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Global species extinction rates are orders of magnitude above the background rate documented in the fossil record. However, recent data syntheses have found mixed evidence for patterns of net species loss at local spatial scales. For example, two recent data meta-analyses have found that species richness is decreasing in some locations and is increasing in others. When these trends are combined, these papers argued there has been no net change in species richness, and suggested this pattern is globally representative of biodiversity change at local scales. Here we reanalyze results of these data syntheses and outline why this conclusion is unfounded. First, we show the datasets collated for these syntheses are spatially biased and not representative of the spatial distribution of species richness or the distribution of many primary drivers of biodiversity change. This casts doubt that their results are representative of global patterns. Second, we argue that detecting the trend in local species richness is very difficult with short time series and can lead to biased estimates of change. Reanalyses of the data detected a signal of study duration on biodiversity change, indicating net biodiversity loss is most apparent in studies of longer duration. Third, estimates of species richness change can be biased if species gains during post-disturbance recovery are included without also including species losses that occurred during the disturbance. Net species gains or losses should be assessed with respect to common baselines or reference communities. Ultimately, we need a globally coordinated effort to monitor biodiversity so that we can estimate and attribute human impacts as causes of biodiversity change. A combination of technologies will be needed to produce regularly updated global datasets of local biodiversity change to guide future policy. At this time the conclusion that there is no net change in local species richness is not the consensus state of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the millions of specimen-label records published over the past decades in thousands of taxonomic revisions are a cost-effective source of information of critical importance for incorporating invertebrates into biodiversity research and conservation decisions. More specifically, we demonstrate for a specimen database assembled during a revision of the robber-fly genus Euscelidia (Asilidae, Diptera) how nonparametric species richness estimators (Chao1, incidence-based coverage estimator, second-order jackknife) can be used to (1) estimate global species diversity, (2) direct future collecting to areas that are undersampled and/or likely to be rich in new species, and (3) assess whether the plant-based global biodiversity hotspots of contain a significant proportion of invertebrates. During the revision of Euscelidia , the number of known species more than doubled, but estimation of species richness revealed that the true diversity of the genus was likely twice as high. The same techniques applied to subsamples of the data indicated that much of the unknown diversity will be found in the Oriental region. Assessing the validity of biodiversity hotspots for invertebrates is a formidable challenge because it is difficult to decide whether species are hotspot endemics, and lists of observed species dramatically underestimate true diversity. Lastly, conservation biologists need a specimen database analogous to GenBank for collecting specimen records. Such a database has a three-fold advantage over information obtained from digitized museum collections: (1) it is shown for Euscelidia that a large proportion of unrevised museum specimens are misidentified; (2) only the specimen lists in revisionary studies cover a wide variety of private and public collections; and (3) obtaining specimen records from revisions is cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Forests contribute to numerous ecosystem functions and services and contain a large proportion of terrestrial biodiversity, but they are being negatively impaced by anthropogenic activities. Forests that have never been clear‐cut and have old growth characteristics, termed "near‐natural," often harbor different and richer species assemblages than managed forests. Alternative management strategies may be able to balance the needs of biodiversity with the demands of forestry, but evaluation efforts are limited by the challenges of measuring biodiversity. Species richness is frequently used as a simple measure of biodiversity, but research indicates that it may not adequately capture community‐level changes. Alternatively, trait‐based measures of biodiversity may prove to be useful, but research is lacking. In this paper, we use a large dataset that includes 339 obligate saproxylic beetle species collected over a decade in the boreal region throughout southern Norway to: (1) establish if there is a difference in beetle community composition between near‐natural and managed forests; and (2) determine which measures of beetle biodiversity best indicate forest naturalness. We arranged the sites in an ordination space and tested for differences in community composition between these forest types. We also tested different measures of biodiversity to determine which were the most predictive of forest naturalness. We found a clear difference in community composition between near‐natural and managed forests. Additionally, three measures of biodiversity were most predictive of forest naturalness: proportional abundance of predators, community weighted mean (CWM) of wing length, and CWM of body roundness. The probability that a forest was near‐natural increased with the proportional abundance of predators but decreased with CWM wing length and body roundness. Although species richness was higher in near‐natural forests, the effect was not significant. Overall, our findings underscore the conservation value of near‐natural forests and highlight the potential of several measures of biodiversity for determining forest quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a well‐established conservation practice worldwide, but their effectiveness in protecting or replenishing fish biodiversity remains uneven. Understanding the patterns of this heterogeneity is central to general guidelines for MPA design and can ultimately provide guidance on how to maximize MPA potential. Here, we examine associations between the degree of protection, duration of protection, and protected area size, with fish biodiversity inside of protected areas relative to that of sites nearby, but outside of protected areas. We quantitatively synthesize 116 published estimates of species richness from 72 MPAs and 38 estimates of Shannon entropy from 21 MPAs. We show that species richness is on average 18% (95% CIs: 10%–29%) higher in protected areas than in areas open to fishing; on average, Shannon entropy is 13% (95% CIs: −2% to 31%) higher within protected areas relative to outside. We find no relationship between the degree and duration of protection with the ratio of species richness inside versus outside of protected areas; both fully and partially protected areas contribute to the accumulation of species inside of protected areas, and protected areas of all ages contribute similarly on average to biodiversity conservation. In contrast to our expectations, increasing protected area size was associated with a decreased ratio of species richness sampled at sites inside versus outside of the protected area, possibly due, for example, to insufficient enforcement and/or low compliance. Finally, we discuss why meta‐analyses such as ours that summarize effect sizes of local scale biodiversity responses, that is, those at a single site, can only give a partial answer to the question of whether larger protected areas harbor more species than comparable unprotected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodiversity–ecosystem function literature provides a useful framework to examine many processes associated with species diversity in ecology. One such context is the maintenance of biodiversity by facilitation in arid ecosystems.Here, we examined the complex interactions between local plant species richness and the intensity of shrub facilitation for maintaining biodiversity in arid plant communities.A synthesis including a meta‐analysis was used to compile nearly 600 papers on positive interactions mediated by shrubs in dryland plant communities (search terms: shrub, positive, facilitat*) to examine whether interactions in these studies changed with reported local species richness. A total of 19 studies and 141 independent instances directly examined and reported facilitation of diversity measures in naturally assembled plant communities and provided estimates of local species richness.Synthesis. The net effect of increasing local plant species richness was negative and shifted the relative frequency of interactions with shrubs from positive to negative with increasing local species richness. This relationship suggests that increases in richness do not always enhance functions that maintain diversity in plants communities likely due to concurrent increases in the indirect negative interactions between species under shrubs or in changes in the local species pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new data and analyses revealing fundamental flaws in a critique of two recent meta-analyses of local-scale temporal biodiversity change. First, the conclusion that short-term time series lead to biased estimates of long-term change was based on two errors in the simulations used to support it. Second, the conclusion of negative relationships between temporal biodiversity change and study duration was entirely dependent on unrealistic model assumptions, the use of a subset of data, and inclusion of one outlier data point in one study. Third, the finding of a decline in local biodiversity, after eliminating post-disturbance studies, is not robust to alternative analyses on the original data set, and