richness among taxa and habitat groups, and tested five hypotheses about richness patterns using multivariate models. We identified one major group [i.e., forest- and shrub-dependent (FS) groups], and some minor groups such as grassland-dependent vertebrates and desert-dependent vertebrates. There were mostly high or moderate correlations among FS groups, but mostly low or moderate correlations among other habitat groups. The prominent variables differed among habitat groups of the same taxon, such as birds and reptiles. The sets of predictors were also different within the same habitat, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts. Average correlations among the same habitat groups of vertebrates and among habitat groups of a single taxon were low or moderate, except correlations among FS groups. The sets of prominent variables of species richness differed strongly among habitat groups, although elevation range was the most important variable for most FS groups. The ecological and evolutionary processes that underpin richness patterns might be disparate among different habitat groups. Appropriate groupings based on habitats could reveal important patterns of richness gradients and valuable biodiversity components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haigen Xu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Yun Cao
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China.,Department of Biology Nanjing University Nanjing China
| | - Mingchang Cao
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Jun Wu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Yi Wu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Zhifang Le
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Peng Cui
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Jiaqi Li
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Fangzhou Ma
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Li Liu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Feilong Hu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Mengmeng Chen
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
| | - Wenjun Tong
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Nanjing China
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6
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Davis ALV, Scholtz CH, Deschodt CM, Strümpher WP. Edaphic and climatic history has driven current dung beetle species pool and assemblage structure across a transition zone in central South Africa. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian L. V. Davis
- Scarab Research Group; Department of Zoology and Entomology; University of Pretoria; Private Bag X20 Hatfield 0028 South Africa
| | - Clarke H. Scholtz
- Scarab Research Group; Department of Zoology and Entomology; University of Pretoria; Private Bag X20 Hatfield 0028 South Africa
| | - Christian M. Deschodt
- Scarab Research Group; Department of Zoology and Entomology; University of Pretoria; Private Bag X20 Hatfield 0028 South Africa
| | - Werner P. Strümpher
- Scarab Research Group; Department of Zoology and Entomology; University of Pretoria; Private Bag X20 Hatfield 0028 South Africa
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7
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Xu H, Cao M, Wu J, Cai L, Ding H, Lei J, Wu Y, Cui P, Chen L, Le Z, Cao Y. Determinants of Mammal and Bird Species Richness in China Based on Habitat Groups. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0143996. [PMID: 26629903 PMCID: PMC4668080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2014] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the spatial patterns in species richness is a central issue in macroecology and biogeography. Analyses that have traditionally focused on overall species richness limit the generality and depth of inference. Spatial patterns of species richness and the mechanisms that underpin them in China remain poorly documented. We created a database of the distribution of 580 mammal species and 849 resident bird species from 2376 counties in China and established spatial linear models to identify the determinants of species richness and test the roles of five hypotheses for overall mammals and resident birds and the 11 habitat groups among the two taxa. Our result showed that elevation variability was the most important determinant of species richness of overall mammal and bird species. It is indicated that the most prominent predictors of species richness varied among different habitat groups: elevation variability for forest and shrub mammals and birds, temperature annual range for grassland and desert mammals and wetland birds, net primary productivity for farmland mammals, maximum temperature of the warmest month for cave mammals, and precipitation of the driest quarter for grassland and desert birds. Noteworthily, main land cover type was also found to obviously influence mammal and bird species richness in forests, shrubs and wetlands under the disturbance of intensified human activities. Our findings revealed a substantial divergence in the species richness patterns among different habitat groups and highlighted the group-specific and disparate environmental associations that underpin them. As we demonstrate, a focus on overall species richness alone might lead to incomplete or misguided understanding of spatial patterns. Conservation priorities that consider a broad spectrum of habitat groups will be more successful in safeguarding the multiple services of biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haigen Xu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Mingchang Cao
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Jun Wu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Lei Cai
- Department of Natural Ecology Conservation, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Beijing 100035, China
| | - Hui Ding
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Juncheng Lei
- College of Forest Resources and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Yi Wu
- College of Forest Resources and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Peng Cui
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Lian Chen
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Zhifang Le
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Yun Cao
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
- Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
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8
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Carnicer J, Sardans J, Stefanescu C, Ubach A, Bartrons M, Asensio D, Peñuelas J. Global biodiversity, stoichiometry and ecosystem function responses to human-induced C-N-P imbalances. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 172:82-91. [PMID: 25270104 PMCID: PMC6485510 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2014.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Global change analyses usually consider biodiversity as a global asset that needs to be preserved. Biodiversity is frequently analysed mainly as a response variable affected by diverse environmental drivers. However, recent studies highlight that gradients of biodiversity are associated with gradual changes in the distribution of key dominant functional groups characterized by distinctive traits and stoichiometry, which in turn often define the rates of ecosystem processes and nutrient cycling. Moreover, pervasive links have been reported between biodiversity, food web structure, ecosystem function and species stoichiometry. Here we review current global stoichiometric gradients and how future distributional shifts in key functional groups may in turn influence basic ecosystem functions (production, nutrient cycling, decomposition) and therefore could exert a feedback effect on stoichiometric gradients. The C-N-P stoichiometry of most primary producers (phytoplankton, algae, plants) has been linked to functional trait continua (i.e. to major axes of phenotypic variation observed in inter-specific analyses of multiple traits). In contrast, the C-N-P stoichiometry of higher-level consumers remains less precisely quantified in many taxonomic groups. We show that significant links are observed between trait continua across trophic levels. In spite of recent advances, the future reciprocal feedbacks between key functional groups, biodiversity and ecosystem functions remain largely uncertain. The reported evidence, however, highlights the key role of stoichiometric traits and suggests the need of a progressive shift towards an ecosystemic and stoichiometric perspective in global biodiversity analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jofre Carnicer
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain; Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia 08028, Spain..
