Functional diversity in animal communities: a review with emphasis on vertebrates

Functional diversity is the variety of functional roles that species have in ecosystems. As its study in animal communities is still emerging, the aim of this review is to provide an informative reference on the basic concepts and advances in the quantification of functional diversity and its applications to vertebrates. The most studied groups to date are fish and birds, followed by mammals. Amphibians and reptiles have received less attention despite their high potential for the study of functional diversity. Protocols are available for the direct and standardized measure of functional traits in birds, amphibians and freshwater fish. No guides are yet available, however, for mammals and reptiles and functional traits are usually taken from the literature. To complement and to promote the measurement of functional traits in vertebrates, we provide a list of potential traits for the analysis of functional diversity in different subgroups of mammals and in reptiles.