Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 283, Issue 1828, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0084
Keywords
tropical biodiversity; conservation; extinction; rarity index; functional diversity; null models
Categories
Funding
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico [CNPq 482209/2010-0, 156915/2011-1, 168227/2014-2, 313183/2014-7]
- Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior [CAPES/PDSE 1914-13-8]
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas [FAPEAM 062.00202/2013]
- National Science Foundation [NSF/DEB 0743103, 0743800]
- INRA Package
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche [CEBA 10-LABX-25-01]
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [0743800] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
There is broad consensus that the diversity of functional traits within species assemblages drives several ecological processes. It is also widely recognized that rare species are the first to become extinct following human-induced disturbances. Surprisingly, however, the functional importance of rare species is still poorly understood, particularly in tropical species-rich assemblages where the majority of species are rare, and the rate of species extinction can be high. Here, we investigated the consequences of local and regional extinctions on the functional structure of species assemblages. We used three extensive datasets (stream fish from the Brazilian Amazon, rainforest trees from French Guiana, and birds from the Australian Wet Tropics) and built an integrative measure of species rarity versus commonness, combining local abundance, geographical range, and habitat breadth. Using different scenarios of species loss, we found a disproportionate impact of rare species extinction for the three groups, with significant reductions in levels of functional richness, specialization, and originality of assemblages, which may severely undermine the integrity of ecological processes. The whole breadth of functional abilities within species assemblages, which is disproportionately supported by rare species, is certainly critical in maintaining ecosystems particularly under the ongoing rapid environmental transitions.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available