|
Almoussawi, A., Lenoir, J., Jamoneau, A., Hattab, T., Wasof, S., Gallet-Moron, E., et al. (2019). Forest fragmentation shapes the alpha-gamma relationship in plant diversity. J. Veg. Sci., .
Résumé: Questions Forest fragmentation affects biodiversity locally (alpha diversity) and beyond – at relatively larger scales (gamma diversity) – by increasing dispersal and recruitment limitations. Yet, does an increase in fragmentation affect the relationship between alpha and gamma diversity and what can we learn from it? Location Northern France. Methods We surveyed 116 forest patches across three fragmentation levels: none (continuous forest); intermediate (forest patches connected by hedgerows); and high (isolated forest patches). Plant species richness of both forest specialists and generalists was surveyed at five nested spatial resolutions across each forest patch: 1 m(2); 10 m(2); 100 m(2); 1,000 m(2); and total forest patch area. First, we ran log-ratio models to quantify the alpha-gamma relationship. We did that separately for all possible combinations of fragmentation level (none vs intermediate vs high) x spatial scale (e.g., alpha-1 m(2) vs gamma-10 m(2)) x species type (e.g., alpha-specialists vs gamma-specialists). We then used linear mixed-effects models to analyze the effect of fragmentation level, spatial scale, species type and all two-way interaction terms on the slope coefficient extracted from all log-ratio models. Results We found an interaction effect between fragmentation level and species type, such that forest specialists shifted from a linear (i.e., proportional sampling) to a curvilinear plateau (i.e., community saturation) relationship at low and high fragmentation, respectively, while generalists shifted from a curvilinear to a linear pattern. Conclusions The impact of forest fragmentation on the alpha-gamma relationship supports generalist species persistence over forest specialists, with contrasting mechanisms for these two guilds. As fragmentation increases, forest specialists shift from proportional sampling towards community saturation, thus reducing alpha diversity likely due to dispersal limitation. Contrariwise, generalists shift from community saturation towards proportional sampling, thus increasing alpha diversity likely due to an increase in the edge:core ratio. To ensure long-term conservation of forest specialists, one single large forest patch should be preferred over several small ones.
|
|
|
Barnagaud, J. - Y., Kissling, W. D., Tsirogiannis, C., Fisikopoulos, V., Villeger, S., Sekercioglu, C. H., et al. (2017). Biogeographical, environmental and anthropogenic determinants of global patterns in bird taxonomic and trait turnover. Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr., 26(10), 1190–1200.
Résumé: AimTo assess contemporary and historical determinants of taxonomic and ecological trait turnover in birds worldwide. We tested whether taxonomic and trait turnover (1) are structured by regional bioclimatic conditions, (2) increase in relationship with topographic heterogeneity and environmental turnover and change according to current and historical environmental conditions, and (3) decrease with human impact. Major TaxaBirds. LocationGlobal. MethodsWe used computationally efficient algorithms to map the taxonomic and trait turnover of 8,040 terrestrial bird assemblages worldwide, based on a grid with 110km x 110 km resolution overlaid on the extent-of-occurrence maps of 7,964 bird species, and nine ecological traits reflecting six key aspects of bird ecology (diet, habitat use, thermal preference, migration, dispersal and body size). We used quantile regression and model selection to quantify the influence of biomes, environment (temperature, precipitation, altitudinal range, net primary productivity, Quaternary temperature and precipitation change) and human impact (human influence index) on bird turnover. ResultsBird taxonomic and trait turnover were highest in the north African deserts and boreal biomes. In the tropics, taxonomic turnover tended to be higher, but trait turnover was lower than in other biomes. Taxonomic and trait turnover exhibited markedly different or even opposing relationships with climatic and topographic gradients, but at their upper quantiles both types of turnover decreased with increasing human influence. Main conclusionsThe influence of regional, environmental and anthropogenic factors differ between bird taxonomic and trait turnover, consistent with an imprint of niche conservatism, environmental filtering and topographic barriers on bird regional assemblages. Human influence on these patterns is pervasive and demonstrates global biotic homogenization at a macroecological scale.
|
|
|
Benedetti, F., Ayata, S. - D., Irisson, J. - O., Adloff, F., & Guilhaumon, F. (2019). Climate change may have minor impact on zooplankton functional diversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Divers. Distrib., 25(4), 568–581.