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain.; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain
| | - Constantí Stefanescu
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain.; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain; Museu de Ciències Naturals de Granollers, Granollers, Catalonia 08402, Spain
| | - Andreu Ubach
- Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia 08028, Spain
| | - Mireia Bartrons
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain.; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain
| | - Dolores Asensio
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain.; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain.; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia 08193, Spain
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9
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Ko CY, Schmitz OJ, Barbet-Massin M, Jetz W. Dietary guild composition and disaggregation of avian assemblages under climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2014; 20:790-802. [PMID: 24123557 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2013] [Accepted: 08/15/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is expected to cause geographic redistributions of species. To the extent that species within assemblages have different niche requirements, assemblages may no longer remain intact and dis- and reassemble at current or new geographic locations. We explored how climate change projected by 2100 may transform the world's avian assemblages (characterized at a 110 km spatial grain) by modeling environmental niche-based changes to their dietary guild structure under 0, 500, and 2000 km-dispersal distances. We examined guild structure changes at coarse (primary, high-level, and mixed consumers) and fine (frugivores, nectarivores, insectivores, herbivores, granivores, scavengers, omnivores, and carnivores) ecological resolutions to determine whether or not geographic co-occurrence patterns among guilds were associated with the magnitude to which guilds are functionally resolved. Dietary guilds vary considerably in their global geographic prevalence, and under broad-scale niche-based redistribution of species, these are projected to change very heterogeneously. A nondispersal assumption results in the smallest projected changes to guild assemblages, but with significant losses for some regions and guilds, such as South American insectivores. Longer dispersal distances are projected to cause greater degrees of disassembly, and lead to greater homogenization of guild composition, especially in northern Asia and Africa. This arises because projected range gains and losses result in geographically heterogeneous patterns of guild compensation. Projected decreases especially of primary and mixed consumers most often are compensated by increases in high-level consumers, with increasing uncertainty about these outcomes as dispersal distance and degree of guild functional resolution increase. Further exploration into the consequences of these significant broad-scale ecological functional changes at the community or ecosystem level should be increasingly on the agenda for conservation science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Ying Ko
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
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10
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Somveille M, Manica A, Butchart SHM, Rodrigues ASL. Mapping global diversity patterns for migratory birds. PLoS One 2013; 8:e70907. [PMID: 23951037 PMCID: PMC3737225 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2013] [Accepted: 06/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Nearly one in five bird species has separate breeding and overwintering distributions, and the regular migrations of these species cause a substantial seasonal redistribution of avian diversity across the world. However, despite its ecological importance, bird migration has been largely ignored in studies of global avian biodiversity, with few studies having addressed it from a macroecological perspective. Here, we analyse a dataset on the global distribution of the world's birds in order to examine global spatial patterns in the diversity of migratory species, including: the seasonal variation in overall species diversity due to migration; the contribution of migratory birds to local bird diversity; and the distribution of narrow-range and threatened migratory birds. Our analyses reveal a striking asymmetry between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, evident in all of the patterns investigated. The highest migratory bird diversity was found in the Northern Hemisphere, with high inter-continental turnover in species composition between breeding and non-breeding seasons, and extensive regions (at high latitudes) where migratory birds constitute the majority of the local avifauna. Threatened migratory birds are concentrated mainly in Central and Southern Asia, whereas narrow-range migratory species are mainly found in Central America, the Himalayas and Patagonia. Overall, global patterns in the diversity of migratory birds indicate that bird migration is mainly a Northern Hemisphere phenomenon. The asymmetry between the Northern and Southern hemispheres could not have easily been predicted from the combined results of regional scale studies, highlighting the importance of a global perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius Somveille
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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11
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12
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Carrascal L, Seoane J, Villén-Pérez S. Temperature and food constraints in wintering birds — an experimental approach in montane Mediterranean oakwoods. COMMUNITY ECOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1556/comec.13.2012.2.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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13
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Carnicer J, Brotons L, Stefanescu C, Peñuelas J. Biogeography of species richness gradients: linking adaptive traits, demography and diversification. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2011; 87:457-79. [PMID: 22129434 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2011.00210.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Here we review how adaptive traits contribute to the emergence and maintenance of species richness gradients through their influence on demographic and diversification processes. We start by reviewing how demographic dynamics change along species richness gradients. Empirical studies show that geographical clines in population parameters and measures of demographic variability are frequent along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. Demographic variability often increases at the extremes of regional species richness gradients and contributes to shape these gradients. Available studies suggest that adaptive traits significantly influence demographic dynamics, and set the limits of species distributions. Traits related to thermal tolerance, resource use, phenology and dispersal seem to play a significant role. For many traits affecting demography and/or diversification processes, complex mechanistic approaches linking genotype, phenotype and fitness are becoming progressively available. In several taxa, species can be distributed along adaptive trait continuums, i.e. a main axis accounting for the bulk of inter-specific variation in some correlated adaptive traits. It is shown that adaptive trait continuums can provide useful mechanistic frameworks to explain demographic dynamics and diversification in species richness gradients. Finally, we review the existence of sequences of adaptive traits in phylogenies, the interactions of adaptive traits and community context, the clinal variation of traits across geographical gradients, and the role of adaptive traits in determining the history of dispersal and diversification of clades. Overall, we show that the study of demographic and evolutionary mechanisms that shape species richness gradients clearly requires the explicit consideration of adaptive traits. To conclude, future research lines and trends in the field are briefly outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jofre Carnicer
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Life Sciences, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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14
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15
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Chiari C, Dinetti M, Licciardello C, Licitra G, Pautasso M. Urbanization and the more-individuals hypothesis. J Anim Ecol 2010; 79:366-71. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2009.01631.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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