|
|
Bitetto, I., Romagnoni, G., Adamidou, A., Certain, G., Di Lorenzo, M., Donnaloia, M., et al. (2019). Modelling spatio-temporal patterns of fish community size structure across the northern Mediterranean Sea: an analysis combining MEDITS survey data with environmental and anthropogenic drivers. Sci. Mar., 83, 141–151.
Résumé: The state of marine systems subject to natural or anthropogenic impacts can be generally summarized by suites of ecological indicators carefully selected to avoid redundancy. Length-based indicators capture the status of fish community structure, fulfilling the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requirement for Descriptor 3 (status of commercial fish species). Although the MSFD recommends the development of regional indicators, a comparison among alternative length-based indicators is so far missing for the Mediterranean Sea. Using principal component analysis and dynamic factor analysis, we identified the most effective subset of length-based indicators, whether or not based on maximum length. Indicator trends and lime series of fishing effort and environmental variables are also compared in order to highlight the individual and combined capability of indicators to track system changes across geographical sub-areas. Two indicators, typical length and mean maximum length, constitute the smallest set of non-redundant indicators, capturing together 87.45% of variability. Only in combination can these indicators disentangle changes in the fish community composition from modifications of size structure. Our study supports the inclusion of typical length among the regional MSFD Descriptor 3 indicators for the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, we show dissimilarity between the western and eastern-central Mediterranean, suggesting that there are sub-regional differences in stressors and community responses.
|
|
|
|
Coll, M., Shannon, L. J., Kleisner, K. M., Juan-Jordá, M. J., Bundy, A., Akoglu, A. G., et al. (2016). Ecological indicators to capture the effects of fishing on biodiversity and conservation status of marine ecosystems. Ecological Indicators, 60, 947–962.
Résumé: IndiSeas (“Indicators for the Seas”) is a collaborative international working group that was established in 2005 to evaluate the status of exploited marine ecosystems using a suite of indicators in a comparative framework. An initial shortlist of seven ecological indicators was selected to quantify the effects of fishing on the broader ecosystem using several criteria (i.e., ecological meaning, sensitivity to fishing, data availability, management objectives and public awareness). The suite comprised: (i) the inverse coefficient of variation of total biomass of surveyed species, (ii) mean fish length in the surveyed community, (iii) mean maximum life span of surveyed fish species, (iv) proportion of predatory fish in the surveyed community, (v) proportion of under and moderately exploited stocks, (vi) total biomass of surveyed species, and (vii) mean trophic level of the landed catch. In line with the Nagoya Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2011–2020), we extended this suite to emphasize the broader biodiversity and conservation risks in exploited marine ecosystems. We selected a subset of indicators from a list of empirically based candidate biodiversity indicators initially established based on ecological significance to complement the original IndiSeas indicators. The additional selected indicators were: (viii) mean intrinsic vulnerability index of the fish landed catch, (ix) proportion of non-declining exploited species in the surveyed community, (x) catch-based marine trophic index, and (xi) mean trophic level of the surveyed community. Despite the lack of data in some ecosystems, we also selected (xii) mean trophic level of the modelled community, and (xiii) proportion of discards in the fishery as extra indicators. These additional indicators were examined, along with the initial set of IndiSeas ecological indicators, to evaluate whether adding new biodiversity indicators provided useful additional information to refine our understanding of the status evaluation of 29 exploited marine ecosystems. We used state and trend analyses, and we performed correlation, redundancy and multivariate tests. Existing developments in ecosystem-based fisheries management have largely focused on exploited species. Our study, using mostly fisheries independent survey-based indicators, highlights that biodiversity and conservation-based indicators are complementary to ecological indicators of fishing pressure. Thus, they should be used to provide additional information to evaluate the overall impact of fishing on exploited marine ecosystems.
|
|
|
|
Escalas, A., Hale, L., Voordeckers, J. W., Yang, Y., Firestone, M. K., Alvarez-Cohen, L., et al. (2019). Microbial functional diversity: From concepts to applications. Ecol. Evol., 9(20), 12000–12016.
Résumé: Functional diversity is increasingly recognized by microbial ecologists as the essential link between biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning, determining the trophic relationships and interactions between microorganisms, their participation in biogeochemical cycles, and their responses to environmental changes. Consequently, its definition and quantification have practical and theoretical implications. In this opinion paper, we present a synthesis on the concept of microbial functional diversity from its definition to its application. Initially, we revisit to the original definition of functional diversity, highlighting two fundamental aspects, the ecological unit under study and the functional traits used to characterize it. Then, we discuss how the particularities of the microbial world disallow the direct application of the concepts and tools developed for macroorganisms. Next, we provide a synthesis of the literature on the types of ecological units and functional traits available in microbial functional ecology. We also provide a list of more than 400 traits covering a wide array of environmentally relevant functions. Lastly, we provide examples of the use of functional diversity in microbial systems based on the different units and traits discussed herein. It is our hope that this paper will stimulate discussions and help the growing field of microbial functional ecology to realize a potential that thus far has only been attained in macrobial ecology.
|
|
|
|
Grenie, M., Mouillot, D., Villeger, S., Denelle, P., Tucker, C. M., Munoz, F., et al. (2018). Functional rarity of coral reef fishes at the global scale: Hotspots and challenges for conservation. Biol. Conserv., 226, 288–299.
Résumé: Characterizing functional diversity has become central in ecological research and for biodiversity assessment. Understanding the role of species with rare traits, i.e. functionally rare species, in community assembly, ecosystem dynamics and functioning has recently gained momentum. However, functional rarity is still ignored in conservation strategies. Here, we quantified global functional and evolutionary rarity for 2073 species of coral reef fishes and compared the rarity values to IUCN Red List status. Most species were functionally common but geographically rare. However, we found very weak correlation between functional rarity and evolutionary rarity. Functional rarity was highest for species classified as not evaluated or threatened by the IUCN Red List. The location of functional rarity hotspots (Tropical Eastern Pacific) did not match hotspots of species richness and evolutionary distinctiveness (Indo-Australian Archipelago), nor the currently protected areas. We argue that functional rarity should be acknowledged for both species and site prioritization in conservation strategies.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