is absent in a larger, updated data set. Finally, the undebatable point, noted in both original papers, that studies in the ecological literature are geographically biased, was used to cast doubt on the conclusion that, outside of areas converted to croplands or asphalt, the distribution of biodiversity trends is centered approximately on zero. Future studies may modify conclusions, but at present, alternative conclusions based on the geographic-bias argument rely on speculation. In sum, the critique raises points of uncertainty typical of all ecological studies, but does not provide an evidence-based alternative interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prominent new place of ecosystem services in environmental policy, land management and land planning requires that the best ecological knowledge be applied to ecosystem service quantification. Given strong evidence that functional diversity underpins the delivery of key ecosystem services, assessments of these services may progress rapidly using a trait-based approach., The trait-based approach shows promising results, especially for plant trait effects on primary production and some processes associated with carbon and nitrogen cycling in grasslands. However, there is a need to extend the proof of concept for a wider range of ecosystems and ecosystem services and to incorporate not only the functional characteristics of plants but those of other organisms with which plants interact for the provision of ecosystem services., The five papers in this Special Feature illustrate how some of the key conceptual and methodological challenges can be resolved, and provide a range of case studies across three continents. Relevant plant functional traits depict different axes of variation including stature, the leaf economics spectrum, and associated or independent variations in root or stem traits. The application of the trait approach to ecosystem processes underpinned by interactions between plants and other biota is illustrated for soil micro-organisms and granivorous invertebrates. There is strong evidence for the biomass ratio hypothesis (i.e. prevalent effects of the traits of dominant species through the community-weighted mean), along with less prevalent and more complex effects of heterogeneous trait values between species (i.e. functional divergence)., Synthesis. Together, the five papers in this Special Feature illustrate how trait-based approaches may help elucidate the complexity of ecological mechanisms operating in the field to determine ecosystem service delivery. To address scientific and management questions about the provision of multiple services, progress is needed in understanding how functional trade-offs and synergies within organisms scale up to interactions between ecosystem services. Service-oriented ecosystem management within the context of global change, or ecological restoration, remains a major challenge, but trait-based understanding opens new avenues towards more generic, integrated approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cape flora of southern Africa is a remarkable hotspot for plant species diversity and endemism. At a meeting in Zurich in 2004 progress in understanding the evolution of this diversity was reviewed. In this symposium, four papers presenting several of the methods used in this investigation were reported. These papers deal with molecular dating methods, the reconstruction of ancestral habitats, with possible speciation scenarios for the Cape flora, and the importance of the correct sampling strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Savanna woodlands and their associated species diversity and endemism are widely seen as declining through human impacts. Alternative views suggest that savanna ecosystems vary with a large number of biophysical factors, among which human impacts may be of relatively minor importance. This paper examines the debate with respect to Mkomazi Game Reserve in Northern Tanzania, where biodiversity has been inventoried and local resource use studied. It sets out the history of land use in Mkomazi and examines the available data on the area's plant, bird and invertebrate diversity. Comparative analysis is complicated by the paucity of data for other savannas in the same biogeographic zone, and by differences in sampling effort and methodology. Conservation literature and Tanzanian government documents present Mkomazi as one of the richest savannas in Africa, as a centre of endemism, and as threatened by deleterious impacts of human land use. Available data do not substantiate such statements. The paper examines implications of those perceptions for management, particularly eviction of resident pastoralists from the Reserve in 1988, and subsequent exclusion of reserve-adjacent dwellers. Conservation relies increasingly on reserve-adjacent people, and on prioritizing the allocation of scarce resources. There is an urgent need for rigorous studies of the implications of human land use in savannas, for better data on biodiversity, and for rigorous standards in the way those data are applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In the literature, the terms species richness and species diversity are sometimes used interchangeably. We suggest that at the very least, authors should define what they mean by either term. Of the many species diversity indices used in the literature, the Shannon Index is perhaps most commonly used. On some occasions it is called the Shannon–Wiener Index and on other occasions it is called the Shannon–Weaver Index. We suggest an explanation for this dual use of terms and in so doing we offer a tribute to the late Claude Shannon (who passed away on 24 February 2001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The pattern of increasing biological diversity from high latitudes to the equator [latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG)] has been recognized for > 200 years. Empirical studies have documented this pattern across many different organisms and locations. Our goal was to quantify the evidence for the global LDG and the associated spatial, taxonomic and environmental factors. We performed a meta-analysis on a large number of individual LDGs that have been published in the 14 years since Hillebrand's ground-breaking meta-analysis of the LDG, using meta-analysis and meta-regression approaches largely new to the fields of ecology and biogeography. Location Global. Time period January 2003-September 2015. Major taxa studied Bacteria, protists, plants, fungi and animals. Methods We synthesized the outcomes of 389 individual cases of LDGs from 199 papers published since 2003, using hierarchical mixed-effects meta-analysis and multiple meta-regression. Additionally, we re-analysed Hillebrand's original dataset using modern methods. Results We confirmed the generality of the LDG, but found the pattern to be weaker than was found in Hillebrand's study. We identified previously unreported variation in LDG strength and slope across longitude, with evidence that the LDG is strongest in the Western Hemisphere. Locational characteristics, such as habitat and latitude range, contributed significantly to LDG strength, whereas organismal characteristics, including taxonomic group and trophic level, did not. Modern meta-analytical models that incorporate hierarchical structure led to more conservative and sometimes contrasting effect size estimates relative to Hillebrand's initial analysis, whereas meta-regression revealed underlying patterns in Hillebrand's dataset that were not apparent with a traditional analysis. Main conclusions We present evidence of global latitudinal, longitudinal and habitat-based patterns in the LDG, which are apparent across both marine and terrestrial realms and over a broad taxonomic range of organisms, from bacteria to plants and vertebrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equilibrium theory of island biogeography (ETIB) is a widely applied dynamic theory proposed in the 1960s to explain why islands have coherent differences in species richness. The development of the ETIB was temporarily challenged in the 1970s by the alternative static theory of ecological impoverishment (TEI). The TEI suggests that the number of species on an island is determined by its number of habitats or niches but, with no clear evidence relating species richness to the number of niches however, the TEI has been almost dismissed as a theory in favour of the original ETIB. Here, we show that the number of climatic niches on islands is an important predictor of the species richness of plants, herpetofauna and land birds. We therefore propose a model called the niche‐based theory of island biogeography (NTIB), based on the MacroEcological Theory on the Arrangement of Life (METAL), which successfully integrates the number of niches sensu Hutchinson into ETIB. To account for greater species turnover at the beginning of colonisation, we include higher initial extinction rates. When we test our NTIB for resident land birds in the Krakatau Islands, it reveals a good correspondence with observed species richness, immigration and extinction rates. Provided the environmental regime remains unchanged, we estimate that the current species richness at equilibrium is ~45 species (range between 38.39 and 61.51). Our NTIB provides better prediction because it counts for changes in species richness with latitude, which is not considered in any theory of island biogeography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, increased species extinction and habitat loss have significantly reduced biodiversity, posing a serious threat to both nature and human survival. Environmental factors strongly influence bird distribution and diversity. The potential distribution patterns and species richness offer a conservation modeling framework for policymakers to assess the effectiveness of natural protected areas (PAs) and optimize their existing ones. Very few such studies have been published that cover a large and complete taxonomic group with fine resolution at regional