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Cheng, L., Blanchet, S., Loot, G., Villeger, S., Zhang, T., Lek, S., et al. (2014). Temporal changes in the taxonomic and functional diversity of fish communities in shallow Chinese lakes: the effects of river–lake connections and aquaculture. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 24(1), 23–34.
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Leclerc, C., Villeger, S., Marino, C., & Bellard, C. (2020). Global changes threaten functional and taxonomic diversity of insular species worldwide. Divers. Distrib., 26(4), 402–414.
Résumé: Aim The assessment of biodiversity patterns under global changes is currently biased towards taxonomic diversity, thus overlooking the ecological and functional aspects of species. Here, we characterized both taxonomic and functional diversity of insular biodiversity threatened by multiple threats. Location Worldwide islands (n = 4,348). Methods We analysed the relative importance of eleven major threats, including biological invasions or climate change, on 2,756 insular endemic mammals and birds. Species were functionally described using five ecological traits related to diet, habitat and body mass. We computed complementary taxonomic and functional diversity indices (richness, specialization, originality and vulnerability) of species pools affected by each threatening process to investigate relationships between diversity dimensions and threats. We also determined whether species-specific traits are associated with specific threats. Results On average, 8% of insular endemic species at risk of extinction are impacted by threats, while 20% of their functional richness is affected. However, a marked disparity in functional richness values associated with each threat can be highlighted. In particular, cultivation and wildlife exploitation are the greatest threats to insular endemic species. Moreover, each threat may contribute to the loss of at least 10% of functional diversity, because it affects threatened species that support unique and extreme functions. Finally, we found complex patterns of species-specific traits associated with particular threats that is not explain by the threatening processes (directly affecting survival or modifying habitat). For instance, cultivation threatens very large mammals, while urbanization threatens very small mammals. Main conclusions These findings reinforce the importance of exploring the vulnerability of biodiversity facets in the face of multiple threats. Anthropogenic pressures may result in a loss of unique functions within insular ecosystems, which provides important insights into the understanding of threatening processes at a global scale.
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Legras, G., Loiseau, N., & Gaertner, J. - C. (2018). Functional richness: Overview of indices and underlying concepts. Acta Oecol.-Int. J. Ecol., 87, 34–44.
Résumé: Functional richness, currently defined as the amount of niche space occupied by the species within a community, is one of the three major components of functional diversity. Different indices have been developed in order to quantify this component. However, the range of indices available for assessing functional richness, often mathematically complex and based on different rationales, can cause confusion for field ecologists and lead to misinterpretation of the results obtained. In this context, we have provided the first study exclusively focused on the comparison of the definitions, advantages and drawbacks of a large set of functional richness indices. The first part of this work is focused on four indices (FDP&G, FRic, TOP and N-hypervolumes indices) that are currently the most commonly used for assessing functional richness. We have completed our study by including recently developed indices that enable us to take into account the intraspecific trait variability (i.e. FRim index and TDP framework), because there is currently a growing scientific consensus regarding the necessity of including this aspect in the assessment of the functional diversity of communities. We demonstrate that although authors have argued that their index describes the functional richness, each of them describes only part of it, and this part may strongly differ from one index to another. Rather than advocating the general use of a single index and/or systematically avoiding others, our study highlights the need for selecting indices in close relation with the context, the available data and the aims of each study. Such a strategy is an essential preliminary step for preventing misunderstanding and artefactual controversies. Along these lines, we propose some guidelines to help users in selecting the most appropriate indices according both to the facet of functional richness on which they wish to focus and to the characteristics of the available data.
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Mason, N. W. H., de Bello, F., Mouillot, D., Pavoine, S., & Dray, S. (2013). A guide for using functional diversity indices to reveal changes in assembly processes along ecological gradients. J Veg Sci, 24(5), 794–806.
Résumé: Question Which functional diversity indices have the power to reveal changes in community assembly processes along abiotic stress gradients? Is their power affected by stochastic processes and variations in species richness along stress gradients?
Methods We used a simple community assembly model to explore the power of functional diversity indices across a wide range of ecological contexts. FD) and convex hull volume (FRic) – with a matrix-swap null model (yielding indices SESFD and SESFRic) to remove any trivial effects of species richness. We also compared two indices that measure both functional richness and functional divergence – Rao quadratic entropy (Rao) and functional dispersion (FDis) – with a null model that randomizes abundances across species but within communities. SESRao and SESFDis). Results When mass effects operated, only SESRao and SESFDis gave reasonable power, irrespective of how species richness varied along the stress gradient. FD, FRic, Rao and FDis had low power when species richness was constant, and variation in species richness greatly influenced their power. SESFRic and SESFD were unaffected by variation in species richness. When priority effects operated, FRic, SESFRic, Rao and FDis had good power and were unaffected by variation in species richness. Variation in species richness greatly affected FD and SESFD. SESRao and SESFDis had low power in the priority effects model but were unaffected by variation in species richness. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that a reliable test for changes in assembly processes along stress gradients requires functional diversity indices measuring either functional richness or functional divergence. We recommend using SESFRic as a measure of functional richness and either SESRao or SESFDis (which are very closely related mathematically) as a measure of functional divergence. Used together, these indices of functional richness and functional divergence provide good power to test for increasing niche complementarity with declining stress across a broad range of ecological contexts. |
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Toussaint, A., Charpin, N., Beauchard, O., Grenouillet, G., Oberdorff, T., Tedesco, P. A., et al. (2018). Non-native species led to marked shifts in functional diversity of the world freshwater fish faunas. Ecol. Lett., 21(11), 1649–1659.
Résumé: Global spread of non-native species profoundly changed the world biodiversity patterns, but how it translates into functional changes remains unanswered at the world scale. We here show that while in two centuries the number of fish species per river increased on average by 15% in 1569 basins worldwide, the diversity of their functional attributes (i.e. functional richness) increased on average by 150%. The inflation of functional richness was paired with changes in the functional structure of assemblages, with shifts of species position toward the border of the functional space of assemblages (i.e. increased functional divergence). Non-native species moreover caused shifts in functional identity toward higher body sized and less elongated species for most of assemblages throughout the world. Although varying between rivers and biogeographic realms, such changes in the different facets of functional diversity might still increase in the future through increasing species invasion and may further modify ecosystem functioning.
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