Résumé: Aim To assess the impact of climate change on the functional diversity of marine zooplankton communities. Location The Mediterranean Sea. Methods We used the functional traits and geographic distributions of 106 copepod species to estimate the zooplankton functional diversity of Mediterranean surface assemblages for the 1965-1994 and 2069-2098 periods. Multiple environmental niche models were trained at the global scale to project the species habitat suitability in the Mediterranean Sea and assess their sensitivity to climate change predicted by several scenarios. Simultaneously, the species traits were used to compute a functional dendrogram from which we identified seven functional groups and estimated functional diversity through Faith's index. We compared the measured functional diversity to the one originated from null models to test if changes in functional diversity were solely driven by changes in species richness. Results All but three of the 106 species presented range contractions of varying intensity. A relatively low decrease of species richness (-7.42 on average) is predicted for 97% of the basin, with higher losses in the eastern regions. Relative sensitivity to climate change is not clustered in functional space and does not significantly vary across the seven copepod functional groups defined. Changes in functional diversity follow the same pattern and are not different from those that can be expected from changes in richness alone. Main conclusions Climate change is not expected to alter copepod functional traits distribution in the Mediterranean Sea, as the most and the least sensitive species are functionally redundant. Such redundancy should buffer the loss of ecosystem functions in Mediterranean zooplankton assemblages induced by climate change. Because the most negatively impacted species are affiliated to temperate regimes and share Atlantic biogeographic origins, our results are in line with the hypothesis of increasingly more tropical Mediterranean communities.
|
|
|
Buisson, L., Grenouillet, G., Villeger, S., Canal, J., & Laffaille, P. (2013). Toward a loss of functional diversity in stream fish assemblages under climate change. Glob. Change Biol., 19(2), 387–400.
Résumé: The assessment of climate change impacts on biodiversity has so far been biased toward the taxonomic identification of the species likely either to benefit from climate modifications or to experience overall declines. There have still been few studies intended to correlate the characteristics of species to their sensitivity to climate change, even though it is now recognized that functional trait-based approaches are promising tools for addressing challenges related to global changes. In this study, two functional indices (originality and uniqueness) were first measured for 35 fish species occurring in French streams. They were then combined to projections of range shifts in response to climate change derived from species distribution models. We set out to investigate: (1) the relationship between the degrees of originality and uniqueness of fish species, and their projected response to future climate change; and (2) the consequences of individual responses of species for the functional diversity of fish assemblages. After accounting for phylogenetic relatedness among species, we have demonstrated that the two indices used measure two complementary facets of the position of fish species in a functional space. We have also rejected the hypothesis that the most original and/or less redundant species would necessarily experience the greatest declines in habitat suitability as a result of climate change. However, individual species range shifts could lead simultaneously both to a severe decline in the functional diversity of fish assemblages, and to an increase in the functional similarity among assemblages, supporting the hypothesis that disturbance favors communities with combination of common traits and biotic homogenization as well. Our findings therefore emphasize the importance of going beyond the simple taxonomic description of diversity to provide a better assessment of the likely future effects of environmental changes on biodiversity, thus helping to design more effective conservation and management measures.
|
|
|
Cahill, A. E., De Jode, A., Dubois, S., Bouzaza, Z., Aurelle, D., Boissin, E., et al. (2017). A multispecies approach reveals hot spots and cold spots of diversity and connectivity in invertebrate species with contrasting dispersal modes. Mol. Ecol., 26(23), 6563–6577.
Résumé: Genetic diversity is crucial for species' maintenance and persistence, yet is often overlooked in conservation studies. Species diversity is more often reported due to practical constraints, but it is unknown if these measures of diversity are correlated. In marine invertebrates, adults are often sessile or sedentary and populations exchange genes via dispersal of gametes and larvae. Species with a larval period are expected to have more connected populations than those without larval dispersal. We assessed the relationship between measures of species and genetic diversity, and between dispersal ability and connectivity. We compiled data on genetic patterns and life history traits in nine species across five phyla. Sampling sites spanned 600km in the northwest Mediterranean Sea and focused on a 50-km area near Marseilles, France. Comparative population genetic approaches yielded three main results. (i) Species without larvae showed higher levels of genetic structure than species with free-living larvae, but the role of larval type (lecithotrophic or planktotrophic) was negligible. (ii) A narrow area around Marseilles, subject to offshore advection, limited genetic connectivity in most species. (iii) We identified sites with significant positive contributions to overall genetic diversity across all species, corresponding with areas near low human population densities. In contrast, high levels of human activity corresponded with a negative contribution to overall genetic diversity. Genetic diversity within species was positively and significantly linearly related to local species diversity. Our study suggests that local contribution to overall genetic diversity should be taken into account for future conservation strategies.
|
|