scale. Here, using birds as a study group, the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) was used to analyze the pattern of bird species richness in Jiangsu Province. Using an unparalleled amount of occurrence data, we created species distribution models (SDMs) for 312 bird species to explore emerging diversity patterns at a resolution of 1 km2. The gradient of species richness is steep, decreasing sharply away from water bodies, particularly in the northern part of Jiangsu Province. The migratory status and feeding habits of birds also significantly influence the spatial distribution of avian species richness. This study reveals that the regions with high potential bird species richness are primarily distributed in three areas: the eastern coastal region, the surrounding area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the surrounding area of Taihu Lake. Compared with species richness hotspots and existing PAs, we found that the majority of hotspots are well‐protected. However, only a small portion of the regions, such as coastal areas of Sheyang County in Yancheng City, as well as some regions along the Yangtze River in Nanjing and Zhenjiang, currently have relatively weak protection. Using stacked SDMs, our study reveals effective insights into diversity patterns, directly informing conservation policies and contributing to macroecological research advancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Patterns of benthic biodiversity at the macroecological scale remain poorly characterised throughout the Chilean latitudinal gradient, in part due to the lack of integrated databases, uneven sampling effort, and the use of species richness alone to quantify biodiversity. Different diversity measures, encompassing taxonomic and functional components, may give us extra information on biodiversity relevant to conservation planning and management. Thus, evaluating the spatial complementarity of these measures is essential. Location: Coast and continental shelf of Chile. Methods: The latitudinal gradient of Chile was divided into five ecoregions according to the Marine Ecosystems of the World classification. Using a 55 × 55 km equal area grid, we estimated the incidence coverage‐based estimator (ICE), taxonomic distinctness (Δ+) and three measures of functional diversity: functional richness (FRic), functional evenness (FEve) and functional divergence (FDiv). For each measure, we described spatial patterns, identified hotspots, evaluated hotspot congruence and evaluated complementarity between measures. Results: Diversity patterns varied between ecoregions and over the latitudinal gradient. ICE and Δ+ peaked in the Chiloense and Channels and Fjords ecoregions. Δ+ and FRic present a similar pattern at mid‐latitudes. FEve showed a contrary pattern, principally with FRic. Areas with high numbers of hotspots differed spatially according to each metric, and three latitudinal bands were observed. ICE, Δ+ and FRic were positively correlated, but the hotspot overlap at the grid cell level was more limited. Main Conclusions: The complementarity between taxonomic and functional diversity measures is limited when we observe the overlap between grid cells representing hotspots. However, some regions are consistently identified as highly diverse, with the Magellanic Province (Chiloense and Channels and Fjords ecoregions) being the most important for the richness, taxonomic and functional diversity of benthos. Confirmation of the importance of this region can help prioritise conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant species respond to varying plant species diversity and associated changes in their abiotic and biotic environment with changes in their phenotype. However, it is not clear to what degree this phenotypic differentiation is due to genotype diversity within populations or phenotypic plasticity of plant individuals. We studied individuals of 16 populations of the clonal herb Taraxacum officinale grown in plant communities of different species richness in a 17‐year‐old grassland biodiversity experiment (Jena Experiment). We collected 12 individuals in each population to measure phenotypic traits and identify distinct genotypes using microsatellite DNA markers. Plant species richness did not influence population‐level genotype and trait diversity. However, it affected the expression of several phenotypic traits, e.g. leaf and inflorescence number, maximum leaf length and seed mass, which increased with increasing plant species richness. Moreover, population‐level trait diversity correlated positively with genotype richness for leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and negatively with inflorescence number. For several traits (i.e. seed mass, germination rate, LDMC, specific leaf area (SLA)), a larger portion of variance was explained by genotype identity, while variance in other traits (i.e. number of inflorescences, leaf nitrogen concentration, leaf number, leaf length) resided within genotypes and thus was mostly due to phenotypic plasticity. Overall, our findings show that plant species richness positively affected the population means of some traits related to whole‐plant performance, whose variation was achieved through both phenotypic plasticity and genotype composition of a population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic ecosystems are undergoing rapid changes, including increasing disturbance by herbivore populations, which can affect plant species coexistence and community assemblages. Although the significance of mosses in Arctic wetlands is well recognized, the long‐term influence of medium‐sized herbivores on the composition of moss communities has received limited attention. We used data from a long‐term (25 years) Greater Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens atlanticus) exclusion experiment in Arctic tundra wetlands to assess changes in the composition of moss communities at multiple spatial scales (cell, 4 cm2; quadrat, 100 cm2; exclosure, 16 m2). We investigated how snow goose grazing and grubbing can alter the composition of the moss community by measuring changes in alpha and beta diversity, as well as in the strength of plant interspecific interactions between moss species. Our results indicate that goose foraging significantly increased species diversity (richness, evenness, and inverse Simpson index) of moss communities at the cell and quadrat scales but not the exclosure scale. Goose foraging reduced the dissimilarity (beta diversity) of moss communities at all three scales, mainly due to decreased species turnover. Furthermore, goose foraging increased positive interaction between moss species pairs. These findings emphasize the critical role of geese in promoting moss species coexistence and increasing homogeneity in Arctic wetlands. This study illustrates how top‐down regulation by herbivores can alter plant communities in Arctic wetlands and highlights the importance of considering herbivores when examining the response of Arctic plant biodiversity to future climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long‐term ecological studies have consistently reported slower than expected changes in biodiversity over time. One explanation for this phenomenon is that commonly used diversity measurements such as species richness are too coarse to detect mechanisms shaping community assembly. Theory suggests that similar phenomena may occur in abundance‐based diversity measurements, but the extent of this problem is currently unclear. We confront this theoretical prediction with field data by studying temporal changes in abundance‐based diversity indices across 3341 observations from 880 plots in 15 long‐term vegetation plot studies. We then partition diversity change into mechanisms of interest to ecologists: selection, drift, and immigration. We show that these resulting changes in relative abundances often produce non‐linear changes in diversity. These non‐linearities lead counterintuitive effects that are easy to miss when directly analysing changes in diversity. To resolve this we show that explicit partitioning of diversity change leads to one further, less‐studied partition: 'rarity shifts'. Rarity shifts measure how an individual's contributions to diversity changes over time. These rarity shifts are responsible for counter‐intuitive effects, for example when radical changes in community composition lead to negligible changes in diversity. We found rarity shifts are an important component of diversity change across many studies. Furthermore, rarity shifts tend to oppose selection, drift and immigration. Therefore, rarity shifts explain why changes in relative abundance do not consistently result in changes in abundance‐based diversity measurements. Ultimately, using rarity shifts can lead to a more accurate understanding of the temporal rate and nature of diversity change in ecology and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an introduction to academic papers on biological diversity conservation challenges and opportunities in Brazil, published in the June 2005 issue of the scholarly periodical "Conservation Biology". History, context, and status of conservation; Protected areas; Number of species; State of knowledge, threats, conservation status, and habitat assessment for plants.

