Mouillot, D., Graham, N. A. J., Villeger, S., Mason, N. W. H., & Bellwood, D. R. (2013). A functional approach reveals community responses to disturbances. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 28(3), 167–177.
Résumé: Understanding the processes shaping biological communities under multiple disturbances is a core challenge in ecology and conservation science. Traditionally, ecologists have explored linkages between the severity and type of disturbance and the taxonomic structure of communities. Recent advances in the application of species traits, to assess the functional structure of communities, have provided an alternative approach that responds rapidly and consistently across taxa and ecosystems to multiple disturbances. Importantly, trait-based metrics may provide advanced warning of disturbance to ecosystems because they do not need species loss to be reactive. Here, we synthesize empirical evidence and present a theoretical framework, based on species positions in a functional space, as a tool to reveal the complex nature of change in disturbed ecosystems.
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Violle, C., Thuiller, W., Mouquet, N., Munoz, F., Kraft, N. J. B., Cadotte, M. W., et al. (2017). Functional Rarity: The Ecology of Outliers. Trends Ecol. Evol., 32(5), 356–367.
Résumé: Rarity has been a central topic for conservation and evolutionary biologists aiming to determine the species characteristics that cause extinction risk. More recently, beyond the rarity of species, the rarity of functions or functional traits, called functional rarity, has gained momentum in helping to understand the impact of biodiversity decline on ecosystem functioning. However, a conceptual framework for defining and quantifying functional rarity is still lacking. We introduce 12 different forms of functional rarity along gradients of species scarcity and trait distinctiveness. We then highlight the potential key role of functional rarity in the long-term and large-scale maintenance of ecosystem processes, as well as the necessary linkage between functional and evolutionary rarity.
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