When pairwise differences (relatedness) between species are numerically given, the average of the species differences weighted by relative frequencies can be used as a species diversity index. This paper first theoretically develops the indices of this type, then applies them to forestry data. As examples of diversity indices, this paper explores the taxonomic diversity and the newly introduced amino acid diversity, which is a modification of the nucleotide diversity in genetics. The first, mathematical part shows that both indices can be decomposed into three inner factors; evenness of relative frequencies (=the Simpson index), the simple average over species differences regardless of relative frequencies, and the taxonomic or genetic balance in relative frequencies. The taxonomic diversity has another decomposition: the sum over the Simpson indices at all the taxonomic levels. The second part examines the effects of different forest management techniques on diversity. It is shown that a thinning operation for promoting survival of specific desirable species also contributed to increasing the taxonomic diversity. If we calculated only conventional indices that do not incorporate species relatedness, we would simply conclude that the thinning did not significantly affect the diversity. The theoretical developments of the first part complement the result, leading us to a better interpretation about contrasting vegetation structures. The mathematical results also reveal that the amino acid diversity involves redundant species, which is undesirable when measuring diversity; hence, this index is used to demonstrates crucial points when we introduce species relatedness. The results suggest further possibilities of applying diversity indices incorporating species differences to a variety of ecological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal areas offer a diversity of habitats providing refugia and nursery for fish, promoting their biodiversity and associated contributions to people. Yet, natural coastlines are replaced by artificial infrastructures such as seaports and the influence of this artificialization on fish biodiversity remains poorly known. Here, we assessed fish biodiversity indicators using environmental DNA metabarcoding inside seaports and adjacent natural habitats including no‐take marine reserves. We found that species assemblages within seaports were primarily influenced by their area and habitat. We detected a similar species richness in seaports and reserves during lockdown, but seaports host more threatened species than natural habitats. Yet, species turnover between seaports was lower than between natural areas, reflecting biotic homogenization. Seaport managers should consider that complexifying artificial infrastructures could increase habitat diversity and coastal fish biodiversity. Our study illustrates that eDNA‐based indicators can be integrated in management and policy applications toward greener marine artificial infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enduring challenge in ecology is to understand what drives spatial variation in the size and structure of communities. The ability to count the number of species present at a location is hindered by the fact that not all species are equally detectable, and invariably some go completely undetected. This makes comparing species richness across distinct spatial units (or regions) problematic as sources of error are usually unaccounted for in simple enumerations of species., Multi-species occupancy models explicitly incorporate a model for this observation uncertainty and provide a framework for estimating community size when detection is imperfect. Currently, however, the model is restricted to estimating the number of species at only a single region of interest. In this paper we extend the multi-species occupancy model to accommodate data collected across multiple regions of interest (e.g., reserves or biomes)., We report improved model performance of the joint multiregion approach when compared to the more traditional two-stage approach of modelling spatial variation in species richness using simulations. Then, applying the model to data collected from eight avian communities in northern Italy, we demonstrate how species richness can be modeled as a spatially varying function of habitat complexity., Extending the multi-species occupancy model to accommodate data collected across multiple regions of interest (e.g., reserves or biomes) allows for joint estimation of region-specific community size and permits species richness to be modeled as a function of region-specific covariates. Our approach provides a mechanism for testing hypotheses about why and how species richness varies across space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim In this paper we explore global links between tree canopy height and species richness of amphibians, birds and mammals. We follow the ideas first laid out by MacArthur and MacArthur in 1961 who found that in the eastern USA higher tree canopies supported more bird species, which they attributed to an increase of available niches as forests grow taller. We test if their findings can be generalized over large regions and other taxa by employing novel methods and using current datasets. Location Global Methods We used the global distribution maps of the three above taxa to infer species richness. Our tree canopy height information was derived from remotely sensed LiDAR data. The analysis was conducted globally and within biogeographical realms. We modeled richness, using tree canopy height and other environmental correlates, with generalized additive models and geographically weighted regressions. Results Globally, tree canopy height proved to be of lesser importance in explaining species richness patterns compared to other environmental drivers. Within biogeographical realms, tree canopy height was found to be a more important predictor of diversity in the Neotropic and Australian realms. Regional patterns show that tree canopy height has an important effect on diversity of amphibians throughout the world and in several tropical regions across taxa. Net Primary Productivity ( NPP) explains more of the variation in richness both globally and within most regions. Main Conclusions Overall, tree canopy height is not an important predictor of diversity. However we highlight its relative importance in particular locations and settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity loss has a large impact on many ecosystem functions (EFs). It is urgent to quantify the effect of biodiversity loss on EFs, and much efforts are needed to determine quantitatively the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions (BEF).In this review, we first summarised the mechanistic models commonly applied in current BEF studies, and proposed a new BEF model based on species interaction networks. The 'network attenuation model', which is built up by an unsaturated network, quantifies BEF. Then, the implication of network attenuation model for the scale dependence of BEF has been studied. Finally, the network attenuation model has been tested using data from the BIODEPTH project.We found that fitting models with the network attenuation model provided better results than other common fitting methods. The model fitting results revealed the scale dependence in BEF relationships, and demonstrated nonlinear changes in the BEF‐slope with the spatial scale.We conclude that the network attenuation model can be used as an alternative approach to estimate BEF, and the information from this model can provide meaningful guidance for the allocation of resources for conservation efforts worldwide. More efforts will be necessary assess the effect of biodiversity on various EFs as the importance of interactions among species and species richness may also vary over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring forest biodiversity using terrestrial surveys is expensive and can only capture common species abundance in large heterogeneous landscapes. In contrast, combining airborne imagery with computer vision can generate individual tree data at the scales of hundreds of thousands of trees. To train computer vision models, ground‐based species labels are combined with airborne reflectance data. Due to the difficulty of finding rare species in a large landscape, many classification models only include the most abundant species, leading to biased predictions at broad scales. For example, if only common species are used to train the model, this assumes that these samples are representative across the entire landscape. Extending classification models to include rare species requires targeted data collection and algorithmic improvements to overcome large data imbalances between dominant and rare taxa. We use a targeted sampling workflow to the Ordway Swisher Biological Station within the US National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), where traditional forestry plots had identified six canopy tree species with more than 10 individuals at the site. Combining iterative model development with rare species sampling, we extend a training dataset to include 14 species. Using a multi‐temporal hierarchical model, we demonstrate the ability to include species predicted at <1% frequency in landscape without losing performance on the dominant species. The final model has over 75% accuracy for 14 species with improved rare species classification compared to 61% accuracy of a baseline deep learning model. After filtering out dead trees, we generate landscape species maps of individual crowns for over 670 000 individual trees. We find distinct patches of forest composed of rarer species at the full‐site scale, highlighting the importance of capturing species diversity in training data. We estimate the relative abundance of 14 species within the landscape and provide three measures of uncertainty to generate a range of counts for each species. For example, we estimate that the dominant species, Pinus palustris accounts for c. 28% of predicted stems, with models predicting a range of counts between 160 000 and 210 000 individuals. These maps provide the first estimates of canopy tree diversity within a NEON site to include rare species and provide a blueprint for capturing tree diversity using airborne computer vision at broad scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Little is known about how marine biodiversity responds to oceanographic and climatic changes over the decadal to centennial time-scales which are most relevant for predicted climate changes due to greenhouse gas forcing. This paper aims to reveal decadal-centennial scale deep-sea biodiversity dynamics for the last 20,000 years and then explore potential environmental drivers. Location The North Atlantic Ocean. Methods We investigated deep-sea benthic microfossil records to reveal biodiversity dynamics and subsequently applied comprehensive ecological modelling to test possible environmental factors (i.e. surface productivity, seasonality of productivity or deepwater circulation related to bottom-water temperature) that may have influenced deep-sea biodiversity over these time-scales. Results Deep-sea biodiversity changed synchronously with stadial-interstadial climate changes over the last 20,000 years across a large area of the North Atlantic in both ostracod crustaceans and foraminiferan protozoa (in spite of their different dispersal abilities). Species diversity rapidly increased during abrupt stadial events during the last deglacial and the Holocene interglacial periods. These include the well-known Heinrich 1, the Younger Dryas and the 8.2 ka events when the strength of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ( AMOC) decreased. There is also evidence for quasi-cyclic changes in biodiversity at a c. 1500-year periodicity, consistent with the well-known '1500-year climatic cycle'. Statistical analyses revealed that AMOC variability (probably specifically the variability in AMOC-driven bottom-water temperature) is correlated with deep-sea biodiversity. Main conclusions Our finding of a significant AMOC-diversity relationship may indicate pervasive control of the diversity of deep-sea benthic species by rapidly changing climate, specifically bottom-water temperature, over decadal to centennial time-scales. Our results, based on highly resolved fossil records, may portend pervasive, synchronous and sudden ecosystem responses to human-induced changes to climate and ocean circulation in this century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship is central in community ecology. Its drivers in competitive systems (sampling effect and functional complementarity) are intuitive and elegant, but we lack an integrative understanding of these drivers in complex ecosystems. Because networks encompass two key components of the BEF relationship (species richness and biomass flow), they provide a key to identify these drivers, assuming that we have a meaningful measure of functional complementarity. In a network, diversity can be defined by species richness, the number of trophic levels, but perhaps more importantly, the diversity of interactions. In this paper, we define the concept of trophic complementarity (TC), which emerges through exploitative and apparent competition processes, and study its contribution to ecosystem functioning. Using a model of trophic community dynamics, we show that TC predicts various measures of ecosystem functioning, and generate a range of testable predictions. We find that, in addition to the number of species, the structure of their interactions needs to be accounted for to predict ecosystem productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two different approaches currently prevail for predicting spatial patterns of species assemblages. The first approach (macroecological modelling, MEM) focuses directly on realized properties of species assemblages, whereas the second approach (stacked species distribution modelling, S-SDM) starts with constituent species to approximate the properties of assemblages. Here, we propose to unify he two approaches in a single 'spatially explicit species assemblage modelling' SESAM) framework. This framework uses relevant designations of initial species source pools for modelling, macroecological variables, and ecological assembly rules to constrain predictions of the richness and composition of species assemblages obtained by stacking predictions of individual species distributions. e believe that such a framework could prove useful in many theoretical and applied disciplines of ecology and evolution, both for improving our basic understanding of species assembly across spatio-temporal scales and for anticipating expected consequences of local, regional or global environmental changes. n this paper, we propose such a framework and call for further developments and testing across a broad range of community types in a variety of environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In arid and semiarid Australia fossorial vertebrates have been a major component of the soil biota mediating many fundamental landscape processes. However, many species such as the burrowing bettong ( Bettongia lesueur) have become seriously depleted following European pastoral settlement. As ‘landscape engineers’, they were responsible for creating and maintaining a high degree of surface heterogeneity that promoted a diverse and productive herbaceous understorey, particularly in ‘hard-red’ communities dominated by mulga ( Acacia aneura). While their regional extinction has had major impacts by contributing to desertification and loss of biodiversity, relict warrens ‘engineered’ by B. lesueur still remain in certain ecosystems and despite continual weathering, contribute significantly to herbage productivity and species diversity. This paper details the results obtained from a number of field studies aimed at determining the distribution of relict warrens at contrasting scales and their influence on landscape patch dynamics resulting from their impacts on soil nutrients, herbage composition and herbivory. Finally, the conservation implications following the continental extinction of this species and the resulting loss of fundamental ecosystem services, as well as cultural values, are discussed in the context of future re-introduction efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the role of secondary forests in the conservation of tropical forest species. They mention the research of S.J. Wright and H.C. Muller-Landau, who predict deforestation rates will decrease, secondary forest areas will increase, and the extinction of many tropical forest species will be avoided. These optimistic predictions are questioned by the authors. Research shows secondary forests are not as high in quality as primary forests and support fewer ecosystem services. The authors analyzed scientific papers reporting on the value of regenerating lands for birds, amphibians, reptiles, and primates in tropical forests. Due to limitations in the studies, the authors were unable to make any concrete predictions about the value of secondary forests in species conservation.

The assumption that the description of any system depends on spatial and temporal scale has moved researchers to incorporate scale as another factor in determining the mechanisms explaining species diversity and distribution. Although most researchers agree that processes that occur at different spatial and temporal scales affect ecological communities, empirical support is still scarce. In this paper, we seek to discern whether the relationship between abundance, biomass, and species diversity, on the one hand, and habitat heterogeneity, on the other, holds across temporal and spatial scales. Moreover, we analyse whether the pattern/variation found depends on the taxonomic level, and the diversity index used. To answer these questions, we sampled arthropod assemblages across three nested temporal and spatial scales. In general, we found variability in the responses to habitat heterogeneity across scales according to the assemblage descriptor, the taxonomic level selected, and the diversity index used. Our results suggest that generalization is difficult and extrapolation should be made with caution. Moreover, the use of more than one diversity index would provide additional and complementary information about species-distribution patterns and the mechanisms generating these patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation and land management decisions may be misguided by inaccurate or misinterpreted knowledge of biodiversity. Non-systematists often lack taxonomic expertise necessary for an accurate assessment of biodiversity. Additionally, there are far too few taxonomists to contribute significantly to the task of identifying species for specimens collected in biodiversity studies. While species level identification is desirable for making informed management decisions concerning biodiversity, little progress has been made to reduce this taxonomic deficiency. Involvement of non-systematists in the identification process could hasten species identification. Incorporation of DNA sequence data has been recognized as one way to enhance biodiversity assessment and species identification. DNA data are now technologically and economically feasible for most scientists to apply in biodiversity studies. However, its use is not widespread and means of its application has not been extensively addressed. This paper illustrates how such data can be used to hasten biodiversity assessment of species using a little-known group of edaphic beetles. Partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I was sequenced for 171 individuals of feather-wing beetles (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae) from the Klamath ecoregion, which is part of a biodiversity hotspot, the California Floristic Province. A phylogram of these data was reconstructed via parsimony and the strict consensus of 28,000 equally parsimonious trees was well resolved except for peripheral nodes. Forty-two voucher specimens were selected for further identification from clades that were associated with many synonymous and non-synonymous nucleotide changes. A ptiliid taxonomic expert identified nine species that corresponded to monophyletic groups. These results allowed for a more accurate assessment of ptiliid species diversity in the Klamath ecoregion. In addition, we found that the number of amino acid changes or percentage nucleotide difference did not associate with species limits. This study demonstrates that the complementary use of taxonomic expertise and molecular data can improve both the speed and the accuracy of species-level biodiversity assessment. We believe this represents a means for non-systematists to collaborate directly with taxonomists in species identification and represents an improvement over methods that rely solely on parataxonomy or sequence data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biotropica is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim The aim of this paper is to evaluate the combined effects of geographical distance and environmental distance on patterns of species similarity (similarity in species composition between sites), and to identify factors affecting the rate of decay in species similarity with each type of distance. Location Israel. Methods Data on species composition of land snails and land birds were recorded in 27 sites of 1 × 1 km scattered across a rainfall gradient in Israel. Matrices of similarity in species composition between all pairs of sites were computed and analysed with respect to corresponding matrices of geographical distance and rainfall distance (defined as the difference in mean annual rainfall between sites, and used as a measure of environmental distance). Mantel tests were applied to determine the correlation between species similarity and each type of distance. Factors affecting the decay in species similarity were investigated by comparing different subsets of the data using randomization tests. Results Both rainfall distance and geographical distance had negative effects on species similarity. The effect of rainfall distance was statistically significant even after controlling for differences in geographical distance, and vice versa. The per-unit effect of rainfall distance on species similarity decreased with increasing geographical distance, indicating that the two types of distances interacted in determining the similarity in species composition. Snails showed a higher rate of decay in species similarity with geographical distance than birds, and large snails showed a higher rate of decay than small snails, which are better passive dispersers. The per-unit effects of both rainfall distance and geographical distance on species similarity were higher in the desert region than in the Mediterranean region. Analyses focusing on a grain size of 10 × 10 m showed a lower similarity in species composition and a lower rate of decay in species similarity with rainfall distance than analyses carried out at a grain size of 1 × 1 km. Main conclusions Patterns of similarity in species composition are influenced by the combined effects of environmental variation, the position of the area along environmental gradients, the dispersal properties of the component species, and the scale (both spatial extent and grain size) at which the patterns are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a large number of studies concerned with species movements between Africa and Eurasia, including the migrations of hominids out of Africa, a frequently-cited dispersal route is across a hypothetical land bridge in the southern Red Sea, which is suggested to have emerged during glacial sea-level lowstands. This paper, however, unequivocally demonstrates that palaeoceanographic and palaeoecological data are incompatible with the existence of Red Sea land bridges since the Miocene. The case is made by presenting the first quantitative history of water depth above the Red Sea sill for the last 470,000 years, a time period that includes the four most recent glacial–interglacial cycles, and by discussing the predictable consequences of any land bridge formation on the Red Sea sedimentary and microfossil records. The absence of post-Miocene Red Sea land bridges has extensive implications for biogeographic models in the Afro-Arabian region. Genetic, morphometric and palaeontological patterns reported in the literature cannot be related to dispersals over a land bridge, or in the case of marine organisms, separation of the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean by a land bridge. If such patterns in terrestrial species are only congruent with a southern Red Sea dispersal route, then they need to be considered in terms of sweepstake rafting, anthropogenic introduction, or in the particular case of the Out-of-Africa migration by modern humans, seafaring. The constraints imposed by our palaeoenvironmental record on biogeographic reconstructions within and around the Red Sea will hopefully encourage both the review of previous works and the preference for multidisciplinary approaches in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogeographical studies frequently reveal positive correlations between species richness and estimates of environmental water and/or energy. A popular interpretation of this relationship relates the supply of water and energy to productivity, and then, in turn, to richness. Productivity–diversity theories are now legion, yet none has proved sufficiently intuitive to gain broad acceptance. Like productivity, heterogeneity is known to influence diversity at fine spatial scales, yet the possibility that richness might relate to water–energy dynamics at coarse spatial scales via a heterogeneity-generating mechanism has received little attention. In this paper we outline such a conceptual model for plants that is internally consistent and testable. We believe it may help to explain the capacity of environments receiving different inputs of water and energy to support variable numbers of species at a range of spatial scales, the pervasive correlation between productivity and richness, some exceptions to the productivity–diversity relationship, the form of productivity–diversity curves and the link between richness and environmental ‘harshness’. The model may also provide an answer to one of the most venerable puzzles in the field of diversity studies: why high inputs of water and energy correspond to more species rather than simply more individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacterial mats, widely distributed in the inland alkaline marshes of northern Belize and other regions in the Caribbean, are not only important and functionally complex components of these habitats, but they are also significant reservoirs of biological diversity. Highly diverse and (relatively) isolated marshes have provided conditions suitable for cyanoprokaryotic organisms and conditioned the adaptation and stabilization of numerous specialized eco- and morphotypes. Species richness of cyanobacteria assemblages follows the conductivity gradient and is highest in the marshes of medium conductivity (c. 1000-2000 μS cm-1) and decreases at low (<500 μS cm-1) and high (>3000 μS cm-1) conductivities. This ecologically unique cyanobacterial microflora is very sensitive to nutrient enrichment, both directly and indirectly through shading by expanding macrophytes. Species richness of cyanobacterial assemblages decreases dramatically as a result of eutrophication. Similar cyanobacterial communities are widely distributed in limestone-based areas of Florida, Central America and Caribbean but none of them is currently under any legal protection status. The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to an ecologically important group of organisms that have traditionally not been considered in species diversity evaluations or conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire is a dominant ecological force shaping many faunal communities globally. Fire affects fauna either directly, such as by killing individuals, or indirectly, such as by modifying vegetation structure. Vegetation structure itself also modulates fire frequency and intensity. As such, faunal responses to fire need to be seen through the lens of variable fire activity and vegetation structure. Here, we incorporate information on fire activity and vegetation structure to enhance an understanding of the response of ants to long‐term (17‐year) experimental fire treatments in an extremely fire‐prone tropical savanna in northern Australia. Previous analysis revealed limited divergence in ant communities after 5 years of experimental fire treatment. Hence, we first investigated the extent to which ant communities diverged over a subsequent 12 years of treatment. We then assessed the relative contribution of fire treatment, cumulative fire intensity (fire activity), and woody cover to responses of ant species frequency of occurrence, richness, and composition. We found that, even after 17 years, fire treatments explained little variation in any ant response variable. In contrast, woody cover was a strong predictor for all of them, while fire activity was a moderate predictor for abundance and richness. Ant species occurrence and richness increased in open habitats receiving higher levels of fire activity, compared with plots with higher vegetation cover experiencing low (or no) fire activity. Moreover, species composition differed between plots with high and low vegetation cover. Our findings provide experimental support to the principle that the effects of fire on fauna are primarily indirect, via its effect on vegetation structure. Furthermore, our results show that a "uniform" fire regime does not have uniform impacts on the ant fauna, because of variability imposed by interactions between vegetation structure and fire activity. This helps to explain why there is often a weak relationship between pyrodiversity and biodiversity, and it lessens the need for active management of pyrodiversity to maintain biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) studies aim to understand how ecosystems respond to a gradient of species diversity. Generalised Diversity‐Interactions (DI) models are suitable for analysing the BEF relationship. These models relate an ecosystem function response of a community to the identity of the species in the community, their evenness (proportions) and interactions. The number of species in the community (richness) is included implicitly in a DI model.It is common in BEF studies to model an ecosystem function as a function of richness; while this can uncover trends in the BEF relationship, by definition, species diversity is broader than richness alone, and important patterns in the BEF relationship may remain hidden. Here, we introduce the DImodels R package for implementing DI models. We show how richness is mathematically equivalent to a simplified DI model under certain conditions, and illustrate how using the DI multidimensional definition of species diversity can provide deeper insight to the BEF relationship compared to traditional approaches.Using DI models can lead to considerably improved model fit over other methods; it does this by incorporating variation due to the multiple facets of species diversity. Predicting from a DI model is not limited to the study design points, the model can interpolate or extrapolate to predict for any species composition and proportions (assuming there is sufficient coverage of this space in the study design).Expressing the BEF relationship as a function of richness alone can be useful to capture overall trends. However, collapsing the multiple dimensions of species diversity to a single dimension (such as richness) can result in valuable ecological information being lost. DI modelling provides a framework to test the multiple components of species diversity in the BEF relationship. It facilitates uncovering a deeper ecological understanding of the BEF relationship and can lead to enhanced inference. The open‐source DImodels R package provides a user‐friendly way to implement this modelling approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity has typically been quantified using species richness, but this ignores evolutionary history. Due to the increasing availability of robust phylogenies, methods have been developed that incorporate phylogenetic relationships into quantification of biodiversity. CANAPE (categorical analysis of neo‐ and paleo‐endemism) is one such method that can provide insight into the evolutionary processes generating biodiversity. The only currently available software implementing CANAPE is Biodiverse, which is written in Perl and can be used either through a graphical user interface (GUI) or user‐developed scripts. However, many researchers, particularly in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology, use the R programming language to conduct their analyses. Here, we present canaper, a new R package (www.r‐project.org) that provides functions to conduct CANAPE in R. canaper implements methods for efficient computation, including parallelization and encoding of community data as sparse matrices. The interface is designed for maximum simplicity and reproducibility; CANAPE can be conducted with two functions, and parallel computing can be enabled with one line of code. Our case study shows that canaper produces equivalent results to Biodiverse and can complete computations on moderately sized datasets quickly (<10 min to reproduce a canonical study). canaper allows researchers to conduct all analyses from data import and cleaning through CANAPE within R, thereby obviating the need to manually import and export data and analysis results between programs. We anticipate canaper will become a part of the toolkit for analyzing biodiversity in R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a common grassland management practice in many high‐latitude regions worldwide, mowing has great impacts on grassland functioning and stability. Species richness, species asynchrony and species stability have been suggested as central in responses to environmental change. Mowing can evoke plant defence system due to physical damages to plants. However, no studies have comprehensively evaluated the role of plant defence functional traits, species richness, species asynchrony and stability in ecosystem functioning under mowing regimes across timescales.In this study, we set up short‐term (4 years) and long‐term (16 years) mowing experiments with three stubble heights (control, 10 cm, 2 cm) in a temperate steppe of Inner Mongolia. We investigated the effects of mowing‐induced changes in distribution metrics associated with plant defence traits, that is mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis of trait distribution, on ecosystem stability of grassland communities using structural equation modelling.We found that grassland ecosystem stability was enhanced by increasing mowing duration and decreasing stubble height. Mowing‐induced increase in abundance and diversity of plant defence traits contributed to greater ecosystem stability by enhancing species asynchrony and population stability. Moreover, we found that mowing enhanced the abundance and diversity of plant defence traits of dominant species and contributed to population stability and species asynchrony, thus enhancing temporal stability of grassland ecosystems.These results demonstrate the important roles of plant defence traits in maintaining stability of grasslands under mowing, and highlight that, in addition to species richness, asynchrony and population stability, plant functional defence trait acts in stabilizing ecosystem functions under human‐induced environmental changes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From tracking land‐use change to biodiversity loss, citizen science data have become a cornerstone for conservation. However, policymakers must understand the "data‐generating process" to make good use of existing citizen science data and encourage the production of useful new data. We analyze data from the two largest German online platforms for ecological observations to explore and quantify the effect of explicit incentives on volunteer recordings, created by a large‐scale prize competition on one of the platforms. We find 10% more recordings during the prize competition. Moreover, the effects of weather and weekends are attenuated during the competition period. Finally, the diversity of recorded species decreases. Our study shows the first statistical evidence that using explicit incentives increases the quantity of citizen science data. It highlights the need to further study the effect of explicit incentives on data quality and the engagement of citizens for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenetic diversity (PD), the evolutionary history of the organisms comprising a community, is increasingly recognized as an important driver of ecosystem function. However, biodiversity–ecosystem function experiments have rarely included PD as an a priori treatment. Thus, PD's effects in existing experiments are often confounded by covarying differences in species richness and functional trait diversity (FD). Here we report an experimental demonstration of strong PD effects on grassland primary productivity that are independent of FD, which was separately manipulated, and species richness, which was planted uniformly high to mimic diverse natural grasslands. Partitioning diversity effects demonstrated that higher PD increased complementarity (niche partitioning and/or facilitation) but lowered selection effects (probability of sampling highly productive species). Specifically, for every 5% increase in PD, complementarity increased by 26% on average (±8% SE), while selection effects decreased more modestly (8 ± 16%). PD also shaped productivity through clade‐level effects on functional traits, that is, trait values associated with particular plant families. This clade effect was most pronounced in the Asteraceae (sunflower family), which, in tallgrass prairies, generally comprises tall, high‐biomass species with low phylogenetic distinctiveness. FD also reduced selection effects but did not alter complementarity. Our results show that PD, independent of richness and FD, mediates ecosystem function through contrasting effects on complementarity and selection. This adds to growing evidence that consideration of phylogenetic dimensions of biodiversity can advance ecological understanding and inform conservation and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Understanding connections between environment and biodiversity is crucial for conservation, identifying causes of ecosystem stress, and predicting population responses to changing environments. Explaining biodiversity requires an understanding of how species richness and environment covary across scales. Here, we identify scales and locations at which biodiversity is generated and correlates with environment. Location: Full latitudinal range per continent. Time Period: Present day. Major Taxa Studied: Terrestrial vertebrates: all mammals, carnivorans, bats, songbirds, hummingbirds, amphibians. Methods: We describe the use of wavelet power spectra, cross‐power and coherence for identifying scale‐dependent trends across Earth's surface. Spectra reveal scale‐ and location‐dependent coherence between species richness and topography (E), mean annual precipitation (Pn), temperature (Tm) and annual temperature range (ΔT). Results: >97% of species richness of taxa studied is generated at large scales, that is, wavelengths ≳103 km, with 30%–69% generated at scales ≳104 km. At these scales, richness tends to be highly coherent and anti‐correlated with E and ΔT, and positively correlated with Pn and Tm. Coherence between carnivoran richness and ΔT is low across scales, implying insensitivity to seasonal temperature variations. Conversely, amphibian richness is strongly anti‐correlated with ΔT at large scales. At scales ≲103 km, examined taxa, except carnivorans, show highest richness within the tropics. Terrestrial plateaux exhibit high coherence between carnivorans and E at scales ∼103 km, consistent with contribution of large‐scale tectonic processes to biodiversity. Results are similar across different continents and for global latitudinal averages. Spectral admittance permits derivation of rules‐of‐thumb relating long‐wavelength environmental and species richness trends. Main Conclusions: Sensitivities of mammal, bird and amphibian populations to environment are highly scale dependent. At large scales, carnivoran richness is largely independent of temperature and precipitation, whereas amphibian richness correlates strongly with precipitation and temperature, and anti‐correlates with temperature range. These results pave the way for spectral‐based calibration of models that predict biodiversity response to climate change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is commonly expected that exotic plants experience reduced herbivory, but experimental evidence for such enemy release is still controversial. One reason for conflicting results might be that community context has rarely been accounted for, although the surrounding plant diversity may moderate enemy release. Here, we tested the effects of focal tree origin and surrounding tree diversity on herbivore abundance and leaf damage in a cross‐Atlantic tree‐diversity experiment in Canada and Germany. We evaluated six European tree species paired with six North American congeners in both their native and exotic range, expecting lower herbivory for the exotic tree species in each pair at each site. Such reciprocal experiments have long been called for, but have not been realized thus far. In addition to a thorough evaluation of overall enemy release effects, we tested whether enemy release effects changed with the surrounding tree diversity. Herbivore abundance was indeed consistently lower on exotics across all six tree genera (12 comparisons). This effect of exotic status was independent of the continent, phylogenetic relatedness, and surrounding tree diversity. In contrast, leaf damage associated with generalist leaf chewers was consistently higher on North American tree species. Interestingly, several species of European weevils were the most abundant leaf chewers on both continents and the dominant herbivores at the Canadian site. Thus, most observed leaf damage is likely to reflect the effect of generalist herbivores that feed heavily on plant species with which they have not evolved. At the German site, sap suckers were the dominant herbivores and showed a pattern consistent with enemy release. Taken together, the consistently lower herbivory on exotics on both continents is not purely a pattern of enemy release in the strictest sense, but to some degree additionally reflects the susceptibility of native plants to invasive herbivores. In conclusion, our cross‐Atlantic study is consistent with the idea that nonnative trees have generally reduced herbivory, regardless of tree community diversity and species identity, but for different reasons depending on the dominant herbivore guild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over 40 years after the introduction of the concept into ecology, intransitive (i.e. non‐hierarchical) competition remains overlooked by ecological theory, despite theoretical work showing it could be a major driver of species coexistence. This special feature presents six studies, including models, reviews, experimental studies and large‐scale observational studies. Collectively, these studies help to (i) link intransitive competition with short‐ and long‐term coexistence and with other ecological patterns, (ii) evaluate the conditions under which intransitivity is more common and (iii) determine how best to quantify the degree of intransitivity. The studies in this special feature show the generality of intransitive competition in nature, explore interactions between intransitivity and other coexistence mechanisms, and illustrate the effect of environmental conditions (drought, shade, fertility) on intransitivity and coexistence. They also show which metrics best quantify intransitivity and highlight the importance of adopting a more continuous view of competition as varying from strongly transitive to strongly intransitive. The studies also examine relationships between intransitivity and functional diversity and explore the evolution of intransitivity over time. Synthesis. The studies presented here advance the field by integrating intransitive competition into species coexistence and general ecological theory. We also highlight important research gaps that will hopefully inspire the next generation of studies in this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative information on large scale spatial patterns of biodiversity remains poor, especially for pelagic systems. In this paper the regional diversity of procellariiforms is mapped worldwide at the species level. These seabirds do not display a conventional latitudinal gradient of decreasing species richness towards high latitudes, but rather are most speciose between 37 and 59S in all ocean basins. Basedon data for foraging ranges, areas with the highest species richnessand the most species with smaller range sizes are all found in the vicinity of New Zealand and its sub-Antarctic islands. In contrast, data for breeding ranges show islands in the southern Indian and Atlantic oceans to have the highest number of breeding species, while theseislands and New Zealand have the most species with smaller range sizes. No northern hemisphere regions are amongst the top ten grid cellsfor foraging and breeding species richness, although Hawaii has the highest species richness of procellariiforms north of the equator. Northern Baja California, Madeira, the Canary islands, and the west coast of South America are all important sites of narrow endemism in thenorthern hemisphere. High species richness and narrow endemism coincide with areas of significant longline fishing activity in the southern hemisphere. Near-minimum sets based on one and three representations demonstrate that if all procellariiform species are to be retained, large areas of the ocean and almost all breeding sites require conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Recent studies highlight the importance of linking landscape ecology and macroecology for a better understanding of broad‐scale biodiversity patterns. The "landscape context effect" denotes that species responses and biodiversity in a focal area are shaped by neighbouring landscape composition and structure outside the focal area. Here, we test whether the landscape context effect could be pronounced at macroecological scales. Location: Sub‐Saharan Africa and continental China. Time period: Late 20th to early 21st centuries. Taxa studied: Terrestrial mammals (≥2 kg). Methods: We calculated species richness on the basis of grid cells of 50 km × 50 km and 100 km × 100 km. We used ordinary least square and random forest models to examine the relationships between species richness within grid cells and landscape context (defined as composition and structure of the neighbouring landscape outside the grid cells, with distances of 10–400 km to the boundary of a given grid cell). We used variation partitioning to quantify the independent and shared explanatory power of the landscape context variables, grouping species by body size and diet. Results: Landscape context alone explained ≤20% of the variation in species richness, even when controlling for correlations with macroenvironmental variables (climate, productivity and topography) and correlations with landscape attributes within the grid cells. Importantly, the explanatory power of landscape context at the scales of 100–400 km ofen outweighed grid‐cell landscape attributes or macro‐environmental variables. The independent explanatory power of landscape context was lowest for small‐sized omnivores. Furthermore, we found higher independent explanatory power for large herbivores in sub‐Saharan Africa than in continental China. Main conclusions: Landscape context plays a substantial role in shaping local biodiversity patterns at regional and continental scales, with its strength varying with organism diet and movement needs and possibilities. These findings support that conservation efforts should include effective management of landscape structure, with attention to differing space requirements among organism groups. Our work also illustrates the scope for testing landscape ecological hypotheses at macroecological scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial insurance hypothesis states that at landscape scales with environmental variability between different places, biodiversity increases ecosystem functioning if species respond asynchronously to environmental variation, and they are highest functioning in places where they dominate the relative abundance.Under this hypothesis, observed species turnover between places in a landscape with environmental variation might suggest that species diversity is an important driver of landscape‐scale ecosystem functioning. However, the spatial insurance implicitly assumes that species found in one place in the landscape will not be able to maintain high functioning in other places.Given this assumption of the spatial insurance hypothesis, we would predict that species' functioning in monoculture should decline if transplanted to a different place on an environmental gradient, away from where they naturally dominate. If this is the case, we would expect that the loss of one species in one place of the environmental gradient could not be compensated through the establishment of another species in that place.We tested this prediction using a model system of marine macroalgae on intertidal rocky shores on the Swedish west coast. We performed a reciprocal transplant experiment with adult individuals of four fucoid seaweeds that dominate the standing stock biomass at different depths on these shores and monitored their relative growth rate over 2 months.Counter to the assumptions made by the spatial insurance hypothesis, growth rates for three of the four species showed limited responses to being transplanted to different depth zones. Spatial insurance may, hence, play a minor role in sustaining landscape ecosystem functioning in this and other systems.Synthesis. The functional consequences of species loss at landscape scales may not be as obvious as observational studies and ecological models suggest. Consequently, natural patterns of species turnover should not be used directly to argue for the role of biodiversity at landscape scales. Instead, how species may or may not be able to compensate for the loss of other species is a critical aspect if we are to understand how changes in biodiversity at the landscape scale affect ecosystem functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]